I1 clarity question..

[taylor4]

Is it really that bad to purchase an I1? The jeweler I have been working with pulled out an round brillant, I1, 1.03, F color, premium cut. I never even considered a I1. For the most part i have been looking at F-I color, and vs1 - s2 in clarity. She knows I m on a budget... and would love to get a bigger stone if i could find one, but nothing junky.

She felt that this I1 was an exception to the rule.
It was very beautiful, and at first I did not notice any inclusions to the eye, but after studing it i found two depending on the reflections. Though they were very difficult to see and i think a prawng would cover one of the inclusions. It bugged me for a minute, but the color won me over.

Would this be a mistake? What would something like this go for? She thru. A $3000.00 figure at me, is that fair?

I m starting to feel stressed from all this studing and researching!

 

[Mara]

I1's can be great deals if they are 99% eyeclean or with inclusions that can be covered with a prong. Especially if you are on a tight budget.




What exactly is a 'premium cut'? That is what you need to find out as well. $3k for a F I1 1ctw stone is excellent, but you need to get more information on the cut to determine if its really a 'steal' or just a badly cut stone that she wants to get rid of. Jewelers throw labels on the stones often, premium, ideal, excellent, none of that really means much unless you can see the #'s and confirm for yourself the cut quality as best as possible.




Get table, depth, crown angle, pavilion angle, culet, fluor, etc. Ask for a Sarin report.




If the inclusions are only visible if you stare at the stone for a few minutes, then no worries IMO, because no one is going to be THAT CLOSE to your stone for that long of a period of time. If the inclusions are white and wispy, even better. Harder to see.




I would hands down buy an I1 if my budget was very tight, the stone was well cut and the inclusions were not visible to the regular viewer. I am actually considering a local EightStar .54 H I1 which is about 99% eyeclean (insane amounts of sparkle can mask ALOT!) for a pendant. All people will see is the fire coming off this thing.

Good luck and get more #'s!

 

[moremoremore]

perhaps THIS will make you feel better? I thought so!

 

[moremoremore]

oh no...the link didn't work....go to diamondtalk...and there's a link about a superbcert i1 that a guy bought...stunning!

 

[oldminer]

On Pricescope there are several 1ct + stones with AGS 0 cuts, so they'd all be "premium" cut range in the F-I1 quality. The prices tend to be under $3000, as low as $2200 up to a bit over $3000. All of them had EGL reports and by the terminology you used, "Premium" I'd guess the one you saw might have an EGL report, too. GIA does not use that term.

Every I1 is a different story. You do need to look at each one to know if you can live with the clarity problems inside it. Every stone is unique.

Don't be totally afraid of I1, but do be careful and selective. You should look at the alternative stones out there before you finalize a deal.

 

[taylor4]

Thanks, for your advice. I feel alot better hearing the opinions of others. It just seems like there is such a stigma over I1's I did not no if i should even go there. I m going to go back and look at it this week and get the #'s .

Thanks again!

~T

 

[icelady]

Hi Taylor,

I have an I1 F color RB. It was actually an SI1 when I received it several years ago. I am very hard on rings, I don't mean to be but somehow I am!

About a year ago I hit my ring really hard on a piece of equipment in my studio, and it suffered a small chip that I can only see with the right lighting, thus redering it an I1. The stone is still beautiful to me and no one can see the chip under normal circumstances. I now have it mounted in a pendant where I feel it is safe from me!

I have been told that I could probably wear the diamond remounted in a ring for another 15 years and not do any more damage to it.

If the inclusions (you have to look so hard to find) won't bother you over time, then I would not rule it out just because it is an I1. The cut would concern me more!

Hope this helps, and good luck!