Huge price range on 2 ct

[jyeh74]

Thanks for the info. This is all good info but at the same time, almost intimidating. Buying something this expensive, you have to make the right choice.

So it sounds like most of you agree that I should at least have an "excellent" cut stone. Since that is the most important "C" that shows the shine of the diamond. What do you guys feel about going "ideal" vs "excellent"? Or is "ideal" the best way to go?

Personally, I think I would want to maximize the size and color of the diamond vs clarity. A VVS1, VVS2 or a VS1, VS2 doesn't matter to me since we aren't going to looking under a scope anyways. VVS1, VVS2, VS1 or VS2 is all the same to me. However, a D-E-F is more preferable than a G-H-I, even though Gyspy stated that most people cannot even tell the difference and anything above a H color is ok. I'd rather sacrifice on clarity and go with a better color and a bigger stone. And perhaps stick with a "ideal" or "excellent" cut.

 

[TitanCi]

Someone is probably gonna correct me on this, but "ideal" is a term AGS uses, but you can find "ideal excellents" from GIA (if that makes sense) based on the cut and angles. As people have stated, GIA's cut grade of "excellent" is very broad. I had a leaky GIA excellent where the numbers were on the max end of the ranges (and more in some aspects), so you should look for "ideal" numbers.

From what I learned here, I tried to narrow my stone search based on these numbers:

Table 55-57%
CA between 34-35 deg
PA between 40.5-<41.0
Depth 61ish to < 62.0
Crown height 15.0+

I ended up getting a stone with a 33 deg. CA, and a 54% table and I was very skeptical at first but the price was right and the imaging looked great. Turned out to be an awesome stone. It gets a decent HCA score, and the AGA cut grader only gave it a 1B rating in the CA. Overall it was a 1A stone.

Personally I feel F or G colored stones are plenty white/colorless. Face up, H is damn white, but I'm super picky in my vision so I can see the subtle yellow in SOME H diamonds...

If you want to max your budget, go F VS2. No point in going VVS's cuz you can't appreciate anything more anyway...

 

[Gypsy]

Bump. I'm exhausted today, but hopefully some one else will explain the excellent/ ideal, etc. labels. If not I'll do it tomorrow.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Thanks for the info. This is all good info but at the same time, almost intimidating. Buying something this expensive, you have to make the right choice.

So it sounds like most of you agree that I should at least have an "excellent" cut stone. Since that is the most important "C" that shows the shine of the diamond. What do you guys feel about going "ideal" vs "excellent"? Or is "ideal" the best way to go?

Personally, I think I would want to maximize the size and color of the diamond vs clarity. A VVS1, VVS2 or a VS1, VS2 doesn't matter to me since we aren't going to looking under a scope anyways. VVS1, VVS2, VS1 or VS2 is all the same to me. However, a D-E-F is more preferable than a G-H-I, even though Gyspy stated that most people cannot even tell the difference and anything above a H color is ok. I'd rather sacrifice on clarity and go with a better color and a bigger stone. And perhaps stick with a "ideal" or "excellent" cut.

Okay, the same stone with top cut would be labelled Excellent cut by GIA and Ideal by AGS. The second to the highest cut quality for AGS is also called "Excellent". So this can understandably be very confusing! The thing is, GIA Excellent is a much broader category than AGS Ideal, so some of the GIA Excellent stones are more desirable than others. Some GIA Excellent stones would not meet AGS Ideal.. But some do, and they are no less worthy to buy than an AGS Ideal cut. (To complicate it just a little more, there are some AGS Excellent cut stones that would be ideal other than polish is excellent which bumps cut down to excellent. These can be good buys when you find them, and WhiteFlash has some in their Expert Selection or Premium Select stones.)

So for your purposes, stick with the top cut stones within GIA Excellent cut or just about any AGS Ideal cut.

As far as color and clarity go, that is personal preference. My preference is G VS1 because I like relatively high color and clarity, but the jump to F VS1 is a very big one! If you go to F color and VS2 clarity in a large stone, you'll need to increase your original budget. I would not go below VS2 in a large stone because the larger the stone, the less likely an SI stone will be totally eyeclean. I'll look quick and see what I see in F VS2.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Reposting the F VS stones I already found for you:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782676.htm ($42,069)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631634.htm ($41,992)

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.185-f-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104045251001 ($60,894)...see how price jumps with F color and going higher in clarity???

 

[TitanCi]

Reposting the F VS stones I already found for you:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782676.htm ($42,069)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631634.htm ($41,992)

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.185-f-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104045251001 ($60,894)...see how price jumps with F color and going higher in clarity???

Hey DS2006 - the second stone you have listed... is that leakage under the table in the IS image? If so, to me, the ASET looks pretty good. Shouldn't that show up in the ASET too? Am I missing something????

 

[denverappraiser]

I think you’ll find two exercises to be very helpful as part of the learning curve. Both are free. Start by playing with the database here. Enter a few specs and see what comes up. Then change one spec and see what changes. You’re not really looking for a diamond as much as learning how the various attributes relate and how they affect the price. You’ve got plenty of budget to get a killer stone but you ALWAYS have to compromise on something. Drop the clarity and raise the price. Drop the color and drop the price. Spend some time at it. Look ONLY at GIA-xxx stones without fluro. You may choose to change this a bit later but it enables a better apples-to-to apples comparison and it helps you separate out a particular attribute (ex. Color) and see how it affects the price.

Next, go look at real diamonds in real life. Stores tend to have good lighting and fairly well done viewing environments. You NEED to nail down this color thing and it’s a matter of calibrating your eyes. Don’t do this off of price or off of what you read online. Look at some real rocks. Again, GIA only, xxx only, no fluorescence. Don’t worry too much about the price and leave your credit card at home. If you happen to find THE ONE, it’ll wait a few days. This is about education. The difference between a D and an H on stone like this is on the order of a factor of 2 for price. If that’s not something you can see and/or appreciate then you can spend that money on something else, like size. The same happens with VVS-SI1. That’ll hit the price by another factor of 2. Costco is a good enough place to buy things and you may very well end up there but their warehouse is a terrible place to be looking at diamonds.

Where you want to land has to do with your eyes and your taste. It’s your money and landing outside of the popular ranges here isn’t really a problem but the reason people like VS2-SI1/G-H/GIA/xxx-xvv because of exactly the sort of compromises we’re talking about. You must flex on something and it’s good to do this strategically.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I totally agree with Neil about looking at color on GIA certified diamonds, but you'll need a jeweler who is willing to take you into natural lighting (outside) because I have never been in a jewelry store that had lighting where you could tell a thing about color. They all have that nice spot lighting that makes all diamonds (including the not-so-great ones) sparkle!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Reposting the F VS stones I already found for you:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782676.htm ($42,069)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631634.htm ($41,992)

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.185-f-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104045251001 ($60,894)...see how price jumps with F color and going higher in clarity???

Hey DS2006 - the second stone you have listed... is that leakage under the table in the IS image? If so, to me, the ASET looks pretty good. Shouldn't that show up in the ASET too? Am I missing something????

Look at the cert. It is AGS0 (Ideal) for light performance. The stone is not going to show visible leakage. If the stone had leakage that would affect light return, it wouldn't be graded ideal. You might want to go to a site like WhiteFlash and look through their ACA and Expert Selection stones and see the varied IS images of stones that also get Ideal for light return. The other issue is that some vendors take better IS pictures than others, so sometimes it is simply the photography that differs. But with stones that fall into the ACA category, I hardly even look at the IS images. Those stones meet the top cut quality and have well defined hearts and arrows as well as having ideal light return.

I gave you this info on another thread, but here it is again:

https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope

http://www.ideal-scope.com/1.using_reference_chart.asp

 

[TitanCi]

^yeah I saw that, thanks!

 

[jyeh74]

Reposting the F VS stones I already found for you:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782676.htm ($42,069)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631634.htm ($41,992)

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.185-f-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104045251001 ($60,894)...see how price jumps with F color and going higher in clarity???

Wow, the price jumps nearly $20k to go from a VS2 to a VS1. In that case, I will stick with a VS2 and better color! Thats crazy.

I don't see what the leakage comment was due to on the 2nd one. What is the "A Cut Above" and "Expert Selection"? Thought cuts were "Ideal" vs "Excellent" ?

 

[jyeh74]

Reposting the F VS stones I already found for you:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782676.htm ($42,069)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631634.htm ($41,992)

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.185-f-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104045251001 ($60,894)...see how price jumps with F color and going higher in clarity???

Wow, the price jumps nearly $20k to go from a VS2 to a VS1. In that case, I will stick with a VS2 and better color! Thats crazy.

I don't see what the leakage comment was due to on the 2nd one. What is the "A Cut Above" and "Expert Selection"? Thought cuts were "Ideal" vs "Excellent" ?

This is what I found
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2763542.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2792490.htm
About the same price but the second has a better color (F vs G) and is a "Virtual Selection" vs the first one, which has a lower color (G)but is "A Cut Above" category. I dont understand the category.

 

[jyeh74]

Reposting the F VS stones I already found for you:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782676.htm ($42,069)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631634.htm ($41,992)

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.185-f-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104045251001 ($60,894)...see how price jumps with F color and going higher in clarity???

Wow, the price jumps nearly $20k to go from a VS2 to a VS1. In that case, I will stick with a VS2 and better color! Thats crazy.

I don't see what the leakage comment was due to on the 2nd one. What is the "A Cut Above" and "Expert Selection"? Thought cuts were "Ideal" vs "Excellent" ?

This is what I found
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2763542.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2792490.htm
About the same price but the second has a better color (F vs G) and is a "Virtual Selection" vs the first one, which has a lower color (G)but is "A Cut Above" category. I dont understand the category.

 

[jyeh74]

I searched http://www.briangavindiamonds.com
They do not have any ideal cuts, only excellent cuts.

 

[swingirl]

Excellent is the highest grade for GIA graded stones.
Ideal is the highest grade for AGS graded stones.

The labs just used different terms.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I searched http://www.briangavindiamonds.com
They do not have any ideal cuts, only excellent cuts.

No, I believe every Brian Gavin Signature stone is AGS Ideal cut. Almost all of his in-house stones are graded by AGS. You must have been looking at a list of virtual stones from a diamond supplier list and not Brian Gavin's stones.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/brian-gavin-hearts-and-arrows/ (only look at the ones with the orange diamond symbol next to them.

Or, these are ideal cut but have fluorescence:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/brian-gavin-blue-diamonds-with-fluorescence/

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Reposting the F VS stones I already found for you:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782676.htm ($42,069)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631634.htm ($41,992)

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.185-f-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104045251001 ($60,894)...see how price jumps with F color and going higher in clarity???

Wow, the price jumps nearly $20k to go from a VS2 to a VS1. In that case, I will stick with a VS2 and better color! Thats crazy.

I don't see what the leakage comment was due to on the 2nd one. What is the "A Cut Above" and "Expert Selection"? Thought cuts were "Ideal" vs "Excellent" ?

Those are the brand names that WhiteFlash uses for their very top cut hearts and arrows stones (A Cut Above) and their ideal cut stones that don't meet the hearts and arrows standards (Expert Selection). They are still graded AGS Ideal cut.

Virtual selection on any site means diamonds that they do not own and do not have in stock but they can order. I don't usually recommend that because it is far easier to choose from stones that are in-house and have all the necessary information to make a wise choice.

AGS and GIA are independent grading labs that diamond cutters send their stones to for grading.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Regarding color and clarity, when you combine high color (D-F) with high clarity (VS1 and higher) in a well cut stone, you are looking at the more rare stones, and they have a very high price tag to go along with them.

That is one reason many people go to G color if they want to get a larger stone that is near colorless.

 

[jyeh74]

So with Whiteflash, its best to stay with "A Cut Above" ?

I went to a couple retailers today just to compare and get their 2 cents. These are what they recommend

1) Stay with a color of at least "H". Anything less (like I or J), you will start noticing yellow tones. I personally couldn't tell the difference between a "G" or "H" or "I", but I could see yellow in the "J" color. They recommend "G" or "H". They said "F" is too expensive and not worth the price difference.
2) If you dont mind, go with a SI clarity. VS2 or VS1 doesn't matter to the naked eye. But I personally feel that a VS2 should be the minimum clarity for some reason.
3) You can't tell the difference between a 2.45 carat vs a 2.6 carat.
4) 3 carat is too big for a 3.75 ring size.
5) With Table percentage, an ideal is between 55-57%. This I have no clue on. They told me not to worry about the depth, because if the Table is between 55-57%, then the depth will match.

Most of this was echoed across the forum by you very helpful experts. I am still amazed by the willingness of everyone to help educate and find diamonds based on my criteria. THANK YOU EVERYONE. Of course, the retailers were telling me online isn't always cheaper, and its better to have a local jeweler in case something happens (but I never know if they will go out of business).

I personally would feel insecure spending this much money with an online retailer (bluenile or whiteflash or briangavindiamonds). But at least I have narrowed down my diamond to 2.5ct+, VS2+ and H color + with ideal/excellent cut.

 

[Gypsy]

No you don't have to stick with ACA at WF. Their ES Line is great. And they can get in beautiful GIA Ex/Ex diamonds for you. Their ACA and ES lines have the same policies with upgrades and buy backs. And the stones they call in for you are on a case by case.

I REALLY do encourage you to call JA about this stone IF you still want 3 carats, and put it on hold (costs nothing) : http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1444990.asp If it is eyeclean and the florescence is not having any negative effect or making it cloudy, it's the best deal in this thread and then you can ask them for an Idealscope image of it.

 

[Gypsy]

So with Whiteflash, its best to stay with "A Cut Above" ?

I went to a couple retailers today just to compare and get their 2 cents. These are what they recommend

1) Stay with a color of at least "H". Anything less (like I or J), you will start noticing yellow tones. I personally couldn't tell the difference between a "G" or "H" or "I", but I could see yellow in the "J" color. They recommend "G" or "H". They said "F" is too expensive and not worth the price difference. Generally true, but I's can be great values
2) If you dont mind, go with a SI clarity. VS2 or VS1 doesn't matter to the naked eye. But I personally feel that a VS2 should be the minimum clarity for some reason. I agree. Eyeclean SI with safe inclusions saves you a lot of money. VS2 is good as well and if it is more mindclean for you, that's fine
3) You can't tell the difference between a 2.45 carat vs a 2.6 carat. Not when set and on the finger
4) 3 carat is too big for a 3.75 ring size. Subjective and up to your lady-- only her opinion matters on this one
5) With Table percentage, an ideal is between 55-57%. This I have no clue on. Too restrictive, there are great stones outside this range. A table size itself tells you nothing you have to look at all the angles and depths togetther They told me not to worry about the depth, because if the Table is between 55-57%, then the depth will match. Nope. Inaccurate and false.

Most of this was echoed across the forum by you very helpful experts. I am still amazed by the willingness of everyone to help educate and find diamonds based on my criteria. THANK YOU EVERYONE. Of course, the retailers were telling me online isn't always cheaper, and its better to have a local jeweler in case something happens (but I never know if they will go out of business).

I personally would feel insecure spending this much money with an online retailer (bluenile or whiteflash or briangavindiamonds). But at least I have narrowed down my diamond to 2.5ct+, VS2+ and H color + with ideal/excellent cut.

 

[denverappraiser]

1) Stay with a color of at least "H". Anything less (like I or J), you will start noticing yellow tones. I personally couldn't tell the difference between a "G" or "H" or "I", but I could see yellow in the "J" color. They recommend "G" or "H". They said "F" is too expensive and not worth the price difference.

What's worth the price is up to you to decide. This is true of both F and J (and M for that matter). G and H are the most popular but this is not the same as 'best'.

2) If you dont mind, go with a SI clarity. VS2 or VS1 doesn't matter to the naked eye. But I personally feel that a VS2 should be the minimum clarity for some reason.

Same answer as above..

3) You can't tell the difference between a 2.45 carat vs a 2.6 carat.

True enough. You also can't tell the difference between a 2.20 and a 2.45. Pick what you like.

4) 3 carat is too big for a 3.75 ring size.

Same answer as 1 and 2 above. It's decidedly unusual for a bride to complain that her diamond is too big, regardless of finger size.

5) With Table percentage, an ideal is between 55-57%. This I have no clue on. They told me not to worry about the depth, because if the Table is between 55-57%, then the depth will match.

Cut grading is WAY more complicated than this. Much of the discussion in this forum and the data in the tutorials is devoted to this topic.

Most of this was echoed across the forum by you very helpful experts. I am still amazed by the willingness of everyone to help educate and find diamonds based on my criteria. THANK YOU EVERYONE. Of course, the retailers were telling me online isn't always cheaper, and its better to have a local jeweler in case something happens (but I never know if they will go out of business).

Also true. Internet advertising does not make a jeweler better, it doesn't make their merchandise better, and it doesn't make their goods any cheaper. Then again, renting space in your neighborhood doesn't either. Each dealer and each deal should be evaluated on it's own merits.

I personally would feel insecure spending this much money with an online retailer (bluenile or whiteflash or briangavindiamonds). But at least I have narrowed down my diamond to 2.5ct+, VS2+ and H color + with ideal/excellent cut.

I"m a big fan of shopping locally. By all means give them a stab at it. I'm even willing to pay more to support my neighbors' businesses. How much of a premium it's worth, if indeed there is one, to have a store nearby is up to you but it's only fair to shop the goods against comparable offers elsewhere, including dealers who are outside of easy driving distance. Only then can you reasonably decide if the locals have what you want at a price you're willing to pay. I hope they do.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, I loved the idea of buying locally until I went to three very nice jewelers and found that they basically had no diamonds that were AGS0 or GIA XXX! Well, I take that back...I did see one Hearts on Fire brand diamond that was about 30% higher in price than the same size stones I was looking at at Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash! I found the other diamonds priced too high compared to well cut stones online. I had no choice but to buy online, but you may live somewhere like NYC where you may have more access to the best cut stones. Just never buy a diamond that does not have a return policy in writing and run the numbers on here to get some feedback before you buy.

As others have pointed out, most of those jeweler's recommendations were just their opinions, but I do think a lot of it was good advice. I think I have already told you in this thread somewhere that I like G color because it is a good value compared to D-F. Like you, I also prefer VS and especially so in a larger stone. I also think we have discussed that one's preferences and social circles would influence the size of the stone. I'd much rather have a G VS 2.3 ct. stone over a 3 ct. I color SI clarity stone, personally. If you stick to the $40k range, I believe a recent member here got about a 2.3 F VS2 for that amount, so you can probably get a G-H color a little larger.

 

[Gypsy]

I think these two by GOG are the best out there for the 40k budget, personally.



And this one is a great deal for 39.6k (you can find out the price by clicking on the 'reserve diamond' button): http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9393/ 8.65 mm H VS This one looks like exactly what you want.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/cart.php And this one for 38k 8.56 mm G SI There is this one as well.

 

[jyeh74]

Here are some I found all starting under $40k.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.510-h-vs2-round-diamond-gia-29921390
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.510-h-vs2-round-diamond-gia-34247917
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.600-h-vs2-round-diamond-gia-33248819

I have no idea what "gridle" is. These below are Thin-slightly thick to Medium-slightly thick. Is one better than the other?


I dont know why there is a $5-7k difference here. all three are 2.5 ct, VS2 and G color.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.500-g-vs2-round-diamond-gia-36747173
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.520-g-vs2-round-diamond-gia-30693245
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.500-g-vs2-round-diamond-gia-31786316

 

[Skippy123]

there is a Gorgeous stone in the Preloved section if you don't mind a previously loved stone. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/2-32c-j-si1-gia-h-a-for-sale-yep-i-listed-my-stone-t175755.html']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/2-32c-j-si1-gia-h-a-for-sale-yep-i-listed-my-stone-t175755.html[/URL] It would be under budget for you!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Here are some I found all starting under $40k.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.510-h-vs2-round-diamond-gia-29921390
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.510-h-vs2-round-diamond-gia-34247917
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.600-h-vs2-round-diamond-gia-33248819

I have no idea what "gridle" is. These below are Thin-slightly thick to Medium-slightly thick. Is one better than the other?


I dont know why there is a $5-7k difference here. all three are 2.5 ct, VS2 and G color.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.500-g-vs2-round-diamond-gia-36747173
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.520-g-vs2-round-diamond-gia-30693245
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.500-g-vs2-round-diamond-gia-31786316

No, these are not stones that Brian Gavin has. I posted the links for you of Brian Gavin's in-house stones above in an earlier post. These are virtual stones that would have to be called in and I wouldn't use a jeweler in Houston to call in stones that are in NY.

Gypsy just posted two nice stones from Good Old Gold, which is a family owned jewelry store on Long Island if you are more comfortable buying online from an established jeweler rather than an internet-only company. (I have bought from both and have no qualms with either.)

 

[Skippy123]

there is a Gorgeous stone in the Preloved section if you don't mind a previously loved stone. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/2-32c-j-si1-gia-h-a-for-sale-yep-i-listed-my-stone-t175755.html']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/2-32c-j-si1-gia-h-a-for-sale-yep-i-listed-my-stone-t175755.html[/URL] It would be under budget for you!

looks like this stone is no longer avail since it was such good deal!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

there is a Gorgeous stone in the Preloved section if you don't mind a previously loved stone. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/2-32c-j-si1-gia-h-a-for-sale-yep-i-listed-my-stone-t175755.html']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/2-32c-j-si1-gia-h-a-for-sale-yep-i-listed-my-stone-t175755.html[/URL] It would be under budget for you!

looks like this stone is no longer avail since it was such good deal!

It was a very good deal! I think he was looking at H or higher and VS anyway, though.

 

[jyeh74]

So i wen to a local dealer and they told me GIA is more strict, but you really have to see the rock in person, rather than buy a ceritificate. I.e. a H color by EGL does not mean it will be a higher color by GIA. He showed me a few where both EGL and GIA graded the diamond and both gave it same color.

He could get a 3ct VS2 H color, excellent cut for around $60k. Going down to a color I with everything else the same, drops it to around $50k. Both are GIA.

He had an EGL "hearts and diamonds" (not sure what this is? Does GIA have this too?) 3ct, VS2,H color for $37,500. Here are the specs:
Polish - excellent
Symmetry - very good
Flourecence - faint blue
56% table
60.7% depth
15.6% crown
42% pavillion
1.5-2.9% gridle
35 degree (top) and 41 degree (bottom)
This EGL looked pretty nice, but I'm worried because everyone here advises to stick with GIA, even though it costs $14-24k more for a similiar spec diamond. But "hearts and arrows" add any confidence? Help please. EGL can save some $.