Impressions with my SI2 stone.

[stermag]

My boyfriend and I recently purchased an engagement ring and it was delivered yesterday.

It''s a platinum royal crown setting with the following diamond:

Carat: 1.52
Measurements: 7.42x7.46x4.55
Cut: AGS Ideal: 0
Light Performance: 0
Proportion Factors: 0
Polish: Ideal
Symmetry: Ideal
Color: F
Clarity: SI2
Depth: 61.1
Table: 56
Crown Angle: 34.9
Pav Angle: 40.9
HCA: 1.8 (EX, VG, VG, VG)

It was a virtual stone and I was a little hesitant at first, particularly after learning that the main clarity setting inclusion was a "large feather". The idealscope image the vendor forwarded made the inclusion seem very prominent, although it was white and off to the side, nowhere near the table. The vendor, after examining it personally, assured me the feather did not pose any durability problems and we agreed to move forward.

I have read a number of forums on SI2 stones around here and they were very reassuring and encouraging. Still, I must admit there were moments, prior to delivery, that I second guessed myself and wondered if I shouldn''t have sacrificed on color in order to find better clarity. Well, the ring arrived yesterday and let me tell you... the "large feather" is so small it is covered almost entirely by a prong. The vendor said that it can be seen with the naked eye "once you know where to look" and I must say this is true... HOWEVER, I have only been able to find it ONCE after 10 or so minutes of staring at it under a loupe. After seeing it under 10x magnification, I was able to look at it with the naked eye and say "well, yeah, I GUESS I can see it". Since then, I tried to point it out to my boyfriend and couldn''t remember which prong it was under, so we looked and looked and looked and I still couldn''t figure it out.

Moral of the story: I cannot imagine myself every purchasing anything higher than an SI stone. I am a twentysomething with incredible eye sight and I honestly cannot see the imperfection that made my diamond thousands of dollars cheaper from others that size. I would never compromise cut or color on account of clarity. When we started our search, I was looking at diamonds in the 1-1.22 carat range because I refused to dip down below VS2, but I ended up with a diamond larger than I ever thought possible just because we did and I couldn''t be happier. The common disclaimer, of course, is that SI diamonds are somewhat tricky to buy as the type and location of their inclusions will determine whether or not it is a good buy. Still, I wanted to chime in so that anybody out there who is currently discounting all SI stones for fear of getting a "facetet SOS pad" needn''t worry - they truly can be fabulous!

(by the way, no pictures yet as the engagement will not occur for some time and I don''t feel quite right showing off a ring that isn''t technically mine yet)

 

[Sundial]

So glad that you love your new ring - the diamond looks to be fantastic! I too thought I had to have at least VS2 to get a nice diamond when we upgraded my ring last year. I ended up with an SI1 center stone that is completely eye clean and gorgeous. Then when we upgraded my stud earrings at Christmas I jumped up in size, but was comfortable in dropping from VS2 to SI2 in clarity. The SI stones can be so beautiful and such a bargain.

 

[BSHAW]

Well I think I speak for everyone when I say hurry up and get engaged so we can see the pictures. lol
I have heard this about the SI diamonds over and over and everyone seems to love them. I paid the inflated price for a VVS2 but I probably wouldn''t do it again after hearing all these stories and just thinking about adding a quarter carat instead is amazing for something you can''t even see!! Congratulations.

 

[AndyRosse]

I'm glad yoiu are happy with your SI2 stone!

I think SI stones are the best values!

Please post pics after the engagement, okay??

I'll be waiting

 

[sslkrissi]

Hello,
Congratulations on your ring! I have recently begun to look at SI stones and have been pleasantly surprised. The latest one that I have found is this one: http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-821291.htm

It looks like it would be eye clean to me, but apparently SI2''s rarely are. Since you have found one that you love, how does it compare to the one that you bought? Are they the same type of inclusions?

Thanks

 

[belle]

awesome stermag. i really wish we could see that ring! make sure you come back with pics (hopefully soon!)

i am definitely a fan of si stones....LOVE THEM!!

 

[stermag]

sslkrissi,

When I was shopping around for SI stones, the vendor I worked with said that the key is to find a diamond with a clean table and no/minimum black. My stone has a white feather that is off to the side in the pavilion and some very minor twinning wisps in the center, but those are virtually impossible to detect.

The 1.56c you''re citing looks to have a couple of feathers on its table accompanied by what I think are three small crystals. When looking at the magnified image, I can JUST make out one of the feathers (at least I think) but it looks to be very thin (much thinner than mine) so I am tempted to deduce that it wouldn''t be visible unaided. Having said that, my impressions are obviously just that. If you contact WF, the good folks there will be able to tell you whether this diamond is eye clean. I don''t know much about crystals - I gather it could be an empty cavity or a solid inclusions entrapped in the stone. If it isn''t black, it''s probably not a big deal, but again the vendor will be able to give you answers to all of this very easily. Inquiring into an in-house stone is a piece of cake. I had to have mine called in so some of the answers weren''t readily available to me until the vendor was able to examine it personally.

Best of luck!

 

[stermag]

Since this pic was taken by the vendor and not me... I guess it''s not realy like *I* am showing it off, right?

More pictures will come after the engagement, naturally, but for now, here''s my 1.52c F SI2 in a platinum RC setting.