inclusions in SI1 (for engagement ring) – should I buy?

[davidlee]

Hi, I'm a newb at this but I've been doing my research – this will be my first diamond.

I've decided on a hearts & arrows ideal cut from briangavin.com and a Six Prong Solitaire Platinum – now I just need to settle on the stone.

My budget allows for $6700. I'm after about H-J in colour, VS2 or better in clarity, and a rock as big as possible with these constraints.

I'm currently leaning towards this:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/1.078-i-si1-round-diamond-ags-104064814006

or this:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/1.008-j-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104067957016

The first is an SI, but otherwise ticks all the boxes, and the second is slightly smaller and a grade worse in colour.

I'm leaning towards #1 but I'm wondering if I'm going to regret the inclusions, which are quite clearly visible in the magnified view.

According to the caption the diamond is "eye clean". It's still going to be visible upon *very* close inspection though with the unaided eye, right? I'm OK with that as long as it's only borderline perceptible, and there aren't any other negatives (like poor sparkle or whatever) that an SI1 brings that don't make this a bad purchase for me.

For that matter, if any of the other numbers or the graphs look suspect in some way – i'm a complete amateur at this – I'd really like to know.

So ... does #1 look like a good buy? Or would I be better off with #2?


Thanks in advance for your more learned opinions.

 

[TC1987]

There is a big difference between H and J colors. H will look white, and to me J is definitely pale yellow. I is somewhere in between. I think the SI1 stone will be eyeclean enough. Can you call Gavin's people and ask them just how eyeclean?

Whiteflash ACA line may be similar enough. Have you looked there? Brian Gavin developed the ACA specs when he was at Whiteflash. You chose diamonds with 77% lower girdle which give a bit broader arrow. One diamond table was 56% and one 57%. Most PS people pick 55-56% table.

 

[luvdajules]

Hi OP, I'm learning about all this too, so....the definition of eye clean at Brian Gavin is clean from 12-18 in away looking from the top down and straight on. So, this may not meet your definition of eye clean if you and your intended have hawk eyes and peer from 6" away and moving/tilting the stone. It looks like clouds and crystal are your stone's inclusions and maybe are benefitted from placement, hidden by the contrast arrows? I would call and ask to have this stone pulled and looked/evaluated with you on the phone. It's worth trying for the I color, but the J VS2 would also be very beautiful. Also remember, the stone will be so sparkly that people will see sparkle, size, and color mostly and moving around on a finger. Good selection, though! Please update your progress. Maybe others with more inclusion experience will soon be waking to chime in?

 

[davidlee]

Thanks guys, feedback has been very helpful. I'm going to pull the trigger on #1. I'll post pics once the finished ring arrives. Can't wait!

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks guys, feedback has been very helpful. I'm going to pull the trigger on #1. I'll post pics once the finished ring arrives. Can't wait!

Hi Davidlee,

You can't go wrong with either of those diamonds, each has been cut by a master cutter and world renowned expert to bring out the maximum beauty of each stone, all the hard work has been done for you, table, depth, girdle facets, star etc, all the proportions have been planned to the most exacting degree to maximize the beauty and optics of each particular diamond. The only thing you need to check, is that in SI the diamond is eyeclean to your specifications. Brian or Lesley have many years of experience with this and will be uniquely positioned to advise. Colour is again a preference, in diamonds of this calibre, a J colour is going to face up pretty white to many but colour sensitivity varies and if you feel more comfortable with an I, that's the way to go if eyeclean. You can look forward to knowing you will have a fantastic diamond, congratulations!

Luvda and TC, that's some nice help you gave in this thread, good job guys!