Melee Question

[chrono]

I was thinking of re-using my 10 G/H VS2 2 pointers from an old ring to make my diamond band. I think they are just mediocre quality since there is no paperwork for any diamonds of that teeny tiny size. Since these are so small, can anyone see any difference between the regular cuts and super duper cut melees? And if I bought super duper melees, what would that cost me?

 

[oldminer]

Your G/H VS stones may be fine for the job. You should look at a layout of super cut stones to make such a decision. Be certain you clean up your diamonds completely before comparing as dirty diamonds do not perform...

 

[noobie]

I agree. (No one would listen to me anyways if I disagreed with Dave

) As long as they are full cut at 2 points, they're so small that I don't think there will be much difference.




Have you ever seen them loose? They look like little chips.




Sevens made a five stone ring with 10 pointers. I think she had three and bought two or something like that. Maybe she can comment if she saw any difference.

 

[Patty]

Good for you on recycling those diamonds that are not being worn! I know that my diamonds are not ACA quality melee, but I still like my band of .03c melee and like that I was able to use the diamonds again!

You've got to realize that we get a bit carried away here sometimes. What the eye can see is limited. My wedding ring has .07c melee and I was told once that some of the stones are a better quality than others. I never could tell a difference until I saw my ring pictured in macro mode which shows much more detail than the eye can perceive. What you will be seeing is basically just sparkle.

 

[Jennifer5973]

I also feel that shooting for perfect H&As or strict Ideals in melee may be a bit superfluous. Personally, I don't have the energy to ferret out 20 stones to that degree. It's hard enough finding a larger diamond!

What's the ROI? It's going to look the same to 99.99999% of people. Clean, clear well cut stones will do the trick.

 

[WinkHPD]

I DO NOT AGREE!

While many older cut mele are beautiful, many stink! I just took in a ring today for a redesign. The center stone is a very pretty marquise, the side stones are lifeless lumps of crystalized carbon.

I showed them some well cut (not H&A) .01, .02 and .05ct diamonds and they were amazed at the difference, even in the tiny sizes.

This will be a question of how well your older cut stones are. They may be just perfect, they may reak. You must look and decide with YOUR eye. Just because they are small does not mean they do not need to be pretty.

Wink

 

[Patty]

Um...I agree with

!

 

[strmrdr]

I agree with wink..
While I gave up searching for the perfect h&a at that size and moved up in size there is a definate difference even in .02 and .03 melee.
I have a couple different peices with that size melee one while clean and white is lifeless the others while darker tinted are fiery.

There can be a downside to a good arrow pattern with small diamonds I notice it with my .15 at times id imagine it might be worse in some of the smaller sized stones.

see my last post here: page 2
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-diamond-whatcha-think.18084/

 

[Jennifer5973]

I think we all agree with Wink--no one said not to care about melee or disregard the quality, but to look for well cut, eye clean stones that sparkle.... At least that's what I meant. I DO think trying to get perfect H&As for 2 point stones might be a bit much but surely they should be cut well enough to sparkle.

Hey--it's a personal thing. If you have the money and the time to look for perfect depth, tabel, crown, and pavillion, symmetry and polish on 20+ One point stones, knock yourself out. Then when you're done, you can come to my house and clean my white bathroom tile grout lines with a Q-tip.

 

[noobie]

Hello Wink,




I don't think what we said was incongruous with your post. It was agreement with "Your G/H VS stones may be fine for the job. You should look at a layout of super cut stones to make such a decision"




I still stand by my opinion that for such small stones, if you get full cut stones like Russian Cuts, they will look pretty and it will be hard to tell the differnece from anything that is supposed to be better. I gotta invoke rate of diminishing returns at some point and for me it's when they get this small. Personally I don't clean grout with a toothbrush let alone Q-tips /idealbb/images/smilies/2.gif, but to each their own.

 

[WinkHPD]

Hey, how often can I shout "I dissagree" with Old Miner and not look completely insane, I couldn't pass it up! hehe

I would rarely go beyond a fine russian cut mele, but I mean the Russian cut like it used to mean, not the way some of the (expletive deleted) russian cuts are today. Fine cuts in the smalls are probably as good as one would ever need, but the H&A stones do have a mystique about them that is enchanting.

And I wish that the horrible cutting that we so often see would hurry up and dissapear, but I am afraid that it will always be with us, like the common cold and taxes...

Wink

 

[chrono]

Okay, let me summarize the responses received:

1. There is a visible difference in melees of poor, good and excellent quality.
2. At some point, it is difficult to differentiate the quality between very good and excellent cut melees due to their small sizes. Eg, ACA melees and well cut Russian cuts.

Did I get that right? I just don't want my diamonds to sit in my jewelry box collecting dust when it can be reused in another project. But if the quality is poor, then I suppose there is nothing I can do. I think I'll bring the diamonds to my local B&M for his opinion on the cut quality.

I want this new diamond band to look like a band of twinkling lights when worn alone on the finger. To get this effect, I think most here are saying a well cut melee is fine. There is no need for H&A quality. Is there even H&A quality in 2 pointers? What is the price difference between a H&A quality 2 pointer vs a Russian cut of G/H VS? Will SIs suffice?

Thanks everyone for replying.

 

[WinkHPD]

I would say that you have it down pat! SI's will look great!

Wink

 

[strmrdr]

Your summery sounds good to me.
Yes there are h&a pattern 2pt diamonds.
imho calling them true h&a is stretching it a little.
A half way decent arrow pattern is about the best you can expect.
Prices will vary all over the place.
Si's are fine in this size.
I got a ring with what would likely be rated i1 2pt and I cant see the inclusion even though one of em has a carbon spot that is easy to see at 10x.
To my eyes the whole diamond tends to blend together due to the small size.
The brighter better looking ones mentioned above are the i1's the dull one would be rated vs likely.

 

[Jennifer5973]

So, no one is going to come clean my grout?

 

[chrono]

Sorry, Jennifer. However, I'm sure most of the ladies here will volunteer to wear and clean your numerous sparklers.

 

[noobie]

----------------
On 8/20/2004 9:15:13 AM Jennifer5973 wrote:





So, no one is going to come clean my grout?

----------------

I will ..... so long as I can use an industrial pressure washer

The guys checking the HCA scores on 2 pt melee can come clean up after me

 

[chrono]

Urgh! The GG said the cut quality is bad.

That sucks because I can't reuse these melees for anything. I suspected these weren't good because they just didn't sparkle like my diamond pendant but I was hoping that maybe it's because it's too small.

However, the upside is that I can do more diamond shopping.

Who carries really good quality melees? There's GOG, NiceIce and Wink. I don't want to pay for branded cuts so WF is out. Are there any other vendors?

 

[noobie]

In addition to those, you may try Dirt Cheap Diamonds or Gary Dutton. I got prices between $700 to $1000 per carat for the stuff. So around $300 for the seven stone 5 pt ring.




WF does not sell melee loose.