shape
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Lost Guy Trying To Buy Right Ring

Gaff

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As most people I assume I have no clue about diamonds. Until recently I didn’t know brick and mortar stores were so low quality. Since then I’ve been looking at Blue Nile for what I think is a good stone. I’ll preface this by saying my gf cares about cut the most. She wants it to sparkle. She cares about clarity the least. Color and carat are a wash. Here’s the ring below that I’m considering.

Carat Weight - 1.40
Shape - Round
Cut - Ideal
Color - J
Clarity - si2
Length/Width Ratio - 1.00
Depth % - 60
Table % - 58
Crown % - 32.5
Pavilion % - 41
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Excellent
Girdle - Medium to Slightly Thick
Culet - None
Fluorescence - None
Measurements - 7.28 x 7.26 x 4.36 mm
It scored a .8 on the HCA cut scale.

I know color is J but I can’t see any coloration. I had to search for a J like that. Price is $6436. Is this a good buy?
 
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Niel

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I don’t have enough information to make a determination can I see the link
 

MarionC

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It is too included for my taste and does not look ideally cut to me. I think you could do better... But take my opinion with a grain of salt and I'm sure others will chime in.
 

ac117

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Crown angle is a too low on the BN stone and could be a chipping risk. This stone has an excellent cut and would be a great choice if eye clean and if it has no transparency issues bc of the twinning wisps: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3418667

These 2 are slightly smaller but better clarity and would be excellent choices:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4636296
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3746713
 

Lorelei

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As most people I assume I have no clue about diamonds. Until recently I didn’t know brick and mortar stores were so low quality. Since then I’ve been looking at Blue Nile for what I think is a good stone. I’ll preface this by saying my gf cares about cut the most. She wants it to sparkle. She cares about clarity the least. Color and carat are a wash. Here’s the ring below that I’m considering.

Carat Weight - 1.40
Shape - Round
Cut - Ideal
Color - J
Clarity - si2
Length/Width Ratio - 1.00
Depth % - 60
Table % - 58
Crown % - 32.5
Pavilion % - 41
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Excellent
Girdle - Medium to Slightly Thick
Culet - None
Fluorescence - None
Measurements - 7.28 x 7.26 x 4.36 mm
It scored a .8 on the HCA cut scale.

I know color is J but I can’t see any coloration. I had to search for a J like that. Price is $6436. Is this a good buy?

Hi Gaff and welcome!

It's not a badly cut stone by any stretch of the imagination, crown angle is actually fine and not that shallow in the scheme of things. My concern is whether it would be eye clean enough in that size, also you'd need to check whether the cavity mentioned ( a polite term for hole) is a potential durability issue.

It's not the best of the best cuts but it's still quite good, it just depends what you want, or rather, what your Gf wants and it seems you know what that is.
 

rockysalamander

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I don't care for a CA that low, I cut off the CA at 33 with a well-paired PA (but I really prefer 34-36.5 with good images for stones at the high end). The diamond will have a flat look (more of an aesthetic choice) and that low crown even when well paired, will give up fire. Low CAs also tend to have more obstruction at close viewing and the center will go grey (thus, why they are fine for pendants and earring as they are viewed from afar). They can, however, have good spread depending on other proportions. But, as BN will not provide IS (idealscope) or ASET images to evaluate light return on rounds, I would not advise a stone with these proportions.

I think for your budget, @SimoneDi found some better choices, especially the two smaller/better clarity options. If JA can get IS images of this diamond, it may be worth looking at if your budget allows. Its got the same weight at the SI2 you found but lacks some of the more worrisome clarity features. CA of 33 puts in on my potential list only with a IS image.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4606500

In terms of color, I would not read too much into the color you see on the videos on JA. They are not all taken using a standard angle and light temperature, which you can readily see (look at the color of the background and you'll see what I mean). BN floods the videos with so much light that everything looks white. You can sometimes see tone of the body (yellow, brown, grey) and some videos scream that they are a very low color in a range. I've found that most people can start to see body color from the side and 45 degree tilt at an I. From the top, stones down to a K can look white (and a few PS members have L and Ms that are white from the top).

To get to your size, you are wisely lowering color to J and flexing clarity. One other thing would be to make sure to choose a setting that makes seeing the stone from the side obstructed by a prong or gallery detail.

Can you give us your total budget for the setting and the ring? Do you have any inspirations for the setting that she pointed out? That will influence how much it will cost.
 

SimoneDi

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Agreed with @rockysalamander that your original pick can be improved and the diamonds found by @ac117 are great choices!
 

Lorelei

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You guys!

slider_grouphugg.gif
 

Gaff

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She wants a paved setting. Micro paved to be exact. Can you guys show me some good diamonds in the $5500 price range? Preferably around the 1.2 carat size if possible. Like I mentioned earlier clarity is her least concern. Sparkle is her biggest.
 

Lorelei

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She wants a paved setting. Micro paved to be exact. Can you guys show me some good diamonds in the $5500 price range? Preferably around the 1.2 carat size if possible. Like I mentioned earlier clarity is her least concern. Sparkle is her biggest.

We'll be glad to!

If my Glitter Fairy isn't working, she might hunt up some good ones.
woohoo.gif
 

Lorelei

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stonewell

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Lorelei

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ac117

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She wants a paved setting. Micro paved to be exact. Can you guys show me some good diamonds in the $5500 price range? Preferably around the 1.2 carat size if possible. Like I mentioned earlier clarity is her least concern. Sparkle is her biggest.

Here are a few other possibilities:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4628114
Even though this is a 35.5 with a 40.8, I like the look of it but would only consider it if they could provide an IS: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4636359
60/60 style: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4743201

If you're willing to drop to a K:
This is AGS ideal that's a 60/60 style, gets you a larger stone that will be very bright, which will certainly help mask the K color...the ASET is also very nice: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...rat-k-color-si2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-4748734
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...k-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4654818
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...k-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4293612
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...k-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4597300
 

Gaff

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Would the pave setting cause the K diamond to look more yellowish?
 

Lorelei

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Would the pave setting cause the K diamond to look more yellowish?

Possibly you might notice a touch more warmth when compared to the tiny stones but this will be the case anyway as tiny tiny diamonds do look very white usually. To get the size for the budget, it looks as if K colour might be worth consideration to get a great cut, or go slightly lighter on carat weight and get a higher colour.

With the K and pave setting contrast, an expert vendor with the stone in hand can advise.
 

Gaff

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So what parameters do I need to stay within to get a sparkly diamond? Even though it’s rated as xxx and ideal cut doesn’t mean it’ll be sparkly?
 

Lorelei

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So what parameters do I need to stay within to get a sparkly diamond? Even though it’s rated as xxx and ideal cut doesn’t mean it’ll be sparkly?

The original diamond has good proportions and it should certainly be sparkly! Just to throw an educational spanner in the works, when GIA released their cut grading years ago, all the experts, vendors and interested consumers were up ready to see how it worked but soon realised their cut grading method allowed some ' undeserving' stones to get the Ex cut grade. However, it's a case of weeding through the proportions to see which are the best ones and due to the angle averaging, reflector images are invaluable to see how well it all works together.

So there are certainly fantastic stones among GIA Ex. It just takes a bit more work to find the best ones and then checking them out with images such as ASET.

The simplest way if you want a true Superideal is to probably look at A Cut Above from Whiteflash, Crafted by Infinity, Brian Gavin Signature and so on. Or you can use these proportions to narrow the field, there can be some variation but the following numbers should get you in the ballpark, bearing in mind other proportion combos can also work exceptionally well. Or look at AGS0 cut grade ( most Superideals have this coveted report and Ideal cut grade by default).

Depth 60 - 62%
Table 54- 57%
crown angle - 34 - 35 degrees
pavilion angle 40.6 - 41
Girdle - thin to medium, slightly thin to slightly thick, avoid extremes.
Polish and symmetry - excellent or ideal.

The above numbers are posted as a guide not an absolute and you'll find the branded Supers have proportions which fall within these guidelines but again, some variation can also work well.
 

tuckie

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@Gaff what is the budget you're planning for the setting? Perhaps we can help you find a setting + stone together and understand a little bit about the tradeoffs between the two?
 

rockysalamander

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Unless your girl has seen a K color diamond and is ok with that much body color, I would not recommend you surprise her with one. I see my rings mostly from about a 45 degree angle. I see that more than the straight-down view (imagine how awkward a position that takes). But, color is very personal and you'll get as many suggesting a K as not. I'd rather drop my size. But, thats me.

What does your girl do professionally (or is studying to do)? Is she in an artistic field? Is she someone that has loads of nailpolish or purses or shoes and must have just the right colors to match or is she a "black shoes match all'? Does he use words like greige, winter white and alabaster...or is is all beige? This might give you some sense of her likely color acuity.

I'm a *bit* more generous than @Lorelei, but we are pretty close on these.

table: 54-58 (I personally prefer up to 57.5)
depth: 60-62.5
crown angle: 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown angle can sometimes work with a 40.6 or 40.8 pav angle; up to 36 with ASET/IS)
pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (sometimes 41.0 if the crown angle is close to 34)

Run anything you find through the HCA tool. Keep anything under 2.0, reject >2.0 (but, don't bother if you are looking at the super-ideals noted above). Anything left, is worth pursuing if it meet your color/clarity brief by getting ASET or IS images.

I concur on GIA 3x. Its a starting point that acts like a coarse filter for rounds. Staying within the range above is another filter. HCA is yet a third. IS/ASET is the final one. For some proportions, I'd only pursue them with IS/ASET, but other are well within the safe range that you may not need them.
 

Gaff

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I’ve primarily been looking on blue nile so I was going with their settings. It’s $740
 

Lorelei

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Unless your girl has seen a K color diamond and is ok with that much body color, I would not recommend you surprise her with one. I see my rings mostly from about a 45 degree angle. I see that more than the straight-down view (imagine how awkward a position that takes). But, color is very personal and you'll get as many suggesting a K as not. I'd rather drop my size. But, thats me.

What does your girl do professionally (or is studying to do)? Is she in an artistic field? Is she someone that has loads of nailpolish or purses or shoes and must have just the right colors to match or is she a "black shoes match all'? Does he use words like greige, winter white and alabaster...or is is all beige? This might give you some sense of her likely color acuity.

I'm a *bit* more generous than @Lorelei, but we are pretty close on these.

table: 54-58 (I personally prefer up to 57.5)
depth: 60-62.5
crown angle: 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown angle can sometimes work with a 40.6 or 40.8 pav angle; up to 36 with ASET/IS)
pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (sometimes 41.0 if the crown angle is close to 34)

Run anything you find through the HCA tool. Keep anything under 2.0, reject >2.0 (but, don't bother if you are looking at the super-ideals noted above). Anything left, is worth pursuing if it meet your color/clarity brief by getting ASET or IS images.

I concur on GIA 3x. Its a starting point that acts like a coarse filter for rounds. Staying within the range above is another filter. HCA is yet a third. IS/ASET is the final one. For some proportions, I'd only pursue them with IS/ASET, but other are well within the safe range that you may not need them.

I too am actually a lot more generous with the proportion combos but for keeping it simple!:lol:
 

rockysalamander

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I’ve primarily been looking on blue nile so I was going with their settings. It’s $740
BN won't provide IS or ASET images on round diamonds, so it would be worth looking at other vendors. James Allen, Enchanted Diamonds, Brilliantly Engaged...I'm sure I'm missing a few. Since you are pushing the edges of size with your budget, we need to scour every source. Diamond can move very fast, so if you find some you like, put them on hold.

With a few exceptions, they are all pulling from a similar set of wholesalers, so there is some overlap in availability and sometimes you can find images/video on one site and not another. Most of us US East coasters still have a few hours of work left (ahm as I'm typing about not work). You'll get more folks chiming in as the evening progresses.
 

tuckie

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rockysalamander

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So, I re-read this thread and count at least 12 stones posted for your perusal. That's amazing! Yay PS members! But, what do you think? Can you give us some feedback before we keep looking? Which ones of these suit or don't? Where are you leaning on color?
 
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