more confused - need help deciding

[avalpert]

My search became even more confused today. I stopped in Christian Bernard mostly for the free food, but they showed a beuatifl (if possibly overpriced) Hearts on Fire diamond and that prompted me to expand my possibilities. Can you guys help me decide (or at least provide comaprative viewpoints) on these five diamonds:

#1
1.57
7.5x7.54x4.59
h
si2 (said to be eye clean, I''ll see it on wed., someone today told me si2 are never eye clean)
61% depth
56% tabl
34.3 crown
40.9 pavillion
1.3 on the hca (excellent, excellent, vg, vg)
$8,955


#2
1.50
Hearts on Fire
h
si1
$12,000 (i''ll get the other measurements on Monday)

#3
1.50
A Cut Above
H
Si1
7.43-7.56x4.50
60.3% depth
55% table
34.6 crown
40.7 pavilion
0.9 on HCA (ex,ex,ex,ex)
$10,873

#4
1.507
H
Si1
7.38x7.43x4.51
60.9% depth
57% table
34 crown
40.7 pavilion
0.8 on HCA (ex,ex,ex,vg)
$10,525

#5
1.582
H
SI1
7.47x7.51x4.59
61.3% depth
57% Table
35.5 crown
40.7 pavilion
1.1 on HCA (ex,ex,ex,vg)
$10,463

 

[Regular Guy]

Probably all nice options, with especially #3 easy to like, having the ACA imprimatur, without a significant premium to get it; also, I like the 4 exes.

 

[AZDiamondGuy]

You need to see the diamond 1st. Relying on a computer generated report can be extremely misleading.

I''ve see WAY to manny AGS 000''s that were dead and lifeless.

 

[carrot]

Make sure that you understand the various issues before making a decision.

Look at diamonds of various colors such as D, F, H and K to see the difference. Understand what you are giving up in color to get a larger stone. Color differences may be invisible to you or they may be significant.

Make sure the stone is eye clean by personal observation. If you''re new to looking at inclusions, use a loupe to find them first and then see of you can still see them with the naked eye. You may need to go to a VS2 to get an eye clean diamond. An SI1 can sometimes be made to appear eye clean by hiding inclusions with a prong. Otherwise, there is a good chance you will be able to see inclusions in an SI1.

Light return is the most important issue. An Idealscope image or GemEx Light Performance report are very important in determining the relative performance of a diamond. I would not buy a stone without seeing them on the diamond in question.

 

[karenleah15]

You need to see the diamond with your own eyes first. I have an "excellent cut" diamond that has more sparkle and fire than an ideal cut from the same jeweler. Go figure. They were the same color and close to same carat but the less ideal just JUMPED out more. It has so much more sparkle and fire than the ideal did. I also looked at hearts on fire diamonds. (I wanted the best.) After 8 months of shopping I chose a less than "ideal" cut! It just comes down to what you want your diamond to look like.