looking for right diamond??

[linrock]

i am a newbie, me and my bf are looking at diamonds for an ering. i would like about .74 but we cant aford that now because we are saving for a house. our price range is about 2100 and are looking at the range of .66 to about .7 nothing less than I color, is that unrealistic and also i saw some on whiteflash that i do like,but their certs is gia and does not list enough info for me to gauge if its a good cut or not. any sugg.. thanks

 

[valeria101]

Not unrealistic at all... Also, you can also ask for more details on cut and use the Ideal Scope (or ask for Iscope picture) for a stone, I supose.

As for suggestions, how about this one:
0.7cts, I, VS2, HCA 2 , AGS0

 

[chris-uk04]

This is from the "additional H&A" search engine on goodoldgold's site. So, i think you can do well if you go for a I-SI2. SI2 (GIA) should be fine at 0.7 carats. It's another avenue anyway.

 

[valeria101]

What is the 'right' diamond for you?

As you can see, the premium for H&A varies enough to allow an I-SI2 and I-VS2 to get into your budget for the same color and weight. It can be argued that both prices are perfectly justified since not all H&A are the same and neither is the service being delivered with them.. etc. But a diamond is a diamond, in the end. It seems that, at some point, one more notch of cut perfection is not more worthwhile than the extra notch of clarity or color. This may mean that a tad more complicated shopping could pay, since non-H&A diamonds could very well hold their own in terms of light return.

This is no secret: some sellers (Whiteflash, DirtCheapDiamonds, GoodOldGold, Abazias - I guess) do offer stones clasiffied a notch below 'ideal'. For example, these stones would be listed with Good or better light return on the Ideal Scope reference chart (HERE) without having 'ideal' proportions and the resulting harts and arrows.

Does this make sense?

Example...
J-VS, 0.75, Ideal cut at DCD
And
0.84 H-SI2, EGL

The second stone is a little piece of guesswork. The EGL certs contain crown and pavilion heights... hence the HCA result. In this case, the thick girdle does not allow for much precission of the HCA score (the HCA implies a thin-medium girdle and does not allow for adjustment). However, my guess is that this one could have good light return regardless - since the HCA result is senzitive to depth variations for these particular proportions, and total depth depends on the unacounted for girdle thickness. The same numbers for a stone with thin girdle and a tad less total depth would bring HCA around 2. The stone could well be worth asking for the Iscope pic and inquiring about it's look and optics. If my hunch is correct, this could be a bargain...

In general, inspecting EGL stones could yield a good buy. The cert is reputed to be a tad imprecise (so the stone could end up degraded one nothch in color or clarity if sent to GIA) but in a stone aroud 1ctm, the cut may be judged more important for the 'look' than this color/clarity bias. EGL stones are sold at a discount (greta for budget maximization) and have some more info on cut than GIA stones - at least for now.

 

[aljdewey]

Hi, Lin: You're right in the ballpark, and you should be able to find something in that range.




Here are a few I found:




.70, F, SI2 for $2125 (before PS discount)


http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-548827.htm#




.72, H, VS1 for $2245 (before PS discount)


http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-442494.htm# - The ideal scope on this is GORGEOUS!




.716, H, SI2 for $2218


http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=6950877




.768, I, SI1 for $2304


http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=6950879


This one looks beautiful!




Good luck!

 

[linrock]

Thanks for all info guys.. i am still looking i tried to call whiteflash in regards to getting the crown and angle info on some of these diamonds and they were closed

I need help selecting about these which is best diamond#1
diamond #2
Diamond#3
diamond#4
i would like to stay just uder $2000.00 and a diamond that has shine to it

 

[phoenixgirl]

#1 and #2 both looked good. 3 didn't have the angles, and I couldn't open link 4. Ask for the discount to get a price closer to $2K for either.

Some more ideas:

0.71 I SI1

0.73 G SI2 H&A

 

[aljdewey]

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On 3/19/2004 7:52:25 PM phoenixgirl wrote:





#1 and #2 both looked good. 3 didn't have the angles, and I couldn't open link 4. Ask for the discount to get a price closer to $2K for either.

Some more ideas:

0.71 I SI1

0.73 G SI2 H&A


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I don't like the images of the .71 I stone - the culet appears to be off center.....look at the length of the arrows on either side. One looks squished. Look at where the table is.....the culet looks WAY off center.

I don't see crown/pav angles for this G, SI2 , either.

 

[pqcollectibles]

The Vert Cert on the 0.73, G, SI2 says the girdle is "INSCRIBED H & A AGSL #". Doesn't necessarily mean the diamond is an H&A. Could be labeled with the inscription as a marketing tactic. Doesn't mean the diamond won't score well on the HCA or perform well. Just might not be a true H&A.

 

[valeria101]

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On 3/19/2004 8:03:39 PM aljdewey wrote:

I don't like the images of the .71 I stone - the culet appears to be off center.....

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These are nice. The stone mentioned above has "Ideal' Symmetry and a somewhat unfocused picture

Nearing H&A perfection (as oposed to topping it), will mean great light return and price.