My brother wants to buy this diamond - should he?

[nmg]

He has a friend in the industry and can buy this diamond at wholesale. The numbers mean nothing to me, I'm still learning, so if you could give a quick glance we would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Shape Round
Fluorescence None
Make Ideal
Depth% 61.60
Table% 59.00
Girdle Medium
L/W 1.00:1

Size 6.11 mm
Min Diameter 6.09 mm
Max Diameter 6.12 mm
Depth 3.76 mm
Culet None

0.87
CARAT
G
COLOR
VS1
CLARITY

Id
CUT
Ex
POLISH
Ex
SYMMETRY

 

[ringo865]

What lab graded it? You have Ideal and excellent going on. This is info we’d need to assist in gauging value. What is the wholesale price he is quoted for this stone?

 

[sledge]

Like @ringo865 I am curious who provided the lab report. That is not an AGS or GIA cert which is what we typically recommend. Other labs may be sufficient depending who and where you are located.

Reject! The proportions are not complimentary for an "ideal" cut as reported. The 34.5 crown does not couple well with an overly steep 41.2 pavilion. Additionally a 41.2 pavilion is sort of a border line where things go wonky. With rounding/averaging at least a few values will likely cross the boundary.

Additionally I pulled an HCA score for grins. It gives it a 3.5. You want to be 0-2, and preferably 1-2 for an e-ring. When you get in range all the light return, scintillation & fire will all read excellent. As you can see here you are only getting good to very good ratings, which is because the proportions aren't complimentary.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI @nmg
A few red flags....
1) as has been stated- it's crucial to learn which lab issued the report- other than GIA or AGS, the report is virtually worthless
2) "wholesale price" ......basically, 99% of consumers are buying diamonds at wholesale prices of 10 years back.
The term "Wholesale" means business done in bulk. Your bro is buying a single stone- it's not wholesale.
More to the point, retail sellers are far better at servicing consumers. Someone claiming to sell "wholesale" might just be admitting they are not set up to work with consumers.

3) While HCA scores can give valuable info, the HCA score on this stone does not equal an automatic rejection. It clearly states "Worth buying if the price is right"
So, there's issues about the terms of sale- clear those up first, before trying to figure out if it's a good purchase.

 

[sledge]

Good points by @Rockdiamond on the wholesale aspect.

I have a different understanding of the HCA tool. It's an approximation tool that helps us quickly sort out stones that are worth further pursuing.

There's a second statement on the HCA report I screen capped that says:

If the HCA is less than 2.5, and you can see good Hearts & Arrows, it can be a nice diamond.

I don't have a pic or video of the diamond so I can't say for certain if it has good H&A but I do know it is NOT less than 2.5.

To someone this will likely be a very nice diamond. But IMO, if you are looking for a stone with a higher level of light return, fire and scintillation you should pursue a different diamond.

The generic specs of the stone - around 0.90 carats, G and VS1 tend to suggest there will be ample supplies. So unless this particular stone has a really great price associated with it, I feel reasonably confident we could you help find a stone with a better cut.

 

[TODiamonds]

I really take HCA with a grain of salt. At the end of the day the scoring is based on one person's subjective opinion of what's beautiful - and that person happens to prefer shallower stones. Had HCA been invented by someone who likes the look of deeper diamonds (like Serge), then 3-4 would score just fine.

I've seen tons of gorgeous stones in the 3-4 HCA range and personally I prefer the look of 2-3+ more than shallower stones.

 

[Rockdiamond]

There's a value to the HCA for sure.
But as @TODiamonds mentions, it's not really something to be blindly applied.
There's the story of a stone of a diamond I bought for my wife, about 9 years ago.
It was a 60/60, K/SI2, GIA triple EX...a little over...6carats!
It scored poorly on HCA ( above 5 iirc) but the stone, in person, was beyond amazing.
Plus, where you gonna find an eye clean SI2 for that sort of price??
A J/SI1 6ct stone would have cost more than double.
Point is- there's more to the purchase of a diamond than HCA taken out of context.

 

[sledge]

It was a 60/60, K/SI2, GIA triple EX...a little over...6carats!

Wowsa. Go big or go home.

Eye clean SI2 is tough. In 6 carats I've got to imagine it's near impossible.

Was you intentionally seeking, or did it just drop in your lap by luck?

 

[Rockdiamond]

Eye clean SI2 is tough. In 6 carats I've got to imagine it's near impossible.

While it's easy to understand why a consumer might think this, eye clean SI2 diamonds do indeed exist. In any size.

Was you intentionally seeking, or did it just drop in your lap by luck?

Luck.....part of which is the luck of having an office located smack in the middle of the most active diamond trading market ( or one of the most active)...luck of having so many diamond cutter and dealer friends who know I love weird stuff and imperfect diamonds that look good.....