Need Advice on Princess Cut for Ering

[bbg]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I''ve been looking through the online stores for a few weeks in search of a diamond for an engagement ring. I have narrowed the search to 2 diamonds on adiamor, and would be very thankful of any feedback on the stones I''ve found. I''m looking to buy in the next week, so any help would be extremely helpful.

In short, I''m looking for a princess cut with decent quality and a good cut (I want to make sure it has alot of shine/reflection/fire). The budget I have is roughly $5000 for the stone, and would like to get as large a diamond as possible without greatly sacrficing quality. I know buying off the internet is safe, but without being an expert, and having not seen the diamond, it makes me cautious. Any feedback you could provide on the 2 diamonds below or any advice on a different stone that may be better would be very helpful. Thanks so much.

http://www.adiamor.com/D-7927329.htm
http://www.adiamor.com/D-7941901.htm

 

[bnovak]

Hmm...

I''m sure others will disagree with me, but I think a princess cut is incredibly difficult to judge without seeing it, especially for symmetry. I''ve had "good" jewlery stores try and pass of a very good symmetry that was visibly not squared, which, when set, can be noticeable.

the "H-VS2 1.2C" has a horizontal inclusion which might be visible

There is no certificate for the 1.22.

One of the stones is an H - should be fine in yellow gold, but I would not recommend for platinum or WG (but what do I know, I''ve only got 2 posts)

 

[stone-cold11]

For sight unseen diamonds, best bet is AGSL graded AGS0 stone. These are best performer especially if you do not have ASET or IS to work with.

Found this stone. Might worth a try. 1.19 H VS2

 

[jstarfireb]

bnovak - An H should look fine in platinum or WG, especially a GIA H, which is likely true to color. My ideal cut I colored princess set in platinum looks plenty white.

The other posters are right in that princess cuts can''t be judged by the numbers alone. ASET images are the most helpful tools, but Idealscopes and magnified pictures are helpful too. If you can''t get this info, AGS0 princesses are virtually guaranteed to be beautifully cut. This is not to say that there aren''t any great looking GIA princesses, for example, but GIA doesn''t grade cut quality for princesses, and AGS does.

Stone-cold''s suggestion is worth looking into!

 

[bnovak]

I think I lost a reply

The one that stone sent up looked better to me than the one with the picture from the original post. The cert had a horizontal inclusion in it. Musta closed the laptop to soon.

newbie - won''t disagree with the masta''s

 

[bbg]

Thanks for the advice!

So AGSL is typically more predictable for cut performance? Is there any way to evaluate GIA? Given this is the most common I''ve seen on internet retailers, the selection breadth is appealing.

With regards to Union Diamond, I have seen a few questionable reviews. Are they a solid retailer? I had found a setting I liked at adiamor, and their pricing appeared reasonable. Are there any in their inventory that would be recommended? I''m continuing to look, but the help is greatly appreciated. Given I''m a novice at best, the help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/14/2008 10:33:37 AM
Author: bbg
Thanks for the advice!

So AGSL is typically more predictable for cut performance? Is there any way to evaluate GIA? Given this is the most common I''ve seen on internet retailers, the selection breadth is appealing. ASET are best for evaluating such diamonds, Idealscope less so but still can be useful. Detailed photos are also very helpful, you can''t buy a fancy shape diamond without these aids otherwise you are just buying blind.

With regards to Union Diamond, I have seen a few questionable reviews. Are they a solid retailer? I had found a setting I liked at adiamor, and their pricing appeared reasonable. Are there any in their inventory that would be recommended? I''m continuing to look, but the help is greatly appreciated. Given I''m a novice at best, the help is greatly appreciated. UD are a good vendor to the best of my knowledge, but I don''t know what they have in the way of in house diamonds, or what they can supply with the above services, photos etc.

Thanks!