Narrowed down to 2- help me pick!

[tomcollins]

I'm about to purchase a modest cushion and have the 2 finalists on hold. They'll be reviewed by a gemologist, but I wanted some additional input from the PS community. My reqs were .7+, G+. VS2+, depth/table 59-69, girdle max VTK, LTW < 1.05, polish/symm VG+, prefer no crushed ice.

I've spent countless hours/days searching online (the PS search tool rocks! pun intended), so unless there's something glaringly bad or someone points out another amazing deal, I'm sticking with one of these. I know cushions are extremly hard to judge by numbers, but JA has a pretty cool virtual loup with actual pictures. Both are within $30 of eachother. Thanks for any input!

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1281046.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1280098.asp

 

[March16]

they are both beautiful, but if she likes colorless diamonds go with the e color one..good luck

 

[slg47]

request ASET images from JA.

ETA you can request 3 ASET images...so I would throw in one of these for comparison (not sure what your budget is)

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1375792.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1389910.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1329974.asp

 

[tomcollins]

I was able to get the ASETs, along with the gemologist's recommendation for 1281046 due to better fire, brillance, and higher color. Images attached.

 

[ame]

I wanna know about that inclusion in the table of the more rectangular one. I prefer the more square one for faceting and that I didn't see any noticeable inclusions.

 

[tomcollins]

1280098 was my preference going into this, but then the gemologist recommended the other. That got me questioning my first choice, but then again the feather on 1281046 is bothering me (even though I was assured it's perfectly eye-clean). I was also expecting much better ASETs, so am I being overly critical given the stone size and a price under $2400? (The F VS1 is $30 more than the recommended E VS2). 12 hours until the hold expires... tough call here.

 

[slg47]

I'm not loving either one. what about one of these? for the two that you have now, the ASET shows leakage around the edges.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1280446.asp (ask about the old report)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1383519.asp (picture is not clear but might be promising)

 

[tomcollins]

Ugh, JA's saying I already requested the maximum ASETs (minor detail - I did have 3 rocks reviewed, but only requested 2 ASETs). So basically, I'm buying blind, picking one of the above, or going elsewhere (B2C Jewels is slightly cheaper, but no pics). Maybe I should have just skipped the ASET and bought anyway

2 more to throw in the mix:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1280661.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1315453.asp

 

[slg47]

oh, strange...can you ask them to review another diamond or no? you could always get one shipped to you and take it to an appraiser. I like the first one I posted, but would want to know if it is in good condition given the old report.

 

[tomcollins]

oh, strange...can you ask them to review another diamond or no? you could always get one shipped to you and take it to an appraiser. I like the first one I posted, but would want to know if it is in good condition given the old report.

Took a little prodding, but they agreed to review 3 more (the 2 more I linked above plus 1 more). The first you listed has crown angles aare > 40 and has an idented natural- still worth checking out? I do like the 2nd though.

 

[tomcollins]

Even more confused now after getting 3 more images; looks like I went backwards with all the blue, although there is more green. Top row is the newest group, bottom row was the original.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1315453.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1280446.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1280661.asp

 

[tomcollins]

Any further comments? Hold expires in a few hours and I'm tempted to just go ahead and get it anyway.

(and sorry for cluttering the thread, apparently can't edit your previous posts and consolidate...)