I need help choosing a diamond!

[diannbengo]

It's a long story, but I have a choice between 2 diamonds: 3.50 carat, good cut, table 60%,Pavillion 45%, Crown 37%, girdle/facet very thick, dimensions:9.51 x 9.59 x 5.99, H VS2 OR:

2.85 excellent cut, H VS1, table 59%, girdle, faceted slightly thick, pavilion depth 44%, crown angle 35degrees, table 57%, dimensions 9.10 x 9.19 x 5.52.

Please help!

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

diannbengo,

It looks like you have, in many ways, the classic diamond concern - Size or Cut? What are your options for providing more information to the forum: Are the cut grades listed GIA grades or other? Can you get Idealscope or ASET pics of either or both? Are either of them eye-clean (also important to know the lab that has done the grading to give guidance here)? Can you get copies of the grading reports or the report numbers?

More info will help a lot - best wishes!

 

[diannbengo]

I don't have a lot of info. Should I be concerned about the girdle on the 3.50 being very thick? Also, is this diamond cut deep? Side by side there's not much difference. yes, they're eye clean.

 

[Lorelei]

I don't have a lot of info. Should I be concerned about the girdle on the 3.50 being very thick? Also, is this diamond cut deep? Side by side there's not much difference. yes, they're eye clean.

Hi Diann and welcome!

As Hawk mentions we really need a bit more info, the girdle might be the least of the concerns with the diamond in question, what we need are to be able to check out the proportions more fully, do you know which lab graded these diamonds such as HRD, EGL, GIA etc? Is it possible you could you post a link or screen capture or scan for the reports please, also where are they for sale, online or jewellery store?

 

[Gypsy]

We need depth % as well.

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only. EGL is a bad option: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/[/URL]
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.