Is this a good deal for a round shy 1 1/4 ct?

[sisu24]

I am looking at a round 1.20 ct. GIA I-SI1 with a grade cut of Very Good, Polish Very Good, Symetry Good, with a medium blue flouresence. Depth is 61% and Table is 56%. Girdle is medium to slightly thick and no culet.

Measurements: 68.5*6.93*4.20
Price: $4,610.00

Does this sound like a good deal?

You guys have been very helpful. I would like a nice shy 1 1/4 ct within my $5,000 budget, but this does may not be possible from my initial research, so if you guys think this diamond is not very well balanced I will start looking closer to 1 ct with better cuts with possibly H color.

 

[mandielee]

Do you have the crown and pavilion angles, and perhaps the girdle thickness? I recently got a gorgeous stone that was given an AGS 3 (Good) on proportions, but only due to a girdle that fell just foul of the thick line.

 

[sisu24]

The Pavilion angle is 41.2 degrees and the Crown angle is 33.5 degrees. I could not find the exact measurements on the girdle thickness.

 

[gwendolyn]

That stone gets a 2.3 on the HCA ("very good--worth buying if the price is right") with those numbers. Is there any particular reason you were aiming for a stone around one and a quarter carats? People here tend to say that 'cut is king,' and would suggest either ideal-cut stones or excellent-cut stones (which can still be beauties but aren't quite as expensive as ideals). With a $5000 budget and the desire to have over a carat, maybe Whiteflash's Expert Selection would have a good stone for you? Let me see if I can find anything for you.

ETA: Hmm, they all seem to be around $6000, except for the SI2s which are a gamble since they may not be eyeclean. Let me check GOG and see if I can find anything for you.

ETA2: Going by what you stated in your OP, is it more important to keep the colour around the H/I level and with fewer carats? Because if you were willing to go to a J (which, with an ideal cut might possibly look whiter than the stone in your OP that's only a 'very good' cut), you could maybe get something like this for just a hair over your budget:

1.171ct J SI1 Round Hearts & Arrows, 1.4 on the HCA (ex/ex/ex/vg), $5229.08 bank wire price: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2712/

 

[sisu24]

Thanks Gwendolyn. You are obviously more knowledgable than me so I trust your opinion and appreciate any suggestions you have. When I give it to my sweetheart it is kind of nice to say, "It''s about one and a quarter carat", but it is more important to me (and I''m sure her) that it is eye-clean and appears bright and sparkly. If I can create that appearance by going to an ideal cut or excellent cut with a color grade of J, then that''s fine with me. And if that makes it appear visually larger, that''s great!

I have learned a lot, but I still don''t have a very good grasp on what degree small variations in cut and color have on the visual performance while saving money and making it look bigger than it really is.

Thanks for your help.
-Mike

 

[KCCutie]

Do a search and look at some of the pictures of J colored stones. Many people can''t tell the difference between a J and H/I but if your SO is color sensitive she might see a slight difference. Personally if they are ideal cut I can''t see the difference form the top but sometimes I can from the side.

 

[gwendolyn]

Mike, probably the best bet, if you haven't done so already, is to visit a local jeweler who carries ideal-cut stones (Hearts On Fire would work fine, for example) and look at the stones in person to get an idea of how low in colour you would be willing to go--some people can detect a bit of warmth to the stone with a J, even if it is ideal cut, and others can't. Of those that do detect it, some prefer it, and others don't. It's all personal preference, and some of it is difficult to learn through pictures online. So, what might be a good idea is to visit a store in person, really see firsthand how ideal cut stones perform and what colour grades you like, and then figure out if an ideal-cut J is the stone for you. There are many happy J owners here who swear by them, and they are an excellent way to get a larger stone for less money. But only you know if you and your lady will be happy with that, not me!

But yeah, check them out in the stores, and then buy similar stones for less online! That's what I'm doing!

As far as 'looking bigger than it really is,' the type of setting you choose will determine to many degrees how large a stone will look once set. Also, the size and length of your lady's fingers will also affect the appearance of the size of the diamond (ie: a 1 carat stone on a size 9 finger will look considerably smaller than a 1 carat stone on a size 4 finger). If you want to maximize your stone to give it the most visual impact, most folks would suggest a halo setting, which surrounds the center stone with small diamond melee, giving tons of sparkle and lots o' blinginess. Did you have a setting in mind already?

ETA: That reminds me! Is the $5000 budget for just the stone, yes? Not the stone and the setting combined, right?

 

[sisu24]

I see now that I should be looking at J colors. $5,000 is my budget for the loose diamond. I planed on buying a 14k band under $400.00.