Well I was tempted to be lazy and not write here, but I hate it when people don't followup with what they decided. Additionally, I was frustrated not having enough pictures to see, and to give back I'll post a few of my own.
So the following is a quick rant on my decision making and perhaps some good info on picking a stone.
I weighed the pro's con's of balancing the 4 C's and came up with this.
1) The cut was probably most important. Firstly, I wanted the diamond to be beautiful and by that I mean, with sparkle, fire, brilliance, etc! Secondly, having an excellent/ideal cut makes the diamond face up SOOO much lighter. I don't have any solid scale, but after watching some Good old gold videos (I believe of an IDEAL cut K colour vs some worse cut G's) I knew I could sacrific a bit on color if the CUT was top notch. Thirdly, well cut diamonds typically have better dimensions.
Dimensions I tried to follow:
Table: 60-70% : Love the smaller table. You also know if they sacrificed yield for cut quality it should be well cut.
Depth: 70-75%
LW Ratio: 1.00-1.04
2) With clarity, i honestly would have gone up to I1 had it been somewhat eye clean, but I typically searched from VS1-SI2.
3) Color: This is where I changed my mind a few times. Initially I definitely didn't want anything lower than a G (based on reading here and elsewhere), but as I said earlier, after looking around and factoring the face-up whiteness of good cuts I bent a little here. The main reason is SIZE! Lets be honest, would any of your girlfriends really say, "Gosh, it looks like it has a slight tinge of color, or would they say, "OMG It's HUGE!". I know which side I chose.
4) Carat: I wanted to maximize this as much as my budget would allow.
Here's where I ended up:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2774478.htm
An AGS Ideal cut 1.222k I Color VS2 Princess. 64% table, 74% depth.1.02L/W ratio. ($5700...worth it in my opinion).
Forgot to mention, it also has Strong blue flourenscence...some say it brings color up maybe a half/full shade.
Finally, the setting. I looked at everything under the sun, and the Vatche Princess was by far the best I could find. Nice and low set, Excellent craftsmanship, Fabulous stones in the prong supports.
Here's a few pics! (Size 5.5)
So the following is a quick rant on my decision making and perhaps some good info on picking a stone.
I weighed the pro's con's of balancing the 4 C's and came up with this.
1) The cut was probably most important. Firstly, I wanted the diamond to be beautiful and by that I mean, with sparkle, fire, brilliance, etc! Secondly, having an excellent/ideal cut makes the diamond face up SOOO much lighter. I don't have any solid scale, but after watching some Good old gold videos (I believe of an IDEAL cut K colour vs some worse cut G's) I knew I could sacrific a bit on color if the CUT was top notch. Thirdly, well cut diamonds typically have better dimensions.
Dimensions I tried to follow:
Table: 60-70% : Love the smaller table. You also know if they sacrificed yield for cut quality it should be well cut.
Depth: 70-75%
LW Ratio: 1.00-1.04
2) With clarity, i honestly would have gone up to I1 had it been somewhat eye clean, but I typically searched from VS1-SI2.
3) Color: This is where I changed my mind a few times. Initially I definitely didn't want anything lower than a G (based on reading here and elsewhere), but as I said earlier, after looking around and factoring the face-up whiteness of good cuts I bent a little here. The main reason is SIZE! Lets be honest, would any of your girlfriends really say, "Gosh, it looks like it has a slight tinge of color, or would they say, "OMG It's HUGE!". I know which side I chose.
4) Carat: I wanted to maximize this as much as my budget would allow.
Here's where I ended up:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2774478.htm
An AGS Ideal cut 1.222k I Color VS2 Princess. 64% table, 74% depth.1.02L/W ratio. ($5700...worth it in my opinion).
Forgot to mention, it also has Strong blue flourenscence...some say it brings color up maybe a half/full shade.
Finally, the setting. I looked at everything under the sun, and the Vatche Princess was by far the best I could find. Nice and low set, Excellent craftsmanship, Fabulous stones in the prong supports.
Here's a few pics! (Size 5.5)
The Vatche Caroline is one of my favorite settings (my own daughter has it in the round version)!
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