Need Help Selecting First Lab Diamond Please!

[khshiro]

Hello,

New here! I have been doing a lot of research to select my first lab diamond. I have narrowed it down to these three below (see IGI certs attached). Would love some opinions on which H&A diamond I should select or whether I should restart my search:

1. 3.00ct E VVS2 (9.23 - 9.26 X 5.71 MM)
2. 3.36ct D VS1 (9.61 - 9.65 X 5.86 MM).
3. 3.00ct D VVS2 (9.21 - 9.23 X 5.64 MM)

All three are within my price range. I have them listed from order of least expensive (1st) to the most (3rd). Prices increases by around $100 as we go down the list.

Appreciate any help I could get!

Thanks in advance!

 

[DejaWiz]

Hello and welcome to PriceScope, @khshiro !
I was able to find all three and check the 360 rotational videos:
Despite being tilted in the video, the first one appears to be the best choice out of these three.
The second one has very bad CVD graining/striations.
The third one has some visible cut precision issues leading to increased light leakages under the table.

 

[khshiro]

Thank you @DejaWiz ! I was hoping you would drop by and give me your opinion! I really appreciate it!

I have also been reading up on CVD vs HPHT. Most of the H&A i'm able to find is CVD and calavera is unfortunately not an easy site to browse. I do have some flexibility in my budget and was wondering if you could help me find one or two HPHT H&A diamonds between 3-3.4ct, D-F, VSS1-VS1 that are under 2k-ish? Not sure if this budget is realistic. I'm hoping to give this to my wife to celebrate the birth of our 2nd (and last) child.

And in your opinion, are there much differences between CVD & HPHT diamonds, if all else been equal?

 

[DejaWiz]

Thank you @DejaWiz ! I was hoping you would drop by and give me your opinion! I really appreciate it!

I have also been reading up on CVD vs HPHT. Most of the H&A i'm able to find is CVD and calavera is unfortunately not an easy site to browse. I do have some flexibility in my budget and was wondering if you could help me find one or two HPHT H&A diamonds between 3-3.4ct, D-F, VSS1-VS1 that are under 2k-ish? Not sure if this budget is realistic. I'm hoping to give this to my wife to celebrate the birth of our 2nd (and last) child.

And in your opinion, are there much differences between CVD & HPHT diamonds, if all else been equal?

Congratulations to you and your family for your 2nd born!
Yes, I prefer HPHT since the crystal quality is typically higher and devoid of any graining.
High crystal quality HPHT diamonds are usually more expensive than CVD, but you'll end up with a diamond grown by humans in a manner that is "purer" to the way the earth makes diamonds.
If you and your wife don't mind a hint of warmth, then how about something like this?

Lab Diamonds

Discover exquisite natural and lab-grown diamonds at Calavera Diamonds. Shop directly from manufacturers and cutters for wholesale prices with minimal markup. Browse our collection, including rare fancy colored diamonds.

calaveranewyork.com

 

[cashton13]

Congratulations to you and your family for your 2nd born!
Yes, I prefer HPHT since the crystal quality is typically higher and devoid of any graining.
High crystal quality HPHT diamonds are usually more expensive than CVD, but you'll end up with a diamond grown by humans in a manner that is "purer" to the way the earth makes diamonds.
If you and your wife don't mind a hint of warmth, then how about something like this?

Lab Diamonds

Discover exquisite natural and lab-grown diamonds at Calavera Diamonds. Shop directly from manufacturers and cutters for wholesale prices with minimal markup. Browse our collection, including rare fancy colored diamonds.

calaveranewyork.com

Hi there just admiring another great selection by Dejawiz, thought I would let you know this stone is also available on Jewelry by Cleo website for alittle less $966 . They are new to the game but great prices and very nice to work with . Congratulations to you! Ill attach screenshot for you

Congratulations to you and your family for your 2nd born!
Yes, I prefer HPHT since the crystal quality is typically higher and devoid of any graining.
High crystal quality HPHT diamonds are usually more expensive than CVD, but you'll end up with a diamond grown by humans in a manner that is "purer" to the way the earth makes diamonds.
If you and your wife don't mind a hint of warmth, then how about something like this?

Lab Diamonds

Discover exquisite natural and lab-grown diamonds at Calavera Diamonds. Shop directly from manufacturers and cutters for wholesale prices with minimal markup. Browse our collection, including rare fancy colored diamonds.

calaveranewyork.com

Admiring another great pick from @DejaWiz! This is also available on Jewelry by Cleo for $966 . They are new to the game but great prices and lovely to work with. Congratulations to you

 

[khshiro]

Thank you @DejaWiz ! I read that some HPHT diamonds can exhibit a blue-ish tint that isn't specified in the IGI reports. Will I need to worry about that with this one? And would you say seeing the diamonds in person would be the best way to choose between two options?

Also thank you @cashton13 for the cheaper price find!

 

[DejaWiz]

Thank you @DejaWiz ! I read that some HPHT diamonds can exhibit a blue-ish tint that isn't specified in the IGI reports. Will I need to worry about that with this one? And would you say seeing the diamonds in person would be the best way to choose between two options?

Also thank you @cashton13 for the cheaper price find!

Great find on the better price, cashton13 - fantastic web sleuthing.

khshiro you're very welcome, and no weird color nuance with that one.

 

[Azusa]

@khshiro i was recently on the hunt for a similar sized diamond and DejaWiz was amazing help to me.
I find all the sites very hard to filter on HPHT diamond except on loose grown diamond site they have a filter for that, i used them to look for HPHT if that helps

 

[khshiro]

Thank you so much @Azusa ! I looked on loose grown diamonds and kind of fell down a rabbit hole haha.

I happened across this one that looked great on paper, but worried about the blue / grey hues that HPTP can exhibit:

Loupe360

loupe360.com

@DejaWiz do you happen to see anything of concern?

 

[DejaWiz]

Thank you so much @Azusa ! I looked on loose grown diamonds and kind of fell down a rabbit hole haha.

I happened across this one that looked great on paper, but worried about the blue / grey hues that HPTP can exhibit:

Loupe360

loupe360.com

@DejaWiz do you happen to see anything of concern?

That one looks great, in my opinion - it is slightly tilted in the video, but I don't see anything of major concern.