How did you decide on your stone?

[Lugus]

I *think* I''ve narrowed down my search to about 5 wonderful diamonds (loving the internet). They are all "similar" and I''d be happy with any of them.

Problem is, I can''t for the life of me decide between them. So, what was your deciding factor? Perfect symetry in H&A pattern? Brillance Scope results scores? How pretty a stone looked in the different light views of the brilliance scope (is this even a factor if the scores are high???)? Price? Largest? Type of inclusion (all candidates are vs1 or vs2)? Who was willing to work with you to cut a deal? Store and it''s policies? Etc?

HELP

 

[JOE_Q]

Well, if the stones are similar enough, then price would be the deciding factor.
I personally wanted to do business with a particular company as they had all the information I felt necesary to make a judgment. Within that company I wanted a stone with 3 VH Bscope scores and HCA of less than 1, perfect symmetry, H&A yadda yadda. Well I finally found the diamond and by the time I scrutinized the hell out of it, it was sold to someone else.

So I found one that was actually a little bigger with better color and bought it while I still could. The moral is I'm sure every one of the five you're considering will be a winner. Don't drive yourself nuts.

 

[DiamondOptics]

Hello Lugus,


If you can't decide between your choices,
maybe you should have an expert like the
Rock Doc or Dave Atlas decide for you...

Perhaps on paper all your choices are similar
which can make things even more confusing,
but the help of a proffesional can go a long way.


Give it some thought.

Buy Informed!

Kirk Konst

 

[Lugus]

Great idea DiamondOptics. Here are links to 3 of the stones I am considering:

http://search.virtcert.com/cgi/u/1079/v.cgi?stock=795007&_s=1079&_p=opt91&_c=&_fs=1&prestock=

http://www.goodoldgold.com/1_64ct_e_vs2_h&a.htm

http://www.goodoldgold.com/1_77ct_e_vs2_h&a1.htm

These are the ones that I have links to. It would give me no greater pleasure than for everyone to comment and critique these stones. Great time to point out that up to this point both Jonathon at www.goodoldgold.com and Julie at www.usacerteddiamonds.com have given me wonderful attention and service.

 

[Mara]

Ha ha I love posts like this!!

Okay well..they all look pretty darn good. I looked at all of the links, wrote down the specs, did the HCA scores, looked at the BrillianceScope animations, etc. Nice stones! Great choices.

That said, it really is up to price and carat weight in my eyes. On the first stone, the VirtCert, the Price per carat is 10395. The 2nd stone is 10207, the 3rd is 9970. (btw I took the 'credit card' prices, not the wire transfer).

The reason for me that the 3rd stone has a price per carat of 9970 is because its not as clean of a VS2 as the other GOG stone. The 2nd stone (first GOG stone), is a very very clean VS2. The other VS2 stone has a bunch of inclusions slightly off from the table. Now..taking into consideration the magnification of the diamond to a tennis ball size, those things probably won't be visible at all to your naked eye.

But my opinion is why chance it? Obviously you have the money for any of the three stones. The difference in price between the dirty VS2 and clean VS2 is $500. Woopee doo. (Well woopee doo when you are spending $17k!)

So I suggest keeping it between the VC stone and the 1st GOG stone (the 1.64). Unless of course you are going for the larger carat weight. In which case, the VC and the 2nd GOG stone (dirty VS2) would be your top two contenders as they are both in the 1.7c range.

But if you go with my suggestion and narrow it down to the VC and 1st GOG stone....now you can take a look at pricing and clarity. The VC stone is bigger and it is slightly more expensive ($1200). Plus the VC is a VS1 and I like those so much better than VS2..just because I have one!

So in the end the VC price is a pretty good one when compared to the other 2--when you add in the VS1 clarity and the larger cart size. There will be a visual difference between the two stones, will your girl want the larger stone?

I can throw a wrench in all this and note the HCA scores for the VC was 1.4 and the other two GOG stones were .9 each. But...big deal. 1.4 is still awesome, its 2 EX's and 2 VG's..which is better than 95% of the stones out there!

Decisions decisions!! It's a very difficult one to make. All that said above..you have three great stones. My ramblings above would be how I would make the decision. It's your decision to make, we can all weigh in with our 10 cents..but in the end its you and the stone you chose... good luck!!! Just let us know what you choose!

 

[Lugus]

Thanks for the feedback Mara. The HCA score for the 1st GOG stone was higher by a few points, but the brilliance scope for the VC stone seemed a tad better, especially in regards to white light. Can I get your thoughts on which is more important?

I also wanted to add that usacerteddiamonds sent me the firescope and H&A images for their stone. They seemed comperable to the GOG diamond but it was not missing the hotspots near the arrow shafts

 

[Mara]

Okay..'more important' I can't help you on. But I can help point out a few areas that I did notice looked different between the VC and GOG1 stone. You make the decision in the end!

I made a bit of a messy screen shot showing all the BrillianceScope images for both of the diamonds. I've attached it below..hope it comes out.

In this picture, on the bottom of the screen shot is the GOG site..with the 1.64 diamond. On top, overlayed is a cutout of the VC brilliance scope images for that stone.

When you compare Photo 1 to Photo 1 of each stone, etc etc you will start to see slight differences.

When I compare all the photos, to me..the VC stone looks more brilliant as in white light return (see picture 2 where the bubble of white light is much bigger and brighter than the GOG stone) which could be where it gets better ratings in practically off the chart, and the VC stone appears more fiery as well around the arrows (see lightview 3 on the VC where it looks like it is dispersing more rainbows and fire than the GOG stone). Also in view 5 you will see that the table area of the VC stone looks much brighter and sparkly as well. The other images have subtle differences, but these are the ones that really jumped out at me. Even comparing view 1 to the other view one (which is the chopped off one to the left of the screenshot) , the VC stone looks better with more color dispersion and a brighter effect.

All in all they are very subtle differences. But to me..the VC stone speaks better. If you saw the H&A and IdealScope/Firescope images, and the VC looks a little more crisp, that is only an added bonus. Between all of the points I mentioned in my last point and this additional info, I would go for the VC stone.

On the HCA scoring...as I said in my previous post, the GOG stone scored 0.9 and the VC stone was 1.4. That is really not a huge difference. They are still both under 2.0 and the HCA is considered a 'variable' tool, meaning its results are not always agreed upon. Using something such as the FireScope/IdealScope images and the BrillianceScope readings to make your final decision when all other factors are the same or similar...in my opinion...is a good way to go. Having an HCA score under 2.0 is excellent as well. Personally, after viewing the Bscope images I really like the VC stone more and it looks more fiery and brilliant than the GOG stone, so I am a little surprised it didn't get better ratings on the HCA.

Just my thoughts...

 

[Lugus]

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On 1/23/2003 4:19:29 PM Mara wrote:
All in all they are very subtle differences. But to me..the VC stone speaks better. If you saw the H&A and IdealScope/Firescope images, and the VC looks a little more crisp, that is only an added bonus. Between all of the points I mentioned in my last point and this additional info, I would go for the VC stone.

On the HCA scoring...as I said in my previous post, the GOG stone scored 0.9 and the VC stone was 1.4. That is really not a huge difference. They are still both under 2.0 and the HCA is considered a 'variable' tool, meaning its results are not always agreed upon. Using something such as the FireScope/IdealScope images and the BrillianceScope readings to make your final decision when all other factors are the same or similar...in my opinion...is a good way to go. Having an HCA score under 2.0 is excellent as well. Personally, after viewing the Bscope images I really like the VC stone more and it looks more fiery and brilliant than the GOG stone, so I am a little surprised it didn't get better ratings on the HCA.

Just my thoughts...

----------------

I may have settled on the VC stone. Trying to find a good appraiser near me to do last checks. There is just too many good things about that stone

I was surprised that it didn't do better on the Bscope as well. Then I did some research and found out that in cases where there is lots of brilliance, scintilation results may not appear as high because of the way the Bscope measures scintillation. I am not sure whether my research is factual or not, so I make no claims whether or not that is true. If it is though, it might explain things.

 

[Mara]

I'm sure the stone will be a knockout. In fact any of those three probably would blow you away in person. Will be interesting to see if anyone else weighs in...tell us what your appraiser says. I assume usacerted has a return policy etc. They will also probably ship to a local independent appraiser before purchase if you ask. That way you can go and see the stone with the appraiser, and make the decision before spending? Just a thought.

 

[optimized]

Look what I did!

(I got bored today...)

-Tim

 

[jetcaptain]

Both stones that have been suggested look sweet to me. Since you seem to be leaning towards the 1.73 ct, I would suggest that you make certain that those black specks at the three o'clock position in its photograph get covered by a prong. Sure, it's a VS1, and you shouldn't be able to see those with the naked eye. On the other hand, the prongs are going to cover something anyway. It might as well be that! Good luck with whatever you decide. You've done your homework--things should turn out just great!

 

[Lugus]

----------------
On 1/23/2003 7

6:26 PM jetcaptain wrote:

Both stones that have been suggested look sweet to me. Since you seem to be leaning towards the 1.73 ct, I would suggest that you make certain that those black specks at the three o'clock position in its photograph get covered by a prong. Sure, it's a VS1, and you shouldn't be able to see those with the naked eye. On the other hand, the prongs are going to cover something anyway. It might as well be that! Good luck with whatever you decide. You've done your homework--things should turn out just great!
----------------

Those black specks are absolutely going to be covered by a prong!

 

[ccuheartnurse]

I think you're getting ahead of yourself Lugus. You wont believe how that stone will blow you away, I didnt with mine. Mine is an SI-1, G, & there is NO visible inclusion. The crystal/cloud is just inside the table. In fact, when I opened the package, I had to search like crazy with my loop to find the inclusion. It was difficult but angling my stone almost sideways is the way I could see it. I wouldnt even worry about a VS-2. Unless the seller tells you there are black inclusions, dont worry about it. I stare at my stone all the time & all I can see are mirrors in there, nothing else. Perhaps my eyesight is really poor, who knows.
Just my opinion on this. I didnt need a VS 1 or 2. I needed an eye clean stone with ideal proportions & an excellent BScope image. Just go with what you need & want.

Judy