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I need help picking a new center stone (POLL)

Which one?

  • 1.71 Carat E-SI2 Very Good Cut Round Diamond

    Votes: 1 25.0%

  • 1.68 Carat J-SI1 Very Good Cut Round Diamond

    Votes: 2 50.0%

  • 1.60 Carat I-SI2 Excellent Cut Round Diamond

    Votes: 1 25.0%

  • 1.62 Carat J-VS2 Excellent Cut Round Diamond

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    4
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K

kplz87

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 23, 2018
Messages
4
Hi guys, I'm new here and I don't know too much about diamonds so I really need help!

Recently during my move out of our old house into a new one, I somehow damaged my ring and lost my center stone, luckily I have jewelers insurance and they're replacing my center stone. It was a 1.7 J SI1 radiant that 6.5x6.5 and valued about $6,880. The insurance is willing to allow me to replace with round brilliant and I have to pay a difference of my original stone if I need to. I want to go with a round brilliant because while I loved the radiant cut, I felt like it looked so small for its carat weight so this is also an opportunity to get something different that will also look a big bigger on my finger. My setting is a cathedral petite pave with 4 prongs. These are my 4 choices- please please give me your opinion ASAP because it seems like James Allen diamonds sell so fast. I have chosen to go through them because that's where my original center is from and I had a great experience with them previously.


1) https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...e-color-si2-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-3673807
2) https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-si1-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-4836271
3) https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4482526
4) https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-5199284
 
I’m not voting on those as I don’t know enough to choose a good MRB but I would say that very good cut actually isn’t very good at all. Stick to the GIA XX or AGS 0 to get the most sparkle. There are “cheat sheet” parameters you can use to maximise light return - I’m on my phone atm so can’t find them but if you search “cheat sheet” above it should find it for you.
What is your budget and order of priority in terms of cut colour size and clarity? We can probably find you some great ones
 
they all get a no from me for various cut and clarity issues.

1.71 E SI2 - poorly cut (way too deep) and angles not complimentary. Stick to GIA XXX . Plus by the clarity comment, "clarity grade partly based on clouds not shown" you can see that it is a dull stone. those clouds are not doing it any favors.

1.68 J SI1 - also poorly cut and is too deep.

1.60 I SI2 - the clarity is again based on clouds not shown, it appears to be negatively affecting the stone. While it is XXX, the angles are not complimentary.

1.62 J VS2 - IGI cert, really need to stay away from those. the grading is soft, you could be looking at a stone that would grade 2 warmer with GIA.

what's your budget?

parameters to stick to:

Depth 60-62.3
Table 53-57
Crown: 34-35.5
Pavillion: 40.6-40.9

there are some exceptions but this should help you weed out not so nice stones.

this is an SI2 i'd probably be ok with (this would probably be a hard no for some with more discerning, eagle eyes) https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...color-si2-clarity-true-hearts-cut-sku-5031852

outside of the parameters above but the 36 crown pairs well with a 40.6 pavillion and is a look that *i* personally really like.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...k-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-5234090
 
none of those are good choices. Let us help you find a much better diamond. What is your budget, and what size diamond/color/clarity are you looking for?
 
HappyNewLife said:
none of those are good choices. Let us help you find a much better diamond. What is your budget, and what size diamond/color/clarity are you looking for?
Click to expand...

I have to stay around $7000-$7500 because I can't afford too much out of pocket after that. I'm just trying to make a wise decision with my replacement since I never got to pick my original one (my husband then fiancé did). I live somewhere where 2ct is your normal average (I'm in the San Francisco area) so I want a pretty stone within my budget which faces up an okay size. Is that a lot to ask for? LOL
 
farrahlyn said:
they all get a no from me for various cut and clarity issues.

1.71 E SI2 - poorly cut (way too deep) and angles not complimentary. Stick to GIA XXX . Plus by the clarity comment, "clarity grade partly based on clouds not shown" you can see that it is a dull stone. those clouds are not doing it any favors.

1.68 J SI1 - also poorly cut and is too deep.

1.60 I SI2 - the clarity is again based on clouds not shown, it appears to be negatively affecting the stone. While it is XXX, the angles are not complimentary.

1.62 J VS2 - IGI cert, really need to stay away from those. the grading is soft, you could be looking at a stone that would grade 2 warmer with GIA.

what's your budget?

parameters to stick to:

Depth 60-62.3
Table 53-57
Crown: 34-35.5
Pavillion: 40.6-40.9

there are some exceptions but this should help you weed out not so nice stones.

this is an SI2 i'd probably be ok with (this would probably be a hard no for some with more discerning, eagle eyes) https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...color-si2-clarity-true-hearts-cut-sku-5031852

outside of the parameters above but the 36 crown pairs well with a 40.6 pavillion and is a look that *i* personally really like.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...k-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-5234090
Click to expand...

My budget is about $7k-7,500. thank you so much for all your help! I'm gonna check the ones you just showed!
 
foxinsox said:
I’m not voting on those as I don’t know enough to choose a good MRB but I would say that very good cut actually isn’t very good at all. Stick to the GIA XX or AGS 0 to get the most sparkle. There are “cheat sheet” parameters you can use to maximise light return - I’m on my phone atm so can’t find them but if you search “cheat sheet” above it should find it for you.
What is your budget and order of priority in terms of cut colour size and clarity? We can probably find you some great ones
Click to expand...
My budget is $7-7,500. I'm okay with something in the 1.5 range, just want to get a good bang for my buck lol
 
If you are interested in eventually getting a 2 ct stone, it might be wiser to go with a smaller stone now from a vendor with a great upgrade policy because some of the vendors above require you to pay double the amount of the original stone to upgrade. Whiteflash allows full value of the first diamond toward any diamond costing more than the original.

I'm not finding much within your price range without going down in size, though. This is a little higher.

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3986352.htm
 
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