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HELP! Trying to decide between two radiants

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sammyl

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 6, 2012
Messages
10
I've been looking for a while and have narrowed my search down to these two radiants. because I'm buying from BlueNile I won't be able to see the diamond before pulling the trigger. Can anyone offer an opinion based purely on the GIA reports? Does one look like it might be a better cut? Do the types of inclusions in one (e.g., the feathers in the 2.01 carat) make it less desirable? Thanks!

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?pt=setform#diamonds_pid=LD02708526

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?pt=setform#diamonds_pid=LD02521304
 
The reason I'm looking at BlueNile is because I want something VS2 or higher with a color of F or higher, around 2 carats, in the 25K range, and I haven't found much on James Allen with those specs. The diamonds I listed from BlueNile are both VS1 and both look to have good table/depth. How likely is it that they don't look good in person? They should be eye clean based on their VS1 clarity, shouldn't they? Also, isn't it kind of hard to tell how good the cut is even if you have a picture of it? The picture helps but don't you need to see the stone in various lighting conditions to truly assess how brilliant it is? Finally, some of the diamonds suggested above have thick or very thick girdles. Won't that affect how large the stone looks?

All that said, any thoughts on these two from James Allen?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1378238.asp (Can't tell if this one is eye clean. There's a small black dot in the center and I can't tell if it's the inclusion listed on the GIA report or just the lighting conditions)

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1325999.asp
 
I think that I would contact DiamondsbyLauren. David has a really good eye for radiants and I think that he could be really helpful in this situation. When you are trying to purchase sight unseen, having the ability to talk with an expert that has a special fondness for the cut can be very helpful.

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/

edit: I just had another thought, ID Jewelry can call in any of BNs stones and assess them in person for you as well as do ASET images. I'm not an expert but I've read that ASETs are not always helpful when it comes to assessing a radiant cut though. So again, I'd strongly recommend having an expert evaluate the stone for you. IDJ also will beat any competitors price.
 
The beauty of a diamond is NOT because of an high color or high clarity ...the beauty of a diamond is primarily related to the quality of the CUT....CUT IS KING ...and that principle cannot be stressed enough. Buying a diamond unseen is a crap shoot and when you are spending thousands of $$'s makes no logical sense whatsoever.

I suggest you watch the educational videos on GoodOldGold.com FIRST and then have them help you find a diamond based on performance. They will call in radiant cuts (even the ones listed on BN) and do videos and you can pick the one you like best based on the performance of the stone.

A J color will face up very white if it has a good cut...even whiter and better than a higher color that is not cut as well. I suggest you take a look at this Lucere diamond on GOG and you just might save yourself some $$ and have a wonderful stone.

Setting parameters based on color and clarity shows that your knowledge of diamonds is lacking....which is common in newbies. The better educated you are the better choice you will make and probably save yourself some money in the process.

Here is an example of a well cut radiant although it is a lower color and clarity than you were looking for. But this one could out perform the 2 that you posted. Your budget is very large and buying a diamond without even seeing the facet pattern or how it performs is not a good idea....good luck!

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/7899/
 
sammyl|1344357966|3247391 said:
The reason I'm looking at BlueNile is because I want something VS2 or higher with a color of F or higher, around 2 carats, in the 25K range, and I haven't found much on James Allen with those specs. The diamonds I listed from BlueNile are both VS1 and both look to have good table/depth. How likely is it that they don't look good in person? They should be eye clean based on their VS1 clarity, shouldn't they? Also, isn't it kind of hard to tell how good the cut is even if you have a picture of it? The picture helps but don't you need to see the stone in various lighting conditions to truly assess how brilliant it is? Finally, some of the diamonds suggested above have thick or very thick girdles. Won't that affect how large the stone looks?

All that said, any thoughts on these two from James Allen?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1378238.asp (Can't tell if this one is eye clean. There's a small black dot in the center and I can't tell if it's the inclusion listed on the GIA report or just the lighting conditions)

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1325999.asp
Click to expand...

These two stones are "mushy" under the tables...keep looking.
 
From these you can see some of the different facet patterns in a radiant cut. The first 3 are cut like “princess of hearts”
that you find on GOG. Why don’t you consider an H or I color... still in the COLORLESS range. The last one is 3c and
the facet pattern is like that of a princess cut diamond. Interesting.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1441791.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1487029.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1487043.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1501525.asp
 
Thanks for the comments. Very helpful. What do you mean when you say they are "mushy"?
 
She means that they don't look crisp or have much contrast....I think? :lol: I think that Ariel made some nice suggestions, but I think whats really important here is what type of faceting YOU find attractive. Some people don't like the HA appearance of the stones she suggested, it's very important to some. Some like big bold flashes of light, others like a ton of smaller pinpoint flashes. Radiant and cushions are hard because their is no cut and dry standard of cut like there is with a round brilliant. What would be most helpful to us is if you showed us a few examples of stones with the facet patterning that is appealing to YOU, we can then help make recommendations based on YOUR preferences. It might be worth mentioning though, the strong HA patterning that you see in Ariels recommendations are not that obvious IRL and are actually difficult to see without the proper lighting environment, so you may want to keep that in mind while deciding on what type of patterning you prefer. =)
 
sammyl|1344357966|3247391 said:
The reason I'm looking at BlueNile is because I want something VS2 or higher with a color of F or higher, around 2 carats, in the 25K range, and I haven't found much on James Allen with those specs. The diamonds I listed from BlueNile are both VS1 and both look to have good table/depth. How likely is it that they don't look good in person? They should be eye clean based on their VS1 clarity, shouldn't they? Also, isn't it kind of hard to tell how good the cut is even if you have a picture of it? The picture helps but don't you need to see the stone in various lighting conditions to truly assess how brilliant it is? Finally, some of the diamonds suggested above have thick or very thick girdles. Won't that affect how large the stone looks?

All that said, any thoughts on these two from James Allen?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1378238.asp (Can't tell if this one is eye clean. There's a small black dot in the center and I can't tell if it's the inclusion listed on the GIA report or just the lighting conditions)

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1325999.asp
Click to expand...

Good questions! Having a photos isn't necessarily going to tell you much about the cut of the stone, it will however tell you a lot about the patterning of the stone, and that's important. If you have your heart set on a POH type patterning but receive a crushed ice type, then you are probably going to be disappointed. Your right, purchasing a stone VS2 or higher will likely result in an eye clean stone, however VS2 isn't a guarantee of eye cleanliness, we have seen visible inclusions in VS2 stones, it is unusual though. You do definitely need to have the opportunity to evaluate the diamond in many different lighting environments. If you aren't able to do this for yourself though, it's nice to be working with a vendor that has a GG with the ability to view the diamond and assess it for you. BN can't do this for you because they don't have access to the stones. But your correct, in the end it will be YOUR eyes that determine the beauty of the stone not the GGs, but it's a good jumping off point. Hope that helped a bit. =)
 
Check out some of the videos made by Jon at Good Old Gold:
http://www.youtube.com/user/DiamondInfoMan

These videos were SO helpful for my fiance and I when we were looking at what kind of diamond cuts we liked. We actually went into the process thinking we would get a radiant cut and ended up with a vintage-style cushion cut. (....and we watched so many of them that we can hum along with the theme song) :lol:

Jon has a lot of videos on different facet patterns in radiants and it's really helpful to be able to see the diamonds move in a video.
 
Thanks, Christina. I'm actually looking for a Radiant with the "crushed ice" look. I don't believe most of the stones recommended above fall into that category. If anyone has any recommendations I'd appreciate your feedback. Thanks again.
 
sammyl|1344372951|3247530 said:
Thanks, Christina. I'm actually looking for a Radiant with the "crushed ice" look. I don't believe most of the stones recommended above fall into that category. If anyone has any recommendations I'd appreciate your feedback. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

diamondsbylauren.com (DBL) has a lot with this look. HAve a browse on his site- gorgeous stuff there!!! :lickout:
 
sammyl|1344372951|3247530 said:
Thanks, Christina. I'm actually looking for a Radiant with the "crushed ice" look. I don't believe most of the stones recommended above fall into that category. If anyone has any recommendations I'd appreciate your feedback. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I wish I was more knowledgeable when it came to radiant cuts. :nono: I'll take a look around for you and see what I can find that might be worth getting more information. I looked at DBL and didn't see much for colorless radiants buts that doesn't mean that he doesn't have any and I know that he has access to many of them. I really think that giving Dave and call and letting him know what your looking for will be your best bet. Their prices are quite competitive too. It's certainly worth an email. I'll take a look around for you though. :))
 
I know that you were hoping to stay in the colorless range, but this should face up very white, it has med fluor. and that will help boost the color in some light environments as well, of course you would have to confirm that the fluor. isn't impacting the stone in any negative way. Also the girdle is a bit thicker than you ideally want, but GIA grade girdle width based on the thickest and thinnest points so a very small portion may actually be considered vtk, you would need to ask the GG assessing the stone.


http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1513408.asp

I hate to see you pay a premium for the clarity grades on these, but there is also this one...
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-IF-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1359676.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1186109.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1490562.asp

I think that this is the best match for you so far. =)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1512220.asp

Let me know what you think and we can make adjustments as we go.
 
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