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Need Help Picking Diamond!

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Asumis

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 11, 2017
Messages
7
Hey everyone!

I'm in the market for a diamond to buy in the next day or two and have narrowed it down to these 3 so far in this price range (~$12K USD max).

Can I get some help deciding which one is the best of the bunch? Or if there are better ones for this price, I"d appreciate any and all guidance!

The most important things to her are the color (clarity, to visible eye) and how much it sparkles.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2655602
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3167194
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3157534

Thanks everyone!
 
defy525 said:
What about a 1.3cts F VS2?
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3788899.htm

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...e-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3061289
Click to expand...

Any particular reason why the JA diamond you linked is better? I'm not sure how big of a deal it is, but under the magnification of the site, there are various specks or other blemishes that are visible. Usually I try to look for ones that have no visible blemishes, even under magnification, but maybe that's not even worth it if it's impossible to see with the naked eye (just worried it impacts other things such as how sparkly it gets).

Thanks!

bmfang said:
I'm not particularly a fan of 59% tables which appear on the ones that you chose.

What about this one?
https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.51-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3050986
Click to expand...

Do you mind explaining why a 59% table is not ideal? One of the sites I saw when I was researching said that a table of 54-60% is ideal. Thanks for the alternative you linked, I'll definitely take that one into consideration!
 
Asumis said:
Hey everyone!

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2655602
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3167194
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3157534
Click to expand...
The HCA scores of the first two stone is too high. The third one has a good score, but you need to request Ideal scope from Customer service to check any light leakage. If you don't want to see any inclusion, then skip the stone I suggested. The one bmfang suggested looks great.
 
Asumis said:
It looks like the scores come out good for both of them, but there is a visible line (scratch?) on the table for the first one, and 3 black specs on the second one. Would these be impossible to see with the naked eye?
Click to expand...

Zoom out on the video to close to the lowest setting of magnification. If you can't notice the line or the 3 black specks, it is highly likely that the stone will be eye clean from standard viewing distances (say 6-12" away from one's eyes).
 
bmfang said:
Zoom out on the video to close to the lowest setting of magnification. If you can't notice the line or the 3 black specks, it is highly likely that the stone will be eye clean from standard viewing distances (say 6-12" away from one's eyes).
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I think we've narrowed it down to these two:

1) https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3114231

image1.JPG

2) https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3157534
image2.JPG

Interestingly enough, we reached out to Paul @ beyond4cs and he didn't like any of them, ruling them out based mostly on the cut not being a Hearts & Arrows cut. His recommendations were a bit out of our budget too...we thought an Excellent cut would be good but does a Hearts & Arrows cut really make all the difference?

Thanks again everyone!
 
Given that he runs an affiliate site, there may Ben other considerations as to why he is recommending H&A stones to you. But I digress...

Of the two, both IS images look solid to me. Though in terms of more symmetry with the contrast patterns produced by the interaction of LGF and Pavilion mains (ie the arrow shafts), I'm leaning towards stone #1 though the primary grade setter (a feather) is most certainly visible in the magnified video.

For me however the CA on both stones is a bit too low for my liking, but for rounds I prefer to stick within super-ideal parameters as i'm anally retentive about optical symmetry. Is there a reason as to why you are looking for a G coloured stone? Because for your budget, you can get stones in the H-I range (also near colourless like the G) but are in James Allen's "True Hearts" range which really do display hearts and arrows patterning. There are stones in the 1.5ct mark, VS2-VS1 clarity range in the True Hearts inventory that have better optical symmetry than these two for around the $12k mark. Only thing is that they are mainly H-I colours.

What I have learnt from many sites is that well cut stones that exhibit symmetrical H&A helps to maximise the number of virtual facets that show up. That helps with light dispersion back to you, the viewer, in all light scenarios. My wife has a couple of super ideal stones vs regular GIA XXX stones, and there is a difference in how they perform in all lighting situations to both her eyes and my eyes.
 
bmfang said:
Given that he runs an affiliate site, there may Ben other considerations as to why he is recommending H&A stones to you. But I digress...

Of the two, both IS images look solid to me. Though in terms of more symmetry with the contrast patterns produced by the interaction of LGF and Pavilion mains (ie the arrow shafts), I'm leaning towards stone #1 though the primary grade setter (a feather) is most certainly visible in the magnified video.

For me however the CA on both stones is a bit too low for my liking, but for rounds I prefer to stick within super-ideal parameters as i'm anally retentive about optical symmetry. Is there a reason as to why you are looking for a G coloured stone? Because for your budget, you can get stones in the H-I range (also near colourless like the G) but are in James Allen's "True Hearts" range which really do display hearts and arrows patterning. There are stones in the 1.5ct mark, VS2-VS1 clarity range in the True Hearts inventory that have better optical symmetry than these two for around the $12k mark. Only thing is that they are mainly H-I colours.

What I have learnt from many sites is that well cut stones that exhibit symmetrical H&A helps to maximise the number of virtual facets that show up. That helps with light dispersion back to you, the viewer, in all light scenarios. My wife has a couple of super ideal stones vs regular GIA XXX stones, and there is a difference in how they perform in all lighting situations to both her eyes and my eyes.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all your help!

I think I've narrowed it down to these two, but would like a second opinion on which idealscope image is the best.

1) 1.53ct F VS2, 62.2 Depth, 56 Table, 34.5 CA, 15 C%, 40.8 PA, 43 P%, H&A Cut, Excellent Polish & Symmetry, Medium Fluor, Medium-Slightly Thick Girdle, 1.3 HCA
11.png

2) 1.20ct D VVS2, 61.9 Depth, 55 Table, 34.5 CA, 15.5 C%, 40.8 PA, 43 P%, H&A Cut, Excellent Polish & Symmetry, No Fluor, Medium-Medium Girdle, 1.3 HCA
22.png
 
Last edited:
What are the specs (angles etc) on the stones and the HCA scores?
 
OoohShiny said:
What are the specs (angles etc) on the stones and the HCA scores?
Click to expand...

I'll edit the post above to include the specs. I kind of wanted to leave them out for an unbiased opinion, but I agree it's important to include all the details! One is obviously bigger than the other..and she wants the bigger one, but I prefer the higher quality one with no visible inclusions under magnification!
 
You won't need to include carat or colour if you're just looking for views on performance.
 
I'd take the 1.53 F VS2 over the smaller D VVS2 any day...
 
VVS2 is only that under 10x magnification. Is the F VS2 eye clean? Because more than likely, at typical viewing distances (say 12" away), both stones will be eye clean.

For me it is a no brainer to take the F VS2 if it is priced better than the D VVS2 as there will be an appreciable size difference between 1.2 to 1.53 carats.
 
bmfang said:
VVS2 is only that under 10x magnification. Is the F VS2 eye clean? Because more than likely, at typical viewing distances (say 12" away), both stones will be eye clean.

For me it is a no brainer to take the F VS2 if it is priced better than the D VVS2 as there will be an appreciable size difference between 1.2 to 1.53 carats.
Click to expand...

I can't tell if it's eye clean since we aren't seeing it in person, but it looks like it should be.

The F VS2 is actually about $400 cheaper. Looks like we will go with the F VS2, which is what she wanted anyway.

Thanks everyone, this has been more stressful than I thought it'd be!
 
bmfang said:
What I have learnt from many sites is that well cut stones that exhibit symmetrical H&A helps to maximise the number of virtual facets that show up. That helps with light dispersion back to you, the viewer, in all light scenarios. My wife has a couple of super ideal stones vs regular GIA XXX stones, and there is a difference in how they perform in all lighting situations to both her eyes and my eyes.
Click to expand...

Part of the extra performance is not just the maximization of the number of virtual facets that are eye visible, but also the ability of your eyes to now see and appreciate them. Your eyes have become trained to see more of what is there than you would likely have seen when you first started buying diamonds.

I have sold diamonds to several men over the years who have told me some years later that they could not really understand why they were paying more for the top cut diamonds that their fiancées were wanting. Now with a few years under their belts they found themselves looking at "regular" cut diamonds and wondering why they just did not look like the ones their wives were wearing.

Now when I show them diamonds they see and understand what I am talking about. Plus they would no longer consider anything less than a top cut diamond.

It is not unlike when I first started drinking wine as a young man. I just really enjoyed ripple and other "soda pop" wines. My mom had a dinner party that I was invited to and served some wines I was told were very good. YUCH! I hated them. I had no palette for wine at all.

Now I enjoy many fine wines that I could not stand as a young man and no way could I ever down another bottle of ripple, I would rather drink water.

Wink
 
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