Judge this SI2...

[capitang]

Hi everyone! Great site here--it has been very informative! I''m narrowing down my choices on diamonds for my girlfriend''s engagement ring and trying to find something that I like within my budget. Before I found pricescope, I went to a local jeweler and looked at a few diamonds with them--one of which is the one I''m considering below. It''s an SI2, but I remember it looking pretty good when I saw it. I''m going to go back and look in person, but I thought I would post the specs up here to see what you all thought beforehand:

GIA Certified and Inscribed
Carots: 1.51
Color: H
Clarity: SI2
Cut Grade: Excellent

Polish: Excellent
Symetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None
Additional Comments: Additional twinning wisps are not shown. Surface graining is not shown.

Depth: 61.4%
Table: 59%
Crown angle: 34.0 deg
Pavilion angle: 40.8 deg
No cutlet

HCA rating came to 1.5, which looks pretty good.

I don''t have an idealscope or anything like that to take a look in person though--is the HCA rating a good enough indicator that the light return will be good? What other questions should I ask about it when I go back? What should I look for under the loupe? How much do you think this stone is worth?

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/12/2010 3:52:28 PM
Author:capitang
Hi everyone! Great site here--it has been very informative! I'm narrowing down my choices on diamonds for my girlfriend's engagement ring and trying to find something that I like within my budget. Before I found pricescope, I went to a local jeweler and looked at a few diamonds with them--one of which is the one I'm considering below. It's an SI2, but I remember it looking pretty good when I saw it. I'm going to go back and look in person, but I thought I would post the specs up here to see what you all thought beforehand:

GIA Certified and Inscribed
Carots: 1.51
Color: H
Clarity: SI2
Cut Grade: Excellent

Polish: Excellent
Symetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None
Additional Comments: Additional twinning wisps are not shown. Surface graining is not shown.

Depth: 61.4%
Table: 59%
Crown angle: 34.0 deg
Pavilion angle: 40.8 deg
No cutlet

HCA rating came to 1.5, which looks pretty good.

I don't have an idealscope or anything like that to take a look in person though--is the HCA rating a good enough indicator that the light return will be good? What other questions should I ask about it when I go back? What should I look for under the loupe? How much do you think this stone is worth?

Thanks for your help!!

Hi Capitang and welcome!

The diamond has definite potential. Having said that, the HCA isn't meant to be used as a selection tool, it is used for rejection and tells you if a stone is worth further consideration ( generally those which score below 2). It doesn't indicate that the light return or beauty of a diamond will be of any given standard, just that it has potential.

As you have seen the diamond and like it then it could definitely be worth shortlisting for purchase if it is eyeclean. Ask if you can view the diamond away from the bright store lights, especially with twinning wisps they can pop out in some lights more than others.

Pricing: generally brick and mortar stores are more expensive than online vendors, you can use the tool above to search for similar above, this will give you the prices for online diamonds, then add around 10 - 15% and that should put you into the right ballpark.

The best way to learn about your diamond would be to get an independent appraisal and negotiate a return period with the seller and get this agreement in writing. An appraiser can give you an impartial opinion on the price paid, quality and cut of the diamond, plus the detailed appraisal would be useful for insurance purposes. Below is a tool you can use to find an appraiser in your area.

appraiser listing

 

[Dreamer_D]

It looks promising based on the type of inclusions, but you cannot tell by a plot, only in person. Take it into many lighing environments and made sure it is eye clean to your standards.

The cut grade and HCA are good selection tools to a degree. Without an IS image we can''t help you much remotely, since we cannot know for sure whether leakage is a problem. I like smaller tables personally, but you have seen the diamond and need to be the ultimage judge.

There is a price search tool near the top of the screen. Use it to find comparables and compare price.

 

[capitang]

Thanks for the quick feedback! I know it''s difficult to make a good assessment without actual images. Regarding HCA as a rejection tool, does that mean that a 1.0 rating should be considered the same as a 1.5 (for example)? As long as you''re below 2.0, ignore the rest?

Good suggestion to take it into different lights. I remember the stone to be eyeclean, but when I looked at it before I was considering many different stones and I wasn''t in the potential buyers mindset yet. I''ll be bringing another pair of eyes with me next week to make sure I''m not missing anything!

Price-wise, I''ve been hoping to find an acceptable 1.5c or larger to fit my budget, and this was very attractively priced at $9700. Seems like a very good B&M price to me after searching for comparable stones online. I think I am much more inclined to buy a VS2 or greater if I buy online, since I will not be able to see the inclusions in person beforehand.

I''ve been looking at GOG quite a bit and love all the information they provide (has their site been down since yesterday though?). Even without seeing the stones in person, I feel like I get a pretty good sense of what I''m getting. I still have hang-ups about buying over the internet though.

 

[HVVS]

HCA is a rejection tool. If it's below 2, that's usually good. If it's over 2, but not by a lot, it might still be okay for the price. The HCA program just looks at parameters. It is a rough guide but that's all.

Oh yes, definitely be sure to look at any SI2 or even SI1 in all kinds of lighting and at all angles. Be very critical. And read this SI2 horror story:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/what-is-this-scariness-in-my-diamond-that-i-thought-i-loved-pic.136987/

I have a SI2. It's F color, and the inclusion is a dark garnet color crystal. In the table area. A good 75% of the time, it's never even noticed. But at a certain tilt and especially in fluorescent office lighting, the inclusion looks like a spec of dark nail polish or something on the stone. The dark speck is near the surface, so it really shows at just the right tilt and lighting conditions, lol. I don't mind it, but I can imagine that might really bother somebody else. The color and cut, however, are dazzling, all the time. Here's mine:
F SI2

There's a thread in here that's discussing clarity grading. Personally, I'd have probably called my F SI2 an I1. But the grading uses "at a glance" so at a glance you might not see what makes my diamond SI2, but if you stop and really look at it tilted, it's really seen. One of the experts made a comment about grade creep, as in yesteryear's I1 is today's SI2, so that might make a eyeclean SI2 harder to find nowadays. Especially in the larger ct weights. The Eyecandy thread had lots of eyeclean SI2s in previous years, but I don't see too many being bragged about in the past year of so. SI1 seems a much more attainable grade for what most people here want as their eyeclean.

 

[Dreamer_D]

If you work with a trusted BS vendor who can be your eyes you can easily go SI1 buying online. But it is al about your own tolerace level. And all PS recommended vendors have excellent return policies that make it very simplt to check the diamond out in person before you commit. In my opinion, any extra hoops are worth it to save a thousand or more dollars.

 

[capitang]

Yikes, I had glanced at that thread, but reading thoroughly it really drives home the importance of getting a reasonable period return policy in writing. I''m not too worried about this local B&M, with mostly 5-star yelp reviews and a very knowledgeable staff (definitely the most helpful I''ve dealt with so far). Still, it''s always important to cover your bases.

Beyond asking to look at the diamond outside or away from the bright lights, what are the types of lighting environments that I should make sure to test out?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/13/2010 3:52:57 AM
Author: capitang
Yikes, I had glanced at that thread, but reading thoroughly it really drives home the importance of getting a reasonable period return policy in writing. I'm not too worried about this local B&M, with mostly 5-star yelp reviews and a very knowledgeable staff (definitely the most helpful I've dealt with so far). Still, it's always important to cover your bases.

Beyond asking to look at the diamond outside or away from the bright lights, what are the types of lighting environments that I should make sure to test out?

Try plain daylight, with the sun behind and in front of you as suggestions, and in dimmer daylight if possible. We had someone see twinning wisps clearly in her SI2 stone recently although she was advised what to look for and even saw an appraiser, so look at it carefully as inclusions can pop out in some lights more than others.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/12/2010 9:52:11 PM
Author: dreamer_d
If you work with a trusted BS vendor who can be your eyes you can easily go SI1 buying online. But it is al about your own tolerace level. And all PS recommended vendors have excellent return policies that make it very simplt to check the diamond out in person before you commit. In my opinion, any extra hoops are worth it to save a thousand or more dollars.

I just noticed this

I don''t actually recommed you use a BS vendor in truth, I don''t think they have ther best diamonds

. Stick with PS vendors.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/13/2010 11:36:34 AM
Author: dreamer_d

Date: 3/12/2010 9:52:11 PM
Author: dreamer_d
If you work with a trusted BS vendor who can be your eyes you can easily go SI1 buying online. But it is al about your own tolerace level. And all PS recommended vendors have excellent return policies that make it very simplt to check the diamond out in person before you commit. In my opinion, any extra hoops are worth it to save a thousand or more dollars.

I just noticed this

I don''t actually recommed you use a BS vendor in truth, I don''t think they have ther best diamonds

. Stick with PS vendors.

I must admit that gave me a little giggle earlier...!