Near perfect diamonds

[Laila619]

I've only ever owned SI diamonds, and they were completely eye clean. I could hardly see anything even with a good loupe. So I just don't see the point of IF diamonds, nor would I spend the money on them.

 

[LaraOnline]

If I had infinite sums, I'd definitely go to D. I do notice colour, and higher colour is beautiful.
Clarity though? That is bought for the paperwork, not for the visual experience.

If I was the thirty-third wife of a middle eastern oil king, why not, I'd take IF. I love diamonds and I love the fact that IF is rare, rare, rare!
We are, at base, rock hounds, are we not?

But my (beautifully cut) SI2 diamonds ARE eyeclean and I defy anyone to find a single flaw while looking at the rings on my fingers.
No one ever has.

I have had one smarty-pants call out a perceived colour difference between them though, which rather shocked me (F 1.6c vs G 3.14c). But he was a coloured stone seller, so perhaps he had a particularly good eye.

I love diamonds in ANY size. 10-pointers are beautiful, I adore my three-quarter eternity ring each and every day. Smaller diamonds pack a lot of brilliance!

But of course in the larger size, the beauty of the diamond material just becomes so much easily appreciated. You can see the colour play more easily, it's like going for the larger screen TV. Size, in itself, is not nothing.

I would never trade my G (I don't think) because AGS000 is just soooo good, but occasionally I *do* think I should consider upgrading the clarity of the F.... I think that's just to silence the inner critic (inner snob), rather than to improve my actual visual enjoyment.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

It seems like the last few weeks we are getting quite a few posters who are buying very high color, IF diamonds. Why do we seem to try to talk them out of it for size? If you could afford it would you get a D/E , IF stone? I would just for the perfectness! I mean do you know anyone else who has one? I realize we are all size buffs and know that lower color and clarity gets us a good buy but how cool would that be???? These posters seem to do their homework and know what else they could get but I admire their quest for perfection!

I do own a D stone so I can say, based on that, if money wasn't an object, I'd still buy in the g/h range b/c D stones don't have the depth. I like a hint of warmth. I'm not a fan of the lower color, but I like a good balance, so g/h is perfect. My ideal E stone actually kinda looked like a CZ because it was too perfect. I'd probably not buy a stone like that again...

 

[LaraOnline]

I'm loving the variation in response here!! It's so exciting to realise there are soooo many 'sweet spots' when it comes to diamonds!
Warm colours are lovely too, they look so good with an antique cut!

 

[arkieb1]

I've always thought very high clarity was a teeny bit of a scam - they're not actually flawless, just flawless at 10X. I'm not sure people understand that, if they're new to diamonds ... so pointing it out seems like a boon (I see the *weirdest* misinformation on other boards with jewelry subforums: apparently it's a common belief that a large table will make a stone look much bigger). But if a poster knows what they want, more power to them, I say! I think getting a mention of facts shouldn't be off-putting, but if the poster is sure, yeah, we should just back up and help them find the D IF of their dreams.

double plus that. They are only flawless at 10X, zoom in and you'll probably see something so I can't understand the draw either personally and agree it's smoke in your eyes. For me anyway, the only near perfection I look for is in the cut. A crummy cut on a D IF doesn't make it anywhere near a perfect stone in my eyes. But it seems most people still don't get that aspect and carry merrily on with what the majority of B/M stores tell them that only a high color and clarity makes a perfect stone.

Yes this exactly. So many newbies think they are buying a top top diamond because its Internally flawless and they have NO idea about cut at all. An IF or VVS1 won't make up for a butt ugly cut. I don't mind anyone buying a top clarity if that is what their heart desires but I would always steer them towards a better cut.

I also see lots of guys on here wanting to and I quote "buy their girls the best they can" they think buying the best means a flawless stone. Look at the word "flawless," flawless meaning perfect. In a diamond, flawless does NOT always = perfect. I think the other thing they fail to consider is provided its white facing and a nice cut most of the girls and women I have met would mostly always go for the larger stone. Bigger doesn't always equal better but it looks more impressive on the hand to all the family and friends. Pricescopers get this. They steer people towards the best possible stone within that person's budget.