Need a well trained eye

[hipbone]

Hello,

I am a first time diamond buyer; it is for an engagement ring. I did not know much about diamonds before this process started and after spending many hours reading and looking at them I realize I know even less than I thought I did. With that said I have started to narrow it down to three diamonds from JA. I was hoping that someone would be able to give me their opinion of them or point me in the direction of something better within my budget. Before I talk about budget I guess I should let you know what I am looking for.

The future wife has stated she wants a round brilliant, and likes the looks of solitaries. She has also said would prefer a smaller diamond. She likes the looks of .25ct while I have my heart set on 1.0ct+; I think she is saying small because she knows I am cheap ass and hate spending money, but she says it is because she has small hands (ring size 4.5). With that all in mind I have decided to go with something between 0 .75-0.9ct. I would like it if the diamond is eye clean, beyond that I really do not care if it is a VVS2 or SI2. I want the diamond to be white, but have read that I can get away with has high as J colour in a round diamond if it is a solitaire because there will be nothing to compare it too. Is that true? I want the diamond to be an excellent or ideal cut (depending on the certifying agency).

Lets sum that up!
Shape: Round Brilliant
Cut: Excellent or ideal
Colour : as low as “J” ?
Clarity: as low as SI2
Budget: $2200-3500 for the diamond, but would love to keep it on the low end if there is not much difference between performance and size in the price change

Here is what I am looking at right now:

Diamond # 1490999 : $2340
Shape: Round
Carat Weight: 0.81
Cut: Excellent
Color: J
Clarity: SI2
Certificate: GIA
Depth: 62.1%
Table: 56.0%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 5.99*6.01*3.73
HCA
Score: 2.9
Light Return: Very Good
Fire: Very Good
Scintillation: Very Good
Spread: Very Good

Diamond #1518525: $3270
Shape: Round
Carat Weight: 0.85
Cut: Excellent
Color: G
Clarity: SI2
Certificate: GIA
Depth: 60.4%
Table: 59.0%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle:
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.12*6.14*3.70
Crown Angle: 33.5
Crown %: 13.50
Pavilion Angle: 40.8

HCA
Score: 1.3
Light Return: Excellent
Fire: Excellent
Scintillation: Excellent
Spread: Very Good

Diamond # 1520760 : about $2700-3000 if I remember correctly
Shape: Round
Carat Weight: 0.84
Cut: Excellent
Color: I
Clarity: SI1
Certificate: GIA
Depth: 62.4%
Table: 58.0%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.02*6.04*3.76
Crown %: 15.50
Pavilion %: 42

HCA
Score: 1.1
Light Return: Excellent
Fire: Excellent
Scintillation: Excellent
Spread: Very Good


So those are the three diamonds that I am currently holding. I am awaiting the gemologist report and idealscope images currently.

If anyone has anything to say about the diamonds, specifically about them being naked eye clean [I have zero clue how to estimate that.] please let me know.

Thank you for taking your time to read all of this,
hipbone

EDIT: I hope that is all the information you need. If you require more just let me know.

 

[mandasand]

.85 G SI2...it has good spread, HCA in the acceptable range...higher color...just check and see if it's eye clean. JA will also be able to recommend but I like #2.

 

[JulieN]

G SI2 looks cool if it is eye clean.

 

[hipbone]

Thanks for the response. Does the fact that the .85 has just about the same measurements of the .81 cause a concern for anyone? Would I be paying for extra weight that doesn't improve the visual scale of the diamond. I do understand that it should have higher light performance and be a whiter colour. Would this factors both noticeable to a rookie diamond buyer like myself and my future wife?

I was really hopping to get more feedback on this, but I guess I will just wait until I get the idealscopes and gemmologist reports. Let's hope they are naked eye clean.

Thanks,
hipbone

 

[motownmama]

I'd say the G as well. I'd prefer it over a J and over a "very good." It probably costs more for a reason.

 

[hipbone]

Fair enough. My original budget was for up to $10,000 CADfor 1.0+ct and about $6,000 for 1ct Even with going for the most expensive out of that bunch I am saving a bunch of money. I will count that as a win.

 

[sonnyjane]

Thanks for the response. Does the fact that the .85 has just about the same measurements of the .81 cause a concern for anyone? Would I be paying for extra weight that doesn't improve the visual scale of the diamond. I do understand that it should have higher light performance and be a whiter colour. Would this factors both noticeable to a rookie diamond buyer like myself and my future wife?

I was really hopping to get more feedback on this, but I guess I will just wait until I get the idealscopes and gemmologist reports. Let's hope they are naked eye clean.

Thanks,
hipbone

When you're quibbling over 0.04 carats, "just about the same" measurements aren't really "just about the same" if that makes sense.

The .81 is 5.99*6.01*3.73
The .85 is 6.12*6.14*3.70 ... that's what I'd expect.

When you need to be concerned is when a diamond that weighs, say, 1.0 carat but has the same measurements as a stone that is .9 carats. Then you're likely paying for extra weight hidden somewhere else, for example, in a deep stone.

I agree, the .85 looks good, just make sure it's eye clean!

 

[JulieN]

the .85 has significantly larger dimensions than the .81

 

[hipbone]

Thank you for the advice everyone.

 

[hipbone]

Help with making final decision

Here is my most recent email interaction from the gemologist:
[colour=#004000]Gemolgist
I'm happy to say that the brightest diamond of the group is diamond 1518525 (0.85crt G SI2)! It offers great fire, brilliance, and scintillation and has a true "G" color. Its inclusions blend well but its feather near the girdle might be picked up by the unaided eye. It has an excellent cut and will look fantastic in person.


Diamond 1520760 (0.84crt I SI1) has very nice light performance and is the second brightest of your selections. It has a true "I" color and its inclusions blend rather well. The gemologist feels that only a senstive eye might be able to pick up on a few of the feathers and noted that some of them are partially prongable.


Dimaond 1490999 (0.81crt J SI2) has a high "J" color and appears to be closer to an "I" color. The diamond is bright but doesn't perform as strong as your other options. Its inclusions do not appear offensive but its crystal may be picked up by the unaided eye.[/colour]


Diamond 1518525 has great performance and I strongly encourage you to consider it for your purchase. Please take a moment to review this information and let me know if you have any additional[/color]l

Hipbone
The feather that is near the girdle, can it be partially hidden with a prong? Are we referring to the feather that shows as a dull spot on the idealscope for diamond 1520760? Is it visible from the top view to the unaided eye or only form a side view? as for the rest of the inclusions, are the they dark spots, cloudy, or just poor light return? Sorry about all the questions, but I am really new to this and unsure of what to do. I was really hopping this diamond would be clean to the naked eye!

I don't know if you are willing to do this, but there was one other diamond # 1463777 that I was considering getting not that list. Are you able to look at it and compare it to diamond 1520760


[colour=#004000]Gemolgist
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. As I reviewed the original email I sent, I can see where it uses a duplicate image for diamonds 1520760 and 1490999. This must have been a computer glitch because the files on my computer show their respective images correctly. I've attached them to this email and it seems that there is no duplicate image error showing. If the same problem occurs, please let me know.


Regarding diamond 1463777, we actually just had this diamond in the gemologists' office recently and they had great things to say about it. It has great fire, brilliance, and scintillation and faces completely eye clean. Due to the time frame we are able to keep diamonds on hold, we can't have them compared. However, I can confidently tell you, by cross referencing the inspection results and reviewing the lab certificates, the gemologist would prefer diamond 1463777 since it's perfectly eye clean and will offer better/brighter light performance.

Regarding diamond 1520760, if you feel that it is personally your top contender, I can follow up with the gemologist tomorrow to get additional feedback. They said that it has multiple feathers and that some of them are partially prongable. This means at least one (possibly located at 7 o'clock in the magnified and idealscope image) is partially prongable. Others, such as the one showing in the magnified image at the edge of the table, will not be. When the gemologist said that a sensitive eye might pick up on some of the feathers, they are saying that some people will view the diamond as eye clean while others with a more particular vision will find them. This is often the case with rather clean SI graded diamonds. Eye cleanliness is subjective since each person has different vision and a different ability to look into a diamond. With SI graded diamonds, inclusions will almost always be visible from the side but the cleanest ones will appear eye clean to the average eye. There's no reason for worry regarding cloudiness or any impact from the inclusions on the diamonds light performance because that information would have been shared up front if it were a concern. The only real question I can't answer for you without speaking to the gemologist is the color of the inclusions. Based on the magnified image, it looks like some of them are grey or dark grey, which would likely be the ones that the gemologist feels a sensitive eye will be able to pick up on [/colour]


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I was really leaning to the .85 G, but now I am hesitant. There is the http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1463777.asp that I am considering, but am unsure about the J colour. It will be set as a solitaire if that changes anyone's recommendations.