Ideal or not? help plz

[Vietcu]

I am in a search for a good diamond. Have been checking some diamonds at stores and see that an Ideal cut diamond has the best glimmer. I am curious with a budget of around $4000, can I go with a not so Ideal diamond and still get a good bang for the buck with a Very Good cut diamond. Also clarity and color what is the lowest I can go with and not see anything with the naked eye. I am putting this diamond on an 18k gold ring so I dont think I need to go with colorless or anything like that. Advice from experience people out there is greatly appreciated. Thanks

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[69gm]

hi vietcu,

i'm no expert but here's my $.02 as i've recently done some research:

the most important thing you need to look at is the cut of the stone. this means finding a diamond with good table, depth, crown angles, and pavilion angles. these all need to work in harmony to produce a nice stone. an AGS-000 or GIA-EX/EX tend to be nice stones.

that being said, i have heard that there are actually some nice diamonds out there that may not be considered ideal, but still look very nice. the experts can help you with these.

after cut i would choose color. the lowest i decided to go with was "I". i thought anything lower might be too yellow. however, i have heard of very nice "J" and even "K" stones because the cut was superideal.

as far as clarity, anything from about SI1 and up will usually be eye-clean. of course your mileage will vary but in general, this is true. it's probably overkill to go VVS2 and higher unless it really bothers you to have any sort of flaw. but keep in mind this will mostly be in your head. it won't be visible to the naked eye. even with magnification, it will be hard to find the flaws. VS1-SI1 should be your search criteria.

with a $4000 budget, you will probably be looking at a ring smaller than 1-carat...at least that has been my experience. if this is your firm budget, just remember not to sacrifice the cut for the size. cut is the most important thing! a well cut diamond will look bigger than one that is cut mediocre.

use the search on pricescope to help you. it will give you names of great vendors.

or go directly to the following. they give great information on all their stones:

www.niceice.com
www.goodoldgold.com
www.superbcert.com
www.whiteflash.com

these are just a few of the great vendors available on the internet. good luck and come back if you need more help. lots of great experts here on this forum!

 

[DiamondExpert]

You can get close to a 1ct. (0.9+ct.) in an I/J color, Hearts & Arrows, super-ideal cut, or 1+ct. K color same quality cut for about $4K.

Stay with the best cut for the best light performance!

Regards,

 

[WalnutCrunch]

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On 5/15/2003 5:40:56 AM 69gm wrote:

the most important thing you need to look at is the cut of the stone. this means finding a diamond with good table, depth, crown angles, and pavilion angles. these all need to work in harmony to produce a nice stone. an AGS-000 or GIA-EX/EX tend to be nice stones.

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Just to clarify that GIA EX/EX only tell you that the polish and symmetry are excellent, which is a good start. You'll need the measurements from a sarin analysis, etc, to be able to determine the cut.

Also, while most AGS ideal-0's are well-cut, a few of them are not. So check the measurements to make sure you're getting something that is worth the premium that is often paid for AGS ideal-0 stones.

WC

 

[caratgirl]

Hi Vietcu,

Yes, you can get a very good cut without going ideal! I would suggest that you e-mail some of the preferred vendors here to get their opinions on those types of stones. Unfortunately, we as consumers pretty much have our hands tied when it comes to less than ideal makes, since the stats just are not published very much for those stones.

I know this opinion may not be very popular with some born again consumers on this forum, but there is such a thing as a consumer wanting the middle ground in diamonds - a nice looking diamond that isn't the 'best possible' cut or color.

I would expect that any of the forum's jewelers to go into enough detail to make sure that you get a far better than average diamond for a much lower price.

Just my .02c

 

[fire&ice]

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On 5/16/2003 12:11:39 PM caratgirl wrote:

Yes, you can get a very good cut without going ideal! I would suggest that you e-mail some of the preferred vendors here to get their opinions on those types of stones.

I know this opinion may not be very popular with some born again consumers on this forum, but there is such a thing as a consumer wanting the middle ground in diamonds - a nice looking diamond that isn't the 'best possible' cut or color.


Just my .02c

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I agree on both points. The demand for excellent in polish is mind boggleing to me. When you ask the "experts" their honest opinion, as long as the polish is at least "good", the stone will be perfectly acceptable. I can see an argument for symmetry. But, can one really see a measureable difference between very good & excellent?

Cut should be a very important factor. It is the *art* of the stone. A well cut stone (but perhaps not excellent ideal cut stone) will certainly sparkle & hide many flaws of the stone. I see nothing wrong with putting cut as top priority; but, no need to go overboard if your budget doesn't permit. Quite frankly, my OEC scores about a 4 on HCA & it's plenty pretty & sparkley. Admittedly, OEC's are bad on spread. That is the only flaw I see; but, oh, those tiny tables can be charmers.

Good luck. Look around at some stones. View maul chain stones then go view branded "Hearts on Fire" & "Lazare Kaplan". Both these brands should be available for you to see at your local fine jewelers. Decide for yourself. Then find a happy medium for yourself.

Despite all the numbers & specs, at the end of the day, I would buy the pretty one w/ some size that spoke to me.