Help with diamond purchase

[gt6410]

Hi all

I discovered this site a couple of weeks ago and was glad I did before going to the local stores. There has been some great
Information but it seems the more I learn the more confused I seem to get. I have never purchased a diamond before and
want to get this right. It seems I could get better advice here then the store at the mall so I think online is the way to go.
I have been mostly on James Allen as I like being able to view and the return policy if not happy.

I know I'm looking for a round solitaire in a simple white gold setting
Hoping for 1.5 to 2 ct budget would be 10 to 12 k which I could bump up to 15
Now this is where I get confused it seems cut is the most important but how important is clarity and colour
What is the right balance to get best fire and sparkle
For example if the cut is excellent would a lower colour work ok

Thanks any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[coda72]

Cut trumps color and clarity to an extent. I think you can go an H or I color safely and a VS2 (or SI1 if the vendor can verify it's eye clean.)

Here's a couple of diamonds that I think would be good:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3755580.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3202009.htm

 

[gt6410]

Thanks for the info I'll check them out

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

Hi all

For example if the cut is excellent would a lower colour work ok

The best answer, of course, is to try to view diamonds of different colors and cuts in person - for many people that is impossible.

This is one of the reasons the Ideal-Scope and/or ASET images are so helpful, they will give you an idea of what the light performance of the cut is for a particular diamond. You can read about light-performance images here on PS:

https://www.pricescope.com/tools/ideal-scope


https://www.pricescope.com/journal/what-aset-reveals-ideal-scope-does-not

To answer your question directly - if light enters and leaves a diamond quickly (most efficiently) it is less likely to 'pick up' the inherent color in the diamond so a well-cut diamond CAN move the appearance of a diamond more towards colorless to the viewer. This is one of the reasons diamonds are graded for color in the table-down position.