Is This Ideal?

[Vhee]

Hi! I have been lurking here for a few months since my boyfriend and I decided to get engaged. Everyone seems to be so helpful and finally I have a question I need answered so I get to post finally!

My boyfriend and I both have friends who have family members who are diamond wholesalers. We trust both of them, but it''s just such a big purchase it''s making me nervous. One of the wholesalers seems to only have EGL stones, which I know most members here frown on. She has a :

1.54 CT EGL D SI2
7.43x7.36
61.6 depth
55 table
excellent excellent, cut grade excellent
no flour

Is this really a Ideal cut stone? I know EGL will be "soft" with the color and clarity, but as long as it looks good to the naked eye it''s fine by me. It''s a great price too, but I am worried about it really being Ideal Cut. I''m not a Diamond expert so I feel silly questioning someone who is one, but again she might sell 100 diamonds a day but I''m only getting one like this is my life so I just want to be sure.

The other diamond dealer has AGS and GIA stones and told us a report with the cut grade is $500 extra, one without a cut grade is $75 which is added to the price we''d pay. He was very pushy about not needing a "Excellent" stone and we should settle with a "Very Good". He also said there is a shortage right now of 1.5CT stones so we should try and get a smaller size. I''m not convinced all he said was true, I think he was just being pushy which really is his personality.

Is the stone I described a Ideal Cut? We think we got a bit over our head asking 2 friends for help because we have gotten a bit of conflicting information from both, but each is offering great prices to us so we''d like to try and take advantage if everything checks out. Thanks in advance for any help offered!!!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Welcome! I will get straight to the point. We have never seen anyone truly get a good deal from the friend of the family diamond "wholesaler". You get what you pay for, so if that stone is really F color and I1, that is probably what you are paying for. I would bow out now while you can. The other one is feeding you a load of something. I assure you we could help you find a 1.5 ct. stone, and that is ludicrous to tell you that very good is good enough and that you don''t need excellent cut! I wouldn''t even speak to him again!

I will tell you that GIA and AGS lab reports are worth every penny because they are reliable! You may need to go just under 1.5 to really get a nice stone. But I''d much rather have a smaller stone that was excellent quality than a larger one that was bad. If you absolutely have to deal with the first one, tell them you only want to see GIA Excellent stones period. Then we can help you evaluate whether the stone is good or not and give you some price comparisons.

 

[dmus]

I would never go back to the second person either. The spread on the D SI2 seems a bit low for an ideal cut. You need more measurements to tell if it''s an ideal cut and with my limited experience I''d insist on an AGS or GIA cert.

You need to do a search on the sites mentioned here like BlueNile to get some price experience. I believe you can find a 1.5 ct G SI1 ideal cut for between $12,000 to $14,000. I don''t think you need a D color but that''s my preference. Good luck.

 

[Sparkalicious]

Date: 3/7/2008 10:43:19 PM
Author:Vhee

1.54 CT EGL D SI2
7.43x7.36
61.6 depth
55 table
excellent excellent, cut grade excellent
no flour

Is the stone I described a Ideal Cut? We think we got a bit over our head asking 2 friends for help because we have gotten a bit of conflicting information from both, but each is offering great prices to us so we''d like to try and take advantage if everything checks out. Thanks in advance for any help offered!!!!!

Hi Vhee! Welcome to PS!

Diamondseeker made some great points worth serious consideration ...

To address your question about "Ideal Cut" ... Yes, the 61.6% depth and 55% table do fall within what is considered "Ideal cut" parameters, that info alone is not enough to confirm.
Are you able to obtain the crown angle and pavilion angle details, for example? If so, you should be able to determine if this is indeed and "Ideal Cut" diamond.

The following are some general Ideal Cut number ranges you may wish to keep in mind or use as a guideline during your search.

Total Depth% - 59 - 62%
Table % - 53 - 58%
Crown Angle - 34 - 35
Pavillion Angle - 40.5 - 41
Polish and Symmetry - Exc to VG is fine.

If you have not already, you may wish to review the Advanced Tutorial section under the "Knowledge" tab at the top of the page for some more information.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your diamond search!

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome Vhee!

In addition some vendors use the term ideal cut very loosely, it in no way means you are getting a great performing diamond with a true ideal cut.

Stick to AGS0 and GIA Ex cut grade as D says, then make your selections from those, to make finding a true ideal cut easier. Also which branch of EGL graded this diamond?