Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..thx!

[canative10]

Preferred specs are:

Type: Cushion (Rectangular desired)
Carat: 2.0 - 2.25
Cut: VG
Clarity: SI 1 - VS 1
Color: G, F, E
Depth: 61-67
Table: 60-70
Length to width: 1.10 - 1.25
Girdle: very thin to slightly thick

Any guidance/help would be much appreciated!

 

[proto]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

I would look for an excellent cut, rather than VG

colour - H or better, although for this size, perhaps G+ makes sense

SI1 to VS2. No need for VS1 or better in my opinion, It adds a lot of cost for no real gain, unless you want to guarantee eye clean, although I dont know how anyone could spend this kind of money without seeing the diamond before pulling the trigger.

If you have budget left over, I would look to increase size or cut quality.

Key to ask for and review ASET image before dropping this kind of money imo

I would steer clear of thin to thick girdles and look for something with less variation

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

Your budget is a bit low for what you want. You might have to consider H color. And slightly under 2 carats. I'll look more for you. This is what you want costs: http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/2.02-carat-h-vs2-royal-chandelier-cushion-brilliant-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-168401.html

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/12062/ This is a nice stone. It's under budget. GOG doesn't have anything else in stock. But they can source stones for you, so I would give them a call and tell them you want 'fabulous light performance) and give them the rest of your specs.

And you want more thean VG cut. Trust me on this.

Other stones to consider:
http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/1.70-carat-g-vs2-royal-chandelier-cushion-brilliant-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-141043.html

 

[Lorelei]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

Preferred specs are:

Type: Cushion (Rectangular desired)
Carat: 2.0 - 2.25
Cut: VG
Clarity: SI 1 - VS 1
Color: G, F, E
Depth: 61-67
Table: 60-70
Length to width: 1.10 - 1.25
Girdle: very thin to slightly thick

Any guidance/help would be much appreciated!

Hi Carnative and welcome.

A few thoughts, firstly you can't quantify the cut quality of a cushion cut by cut grades such as Very Good, Excellent etc. In most cases, these terms don't mean much at all and certainly don't tell you much about the type of cushion it is, for example, modern, chunkier faceted appearance and so on. Also, the depth and table measurements don't mean much by themselves either unfortunately. Length to width, if you want your stone to be more rectangular, you might want to consider a higher L/W than you specify if you can find a stone like that, unless your L/W value is what you have in mind.

Girdle - you can be a bit more flexible in my opinion as you wouldn't want to disregard a stone that is otherwise perfect because the girdle is medium for example. I would suggest with a very thin girdle, should such a stone come along - as long as a trusted vendor inspects the it and says there is no durability issue, you should be ok, you could also consider thin to medium or slightly thick. Same if you find a cushion with a slightly thick to thick girdle, again have a trusted vendor or appraiser inspect the stone as a thick portion of a girdle might only be in a small area.

Clarity specs sound fine, ensure SI clarity grades are eye clean to your requirements by once again, asking a trusted vendor to check for you.

Colour - G F and E are also fine, you could consider H or even I assuming GIA or AGS graded if you wish.

But I think the first thing to do is decide exactly what type of cushion you want, have you compared different types to see which you prefer?

 

[Lorelei]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

Your budget is a bit low for what you want. You might have to consider H color. And slightly under 2 carats. I'll look more for you. This is what you want costs: http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/2.02-carat-h-vs2-royal-chandelier-cushion-brilliant-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-168401.html

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/12062/ This is a nice stone. It's under budget. GOG doesn't have anything else in stock. But they can source stones for you, so I would give them a call and tell them you want 'fabulous light performance) and give them the rest of your specs.

And you want more thean VG cut. Trust me on this.

Other stones to consider:
http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/1.70-carat-g-vs2-royal-chandelier-cushion-brilliant-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-141043.html

These look great Gypsy!

 

[canative10]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

Thank you so much for the guidance here!

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

OK so with fancies you don't compare carat weight. You compare SPREAD: which is dimensions. So watch the length and width measurements to see which stones are REALLY bigger (instead of just heavier).

Here are some choices:
http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4600599-2.20-carat-Cushion-diamond-G-color-SI1-clarity.aspx If this stone is eyeclean, it's a serious contender.

http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4679446-2.01-carat-Cushion-diamond-H-color-VVS2-clarity.aspx

Probably not eyeclean, which is too bad, this one is a firecracker: http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4739825-2.01-carat-Cushion-diamond-H-color-SI1-clarity.aspx

Color and clarity are very high, but the diamond is so beautiful I had to post:
http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4993787-1.70-carat-Cushion-diamond-D-color-VS1-clarity.aspx

Very square but gorgeous: http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4934342-2.01-carat-Cushion-diamond-H-color-VS2-clarity.aspx

http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-5026232-1.91-carat-Cushion-diamond-G-color-VS1-clarity.aspx Also square, and lovely.

Hello I love you, won't you tell me your name: http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4817232-1.84-carat-Cushion-diamond-G-color-VS2-clarity.aspx

http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4868977-1.84-carat-Cushion-diamond-G-color-VS2-clarity.aspx

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

Nice finds, Gypsy! I like that first 1.84 G VS2 probably the best, but the very top one is going to meet the size requirements. I am just not sure I could handle the large feather primary inclusion, though.

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

Nice finds, Gypsy! I like that first 1.84 G VS2 probably the best, but the very top one is going to meet the size requirements. I am just not sure I could handle the large feather primary inclusion, though.

It's all about trade offs.
The first G VS 1.84 is a lovely stone.

This one is a also lovely :http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4934342-2.01-carat-Cushion-diamond-H-color-VS2-clarity.aspx even though it's square. Only 200 over budget

But this one, if eyeclean, is the one I'd buy: http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4739825-2.01-carat-Cushion-diamond-H-color-SI1-clarity.aspx huge and very budget friendly. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be eyeclean. It's got fantastic cutting.

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

Carnative; Your depth and table stats listed are too restrictive and so (as Lorelei posted) is your girdle requirement. You can't buy cushions by the numbers. You have to buy from faceting and light performance.

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king. With fancies though (anything other than a round brilliant), that is a little complicated. But no other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut.

There really is no other way to determine if you have a good cushion than to see images of the stones, and then you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.

That's what an ASET image does. http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=education-performance Please read.
And ASET shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return That is why you won't see us recommending vendors like Blue Nile, as they do not provide images or ASET images for their diamonds. James Allen and Good Old Gold do this. So do Brian Gavin and Whiteflash and High Performance Diamonds. And so does B2C and Engagement Rings Direct.

The stones I posted for you all have nice faceting and excellent light performance, confirmed by an ASET image.


Find out if the SI and VS2 stones are eyeclean, if you are interested in them. Anything Vs1 or better is going to automatically be eyeclean.

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

You can pick 3 stones at James Allen and ask for ASETs.

Here are my recommendations.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/2.03-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-sku-222533
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/2.01-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-sku-268078 If eyeclean

This video is showing a ton of tint. This stone looks more like a light brown M/N in the video. But it is an H. So I'm wondering if the video is a bad one. But the faceting is actually my favorite: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/2.01-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-36127 I'd have a gemologist look at it and tell me about the color. If it is a 'normal' H and not an unusually tinted (badly graded) one, I'd get an ASET of it. Because its got the nicest cutting of any of these I am listing. And it's got the rectangular shape you wanted.

If not then one of these as your third:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/2.05-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-284145
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/cushion-cut/1.81-carat-f-color-vs1-clarity-sku-312667

 

[canative10]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

Thank you so much Gypsy! This is really helpful guidance.

 

[Lorelei]

Re: Need help searching for diamond for ER: ~$16K budget..th

GREAT work Gypsy!