Last minute help with Princess cut purchase

[Lawtalkingguy]

I'm looking for a little help with making my final purchase decision for a princess cut e-ring for my girlfriend. After doing months of research and looking at thousands upon thousands of diamonds on Jamesallen, bluenile, whiteflash, etc., I finally went into a well respected local store and picked a diamond in person. I actually bought one today to pick up tomorrow but I'm now thinking of getting the other diamond I was looking at and just need a final push one way or the other.

I was looking for a 1ct princess cut G-H, VS2-SI1, good cut all that. These are the final two contenders

$3,100 - .91 princess cut, H, SI1 (eye clean), GIA, table: 72.9, depth 70, polish: VG, Symmetry: EX, Dimensions: 5.56-5.48-3.88

$4,500 - 1.01 princess cut, G, SI1 (eye clean), GIA, table: 78, depth 72, polish: EX, Symmetry: EX, Dimensions: 5.49-5.46-3.98

On the above, it seems like the .91 wins, much cheaper, actually larger face up, better table %, and again, much cheaper. I actually bought this one and it is being set in the morning. I like how it looks, it seems to be a tremendous deal, and I really like its sparkle and scintillation compared to similar diamonds, many of which had even better table/depth numbers (68% table, 70% depth).

The thing is, the 1.01, which is faceup smaller and a lot more expensive just looks like it has so much more sparkle to me, more so than any diamond I have seen in person. I've done so much research that I'm super confused why this diamond looks so good to me since the numbers don't seem to be ideal (too big of a table). I really had to talk myself into the .91 because of the price but I can't stop thinking that I made the wrong call. In every light situation I could try at the jewelers (under regular lights, more intense lights, in the back office, etc.) the 1.01 just looked better. To the jewelers credit, they pushed me towards the .91 diamond, which I was impressed by.

Just looking for any last thoughts from anyone. Does this happen sometimes, where the numbers just don't tell the whole story? Should I just go with my gut and get the more expensive one that looks better to me? Its hard to spend that much more for a diamond that on paper is not as good.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[drk14]

In every light situation I could try at the jewelers (under regular lights, more intense lights, in the back office, etc.) the 1.01 just looked better. To the jewelers credit, they pushed me towards the .91 diamond, which I was impressed by.

Just looking for any last thoughts from anyone. Does this happen sometimes, where the numbers just don't tell the whole story? Should I just go with my gut and get the more expensive one that looks better to me? Its hard to spend that much more for a diamond that on paper is not as good.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Since it seems you're in the legal field (?), let me play devil's advocate...

Maybe the jeweler was pushing the 0.91 stone exactly because it was the poorer-quality stone, and therefore harder to get rid of (while the great-performing 1.01 will practically sell itself)???

OK, the above was just a thought, I have no real reason to believe your jeweler was not being completely above-board.

To answer your question, the numbers do not tell the whole story, especially when the only numbers you have are table and depth. Others will chime in here I'm sure and fill in the details, or you could start clicking and reading the highly informative links under the 'Knowledge' tab above.

Most people on this board buy diamonds from internet vendors, sight unseen, and therefore have make decisions based on the data in lab reports, high-definition photographs, and light-performance analysis in the form of IdealScope and ASET imagery. You on the other hand, are in the privileged position of having compared the two diamonds in person.

If the 1.01ct diamond looks better to you (under a diverse range of lighting conditions), then it is better. You just have to decide whether this diamond's superior light performance, together with its slightly whiter color, and the "status" associated with being able to say you have a 1.0+ ct diamond, are worth an extra $1400 to you.

If you're just curious about why the 1.01ct diamond is outperforming the 0.91ct diamond, you will have to post more information, including crown and pavilion angles, and images, if available (including high magnification photos, IdealScope and ASET).

If you have the time and patience, and are open to buying a diamond on the internet, you could also ask for assistance here to help you find the best possible princess cut within your budget.

 

[Gypsy]

Numbers are irrelevant with fancies. And princesses are fancies. NEITHER paper is better or worse. The table on BOTH stones is fine. No single number means anything. It's all about how the angles work together with diamonds. You should always buy the stone your eyes prefer especially if you have put them through their paces.

Ideally I would like you to get an ASET of each. And therefore make a more informed choice.

But if the vendor doesn't provide that, then you go with what your eyes like. Also, please post where you are so we can get you a good appraiser.

And NEVER by from a vendor that doesn't have AT LEAST a 7 day full refund, no questions asked, return policy.

 

[Gypsy]

Here's my princess speech, please read:

With the exception of AGS0 princess. Paper means nothing with princeses. Those diamonds could be gorgeous, or complete dogs. GIA does not grade their princesses for performance. Only AGS does.

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king. With fancies though (anything other than a round brilliant), that is a little complicated. But no other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut.

There really is no other way to determine if you have a good princess is to see images of the stones, and then you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.

That's what an ASET image does. http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=education-performance Please read.
And ASET shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return That is why you won't see us recommending vendors like Blue Nile, as they do not provide images or ASET images for their diamonds. James Allen and Good Old Gold do this. So do Brian Gavin and Whiteflash and High Performance Diamonds.

Here is what I mean. Compare these two:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.00-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-295886
G color
VS2
Depth 76.3
Table 69
Ratio: 1.01
Excellent polish
Good Symmetry
Girdle Medium

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.00-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-283672
G color
VS2 clarity
Depth 76.2
Table 69.9
Ratio: 1.02
Very good polish
Very good symmetry
Girdle Thin to Slightly thick

Numbers are VERY close right? And the first one has a better girdle. And while the symmetry on the first one is only good, that's not a disqualifier with princesses.

Now look at the pictures. The first one is a VERY dark stone, and frankly a dog as far as princesses go. Second one is an AGS0 with ideal light return and is very bright, with just enough patterning to provide contrast.

In summary: NUMBERS ARE MEANINGLESS.

 

[Lawtalkingguy]

Thanks so much for your replies drk14 and Gypsy. After literally tossing and turning all night thinking about this, your posts helped me make the decision to go with the stone that really spoke to me. Thanks for your help. This is a really awesome forum and I was truly impressed your the helpful and thoughtful responses.