help with cuts for ~1ctw diamond studs

[luckykit]

Hey PS! This is my first post, but I've been reading this site like crazy trying to pick out a pair of ~1ctw platinum martini set studs as a birthday present from my husband. I can't believe how much I've learned about diamonds... thanks to all of you for being such a great resource!

Anyway, now that I have enough information to be dangerous, I'm driving myself CRAZY trying to pick the perfect pair of studs. I've been searching matched pairs on Blue Nile, James Allen, BGD, and Whiteflash (I know the latter two are the big deal here). But I'm not sure what is good enough, especially at this smallish size. I'm looking at building my own (instead of presets) bc of the upgradability, even though I really hope these are my forever pair...

I've been looking at G/H range, SI1-VS1, with excellent cut, but I'm confused by which cut is BEST, and frankly whether it even matters at this size as long as it's excellent. Are WF ACA's that much better than Blue Nile Signature Ideal (BN now has the 360 view on these, so it's not buying as blindly as it used to be) or James Allen True Hearts? And why are almost all the James Allen "Ideal" not great on the HCA?! To get you to buy the True Hearts cut? And more confusingly, I originally looked at a pair of Blue Nile "very good" which scored 1.1's on the HCA... shouldn't scores like that be only for ideal cuts?

I just want diamonds that have a lot of sparkle - I admit I love the hunt but I'm getting exhausted! (My bday was two weeks ago!) Any help you can provide would be great.

 

[ac117]

Hello and welcome! What is your budget for the studs?

 

[luckykit]

Thank you ac117! You're right, budget is probably very important information - whoops! I'd like to stay around $3500. thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

 

[bmfang]

Hi there and welcome from one from one newbie to another!

I've been looking at loose stones (for the next anniversary present for my wife) to be set in earrings so I can totally sympathise with you on the hunt being exhausting!

USD$3500 might be a bit of a stretch if you are looking at getting super-ideals from BGD or WF. Seems like BGD's inventory has gotten absolutely whacked over the holiday shopping season (most of the matched pair listings I'm seeing there are for Advance Selection stones!). Similarly, I'm not seeing very many pairs of G-H SI1-VS1 stones at Whiteflash from my searches that are within your budget.

If you are wanting super-ideal cut stones, it might be best to lower your ctw so that you can get them within your budget (which is what I will have to do). Otherwise, if the 1ctw is a must, you'll probably have to drop back to a standard AGS Ideal/GIA XXX to fit within your budget.

At the size you are looking for (~0.5ct/stone), for me, light performance is the key (hell, that's my main criteria these days so that would apply for any size stone, including the sizes that I'm looking at for my wife [0.35-0.40ct/stone]), so if there are any matched pairs at JA that stand out at you, I'd be asking them for idealscope and ASET images of each stone. Colour may not be as important a factor as it would be for a ring given that you'd view these at a distance rather than up close.

 

[luckykit]

Hi there and welcome from one from one newbie to another!

I've been looking at loose stones (for the next anniversary present for my wife) to be set in earrings so I can totally sympathise with you on the hunt being exhausting!

USD$3500 might be a bit of a stretch if you are looking at getting super-ideals from BGD or WF. Seems like BGD's inventory has gotten absolutely whacked over the holiday shopping season (most of the matched pair listings I'm seeing there are for Advance Selection stones!). Similarly, I'm not seeing very many pairs of G-H SI1-VS1 stones at Whiteflash from my searches that are within your budget.

If you are wanting super-ideal cut stones, it might be best to lower your ctw so that you can get them within your budget (which is what I will have to do). Otherwise, if the 1ctw is a must, you'll probably have to drop back to a standard AGS Ideal/GIA XXX to fit within your budget.

At the size you are looking for (~0.5ct/stone), for me, light performance is the key (hell, that's my main criteria these days so that would apply for any size stone, including the sizes that I'm looking at for my wife [0.35-0.40ct/stone]), so if there are any matched pairs at JA that stand out at you, I'd be asking them for idealscope and ASET images of each stone. Colour may not be as important a factor as it would be for a ring given that you'd view these at a distance rather than up close.

hi bmfang! glad you can sympathize. diamond studs are a wonderful anniversary present!

so, that's part of my question - is it WORTH trying to get a super-ideal cut stone for a 0.5 carat each earring? or is excellent/ideal good enough at that size? i just don't know...

i hadn't thought about sites being cleaned out because of the holidays. that would explain a lot.

 

[Queenie60]

Hello OP - I feel that it's absolutely necessary to get ideal/excellent cut stones for your studs. I have GIA XXX, hand picked by Yekutiel at ID Jewelry and they're beautiful. They sparkle, even after all of the muck gets on them - hairspray, cologne, skin oils, just to name a few. Then, when I clean them they sparkle like mad. I highly recommend that you choose well cut stones - maybe go to a higher color? Keep shopping it until you find a nice pair. Good luck to you.

 

[bmfang]

Hi there and welcome from one from one newbie to another!

I've been looking at loose stones (for the next anniversary present for my wife) to be set in earrings so I can totally sympathise with you on the hunt being exhausting!

USD$3500 might be a bit of a stretch if you are looking at getting super-ideals from BGD or WF. Seems like BGD's inventory has gotten absolutely whacked over the holiday shopping season (most of the matched pair listings I'm seeing there are for Advance Selection stones!). Similarly, I'm not seeing very many pairs of G-H SI1-VS1 stones at Whiteflash from my searches that are within your budget.

If you are wanting super-ideal cut stones, it might be best to lower your ctw so that you can get them within your budget (which is what I will have to do). Otherwise, if the 1ctw is a must, you'll probably have to drop back to a standard AGS Ideal/GIA XXX to fit within your budget.

At the size you are looking for (~0.5ct/stone), for me, light performance is the key (hell, that's my main criteria these days so that would apply for any size stone, including the sizes that I'm looking at for my wife [0.35-0.40ct/stone]), so if there are any matched pairs at JA that stand out at you, I'd be asking them for idealscope and ASET images of each stone. Colour may not be as important a factor as it would be for a ring given that you'd view these at a distance rather than up close.

hi bmfang! glad you can sympathize. diamond studs are a wonderful anniversary present!

so, that's part of my question - is it WORTH trying to get a super-ideal cut stone for a 0.5 carat each earring? or is excellent/ideal good enough at that size? i just don't know...

i hadn't thought about sites being cleaned out because of the holidays. that would explain a lot.

Cut quality is king in my books, even for RBC diamond studs. It's what determines light performance in my books (ie how sparkly and brilliant they are). I personally would sacrifice colour and (maybe) clarity to allow a higher ctw with a super-ideal cut for studs. You aren't going to be looking at them up close (unless you have them off and are looking at them with a loupe) compared with a ring which you'll be staring into for many years to come Hence, I'd even look at stones in the I-J range too. You may also want to consider buying just shy of the 0.5ct/stone mark (but with inventory being this whacked at this time of the year, that might pose a problem).

I took the liberty of looking through JA's matched pairs inventory this morning on my commute in to work. Worked off an assumed budget of up to USD$500 for the platinum martini setting and USD$3k for the two stones. Nothing that I saw in the regular AGS000/GIAXXX "Ideal" range in JA's inventory matched up with a minimum level of optical symmetry I looked for.

https://www.jamesallen.com//matching-pairs/round-cut/?CaratFrom=0.9&CaratTo=1.10&Color=G,H,I&Clarity=SI1,VS2,VS1&Cut=TrueHearts&PriceFrom=2000&PriceTo=9999000&ViewsOptions=Images&ps=50

There were however, two pairs in their "True Hearts" range that fit the estimated budget I was working off:

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.45-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-pair-2139354,1910379
Of these two, the F/SI1 looks a little dirty magnified whereas the G/VS2 looks good. Proportions based off the HCA look to be right on the outer edge of the AGS000 range, but they look good and at 5mm in size, they might be eye clean (the 0.45 G/VS2 more likely, the 0.45 F/SI1 might be something you need to get JA's gemologists to take a look at for you).

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.55-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-pair-2253732,2351341
These two have better proportions to me (their HCA scores bear that out). Only issue is that one half of the pair is a 0.55ct G/SI2 stone which has an inclusion that appears to extend right to the girdle crown side up (wondering whether that may cause durability issues in the future once it's set). It does look clean under the table however but I think there's a crystal that's being reflected off one of the pavilion facets that gives an impression that there is something under the table. The H/SI1 looks a little worse under the table with that black cloud(?). Again, these two stones might be another pair that you might want JA's gemologist's to look at in person for you to check for eye-cleanness or otherwise.

Haven't had a chance to take a look at BN's inventory (or to do a search of the PS database) yet.

 

[luckykit]

Hello OP - I feel that it's absolutely necessary to get ideal/excellent cut stones for your studs. I have GIA XXX, hand picked by Yekutiel at ID Jewelry and they're beautiful. They sparkle, even after all of the muck gets on them - hairspray, cologne, skin oils, just to name a few. Then, when I clean them they sparkle like mad. I highly recommend that you choose well cut stones - maybe go to a higher color? Keep shopping it until you find a nice pair. Good luck to you.

Thank you Queenie60! I also contacted ID Jewelry but I felt sort of pressured/rushed to make a decision on some diamonds (not working with Yekutiel); they immediately asked me to put a downpayment down without any photos or the certs. I asked for both of those and got the certs, and they're 60% tables, which seems enormous to me, though they did score okay on the HCA. I think my preference is for a smaller table. Not sure if that's how things typically go - I have never worked with a jeweler before. I know they get great reviews here. I am actually in NYC, so perhaps it would be better to go in. Is it crazy cynical of me to be suspicious that their prices are so much better than big online stores that deal in bulk?!

 

[luckykit]

so, it seems I need to up the budget, which I can do - i'm thinking maybe I should prioritize cut and just get the best carat size/reasonable color and clarity for that.

I think I will work off of $4K as an upper limit now. And just make sure the husband stays away from the cc bill.

given that, would it be best to go with a WF ACA, a blue nile signature ideal, or a james allen true hearts, say if they all scored the same on the HCA and had great specs? i find all these different lines so confusing (AND EVEN MORE CONFUSING, sometimes the "top of the line" diamonds score poorly on the HCA. )
(I think I'm ruling out BGD since it seems so much more expensive than the other three.)

 

[bmfang]

so, it seems I need to up the budget, which I can do - i'm thinking maybe I should prioritize cut and just get the best carat size/reasonable color and clarity for that.

I think I will work off of $4K as an upper limit now. And just make sure the husband stays away from the cc bill.

given that, would it be best to go with a WF ACA, a blue nile signature ideal, or a james allen true hearts, say if they all scored the same on the HCA and had great specs? i find all these different lines so confusing (AND EVEN MORE CONFUSING, sometimes the "top of the line" diamonds score poorly on the HCA. )
(I think I'm ruling out BGD since it seems so much more expensive than the other three.)

to your husband staying away from the CC bill!

You'll have to rule out BGD based on your budget. I would rate BGD on par with Whiteflash. And only then would I look at JA before looking at BN.

The WF inventory list is coming up with some rather nice options for $$$s/ctw relative to the JA and BN inventory lists on some searching I've done. So if I were in your position, take a look at WF first. WF proportions also fall under the HCA score of 2 almost all the time (based on my own interrogations of the HCA tool with WF diamond proportions over the last year or so). JA and BN have been a bit hit and miss whenever I've used the HCA as a filtering tool. Platinum 3-prong martinis are around 325 at WF so you have another 175 to play with for the stones (you'd have more budget to play with if you pay by wire).

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/diamond-pairs-details.aspx?Diamond1=3198019&Diamond2=3222820
ASET images look relatively good on these two, though there is a little light leakage on one of the stones under the table. Which is probable why these two stones are part of the WF Expert Selection range.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/diamond-pairs-details.aspx?Diamond1=3710267&Diamond2=3767819
ASET images on both of these ACAs look very good.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/diamond-pairs-details.aspx?Diamond1=3711804&Diamond2=3717119

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/diamond-pairs-details.aspx?Diamond1=3717119&Diamond2=3767819

 

[luckykit]

thanks again bmfang. i am really leaning towards whiteflash since i love all the data.

questions for you, or anyone else:

the first pair was a 0.542 and a 0.521 - i know that's not a huge difference, but wouldn't that show?
one of the other pairs was a 0.538 and a 0.527 - same question...

i actually had been eyeing the last pair and now they are sold... but i guess at least i know i'm on the right track with my analysis of ASET images and crown and pavilion angles...

 

[jamesallenrings]

Hi luckykit,

Shelly here from James Allen - thanks so much for considering us for such a special purchase!

Definitely understand your questions and I'd love to try and answer them for you.

For earrings, you have a lot more wiggle room. I color or higher is generally a safe bet, though if you are color sensitive, you may prefer H or higher for the extra peace of mind. Clarity of SI1 even SI2 is generally acceptable for earrings, I would just avoid any dark colored "offensive" inclusions.

Cut, as always, is key for maximum sparkle. While a pair of True Hearts cuts is never a bad idea, there are plenty of excellent/ideal cuts that will perform just as well.

Hope that helps and happy hunting!

 

[bmfang]

thanks again bmfang. i am really leaning towards whiteflash since i love all the data.

questions for you, or anyone else:

the first pair was a 0.542 and a 0.521 - i know that's not a huge difference, but wouldn't that show?
one of the other pairs was a 0.538 and a 0.527 - same question...

i actually had been eyeing the last pair and now they are sold... but i guess at least i know i'm on the right track with my analysis of ASET images and crown and pavilion angles...

Hi luckykit, on my way into work again this morning when I noticed your reply.

Looking at the dimensions of those stones (the first pair of 0.542 H/VS2 and 0.521 G/VS2), I would have a very hard time seeing a difference in diameter of between 0.09-0.11mm between both stones when viewed from a distance. Heck, even up close I'd find it difficult to see the difference without a measuring apparatus handy. That's just me though.

I just revisited my search of the WF inventory list and the matched pair of the 0.538 H/VS2 & 0.538 H/SI1 ACA stones appears to still be available (is still showing up in my list with an "Add This Diamond Pair" button on the listing). So that might be good news for you

If you wanted maximum ctw for your budget, there is also this 0.542 H/VS2 Expert Selection and 0.553 G/SI1 Expert Selection matched pair.
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/diamond-pairs-details.aspx?Diamond1=3198019&Diamond2=3728933
Even though you've got a whole point's difference between these stones, their dimensions are effectively the same if you are worried about the difference in visual spread between other stones.

Over at the JN inventory, this is another one that might be worthy of your consideration (1.10ctw):
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.53-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-ideal-cut-pair-2131575,2351321
Dimensions wise, they are like the first WF pair that I linked to though which might put you off.