I can''''t believe how hard finding the right diamond is!

[Dazed and Confused]

I''ve been looking for months now for an ideal cut RB diamond in the 2.4 - 2.6 cts, G, eye-clean SI1 range and have not been able to locate one! I literally have not been able to find an eye-clean stone in this range that gets ex-ex-ex-ex/vg on the HCA and is in the cut 1A category on the AGA Cut Grading scale. I’ve talked to all the traditional PS vendors and no one seems to have anything. I thought inventory might improve after the JCK show in Las Vegas, but still nothing.

Any suggestions?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Thanks for your reply Mara. I arrived at G/SI1 combo because my fiancee is very, very hesistant about getting an H color stone and we settled on SI1 clarity to get bigger size (we were looking at VS2 originally). Since we both want an eye-clean stone, we felt that SI1 is the lowest clarity that we could go with.

Could you tell me more about your G vs. H experience? Could you tell the color difference between the two? My fiancee is super sensitive to color and it's really important that the stone face-up colorless (I'm told that an ideal cut G will face-up like an F).

Oh, as to the time issue - that's tricky. I mean, we're not in any rush, but at the same time I feel like we've been looking for such a long time!

Thanks!

 

[Regular Guy]

Dazed,

I'm guessing your best bet is this one from WF, which conforms in every way, except for the SI2 instead of SI1, and they tend to pick their SIs carefully, but be sure to ask, because the eye cleanish may not conform to what you want. If they encourage you to keep looking, they have 1 more to call in for you, marked as AGS0, that may work, but it would need to be seen, and will cost more, so I'd be crossing your fingers for the first one being eye clean enough!

Best,

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

To start, there is a shortage of rough nowadays, that yields finished stones above 2 Cts. This does not mean that these stones are not mined, but there is a high demand from the cutters'' side, and this rough does not necessarily end up with cutters that cut ideal-cuts.

Because of this, prices of average-cut stones above 2 Cts are already very high.

With you looking for a stone in the 2.4-2.6 Ct-range, the original rough stone can also yield an average-cut stone of close to or over 3 Cts. With high prices of average-cuts in this size now, the bigger average-cut is worth more, and the rough stone will not end up with the cutter of ideals.

On top of that, your very narrow range of only G-colour and the most popular clarity of SI1 makes the probability of finding such a stone even slimmer.

Finally, in super-ideals, the majority of the market is in a size-range of 0.70 to 1.75, with clearly less demand above 2 Cts. Because of this, the production of super-ideals above 2 Cts is also a lot riskier, and thus less.

Just some background-info.

Live long,

 

[valeria101]

Date: 6/13/2005 2:26:44 AM
Author:Dazed and Confused

Any suggestions?

Well, there are a couple of finds on this thread already. H should be fine ig "G" is, unless you have already seen several H ideals and decided that the grade is not desirable.

Aside the usual "wait and see" or "look elsewhere" (I wouldn't know where else anyway!)... you could ask to have a non-ideal recut.

 

[Giangi]

That 2.58ct from Whiteflash looks fabulous.. It''s SI2, but from the pics it doesnt look invasive at all. Another stone that matches quite perfectly your criteria is this wonderful 2.38 G/SI1 http://www.goodoldgold.com/2_38ct_g_si1_h%26a.htm.

As others have stressed, the pickings in the quality range you specified are slim, but not dry. Best of luck!

 

[mymulan]

Hi Dazed and Confused,

I feel for you. I was in the same situation and it took me 3 months to finally find the stone I wanted. It is a 2.39 G, VS2 stone. High G cuz when I compared with an F color stone, face down or face up, I could not tell the difference in color. Also my VS2 is very clean and the inclusion could be hidden in a prong.

When purchasing my diamond, I was shown 5 different stones. For the sake of it, I placed the F, G, and H color stone face down on the folded white paper most jewelers provide you. All of the stones were GIA certified. Honestly, you have to look hard and stare longer to see the difference in color between the G and H color. Face up, I cannot tell the difference at all. Mind you I was not in a jewelry store when viewing these stnes. I was brought upstairs where there was only a jewelers lamp for accurate viewing.

I myself would have dropped the color to H, and go with the VS2 clarity instead of SI1. A good H may be easier to find than an eye-clean SI1 and "eye-clean", I learned, usually means, it is eye-clean face up only.

I also saw a 2.15 G, VS1 stone with excellent polish/symmetry in New York. It was going for 28.5k. In California, I also saw this diamond that I was about to purchase before my New York Trip. It is 2.56 H, VS1, AGS Ideal, med. flour. It was for 26k and a very very beautiful stone. Against a non-ideal E color diamond I compared it with, the E color was immediately booted out. haha.

I personally think that if you stick with ideal cuts, you can sacrifice the color a bit and still outshine a lot of diamonds out there....

Good luck...

 

[Mara]

DC...re: the G vs H...

I had a not so well cut G..it was very white and bright..almost too much for my eyes really. I felt like it was a white dot on my hand. I have olive colored skin. Thewell-cut H was the same! It was very white and bright, I could never really detect any color in it unless I set it against a white paper and even then it was super faint, really not even there unless you got up close. On the hand and in the setting, white as could be.

I would hands down go for an H with no hesitations, even in larger sizes. ESPECIALLY if it's well-cut, that makes a huge difference in how the diamond faces up.

Now I have a J stone and I can see a tinge of color when I really inspect it from the sides but it's a very faint off color, nothing horrible and I rarely see it that way...because I have slightly darker skin I tend to think almost anything looks whiter on me, so my J looks great! I get lots of compliments on it and no one believes its a J.

I would def recommend a well cut H in platinum...but some people only want D or E or F..because of color sensitivities, so go with whatever you feel is best!!

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Hi All,

I did inquire about the SI2 from Whiteflash, but it''s not eye-clean (there''s a large inclusion on the table). Same thing with the diamond from GOG. As for the other diamond from Whiteflash, the depth is a bit too steep for me. Sigh.

I''ve seriously thought about going down to an H color due to the availability of ideal cuts in this color, but I''m concerned that my fiancee will be able to tell a difference between an F (which is what I''m aiming for with an ideal cut G) and an H diamond (even if the H is an ideal cut).

Paul-Antwerp, thank you for the background info. I knew that roughs in the 2+ range were in short supply, but I didn''t realized that the other part of the problem is that cutters cutting ideal-cuts are not able to get the roughs.

I really appreciate everyone''s suggestion. If anyone has other suggestions or leads on stones in this range, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Mara]

it is true that a well-cut stone will face up whiter (whiter than an non-well cut stone of the same color)...but it is just a thought that it may be asking a bit too much for a G to look like an F or an H like a G etc. it''s always been kind of bandied about that a well cut stone will look higher than the color grade it is...but a whole color grade has never been proven? i say this only because if your GF is very color sensitive, it may be that she sees a difference in a G vs a F...even though most wouldn''t. so maybe sticking with an F or G and not going H is the smartest decision..hard to say.

 

[Maxine]

This looks nice, but is an H....
http://www.winkjones.com/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=16244&cat=255&page=1

(hope link works....)