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How does this diamond sound? Need advice quickly

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ready

Rough_Rock
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Sep 23, 2002
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77
1.37C Round Brilliant
H color
VS2 clarity
depth 61.6%
table 58%
crown height 14%
pavillion depth 44%
girdle - thin, faceted
polish - Very good
sym - Excellent
cutlet - none
dimensions - 7.2 X 7.13 X 4.42

I am a little concerned about the thin girdle. I have looked at this stone and it does seem thin - and the girdle is a little thinner in some places than others. Is this a warning sign?

Also, the diamond is EGL certified (I believe EGL Los Angeles?) ...but it is a "mini-cert." I have no idea what the difference is between a mini and any other. It did include the data that I listed above, but is written on a small card instead of a regular size sheet of paper. The diamond is in a small plastic-covered pouch/folder bearing the EGL "mini-cert."

I've looked at the diamond under a 10X loupe and I can detect a couple of very small imperfections, but nothing that really concerns me.

I can definitely tell a difference in color when compared to an E/F color. Should I be concerned about the slight tint? I don't want this to come off as too yellow.

This is at a diamond broker (brick and mortar). Price quoted is $6466.

Opinions? I need to make a decision on this one.

Thanks in advance!!!!
 

rsilvers

Shiny_Rock
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Oct 26, 2002
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The Cut Advisor gives it a 3.1, where anything under 2.0 is considered excellent. Since cut is more important that clarity, I would avoid this stone in a big way at any price. If my budget was fixed, I would go down on size, color, and clarity -- but never get anything but a great cut. Cut comes first. Keep in mind, when a diamond is cut for quality, they waste more stone, so the price-per-carat has to go up.

I would not worry about the thin girdle. Thin should be ok. Very thin might be bad.

Here are some 1.1-ish weight, G/H-SI1 stones with AWESOME cuts (under 1.0 on the cut advisor). Now they are SI, which is less than VS2, but there is some chance that AGS/GIA is more strict and they might be cleaner in the end.

http://www.whiteflash.com/acut/diamond_details.asp?ItemCode=2382 ($5979 if you mention pricescope)

($6679)
http://search.virtcert.com/cgi/u/1012/v.cgi? stock=626301&_s=1012&_p=sdf348gd743&_c=&_fs=1&prestock=


It is fine as a mini-cert. Just as good as a big cert. But if it says "EGL" and does not mention LA or USA, then it could be from Belgium or Israel and I would not trust it at all (at least I would not). They have been known to be two grades worse than they say, and they are priced lower. Some jewelers send a stone to GIA and EGL, and if GIA gives it a good grade, they use that cert because it holds more weight. If GIA gives it a bad grade, then they sent it to EGL and see if it scores better.
 

ready

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 23, 2002
Messages
77
Thanks Rsilver for your response.

3.1 is a little high, but still rates as very good on the HCA. I am somewhat flexible in my budget, so I'm not limiting myself to this stone - but I want to be in this weight area and it seems to be a reasonable deal.

Anyone else have opinions on this stone? How does the "H" color strike you?

Cutnut?

Thanks in advance.
 

mrmarius

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 15, 2002
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63
I don't understand how "very good" on the cut adviser translates into "avoid this stone at any price." Rsilver? It's like anything under a 2.0 is terrific and anything over 2.0 is awful. Is there not any middle ground here?

:confused:

I had a diamond appraised the other day by Martin Fuller and asked him his opinion of the HCA. He said it was a good tool, but there are some studies going on currently at GIA that are "going to blow the HCA out of the water." I am not criticizing, heck, I used the HCA to help choose my stone, but it seems like some use that as the end-all and be-all for what stone to pick.
 

sylvesterii

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 3, 2002
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295
H is just fine considering color. You may be able to see color differences when compared to a D or an E. But you would probably have to look close. after mounting, it is probably impossible to tell from a G, and only the very well trained could from an F. (that is a "true" H, which an EGL grade may not actually be all the time.) Once set, you will never look at a diamond upside down on a piece of white paper. about your original question about girdles. they are ALL cut to different thickness around the stone, they vary depending on the facet. However, if it becomes an irregular variation, that is where the problem lies. if it is uniform no problems. Thin is fine, though as stated above. i would avoid "very thin"
 

rsilvers

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 26, 2002
Messages
251
----------------
On 11/15/2002 2:50:42 PM

I don't understand how "very good" on the cut adviser translates into "avoid this stone at any price." Rsilver? It's like anything under a 2.0 is terrific and anything over 2.0 is awful. Is there not any middle ground here?

:confused:
----------------


If he owns it, fine, it is a very good stone. If he wants to buy it -- I am saying why not place excellent cut as the #1 priority since there are plenty of stones to choose from which do have a better HCA score? When someone asks for advice, I never suggest that a stone is a bad choice unless I can find a better one for the budget.
 

student

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 2, 2002
Messages
167
Every decent diamond is a good deal at some price--the question is at what price. Firgure out what class of cut the diamond is and then use the "price stats" feature above to see how your diamond compares to similar ones online.

Unless the diamond is quite a bit cheaper than other stones with GIA, AGS, or HRD certs, you might want to go for these labs, which are reputed to be stricter graders. One site I looked at said they offered EGL graded stones at substantial discounts as compared to GIA graded ones--they wouldn't do that if the stones could get the same grade at GIA.
 

rsilvers

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 26, 2002
Messages
251
In fairness I had one store tell me they use EGL-LA and EGL-NY because they have faster turnaround time and GIA takes 4-6 weeks. I believe them. But then they also let it slip that they sometimes send stones to two labs and use the cert which is better. So perhaps their certs are the ones they know did not get, or won't get, good scores from another lab.
 

rsilvers

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 26, 2002
Messages
251
Basically color and clarity come with this rough rock they find in the ground. There is nothing wrong with offering for sale any given color / clarity.

Then either an artist or some form of cutter makes a decision. They either say "Let's cut this to be as beautiful as possible -- we might end up with a 1.2 carat stone." Or they say "Let's cut this to get a 1.4 carat stone because that is the largest we can get from this rough. It will not sparkle as much, but we can charge more for a "very good" 1.4 carat than an excellent cut 1.2 carat -- even though they both came from the same rough" To me the 1.4 is really the 1.2 without all of the proper material removed from it. To some it would be a good value 1.4. To which I say, fine, if you want a 1.4 at a given price get it, but go down on color or clarity before cut.
 

ready

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 23, 2002
Messages
77
Seems like the measurements don't line up exactly with any of the AGA cuts - but I'm thinking it's a 1B quality cut perhaps. Not sure. If it's that or even a 2A, looks like the price is even with or a bit better than "average" cost per carat.

I definitely want to see what I'm getting before money exchanges hands - otherwise I'd consider buying from an online store. I've heard some good stories and some horror stories as well. The data can say one thing but the stone can say another - I've seen this even with GIA certs in B&M brokers.
 

Garry H (Cut Nut)

Super_Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Aug 15, 2000
Messages
18,422
I just scanned this topic, but you can not make a final decision based on %'s rounded to whole #'s.
Get the crown and pavilion angles if you want accurate advice from my Cut Adviser.
 
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