Ideal cuts... are they really ideal?

[thamiral]

Hey everyone!

I've narrowed down my choices to two ideal princess cuts from jamesallen and I've tried to get some kind of indication of what ideal means

Anyone have any practical experiance on how Ideal is the jamesallen princess cut is? (well after seeing the goodoldgold video on "Not all ideal cuts are created equal" -- I'm kinda cautious)

I took a look at the ASET image for one, decent symmetry, good light return (more reds than green), but no decernable blues and black regions where the blue should be for what I think would be a good Ideal cut! -- Jamesallen did say their ASET imager is broken and I still dont have ASET image for my first choice.

Btw, my priorities on a diamond
1> Cut, Fire and Scintillation
2> Brightness/light return & symmetry
3> Color, Clarity, Carat, Price

And finally here are my two choices, in order (Both are in the $5K range -- my budget for a 1carat)
1.> http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1432687.asp (I choose this one because of the dimensions)
2.> http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1320414.asp

 

[thamiral]

ASET image

 

[slg47]

Hey everyone!

I've narrowed down my choices to two ideal princess cuts from jamesallen and I've tried to get some kind of indication of what ideal means

Anyone have any practical experiance on how Ideal is the jamesallen princess cut is? (well after seeing the goodoldgold video on "Not all ideal cuts are created equal" -- I'm kinda cautious)

I took a look at the ASET image for one, decent symmetry, good light return (more reds than green), but no decernable blues and black regions where the blue should be for what I think would be a good Ideal cut! -- Jamesallen did say their ASET imager is broken and I still dont have ASET image for my first choice.

Btw, my priorities on a diamond
1> Cut, Fire and Scintillation
2> Brightness/light return & symmetry
3> Color, Clarity, Carat, Price

And finally here are my two choices, in order (Both are in the $5K range -- my budget for a 1carat)
1.> http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1432687.asp (I choose this one because of the dimensions)
2.> http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1320414.asp

this is a really good question. vendors have different labels for 'ideal' that are gauged on different criteria. AGS also uses the term 'ideal'. As far as the diamond you have selected, I prefer the F. JA will provide ASETs of 3 diamonds, so I would also request one for http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Good-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1356546.asp

 

[jstarfireb]

I believe JA's cut classifications are based only on dimensions like depth, table, and girdle. This does not tell much of the story for princess cuts and other fancy shapes. There are many stones that JA calls "ideal" but clearly would not make AGS ideal. The only label of ideal that you can really trust is the grade given by a reputable lab, namely AGS, since it's the only lab that grades princess cut quality. GIA, for example, does not grade princess cut quality. Every princess cut must be evaluated individually if you want to determine the cut quality, and ASETs are a great way of doing this.

The ASET you posted looks blurry for some reason but seems pretty good from what I can tell. I'd wait to make your purchase until JA fixes their machine, then check out the others too, including the one SLG mentioned. But keep in mind that the huge dimensions on the G/VS2 are a typo; it's actually 5.85 x 5.73, which are the dimensions listed on the GIA report. Good luck!