Help! shopping for a K diamond

[McGinnis]

Hello fellow Psers,
I'm currently looking at a few J/K diamonds and found one that a seller has recommended but wanted some other expert opinions as well. It's an SI2 VG cut but great scores on HCA. (i'm confused) While I know a K will never be white, I've seen some Ks on here that faced up nice and white and were beautiful enough for me to want to consider purchasing a K. Can anyone tell me if this one will be just a typical K or one that is white enough or sparkly enough for purchase?
Here are the specs and a photo:

P.S. HCA is 0.8 (xxxvg) but the symmetry is graded a good. Does this somehow nullify the grading?









Thanks so much for all of your help and i'm really excited and anxious to see what all of you have to say

 

[Christina...]

The only way of judge how 'you' will perceive the color of this particular stone is for YOU to see it IRL. Is it possible to have the stone sent to you for personal inspection? Do you have an opportunity to compare this stone to others with GIA or AGS EX or ideal grading to compare performance and color side by side?

As to the cut grading, I'm guessing that it was knocked a grade because of the long LGF's and that light performance may be adversely affected. Again though, a personal or professional opinion is needed as there isn't enough info provided to make a judgement. Does your vendor provide IS images or gemological assessments? What is the return policy?

Edit. I just saw where the symmetry was graded 'good' if I remember correctly the 'good' grading will automatically down grade the cut designation. I would not proceed without a professional evaluation of the stone. I personally would keep looking, I think you can find better.

 

[lknvrb4]

I was looking for a K originally and ended up with a J. I tried numerous online vendors and was plugging everything into the HCA tool and also checking the AGA cut class tool. I found it all overwhelming and then I remembered ID Jewelry. I emailed Luann and told her what I was looking for and you can see in my avatar that she found me a stunner. I would consider fluorescence as well. Good luck!

 

[McGinnis]

I was looking for a K originally and ended up with a J. I tried numerous online vendors and was plugging everything into the HCA tool and also checking the AGA cut class tool. I found it all overwhelming and then I remembered ID Jewelry. I emailed Luann and told her what I was looking for and you can see in my avatar that she found me a stunner. I would consider fluorescence as well. Good luck!

Thank you so much! I just emailed them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed

 

[dumbo]

I was looking for a K for a long time: a really well cut one will face up white, you may not even notice the color compared to an I most of the time. With that said, I had a heck of a time finding a really well cut, low HCA score K, aside from the Super Ideal vendors. But what they are asking ($16,000 at BG for a 2.02ct K), you can get into an ideal cut J or even I that is eye clean, AGS ideal, 2ct or larger. I personally went that route, just went with a recommended vendor here, he found me an eye clean AGS ideal diamond that is indistinguishable (to my eyes) to several Hearts on Fire I looked at, I color, for what I would have spent on the K mentioned above. Not to mention it is .4mm larger! I do think a K has merit, but next to an I, there is no question I would take the I color.

The vendor I worked with also recommended to pass on K. Said it might work, might not, but color to him was 2nd priority, behind cut. He ended up selling me an eye clean Si2, giving me great value in the process. There is a lot of info on here, some personal opinion, some professional opinion, some experience based, but I do think that a "trusted" vendor will point you in the best direction. Several people here warned me against an Si2, yet when I actually got the stone, it was eye clean and every bit as brilliant as a J/Vs1 hearts on fire I looked at today. Had I taken some of the opinions here, I would have passed on an exceptional diamond and paid for clarity I didn't need. Not that those opinions were wrong, I am sure they were rooted in experience, but without seeing the diamonds first hand, it will be impossible to know what your needs are.

 

[McGinnis]

I was looking for a K for a long time: a really well cut one will face up white, you may not even notice the color compared to an I most of the time. With that said, I had a heck of a time finding a really well cut, low HCA score K, aside from the Super Ideal vendors. But what they are asking ($16,000 at BG for a 2.02ct K), you can get into an ideal cut J or even I that is eye clean, AGS ideal, 2ct or larger. I personally went that route, just went with a recommended vendor here, he found me an eye clean AGS ideal diamond that is indistinguishable (to my eyes) to several Hearts on Fire I looked at, I color, for what I would have spent on the K mentioned above. Not to mention it is .4mm larger! I do think a K has merit, but next to an I, there is no question I would take the I color.

The vendor I worked with also recommended to pass on K. Said it might work, might not, but color to him was 2nd priority, behind cut. He ended up selling me an eye clean Si2, giving me great value in the process. There is a lot of info on here, some personal opinion, some professional opinion, some experience based, but I do think that a "trusted" vendor will point you in the best direction. Several people here warned me against an Si2, yet when I actually got the stone, it was eye clean and every bit as brilliant as a J/Vs1 hearts on fire I looked at today. Had I taken some of the opinions here, I would have passed on an exceptional diamond and paid for clarity I didn't need. Not that those opinions were wrong, I am sure they were rooted in experience, but without seeing the diamonds first hand, it will be impossible to know what your needs are.

Thanks Dumbo! I really appreciate your info. This gives me hope and reassurance that a good si2 will be just as beautiful. So far i've found a Si2 J that I really like but of course, there's a catch; a slight tinger of brown.
I can't wait for the day of the reveal of that perfect "now" stone.

 

[dumbo]

Watch the GOG video on brown vs grey vs yellow tint. You may find the brown tint to be a way to extract a bit more value

 

[msop04]

I was looking for a K for a long time: a really well cut one will face up white, you may not even notice the color compared to an I most of the time. With that said, I had a heck of a time finding a really well cut, low HCA score K, aside from the Super Ideal vendors. But what they are asking ($16,000 at BG for a 2.02ct K), you can get into an ideal cut J or even I that is eye clean, AGS ideal, 2ct or larger. I personally went that route, just went with a recommended vendor here, he found me an eye clean AGS ideal diamond that is indistinguishable (to my eyes) to several Hearts on Fire I looked at, I color, for what I would have spent on the K mentioned above. Not to mention it is .4mm larger! I do think a K has merit, but next to an I, there is no question I would take the I color.

The vendor I worked with also recommended to pass on K. Said it might work, might not, but color to him was 2nd priority, behind cut. He ended up selling me an eye clean Si2, giving me great value in the process. There is a lot of info on here, some personal opinion, some professional opinion, some experience based, but I do think that a "trusted" vendor will point you in the best direction. Several people here warned me against an Si2, yet when I actually got the stone, it was eye clean and every bit as brilliant as a J/Vs1 hearts on fire I looked at today. Had I taken some of the opinions here, I would have passed on an exceptional diamond and paid for clarity I didn't need. Not that those opinions were wrong, I am sure they were rooted in experience, but without seeing the diamonds first hand, it will be impossible to know what your needs are.

This is very good advice.

Regarding clarity... I had originally picked out a 2.01 ct I/SI2 stone, but it was completely eye-clean (and a great value), and I feel it would've been foolish to pay more for another stone with higher clarity -- that would be eye clean, just like the SI2. But that is my opinion on clarity.

Regarding color... I now have a 2.43 ct J/SI1, and I love it. It is set in a halo just below the girdle, so body tint is all but hidden. If I could change one thing about my stone's clarity, it would be that it was another eye-clean SI2, and I could've spent less (or gone up a little more in size)!

 

[Ashley-Sarah]

Hi, I just received my 1.5 K si1 (a cut above) from Whiteflash at first glance it is very white. After you stare at it for a while you can see the tint. Its still white enough for me. When I upgrade in a few years I may still choose a K
Good luck with your ring.

 

[McGinnis]

Thanks Ashley-Sarah. Seems like i'm getting pretty close to the finish line. I might be going for that J I found with the slight brown. The vendor has a 30 day return policy so in an event that it's ugly, i'll totally be buying a K. Btw, I'd love to see pics of your new stone!

 

[McGinnis]

msop04 your stone is not eye clean? I can't even tell!! and it's a stunner. Oh i'm so hopeful now that I fear something will come up to knock me off my high.
Is there a link to your stone upgrade journey?

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Many good observations in this thread, and I would like to add some general observations.

While I find GIA-grading to be very trustworthy in general, I tend to get wary when they grade the color K. I tend to see a lot of variation in this grade, ranging from some harsh under-grades, being in essence J, up to stones clearly in the N-O-range still getting the K-grade.

This lack of consistency has a serious effect on how K is perceived at the consumer-level. One person may have seen a correctly graded K and found it not that tinted, while another person may be considering a true O-color (with grade K) and find it very yellow. On top of that, each person has his own level of color-perception, and general advice becomes very difficult.

My belief is that superior cutting will greatly reduce the tint-perception in a correctly graded K. Whether a consumer personally finds this attractive is highly personal.

On another topic, a brownish tint can be compared to fluorescence. It may not have any negative visual attributes to the consumer, the trade does devalue it.

Live long,