Help Selecting One of These Emerald Cut Stones

[sjl22]

First: Thank you to everyone on this site for all of the info and posts. It has been immensely helpful in getting me to narrow down my choices.

Second: I am having a hard time deciding on what stone may be better. Any advice would be greatly appreciated:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.90-carat-f-color-vs1-clarity-sku-217666

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.90-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-230759

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.80-carat-d-color-vs1-clarity-sku-226633

My ideal stone would be about 0.99, F, VS2, L/W- 1.5, depth 60-65, table 60-65, girdle-medium for under $4,000 (which probably does not exist!). I was having a hard time interpreting the black areas of the stones in the videos and how it translate to quality in person. I think the 0.9/F stone above is good despite only having L/W of 1.4, mainly because the dimensions seem very large for a 0.9 stone. It is going on a ring size of 2.75 so I'm sure it would help to make the stone look pretty large.

There are a few stones that I think look nice on B2C and blue nile but one thing I've learned form this site is to not by fancy cuts without visual inspection!

 

[ecf8503]

I just bought an EC from JA!

Based on those 3 stones alone the only one I'd consider is the second one - the other 2 have so much black!

Have you talked to their CS? They're very nice and could probably help you find a good one.

 

[sjl22]

Thanks for the reply! Glad to hear you had success with JA for an emerald cut.

I did speak with them. I asked if I should be concerned about one stone having more black than another, which I thought may be an issue if everything else about the stone is close, but he said it wouldn't be an issue. He also said all three where nice and the D color would be the best value. This was the online chat I was speaking to, maybe I should call them? Not sure if the online customer service is the same as phone CS.

 

[Christina...]

I think that it's important that you don't limit your search based on certain proportions. I know that there is a list of perceived ideal proportions when it comes to fancy cuts, but IRL they don't always correlate to the best cut stone. I've seen gorgeous emerald cuts with proportions that would have made you eliminate it immediately. the truth is you can't buy a fancy cut based on the numbers alone. Instead I think that you should base your selection on what your eyes find appealing and then either post them here for opinions or ask JA to provide ASET images of them for you. Keep in mind though they limit you to three images, so you may want to post here first.

 

[Gypsy]

I really like that second one. That's potentially a lovely stone. Put that on hold immecdiately and ask for an ASET.

I would pass on the other two completely.

 

[Gypsy]

Your depth requirements are too narrow. You should be looking at performance not numbers. Also you should be looking at spread, not carat weight. Some others to consider.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.80-carat-g-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-217465
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.86-carat-g-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-217586
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.96-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-207034 200 over budget. Ask if PS discount is still available.

 

[ecf8503]

The 0.86 Gypsy linked is beautiful... put a hold on it too!

 

[sjl22]

Thanks for the input everyone! I am going to look into these two some more:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.86-carat-g-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-217586

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.90-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-230759

The 0.96/G/VS1 is nice as well.

FYI- they do still offer discounts for PS members.

 

[ecf8503]

all those at B2C have a lot of blue around the edges. You want lots of red and some green.

Here's how JA's ASET's look (this is my stone)

 

[Lula]

all those at B2C have a lot of blue around the edges. You want lots of red and some green.

Here's how JA's ASET's look (this is my stone)

I believe the ASET setup is different; that's why the colors are different. And the background makes a difference, too, i.e., whether the ASET is shot on a black or a white background.

 

[ecf8503]

all those at B2C have a lot of blue around the edges. You want lots of red and some green.

Here's how JA's ASET's look (this is my stone)

I believe the ASET setup is different; that's why the colors are different. And the background makes a difference, too, i.e., whether the ASET is shot on a black or a white background.

Yeah I know. I still think the b2c's have too much blue. I was posting mine more for reference when the OP gets his ASET's back from JA.

 

[Lula]

all those at B2C have a lot of blue around the edges. You want lots of red and some green.

Here's how JA's ASET's look (this is my stone)

I believe the ASET setup is different; that's why the colors are different. And the background makes a difference, too, i.e., whether the ASET is shot on a black or a white background.

Yeah I know. I still think the b2c's have too much blue. I was posting mine more for reference when the OP gets his ASET's back from JA.

Yes, the wide stripes of blue are what I noticed, too. The amount of white in the ASET is concerning as well -- but I don't know enough about ASET to say whether that's leakage or just an artifact of their ASET set-up.

I had the diamond you chose saved in my JA wish list -- it's a beauty!

 

[sjl22]

Thanks again everyone for the input.

I have ASETs coming on for the ones on hold but the one I am leaning towards cannot get ASET done (something about being in Chicago and not NY), which is this one: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.90-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-230759

However, I came across this one (slightly out of my original budget): http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/0.95-carat-e-color-vs2-clarity-sku-233310

I think I may still go with the .9 stone but I am curious about what everyone thinks about the second option.

 

[ecf8503]

Have them pull that one too - get ASET's on all 3. And don't make any decisions until you see the images and hear the gemologist's opinion. Personally I still like the 0.86 based on the video.

 

[sjl22]

I got back the ASET images. The gemologist felt that the 0.95 stone had the best ASET image but in person the 0.9 stone was the one they recommended. I decided to go with their recommendation. Should get the stone in tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone that commented for your help!