J Color Princess - Help

[cdafreak]

I was looking at an EGL certed 2.04 ct stone with a J color that seems to be well cut (using the AGA guidelines).
I haven''t seen the stone personally and was thinking about buying it from an online retailer, and then judging for myself.
Here are the stats:
Dimensions 7.19x6.92x4.85
Depth: 70.1%
Table Width: 78%
Crown Height: 9%
Girdle: Medium Polished
Polish: Good/Very Good
Symm: vERY gOOD
Flour: Slight Blue

I was thinking of mounting it in platinum of white gold with channel set side stones.
The stone was $7500.

Good Deal or pass?

 

[Giangi]

From the specs you posted, it seems to be an EGL-Israel graded stone. You have to be careful, they are often lenient and liberal in their grading. A 2ct, J colored, princess cut diamond may show some color. Fancy shapes can be really tricky at times and they tend to show color much more easily than round brilliants.
As for the price quote you received, we can't really tell without knowing the clarity grade and how accurate are the ratings.

 

[valeria101]

Some might not favor the large table, but this is no disaster - just the usual "princess cut" look. There is much to be said about a princess cut aside the AGA, since this standard does not guarantee brilliance. It is generally assumed that brilliant princess cuts would coem with the table a bit below the depth % - but there is no readily available way to judge this unless the stone itself has been tested in some way. Otherwise, this type of cut (depth around 70 and a larger table) is the common look of the cut, and some may argue that this is what princess cuts were supposed to look like in the first place... not very brilliant but showing some attractive cut through the large tanble. There is always some choice between the two lines of theory, I would think.

You do not mention the clarity - the price seems to indicate VS2... right?

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 4/26/2004 2:54:45 PM Giangi wrote:

From the specs you posted, it seems to be an EGL-Israel graded stone. ----------------

How can you tell?

 

[cdafreak]

----------------
On 4/26/2004 3:00:44 PM valeria101 wrote:

Some might not favor the large table, but this is no disaster - just the usual 'princess cut' look. There is much to be said about a princess cut aside the AGA, since this standard does not guarantee brilliance. It is generally assumed that brilliant princess cuts would coem with the table a bit below the depth % - but there is no readily available way to judge this unless the stone itself has been tested in some way. Otherwise, this type of cut (depth around 70 and a larger table) is the common look of the cut, and some may argue that this is what princess cuts were supposed to look like in the first place... not very brilliant but showing some attractive cut through the large tanble. There is always some choice between the two lines of theory, I would think.

You do not mention the clarity - the price seems to indicate VS2... right?

----------------

sorry, it is VS1 clarity.
I have a picture of the EGL cert, but it doesn't say where it was certed.
I've seen some EGL's from New York that say New York. Is it true that the EGL New York judges stricter than their other offices?

 

[cdafreak]

If I were to go with a J color, would an GIA 'J' always be a better choice than an EGL 'J'?

 

[sunseeker]

My diamond is EGL USA and it says just that on the diamond certificate: EGL USA. I, too, have heard that NY standards are higher than CA. You can also determine if it's NY or CA by the certificate number. Mine begins with a 2, and I remember that to be NY. Anyone else w/ more info on this? I would like to know, too!

~Sunseeker

 

[oldminer]

A GIA J will be a GIA J, no question about it. Will an EGL J be a GIA J? Now that is something no expert would promise. An EGL J is absolutley and EGL J, whatever that might mean to anyone.

The diamond itself, meanwhile, is still the same color regardless of who or what lab graded it. It is a matter of subjective grading that determines where one stone is a low borderline J and another is an upper borderline K. Usually where there is a difference of opinion on color, the difference is much more than a borderline judgment call. SO, be careful.

 

[cdafreak]

What is your take on the comment that with a princess that a 1A rated diamond might not have as much fire as a lower rated one?

 

[oldminer]

I agree that the 1A grade is more indicative of "cut quality" than an accurate way to measure light return. One must remember that when I began creating these cut classes it was before 1990. No one was even discussing brilliancy way beack then. We needed a way to quantify how well the cutter had done the job in terms of spread (diameter) versus depth, outline, and durability. That was the main thrust of grading fancy shapes. Now the issue includes light return.

Garry Holloway and others have shown that oddly cut diamonds may have super light return. They may not score well on the AGA charts, BUT are those stones pretty, desirable and durable? The answer is they likely have some cutting fault eventhough they are good with light.

In the end, a fancy with a grade lower than 2A has some cut quality problems, even if it does do well with light. I have been recently contacted by someone claiming that princess cuts with 14% crown heights are way superior to those with 9 or 10% crown heights. This may be the case and the AGA charts may be further revised at some point. Since very few princess cuts even get to 9% crown heights, it won't make a lot of difference to most people, but I never push only buying 1A cut fancy shapes as there are just so many pretty and nice diamonds that won't quite make it to 1A and they deserve a look and a purchaser, too.

 

[moremoremore]

being classified as a 1A guarantees nothing!

 

[alexah]

I have a 1A cut princess & I can tell you it's more firey than any pricess I've ever seen! It throws off rainbows like you wouldn't believe... btw, it's a GIA J VS2

You can see my diamond/ring in the Show me the Ring Forum under the title "Happily Engaged & LUVing my E-ring", if you're curious.

As an aside, before we bought that princess, we looked at an EGL "J" stone which, upon appraisal, turned out to be a K. We didn't keep it because we would have overpaid but it was plenty pretty.

Good luck with everything!