Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud earri

[Lavy]

I have a pairs of diamond studs 0.95 tcw SI2 F good to very good cut that I wear all the time. When I purchased them they were in my budget and I knew I was sacrificing cut and brilliance.

I have the opportunity to upgrade them with insurance money but I would only be able to go to a 0.85 tcw with similar clarity and color but an ideal cut.

Do you think I would notice the difference to just the upgrade in cut?

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

You can only call that if you can see them side by side or if you remember your old stones well enough see the new ones in person. I'm not very nutty about perfect cut for earrings and prefer older cuts for chunky light. If this is an insurance payout and they are offering the new stones or a cash payout I would take the cash and keep saving so you can get a better cut AND a bump in size.

 

[sugarski]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I'll respectfully disagree with Asscherhalo_lover a little bit here. I think the difference between good and excellent cut will be something you will definitely notice, even on earrings, and you may find the sparkle and brilliance of an ideal-cut .85 pair makes them look just as big as the .95 you lost. I love old cuts, but I also love my ideal-cut BGD studs, which are about .85 ctw, as a matter of fact. The perfect size, imo.

 

[Lavy]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

You can only call that if you can see them side by side or if you remember your old stones well enough see the new ones in person. I'm not very nutty about perfect cut for earrings and prefer older cuts for chunky light. If this is an insurance payout and they are offering the new stones or a cash payout I would take the cash and keep saving so you can get a better cut AND a bump in size.

Unfortunately the cash payment would only be 50% of the value, so I can either replace for $2000 or only get $1000. That being said as long as I replace with jewelery I can spend on whatever pieces I'd like.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I'll respectfully disagree with Asscherhalo_lover a little bit here. I think the difference between good and excellent cut will be something you will definitely notice, even on earrings, and you may find the sparkle and brilliance of an ideal-cut .85 pair makes them look just as big as the .95 you lost. I love old cuts, but I also love my ideal-cut BGD studs, which are about .85 ctw, as a matter of fact. The perfect size, imo.

I NEVER said you wouldn't notice a difference, I just said only seeing them in person would tell you for sure if it was worth it.

OP since it's a choice of diamonds valued at 2k or a 1k payout then it's a no brainer, take the diamonds.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

You can only call that if you can see them side by side or if you remember your old stones well enough see the new ones in person. I'm not very nutty about perfect cut for earrings and prefer older cuts for chunky light. If this is an insurance payout and they are offering the new stones or a cash payout I would take the cash and keep saving so you can get a better cut AND a bump in size.

Unfortunately the cash payment would only be 50% of the value, so I can either replace for $2000 or only get $1000. That being said as long as I replace with jewelery I can spend on whatever pieces I'd like.

IF you get to buy the replacement yourself...I would buy from a dealer that allows upgrades and then in a few years upgrade them. That way if you want larger stones with a better cut you could eventually get them. HTH

 

[Rockdiamond]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

It's important to remember that cut classification is a subject which is commonly confusing for consumers.
There are cut grades assigned by GIA, and this is very different then cut grades which are assigned by the seller themselves.
The reason it seems to me that many consumers get confused by this is that some of the sellers present these non GIA grades in such a way to be purposely misleading.

Based on the wording of your question, I do not believe the stones that you originally had were graded by GIA for cut.

If you were given a choice between GIA grated EAX cut grade, and VG cut grade, I always consider the stones themselves. There are times that a GIA VG cut grade can be prettier to a given individual than a EX cut grade. This can be based on proportions and other things that would not affect the cut grade.
For earrings especially, VG cut great makes a lot of sense if you can get a larger spread for the money.

 

[Lavy]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I believe you are correct, they are not GIA certified therefore I don't really know what the cut classification. They seemed cloudy compared to my engagement ring so I presumed that was part of the quality of cut.

Would even moving to a GIA certified diamond greatly improve quality (and get a larger size) or should I aim for ideal cut?

 

[FightGravity]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I'd go down to G or H and get a pair of non-branded, ags 0 ( or Gia XXX with great specs) ideal cut stones. You could get a good bump in size that way!

 

[Sphene]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I would stick with earrings you have and spend the money on something else with jeweler with a good upgrade policy then in few years upgrade to earrings that really stand out all the while having had extra bling - best of both worlds

 

[Queenie60]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I prefer cut grade over size. I have a beautiful pair of pear shaped stud earrings with and excellent cut - GIA graded and although they are L color, I had them set in white gold and the cut allows them to sparkle and hide a lot of the buttery yellow color. Just my opinion, we all have our priority when in come to the 4 C's.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

If you are upgrading cut and not weight, you are essentially upgrading size because of two reasons:

1. A well-cut diamond will often have a higher diameter for the same weight, but even if the diameter is the same, a well-cut diamond will appear bigger than a poorly cut diamond.

2. A well-cut diamond of the same weight will generally come from a bigger piece of rough. Many people point at the so-called 'premium' for higher cut-quality, but most of that premium is essentially due to the bigger piece of rough and thus higher cost of rough.

Just wanted to share these two ideas.

Live long,

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I had a pair of nice-looking, ungraded studs (1.5 ctw) and sold them at a loss once I saw ideal cut diamonds. I then bought my first pair of WF ACA's. Best move I ever made, and I have since upgraded through Whiteflash a couple of times until I finally got what I think is my final pair (which is a funny statement if you know my history!).

 

[ponder]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I have .82 ctw AGS0 studs. I repeatedly have people comment that they are the sparkliest diamonds they have ever seen. Strangers friends, family, you name it. Cut is definitely worth it. Also, because they are so sparkly edge to edge, people also think they are much larger than they are.

 

[VRBeauty]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

My everyday earrings are about .44 ctw AGS-0. I also own a pair of .50 ctw studs that I had bought earlier, intending to use them as everyday earrings. They're clean and withe enough, but... they just don't perform, so what's the point? I definitely think its worth upgrading for better cut, even for fairly small stud earrings.

 

[kenny]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

If it's worth it to you then it's worth it.

Why ask others? ...
The vast majority of diamond buyers have size as their first priority.

 

[athenaworth]

Re: Is it worth upgrading cut and not size on diamond stud e

I had my 1ctw studs recut by Good Old Gold for sentimental reasons. They went down to .85ctw and I swear they looked bigger because they were so much brighter and beautiful with H&A cuts.