need help finding a replacement stone

[mointampa]

Hi
I recently purchased a ering with the stone below:
Size: 1.55
Color: F
Clarity: SI2
Cut: Excellent
Table: 54%
Depth: 61.7%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluor: Medium
Girdle: Medium
Culet: None
Measurements: 7.42 x 7.45 x 4.59 mm
Crown: 35 degrees
Pavillion: 40.6 degrees
Price: £5,428

It was bought online and was meant to be eye clean however it had a large feather which could be seen face up, and I had it independently appraised and it came back as I1, borderline I2 so it has gone back.

Now I am looking for a replacement, I came up with this:
Size: 1.61
Color: I
Clarity: SI1
Cut: Excellent
Table: 56%
Depth: 61.5%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluor: Strong
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: None
Measurements: 7.50 x 7.55 x 4.63 mm
Crown: 35 degrees
Pavillion: 40.6 degrees
Price: £4,996

Then after looking at a few I color diamonds, I decided that it might be a bit too tinted compared to the F, and I dont want the hassle of sending the stone back again.

So...again searching online I came up with this one, H color, smaller and more expensive, internal flawless:
Size: 1.34
Color: H
Clarity: IF
Cut: Excellent
Table: 58%
Depth: 59.2%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluor: None
Girdle: Thin faceted
Culet: None
Measurements: 7.22 x 7.24 x 4.28 mm
Crown: 33.5 degrees
Pavillion: 40.8 degrees
Price: £6,426

Now I know IF is overkill but it seems like good value for the diameter. I can find similar priced and weight G VS1 but with a smaller diameter and HCA score of 1.9 vs 0.8.

Any advice is appreciated...shall I just get the 1.34 or hold out for something with higher color and lower clarity?

Thanks in advance.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I think you should keep looking or go with the G VS1. 0.8 on the HCA is not necessarily better than 1.9; both scores are under 2. They just indicate different qualities.

It just doesn''t make sense to me to pay 1,000 extra pounds for a smaller stone when you would be happy with clarity lower than IF. Why not G-H, VS2-SI1 and try to stay closer to the 1.5 carat mark you had before?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/8/2009 2:44:19 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
I think you should keep looking or go with the G VS1. 0.8 on the HCA is not necessarily better than 1.9; both scores are under 2. They just indicate different qualities.

It just doesn''t make sense to me to pay 1,000 extra pounds for a smaller stone when you would be happy with clarity lower than IF. Why not G-H, VS2-SI1 and try to stay closer to the 1.5 carat mark you had before?

Ditto Phoenix, I would look for the above colour and clarity combos if possible.

 

[mointampa]

thanks for the replies.
I have done a search on BN for G/H VS2/SI, but there doesnt appear to be anything much bigger than the 1.34 FL at the same price (only looking for HCA < 2). That VS1 I saw earlier seems to have disappeared.
I am starting to run out of time for giving the ring due to the return......is £6.4k a good price for the 1.34 H FL?

 

[stone-cold11]

So you are only looking to buy from BN?

EDT
The 1.61c looks good from the numbers.

 

[mointampa]

I am open to other suggestions but BN would be the easiest/quickest as I have credit there at the moment due to the ring I returned.

 

[stone-cold11]

Give BN a call and ask for the report number of this stone. AGS0 stone are a safer bet.

http://www.bluenile.co.uk/round-diamond-1-carat-ideal-cut-h-color-si1-clarity_LD01126455?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0

EDT:
If you don't want the hassle, then give this a shot.
http://www.bluenile.co.uk/round-diamond-1-carat-ideal-cut-i-color-vs1-clarity_LD01255216?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report

 

[aayushk]

From the stones you chose the problem with the first two was the fluorescence, which causes the diamond to lose its fire and brilliance. I would say your best bet is to go with something like 1.50 G, VS2 with no fluorescence. And in the cut you can go with very good as well, since the grade is a scientific calculation rather than one of personal view sometimes a diamond with a very good cut can look more brilliant.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 4/8/2009 4:49:01 PM
Author: aayushk
From the stones you chose the problem with the first two was the fluorescence, which causes the diamond to lose its fire and brilliance. I would say your best bet is to go with something like 1.50 G, VS2 with no fluorescence. And in the cut you can go with very good as well, since the grade is a scientific calculation rather than one of personal view sometimes a diamond with a very good cut can look more brilliant.

There is nothing wrong with fluor unless it causes an oily/hazy appearance, which is very rare. Even GIA cannot come to a conclusion on that effect due to the lack of samples.

 

[phoenixgirl]

What about this one?

http://www.bluenile.co.uk/round-diamond-1-carat-ideal-cut-h-colour-si1-clarity_LD01083742?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report

1.5 on the HCA and a bit less than the smaller H IF.

 

[aayushk]

How many samples do they want? I can provide hundreds if not thousands...

 

[DKinLA]

Date: 4/8/2009 4:49:01 PM
Author: aayushk
From the stones you chose the problem with the first two was the fluorescence, which causes the diamond to lose its fire and brilliance. I would say your best bet is to go with something like 1.50 G, VS2 with no fluorescence. And in the cut you can go with very good as well, since the grade is a scientific calculation rather than one of personal view sometimes a diamond with a very good cut can look more brilliant.

Aayushk - could you elaborate on this perhaps in a new thread so we don''t hijack this one. Pictures would be great. I have recently seen a few comments like the one you posted and am getting concerned about my stone which is currently being set. I wish I could have it in front of me now but I know for sure I didn''t notice any loss in fire or brilliance because of it''s blue fluorescence.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 4/16/2009 1:17:33 PM
Author: aayushk
How many samples do they want? I can provide hundreds if not thousands...

You ask them, you worked in the industry, I am just a consumer.

EDT:
Here is the link to the GIA report on fluorescence.
http://lgdl.gia.edu/pdfs/W97_fluoresce.pdf

 

[aayushk]

Aayushk - could you elaborate on this perhaps in a new thread so we don''t hijack this one. Pictures would be great. I have recently seen a few comments like the one you posted and am getting concerned about my stone which is currently being set. I wish I could have it in front of me now but I know for sure I didn''t notice any loss in fire or brilliance because of it''s blue fluorescence.[/quote]


The best way to see the difference would be to put them side by side. Unfortunately I dont have a camera capable of taking pictures of diamonds, it gets blurry when i try to zoom in. I will borrow a friends and see if i can get a better image.
Most fluorescent diamonds fluoresce a blue color, white being second most common. They also emit yellow, green, orange, and red all under UV lights. Generally Faint fluorescence does not make a difference, because even GIA will claim some diamonds to have No fluorescence when it emits a tiny amount. However once you hit Medium the stone will look a bit hazy, or imagine if the stone was all greasy from your hands, similar to that. Strong and Very Strong will make a diamond look uniformly clouded (evenly dispersed), and you will notice that the diamond with blue fluorescence will have the facets reflecting more blue as opposed to all the colors of the spectrum. In some cases people might prefer this because a J-K-L color diamond with blue fluorescence will look more like I-J-K due to the white cloudiness and blue tone. The benefits however are that you can still get a diamond that will be cleaner clarity wise, and bigger for the same amount you would pay for a smaller or more included diamond.
As I was writing this i realized that there is nothing a like a picture to explain it properly. So I will try to photograph my diamonds or find a link that would show it better.

 

[purrfectpear]

Date: 4/23/2009 12:13:52 PM
Author: aayushk

Aayushk - could you elaborate on this perhaps in a new thread so we don''t hijack this one. Pictures would be great. I have recently seen a few comments like the one you posted and am getting concerned about my stone which is currently being set. I wish I could have it in front of me now but I know for sure I didn''t notice any loss in fire or brilliance because of it''s blue fluorescence.

The best way to see the difference would be to put them side by side. Unfortunately I dont have a camera capable of taking pictures of diamonds, it gets blurry when i try to zoom in. I will borrow a friends and see if i can get a better image.
Most fluorescent diamonds fluoresce a blue color, white being second most common. They also emit yellow, green, orange, and red all under UV lights. Generally Faint fluorescence does not make a difference, because even GIA will claim some diamonds to have No fluorescence when it emits a tiny amount. However once you hit Medium the stone will look a bit hazy, or imagine if the stone was all greasy from your hands, similar to that. Strong and Very Strong will make a diamond look uniformly clouded (evenly dispersed), and you will notice that the diamond with blue fluorescence will have the facets reflecting more blue as opposed to all the colors of the spectrum. In some cases people might prefer this because a J-K-L color diamond with blue fluorescence will look more like I-J-K due to the white cloudiness and blue tone. The benefits however are that you can still get a diamond that will be cleaner clarity wise, and bigger for the same amount you would pay for a smaller or more included diamond.
As I was writing this i realized that there is nothing a like a picture to explain it properly. So I will try to photograph my diamonds or find a link that would show it better.[/quote]*cough* el toro poo poo *cough*

Insert the words "can" "may" or "rarely" and I would agree.

 

[aayushk]

Date: 4/16/2009 6:37:24 PM
Author: Stone-cold11

Date: 4/16/2009 1:17:33 PM

Author: aayushk

How many samples do they want? I can provide hundreds if not thousands...

You ask them, you worked in the industry, I am just a consumer.


EDT:

Here is the link to the GIA report on fluorescence.

http://lgdl.gia.edu/pdfs/W97_fluoresce.pdf

That article is very helpful to people who would like to understand a bit more about fluorescence. Thanks SC!
When i was learning about diamonds at GIA, the instructors mentioned that yellow and green fluorescence is a sign of synthetic diamonds, however when i was learning diamond assortment at a sightholder''s office we came across many diamonds that emitted those colors. For fun/learning, we would have thousands of carats on the table and we would put the whole parcel under UV light and see so many colors. One thing that is for sure is that when it emits two colors or uneven distribution, its synthetic.
GIA doesn''t teach everything, nor are the instructors always aware of various diamonds. The lab is however aware of these things always. For instance, I have seen what is called a chameleon diamond, in the dark it looked grayish and in light it was greenish yellow. Truly unique and amazing.