Need expert help deciding between 3 engagement ring diamonds

[lolo80]

Hello! Thank you for reading this post. I'm picky woman who needs some expert help in deciding between 3 diamonds. The original diamond my fiance and I chose was from a retail jeweler who was not skilled in gemology. Now, we have 3 diamonds sourced by reputable jewelers, but I cannot chose between them.I have looked at all of them through the looper and spent 2+ hours with each of them.
The most important factors to me are a) that it is completely eye-clean in every light and angle, and that I won't find an inclusion looking at up me after a few hours -or weeks- and B) size.
For some reason, I am able to se inclusions that others are not. I have seen black carbon spots that are just under the table in a VS2, and evidence of a deep seated cloud obscuring the center starburst of 1 VS2. So I would love to connect with people who also have superhuman vision and expect superb quality for about $20K.
I've attached the GIA Reports, plus close ups of the 'Clarity Characteristics' image. \Here are the GIA Report Numbers as well: 5171038596,2161733549,5146786299
Don't hold back! I have no one to talk to about this, except my mother who is out of state. Thank you!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Need expert help deciding between 3 engagement ring diam

Hi, and welcome to PS!

I will tell you what I can from the reports, but honestly, we need magnified images of the stones and ASET images to check light return to really be able to give you good information.

#1
http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?pagename=GST%2FDispatcher&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&c=Page&cid=1355954554547&reportno=5171038596

The feather seems to be right in a corner, and while VS2 feathers are generally not durability issues, I would be very cautious about a feather (crack) of any size in the corner of a princess cut. A lot of pressure is put on the corners when the stone is set.

#2
http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?pagename=GST%2FDispatcher&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&c=Page&cid=1355954554547&reportno=2161733549

Very thin girdle is not a good idea...may be more prone to chipping, although we have no idea how much of the girdle is very thin from the report. Also has a very large table. I would rule this one out.

#3
http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?pagename=GST%2FDispatcher&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&c=Page&cid=1355954554547&reportno=5146786299

The only thing that I can tell about this one is that it is not very square, and I'd want the diameter to be closer to the same in both directions.

You really have an ample budget to get an Ideal cut princess stone. I hope you won't mind if I post a few superior cut princess cuts for you to look at and compare to the ones you are looking at. It is not easy to find a great cut princess cut stone without looking specifically at ideal cut ones. And I wouldn't want to overpay for one that is not.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Need expert help deciding between 3 engagement ring diam

Ideal cut princess stones (and you can even get G color at 2 cts in your budget):

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3329702.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3347124.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3358635.htm

http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/2-08ct-g-vs2-superior-ideal-princess-cut-diamond.html

You could tell both of these jewelers that you are very clarity sensitive and they will be honest with you about clarity. They have great return policies and upgrade policies, too. They both carry several lines of designer settings, as well. I would recommend G-H if possible.

Here is an H VS1 clarity ideal cut princess. This is a good vendor but they do not have as good an upgrade policy as the ones above.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/2.02-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-480417

 

[pfunk]

Re: Need expert help deciding between 3 engagement ring diam

Question about something I noticed but don't understand about the AGS reports. Is there a reason why only the GOG stone has a grade for proportion factors? Is this only depicted on the report if it scores below 0 and lowers the overall cut grade?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Need expert help deciding between 3 engagement ring diam

Question about something I noticed but don't understand about the AGS reports. Is there a reason why only the GOG stone has a grade for proportion factors? Is this only depicted on the report if it scores below 0 and lowers the overall cut grade?

I don't know the answer to your question. I think you'd have to ask GOG or another AGS vendor that question. I see that the WF stones are all 000 and have light performance quality documents and the GOG stone has a platinum light performance document. I am sure since WF has their stones custom cut for their inventory, they have chosen the type of report they provide for their stones. GOG likely selected that diamond from a supplier and added to their inventory after they brought it in and checked light performance. Great example of why additional images and evaluation are valuable rather than just looking at numbers on a report. I would have rejected the GOG stone had I only been looking at the report.