Help! Table % of 74, a bad purchase?

[Cocopuffs]

I am new to jewellery and recently fell in a light yellow diamond piece. However I came to realise that this modified square brilliant rock, at 4.08 carat, has a table of 74% and depth of 61.9%, with faint fluorescence. Does this mean this is a poorly cut rock and with poor light performance?

I should have noticed this before placing the deposit. Would appreciate your thoughts on the rock or advice on if I should proceed with the purchase! thank you!

 

[ringo865]

Fancy cuts are harder to judge by the numbers than rounds. Do you have magnified images, video or - better yet, idealscope or ASET images?

 

[Cocopuffs]

Unfortunately I do not have anything more than the GIA report and as the stone has been set, no ASET images whatsoever...

 

[TreeScientist]

Yep, this seems like a Princess cut, which is really difficult to judge based off of numbers alone. Are you sure you don't have the table and depth reversed though? Princess cuts usually have depths in the 70s, so that would be a very shallow Princess cut.

 

[JulieN]

Color is the main thing to think about, and applying light performance standards like table proportion percentage to a colored diamond is completely different than applying it to colorless stones.

 

[flyingpig]

The table is too large and the stone is too shallow for a modified square brilliant. You need to see the stone, but it does not look too promising

 

[Cocopuffs]

Yep, this seems like a Princess cut, which is really difficult to judge based off of numbers alone. Are you sure you don't have the table and depth reversed though? Princess cuts usually have depths in the 70s, so that would be a very shallow Princess cut.

Yes it is indeed 74% for table and 61.9% for the depth.. set in an elevated setting covered by smaller stones so it did not occur to me that it was shallow.. until... the excitement wore off and I have a good think about it.

 

[Cocopuffs]

The table is too large and the stone is too shallow for a modified square brilliant. You need to see the stone, but it does not look too promising

For now.. all I have is this picture taken while in the brick and mortar store under the spotlight .. I doubt it is clear enough for a meaningful assessment..

 

[flyingpig]

Sorry. I did not read the OP carefully and missed it is a 4 carat and fancy yellow diamond. You cannot assess this diamond by light performance or light reflection. You do not necessarily want good light performance. It looks more like a crushed ice radiant. I hope experts (@Rockdiamond ) give you an advice.

 

[flyingpig]

I do not dislike the appearance of this stone.

 

[Karl_K]

I can not comment on that specific diamond.
Colored diamond cutters have a more than a few combos that that are totally weird by colorless standards but they work.
A princess cut pavilion actually works pretty well with no crown so 74% is not what I would call outside the realm of possibly being a good colored diamond.
The goal is even color across the stones and a lively look when moving.
I have ran across stones with similar numbers that were beautiful colored diamonds.

 

[Cocopuffs]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts

@flyingpig I take your not disliking it as a mini vote of confidence

@Karl_K good to have your expert weigh in! on the GIA it says even color, though w a faint fluorescence. At >$40k, is this F L Y vvs1 of poor value?

This was selected as my ER for the end of the year.. it was somewhat an uninformed decision at this point given I know practically nothing about coloured diamonds. Hence the doubts I now have and wondering if I need to reconsider / pick something else, since the price tag is significant to me and ideally the stone is not substandard.

So thankful I could ask you all for advice on something that will hopefully stay close to me for the next 50 years....

 

[Rockdiamond]

Four carat- cool!!
I’m not in the camp that feels at all comfortable making any comment at all based on the info we have.
Faint fluorescence is generally not an issue- but it can be.
Princess is generally not the best shape for a FLY- meaning it needs to be extra we’ll done to look great.
On a purchase of this import anyone would need much more in the way of pics/videos to even begin to offer any advice.
In terms of price- I’d say shoping around will give you a better idea.

 

[Cocopuffs]

Thanks @Rockdiamond ! GIA paper called it a ‘CUT-CORNERED SQUARE MODIFIED BRILLIANT’ .. what a mouthful! The sales associate will let me take a better look outdoors under the sun.. yet to take up this offer because I don’t yet know what to look out for! Will request for better photos / videos..

Would it be necessary to request for them to remove the stone from the rather complex setting to scrutinise it further, under my untrained eyes? I visited jewellers in the likes of Harry Winston, Cartier.. and they do not at all entertain that.

 

[rockysalamander]

CUT-CORNERED SQUARE MODIFIED BRILLIANT

This means it is a radiant cut.

Would it be necessary to request for them to remove the stone from the rather complex setting to scrutinize it further, under my untrained eyes?

No. Not at all. You want to look at the stone under indirect natural light. From arm's length, 10" and 6" (with your head directly above the stone) -- see if the facets turn on and off as you slowly rotate it, is the color even, does the center look dark when your head gets close? Are the diamonds in the remainder of the setting equally nice?

If the main stone is GIA graded...that is good. Make sure you have them read you the number off the girdle to match the certificate (you hold the cert and cross-check the number while they show it on a magnifier).

My concern is really that the price along with the intricate setting is out of line with what I'd expect (though its hard to look at comps without the GIA cert and full grading to review). It seems too low and I'm always concerned about too low pricing when you are buying retail. I would want the entire setting and diamond reviewed by a qualified appraiser of your choosing familiar with colored diamonds to be sure you are really getting what you think you are getting. They can look at the stones and quality of the setting to give you an opinion.

https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers

For example.
https://www.leibish.com/yellow-diamonds/fancy-yellow-radiant-23193

 

[Rockdiamond]

Would it be necessary to request for them to remove the stone from the rather complex setting to scrutinise it further, under my untrained eyes?

This, as well as your original question, have a lot to do with the seller of the diamond. In many cases it’s the seller who can make the purchase a good, or bad one. Having not seen the setting, it’s impossible to see if the setting is obscuring parts of the diamond that might be critical to look at- or, make it impossible to clean. The setting for a diamond like this is crucial.
Just because a diamond is in a setting doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy it, but it does raise a lot of questions.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Also: we don’t know what clarity the diamond is, unless you’ve already mentioned it and I missed it.
Can you post the GIA report number? This way people can look at it and see if there’s any hidden surprises there.

 

[Crazie4Cuts]

The advice I would provide is that you should be very confident of the purchase you are making. Spending such a significant sum, you do want to take your time and clearly evaluate what you want in your engagement ring. A 4 ct diamond is exciting to receive and one can get caught up in viewing such a stone and one that is available now! But take a step back receive more education, see more 3.5-4 ct stones in all shapes, cushions, rounds,and see what YOU want. I think you have time and do not need to rush. You can check out the PS recommended vendors and ask them to call in diamonds of your preferred color and view them even in your home! Not under retailing lighting. Such a important decision takes time and I would rather you receive your deposit back. I believe you need to feel highly confident that the diamond you selected and purchase is the one for you and your forever stone.

 

[Cocopuffs]

Report number 2183083188

@rockysalamander thanks for the tips on how to view it under sunlight! Did you mean this FLY is on the lower end of the price range? I was looking at JA and they had a couple at lower price but also relatively lower clarity.. it was only then I realised all other FLY had table % in the 60+ and I started wondering if 74% table is inferior.

@Rockdiamond I forgot to meantion it’s VVS1.. Good point on cleaning and maintenance... ideally I wouldn’t want to babysit the ring and I can be clumsy..

@Crazie4Cuts yes I guess as a beginner I got distracted by the size of the stone and only started thinking rationally after the excitement died down and deposit placed. I never knew I could ask to view the stones at home, thanks for sharing! It appears to me that round brilliant assessment would be easier to grasp, with the ideal ranges for angles and proportions. However coloured diamond is a complete black box with the different cut, color intensity, and proportion and I doubt I will ever feel confident

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Spending THAT much money I would shop around for loose stone ONLY that could be fully evaluated and then choose my own setting. Most popular and well known vendors here for colored diamonds are diamonds by lauren and leibish. I would absoultely halt the purchase of this ring and get back any money that may have been left.

 

[Cocopuffs]

Also: we don’t know what clarity the diamond is, unless you’ve already mentioned it and I missed it.
Can you post the GIA report number? This way people can look at it and see if there’s any hidden surprises there.

In the report number 2183083188 , there is quite a fair bit of feathers. I thought vvs1 would have looked cleaner. Any hidden surprises in your view?

So much to learn from this community!

 

[Rockdiamond]

In the report number 2183083188 , there is quite a fair bit of feathers. I thought vvs1 would have looked cleaner. Any hidden surprises in your view?

So much to learn from this community!

This is just one of the reasons that choosing the seller is so important.
It's safe to assume that the feathers within a VVS1 won't be visible to the naked eye- but there's so many other aspects which are not on the GIA report that can have a HUGE impact on value and desirability.