Need HELP! Should I go lower in color to go bigger?

[KtIceRN]

So here''s my delima...

I am getting a new setting made (ering and wband) each band will be about 2.6mm where as my set now each is about 5mm. Now before I have the setting made I have to decide if I want a bigger stone or not.

The specs on my current stone are as follows:

AGS 000
J
VS2
Round ideal cut
1.761
Depth 61.4
Table 54.7
CA 34.4
Crown % 15.5
Star 51
PA 40.9
Pavilion % 43.1
Lower girdle % 76.7
Girdle thin faceted
7.79-7.81 x 4.79

Light Performance: 0
Polish: Ideal
Symmetry: Ideal
Culet: Pointed
Fluorescence: Strong Blue
HCA 1.5 XXVV
Once the setting is made since it is a hand crafted head I will not be able to upgrade unless I get a whole new head. I have found a new stone that WF is calling in for me. Lesley said it will be there on Monday and Brian will look at it to see what he thinks, then I guess take some pics. The new stone breaks the 2ct mark which is what I have always wanted, my only concern is the color.

So here are the specs of the new stone

AGS 1
0 light performance
0 proportion factors
1 finish
Excellent polish
Ideal symmetry
2.05
K
VS2
8.24-8.25X5.05
depth 61.3
table 54
CA 34.5 or 34.8 (cert is fuzzy and Lesley could not confirm before the diamond was sent)
PA 40.8
girdle thin-med
Fluro NONE!
HCA 1.3 XXXVG

The numbers on this stone look really good to me. I have no issues with the warmth of my J, so I don''t think that I will have a big problem with the K, but it is a K for a reason. I am concerned with the absence of the fluro as well. Of course will take into consideration what Brian says about the stone, as he see alot more that I will ever in my lifetime. I really have decided that I am a size whore and would love to have a 2+ct. This is the only time I have to do it, now or "never". We are going to have kids soon and I know that I will be spending my extra cash on kids rather than diamonds for a very long time. So DH said "you can do this now but that''s it. If you don''t like this stone (the K), then keep the one you have and get the setting made and be done with it." Between the cost of the new settings we have a limited budget for the stone. So this is the color I would have to get to have the size I want... One thing to consider as well is that the setting I am getting has a "halo/bezel" around the sides of the stone just below the girdle, so it will hide alot of the side view of the pavillion.
This is very frustrating to try and decide. It''s probably a bit premature to talk about as well since WF hasn''t even seen the stone yet. As long as Brian says it is worth it I am going to have them send the stone to Cindy Konney of NE gem labs so I can see it side by side next to the J. I don''t know, I just felt I need some support from my fellow PSers. DH just doesn''t understand my diamond problems. Any and all opinions are welcome!

So I guess I just want to see what you guys think....


KT

 

[Dee*Jay]

Absolutely check out the K if Brian says it''s a good candidate! Honestly, if I ever do get around to that big bezel set pendant I keep toying with a K is my first choice!

 

[kcoursolle]

I''d pay the money to have it sent to view the stone. If the J doesn''t bother you, there''s a chance the K won''t as well and the specs look nice. However, I definitely wouldn''t have a new setting made if I was planning on upgrading until I got the bigger stone. If the K doesn''t work out, I''d save your money and wait until you can afford a new stone before getting a reset.

 

[KtIceRN]

Thanks Dee-Jay! I do value Brian''s opinion very much and look forward to hearing what he says.

Kcoursolle, that''s the issue. I am going to get the setting now either way. I know that we will not be spending money on diamonds after we get pregnant. We have already decided this as our income will change because my job will change. So it''s either now or not until the kids are grown or we win the lottery!! I am not unhappy with my J, but I would like the 2cts. If this stone doesn''t work out I will go ahead and get the setting for the 1.76 and still be very happy. I think my stone is going to look larger either way because of the thinner setting. It''s just that I would like the 2cts, not that I have to have it to be happy. But I don''t want to sacrifice the beauty ( like seeing too much warmth) of the stone just to have the bigger size...

KT

 

[Cehrabehra]

give up your strong blue? the difference in perceived color could be quite considerable between the stones without the fluor... I dunno for sure... tough choice! Normally I''d be like embrace the K because I love that color... but if you''re a fan of "well its lower color but it *looks* blazing white" I dunno if it''ll do that, especially over 2 carats! I would see if you can have it sent to you to look at next to your stone and then make a choice.... I didn''t even look at the other specs LOL

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 4/27/2007 10:43:58 PM
Author: KtIceRN
Thanks Dee-Jay! I do value Brian''s opinion very much and look forward to hearing what he says.

Kcoursolle, that''s the issue. I am going to get the setting now either way. I know that we will not be spending money on diamonds after we get pregnant. We have already decided this as our income will change because my job will change. So it''s either now or not until the kids are grown or we win the lottery!! I am not unhappy with my J, but I would like the 2cts. If this stone doesn''t work out I will go ahead and get the setting for the 1.76 and still be very happy. I think my stone is going to look larger either way because of the thinner setting. It''s just that I would like the 2cts, not that I have to have it to be happy. But I don''t want to sacrifice the beauty ( like seeing too much warmth) of the stone just to have the bigger size...

KT

if you don''t like seeing warmth I''d definitely stay with the J!

 

[iheartscience]

Someone on here had a sick ACA that was a K color. Let me look in my bookmarks...okay, it was 3hearts. Here is the address, I don''t know how to do links: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-k.48040/

This K diamond just blows me away. Wow...I LOVE IT! I think you should definitely definitely get the stone sent so you can view it up close and personal to decide. If it looks anything like 3hearts'', I think it will be a keeper for sure!

However, I say only get it if you are 100% positive about it. It would suck to be stuck with a diamond you aren''t completely happy with and not be able to change it!

 

[iheartscience]

Oooh, I somehow didn''t notice that your J has strong blue fluorescence. Hmmm...I''m guessing that a K with no fluorescence would probably look a lot warmer than a J with strong blue. But if it were me, I''d still take a look at it!

 

[KtIceRN]

Date: 4/27/2007 11:03:24 PM
Author: Cehrabehra
give up your strong blue? the difference in perceived color could be quite considerable between the stones without the fluor... I dunno for sure... tough choice! Normally I''d be like embrace the K because I love that color... but if you''re a fan of ''well its lower color but it *looks* blazing white'' I dunno if it''ll do that, especially over 2 carats! I would see if you can have it sent to you to look at next to your stone and then make a choice.... I didn''t even look at the other specs LOL

Cehra, I am a bit afraid to give up my strong blue, I will admit that. But I have NO problem with the warmth of my J stone. I really like it. I started with an H and can''t see much of a difference color wise. So I think that I would be OK with the K, but I have not seen one..yet. I do not expect it to look like a D, or white white by any means! I do plan on having the stone sent to me as long as Brian feels that it would be worth it. I trust his judgement completely.

KT

 

[Ellen]

For the small amount of size you''d be getting, and losing the flo, I''d pass and stick with your J.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/28/2007 8:20:51 AM
Author: Ellen
For the small amount of size you''d be getting, and losing the flo, I''d pass and stick with your J.

Dittoe!

 

[LdyNghtWng]

7.8 mm to 8.25 mm seems a nice bump up in spread...I guess you just need to see the stone yourself. I've seen J-ish Ks and L-ish Ks; K is a pretty wide colour range, I think. Maybe you'll be lucky, and other than the lack of fluoro, the colour difference won't be detectable.

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 4/28/2007 8:20:51 AM
Author: Ellen
For the small amount of size you''d be getting, and losing the flo, I''d pass and stick with your J.

Thritto . . . you know how much I love my fluor . . . I say stick with the J.

 

[kellyfish]

I don''t know much about rb''s, but is there a si1 in a I or J around with a larger spread and a higher color? I am all about size, so mabey you could keep looking and get the best of both worlds.....

 

[BunniBling]

Date: 4/28/2007 9:23:22 AM
Author: hikerchick

Date: 4/28/2007 8:20:51 AM
Author: Ellen
For the small amount of size you'd be getting, and losing the flo, I'd pass and stick with your J.

Thritto . . . you know how much I love my fluor . . . I say stick with the J.

Quadritto. I actually prefer a slightly warmer/wintery white to D-esque iciness, *but* a K w/out flour may have too much tint happening.

-J

 

[KtIceRN]

Date: 4/28/2007 11:35:42 AM
Author: BunniBling

Date: 4/28/2007 9:23:22 AM
Author: hikerchick

Date: 4/28/2007 8:20:51 AM
Author: Ellen
For the small amount of size you''d be getting, and losing the flo, I''d pass and stick with your J.

Thritto . . . you know how much I love my fluor . . . I say stick with the J.

Quadritto. I actually prefer a slightly warmer/wintery white to D-esque iciness, *but* a K w/out flour may have too much tint happening.

-J

Thanks guys. I do really love my J, but I also want bigger. Ellen, I thought 7.8 to 8.25 was a pretty decent jump. Like I have said if this stone doesn''t work out then I will keep my J. It is a very nice size and a great stone. I just figured I would take a look at this K though, the numbers are good and the price is right, the only missing thing is the fluor. But maybe I will get lucky and it will be a high K, you never know. I do really like the warmth of the lower color stones. A friend of mine has a 1.5ct F RB and I think it is too blinding white. I even prefer my J to my H....the only question is how much does the fluro play a part in that!

KT

 

[KtIceRN]

Date: 4/28/2007 10:09:12 AM
Author: kellyfish
I don''t know much about rb''s, but is there a si1 in a I or J around with a larger spread and a higher color? I am all about size, so mabey you could keep looking and get the best of both worlds.....

Thanks Kelly, I have looked around but I didn''t see anything that I liked. I have no problem with SI stones at all! My Bellerina pendant is a J SI2 no fluro and I love it!!! The spread would have to be worth it to get rid of J. So going from 7.8 to 8.0 just would not be worth it to me. Now an 8.25 is worth looking at...

KT

 

[Ellen]

Date: 4/28/2007 5:04:10 PM
Author: KtIceRN
Thanks guys. I do really love my J, but I also want bigger. Ellen, I thought 7.8 to 8.25 was a pretty decent jump. Like I have said if this stone doesn''t work out then I will keep my J. It is a very nice size and a great stone. I just figured I would take a look at this K though, the numbers are good and the price is right, the only missing thing is the fluor. But maybe I will get lucky and it will be a high K, you never know. I do really like the warmth of the lower color stones. A friend of mine has a 1.5ct F RB and I think it is too blinding white. I even prefer my J to my H....the only question is how much does the fluro play a part in that!

KT

In the size range you''re in, it won''t be as dramatic as it would be if you were going from like a .50 to a .95. Once you get past the 1 ct. mark, and up, it seems to take quite a bit.

But maybe it will be enough to satisfy the craving.

 

[KtIceRN]

Date: 4/28/2007 5:16:23 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 4/28/2007 5:04:10 PM
Author: KtIceRN
Thanks guys. I do really love my J, but I also want bigger. Ellen, I thought 7.8 to 8.25 was a pretty decent jump. Like I have said if this stone doesn''t work out then I will keep my J. It is a very nice size and a great stone. I just figured I would take a look at this K though, the numbers are good and the price is right, the only missing thing is the fluor. But maybe I will get lucky and it will be a high K, you never know. I do really like the warmth of the lower color stones. A friend of mine has a 1.5ct F RB and I think it is too blinding white. I even prefer my J to my H....the only question is how much does the fluro play a part in that!

KT

In the size range you''re in, it won''t be as dramatic as it would be if you were going from like a .50 to a .95. Once you get past the 1 ct. mark, and up, it seems to take quite a bit.

But maybe it will be enough to satisfy the craving.

Maybe when i see it it won''t be a big enough difference....boy wouldn''t that be a bummer!!
Then I would definately keep my J!!!

KT

 

[Ellen]

I''ll be anxious to hear your thoughts!

 

[Mara]

honestly i don't think you'll see that much of a difference. me personally, i would not call in some random non ES or ACA stone with that type of small mm increase and for a K with no fluor jump.

if it were me i would drop that VS2 to an SI2 to get more size and stay with a J, but you are probably constrained with limited inventory. can you just wait until the RIGHT stone for you comes along since this is just a reset?

for me when i had a 1.6 i wanted to go to 2c+ because i knew that is where i'd see a jump in size. visually sometimes when the stone is already larger, it's hard to see small increases. at this point with my 2.3 i would not get a 3c. i'd want to get a 3.3c or something at minimum. because visually i have seen 3c next to my stone and while yes it's bigger, it's a 3c, it's not big enough to really make it 'worth it' in my opinion. i got a full mm in my last upgrade and i would want another full mm or probably not do it.

i vaguely recall (and maybe this isn't you..?) that when you first got the 1.76 J weren't you a little not sure if you loved the color right at the first? and the SB fluor most likely is making a large impact visually in how your J appears to you top down (not from side). to get a K with no fluor after a J with SB...you might not like what you see with color.

anyway, as much as i ADORE my J stone and depending on my budget in the future, if i ever decide to upgrade, i would love to be able to get to a 3.3c I stone because i think that would be my 'last' stone and if i could afford it, i'd want to bump up one color grade just to get a little less warmth from the side in that huge 3c+ size. i am totally fine with my 2c J but in a 3c+ stone i think i'd want to see if i could go up one color grade without selling the first born. though i have seen some 3c J's on here that look really clear from the side, so maybe it just depends on the stone.

in any case, call in the stone but i would really think long and hard about sacrificing a color grade just for a teensy bit of extra spread. if this is your last and forever stone, don't make too many compromises because you might regret it later. good luck!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think a J with floro sounds wonderful, and I would not go lower in color on a larger stone with the exception of an antique stone and setting.

 

[KtIceRN]

Mara- Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it.

Nope that was not me, I have loved my J from the start. Actually I couldn''t believe how white it faced up. I do notice some warmth from the side but I do not mind it at all. I have a 1.12 J SI2 with no fluro in my bellerina pendant and I do not see much warmth in that as well. So I do not have any problems with the warmth of the lower colors at all!

There is a 2.28 J SI2 ACA that I would love to have but it is just not in the budget right now, and will not be for a very long time! I have collected quite a few pieces in the last two years and now it is time to slow down. Hence the limited budget for this upgrade if it happens at all.

Irina was kind enough to photoshop the 2 different sizes for me with a thinner band like I am going to get and I have to agree that I can not see a huge difference. I guess it is more of a mind thing to have 2cts at this point since the visual difference is not much.

I am very curious to hear what Brian has to say about the stone. If he thinks it is worth it to have a look at the stone, I''ll have then send it to my appraiser so I can see them side by side. But I agree I will think long and hard about it before I make the decision. I will be keeping this stone for a very long time and do not want to have any regrets just to have .45mm in size.

Thanks again Mara!!!

KT

 

[KtIceRN]

Thanks DS, I do love my J.....but 2cts sounds nice too! I just don''t want to sacrifice too much to get there. The question remains is this K going to be worth it???
I''m not sure yet.....

KT

 

[KtIceRN]

So the K came into WF today and Lesley says it is beautiful. She sent me the IS ,40X and Sarin report. I will attach them.

To be honest I am not quite sure what to do. I don''t know if the mm size and drop in color is worth it. Also I know it''s a bit crazy but the IS image is not as nice as my J stone. I see some off arrows, that I am sure IRL I would not notice but.....it'' feeling like a mind clean issue.

Just thought I would post to see what you guys think. I''m still on the fence but am leaning towards just keeping my J.

KT

 

[KtIceRN]

40X photo

 

[KtIceRN]

Sarin

 

[Cehrabehra]

is there a difference in price?

 

[pyramid]

Can you get photos of it sent to you from the side next to a J colour?

 

[kellyfish]

If it makes you feel any better my sq emerald is 2.01 ct and 7.3x7.3. So, compared to others cuts, you already have more than a 2ct!!!!