Loose Diamond Help

[wsd382]

I've been a lurker on PS for some time now and I've recently started actively looking for an E-ring. I've browsed before on Blue Nile, JA, WF, etc... But I've recently started looking for diamonds in person. I happen to see a lot of people referring others to purchase SI1 and SI2 diamonds that are eye clean but I've yet to find one that is eye clean in person. I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and have been looking for a few months now and was on a cruise recently and went to the Grand Cayman's and went to Diamonds Intl. They didn't have a ton of loose diamonds but they had enough for me to browse and again I've had the same problem. I'd like to keep my budget somewhere between 8000-10000 and am having the hardest time finding one. I don't wont settle for a diamond as I feel like I won't be happy with this big purchase, so I am needing some advice on where to be looking etc... Thanks.

 

[Gypsy]

I'm going to guess that most of the stones you were viewing were not GIA or AGS graded.

There are MANY truly eyeclean Si1 stones.

You live in the Dallas Fort Worth Area. Any chance of getting over to Houston?

 

[Gypsy]

What shape diamond do you want?

 

[Gypsy]

To get you started:

ON CUT for ROUND BRILLIANT DIAMONDS:
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.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only. EGL is a bad option: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/[/URL]
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
http://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
http://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. http://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It 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 Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.

ON COLOR:

It is important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. So... no. Not really. Within 2 color grades it is hard. Not impossible. But very hard. And it gets harder once set. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

Generally we say to be conservative stay above H in a round. But MANY people have happily bought white I or even J diamonds when trying to eek out a little more size. I personally would go down to I without a second thought.



This is how I think of it.

Ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. One there's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really. They are all white?

Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great.

And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.

YES. If you have an accurately graded F and an H THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white.


I want you notice all the qualifiers thought. I'm talking about stones with the SAME performance. An ideal H will out white an F that has compromised light performance from a poor cut.

NOTHING impacts the appearance of a diamond as much as cut. CUT is king.

You want the shinest whitest and brightest diamond out there: Cut is King. No other factor, not color or clarity or anything else impacts how white bright an shiny a stone is.

ON CLARITY:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/Clarity/SI/ and http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/Clarity/VS/ Generally we say that eyeclean SI1 and VS2 are as high as you need to go with round brilliants. But that assumes that you are talking GIA or AGS stones that are accurately graded.

 

[Gypsy]

Now if you haven't been looking at GIA or AGS diamonds. You may have an inflated idea of what your budget buys. So I'm going to tell you flat out that you are looking at a 1-1.2 carat diamond. Unless you are willing to go down to I or J color. Good news is, if you haven't been looking at GIA or AGS stones, then you probably haven't been looking at accurately graded color either. So you probably have no idea what a real I or J looks like.

Here's a lovely stone. Will be completely eyeclean. As you can see even magnified there is very little visible.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.14-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-84643
Similar: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.22-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-284269

 

[Gypsy]

If you want a larger diamond,

Then I would recommend you call BC2 and ask them to get you a picture and an idealscope of these stones. And ask them if they are eyeclean (I stuck to VS2 though):
http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4527385-1.50-carat-Round-diamond-I-color-VS2-Clarity.aspx?sku=4527385&utm_source=pricescope.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com
http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4168213-1.35-carat-Round-diamond-I-color-VS2-Clarity.aspx?sku=4168213&utm_source=pricescope.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com

And if you are willing to go to J do the same for these:
http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-3195804-1.59-carat-Round-diamond-J-color-VS2-Clarity.aspx?sku=3195804&utm_source=pricescope.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com
http://images.b2cjewels.com/Images//Certificate//4440390.pdf

 

[msop04]

Now if you haven't been looking at GIA or AGS diamonds. You may have an inflated idea of what your budget buys. So I'm going to tell you flat out that you are looking at a 1-1.2 carat diamond. Unless you are willing to go down to I or J color. Good news is, if you haven't been looking at GIA or AGS stones, then you probably haven't been looking at accurately graded color either. So you probably have no idea what a real I or J looks like.

Here's a lovely stone. Will be completely eyeclean. As you can see even magnified there is very little visible.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.14-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-84643
Similar: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.22-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-284269

OP, have you thought about old cut diamonds? You may be able to squeeze out a little more size for the buck due to old cuts tending to face up whiter than MRBs...

http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/loose-diamonds/1-29ct-old-european-cut-diamond-gia-k-vs1.html

Gypsy, what do you think of the color of this stone?? If it faced up like an I, then it would be a steal!

 

[msop04]

This stone would be my pick... It's an I color, but has medium Fluoro, and it's larger than the other stones. PS members get a small discount with JA as well, so that would put this stone in budget.

I know it's overkill on clarity, but I didn't search for it on purspose... just happened to be IF.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...t-i-color-if-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-247300 $10,100

This would be my pick if you'd rather not go down to I...
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.22-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-284269 $9430

 

[msop04]

This stone would be my pick... It's an I color, but has medium Fluoro, and it's larger than the other stones. PS members get a small discount with JA as well, so that would put this stone in budget.

I know it's overkill on clarity, but I didn't search for it on purspose... just happened to be IF.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...t-i-color-if-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-247300 $10,100

This would be my pick if you'd rather not go down to I...
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.22-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-284269 $9430

Ya know what... I take that back. The H would be my first choice, since the size difference is so miniscule.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Gypsy has given you a major amount of good information, but I would just add that if you bump up to VS2, you'll have a much better chance of finding eye clean stones. Vendors who provide photos and other information on the stones are the ones I focus on. Gypsy has suggested B2C, and if they will provide magnified images of the stones and idealscope images, that is great. I normally stick with Good Old Gold, WhiteFlash, and James Allen since they at least have images of the stones, and the first two offer idealscope and ASET images as well (JA will allow you up to 3 images and it takes a couple of days for them to get them). GOG and WF stones are also mostly in-house and they can easily pull SI1 stones to tell you if they are eyeclean, whereas JA, B2C, and others do not have all their stones on hand. I would not buy an SI stone, or any stone for that matter, without magnified images and idealscope images.

Gorgeous H VS2 stone posted by msop! (That one already has hearts and arrows images on the page, so you don't need to request anything.)

 

[msop04]

Gypsy has given you a major amount of good information, but I would just add that if you bump up to VS2, you'll have a much better chance of finding eye clean stones. Vendors who provide photos and other information on the stones are the ones I focus on. Gypsy has suggested B2C, and if they will provide magnified images of the stones and idealscope images, that is great. I normally stick with Good Old Gold, WhiteFlash, and James Allen since they at least have images of the stones, and the first two offer idealscope and ASET images as well (JA will allow you up to 3 images and it takes a couple of days for them to get them). GOG and WF stones are also mostly in-house and they can easily pull SI1 stones to tell you if they are eyeclean, whereas JA, B2C, and others do not have all their stones on hand. I would not buy an SI stone, or any stone for that matter, without magnified images and idealscope images.

Gorgeous H VS2 stone posted by msop! (That one already has hearts and arrows images on the page, so you don't need to request anything.)

Thanks, DS... I really like that stone as well!

This is very true about going with VS2, but it will most likely decrease the size stone the OP can get -- unless the budget can be increased. <--- I'm such an enabler!!