Need Help Understanding the Difference between two Diamonds

[d66j]

Hi all,

This is my first time ever posting anything, however, I've found myself struggling to make a decision. I've researched enough and educated myself enough to at least know the fundamentals about diamonds. My significant other has made it clear that she really likes the idea of a laboratory grown diamond, and she really isn't all that picky...just excited to be married--finally

I have made the decision to go with Brilliant Earth for a laboratory grown diamond and have narrowed it down. My big question is, why does this first diamond...

1. https://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/4098857/?sid=

...look different from these other two diamonds.

2. https://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/4418075/?sid=
3. https://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/5116784/?sid=

After getting some opinions, most of my family liked the first one above, but there's something that makes it look different from the other two and I can't definitively tell what it is other than possibly the "lighting" or "angle"? I recognize that there are differences in the visible inclusions, but the difference I need help with is what makes it look whiter when you look at it straight on?

Any help and opinions on which of the diamonds is better and why would be great! I am planning on either getting #1 or #2, and my significant other would be happy with either. She had originally picked out something much worse, but didn't realize I wanted her to have something nicer; something I would be proud of for her.

Thank you!
dj

 

[OoohShiny]

Look at the numbers on the IGI reports for the stones and plug them into the Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA) tool, available on the Tools tab at the top of the forum, then post them up here

You need to look for stones with an HCA under 2.0 in order to identify stones that have a good chance of performing well.


May I ask if there is any reason you are going for D colour? D, E and F look basically identical on the finger, and many on this forum recommend going down to an H in well cut stones, as they will still be bright from the top and only have a very slight tint of colour from the side. I and J is usually where tiny can start to be discerned, but everyone is sensitive to colour to different degrees Tint / colour is not 'bad', it is just personal taste.

If you did drop a few colour grades, you could improve the clarity. Those SI2s have some sizeable inclusions that are likely to be noticeable from a distance. This may or may not bother you and your partner, but many on here prefer 'eye clean', with inclusions that are only visible from very close distance or at certain angles.

 

[OoohShiny]

0.92 H VVS2 HCA<2.0:
https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/4380128/

0.92 G VS1 HCA<2.0
https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/4188229/

0.9 F VS2 HCA<2.0
https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/5119590/

These should all perform very well if my understanding of the best angles/percentages is correct, but hopefully @ChristineRose or @flyingpig or another equally knowledgeable person will chime in to confirm or reject my thoughts

 

[ChristineRose]

#1 is shallow-ish. #2 is deep, and #3 is deep-ish.

When you look at the videos, concentrate on the table, the flat area on the top. The deep diamonds are darker under the table at certain angles, which is light going out the back of the diamond.

Shallow diamonds are bright, but they also have less contrast--less changing from dark to light as the diamonds move. This is a matter of taste up to a point as you can't be bright and white and have dark and light patterns both.

The HCA likes shallow diamonds, but many people like deep diamonds. #2 is too deep, so take it off the list.

 

[OoohShiny]

Thanks for replying, Christine!

Just to check...

#1 is shallow-ish. #2 is deep, and #3 is deep-ish.

Do these comments refer to the OP's links or my links?

If the former, your thoughts on the latter would be much appreciated!!

 

[d66j]

Thank you both very much for the replies!

@OoohShiny - I wasn't specifically looking for D color diamonds. I am open to D, E, F, G and H. It just so happened that the ones I had found were D color. Also, I did notice that D color seems to be much more prominent in laboratory-grown diamonds. I really appreciate the response and even the options you suggested, although I have difficulties purchasing a diamond that I cannot see myself as not all are created equal even if they are the same on paper. On another note, thank you for introducing me to HCA! I had never heard of it before, and it appears to be a very useful tool when analyzing diamonds.

@ChristineRose - I think you nailed it for me! The whiter colored diamond (#1) is showing up whiter because it is a more shallow cut. While it is brighter than the other two, it does not showcase the contrast or almost "translucent" (see-through) behavior that the others do. I see that these two are deeper cuts. I think you helped me narrow down the decision by removing #2 as an option. I'm amazed that the ever-so-slight differences in depth are what cause diamond #1 to look so white, yet not as "crystal clear." I can't decide whether I prefer a very clear looking diamond, or a very white one.

Thank you again, both of you!

 

[OoohShiny]

Glad to be of assistance

A very well cut diamond will reflect a large amount of light back out of the crown, which will mean that even lower colours (I, J, K) will look white in most lights. Colour is graded face (crown) down, so that an assessment can be undertaken without the light return swaying the decision, so do not worry about having a diamond look 'white' face (crown) up (which it is when one wears it) if you buy a well-cut stone.

Inclusions of the size in the diamonds you linked to originally are likely to be very visible as they are quite large in size. There are only very few SI1 (and even fewer SI2) stones that are 'eye clean' - usually the only inclusions that enable this are 'twinning wisps'.

The HCA tool is designed to assist the search of stones that you cannot see personally - it removes those that are likely to be duds and reduces the pool of diamonds that one needs to look at in more detail. Any stone you buy online will be 'unseen' in real life, but the Pricescope recommended vendors have excellent return policies, so you can buy and then return (at minimal or zero cost, depending on Returns shipping and insurance policies of the vendor) if you do not like it. This means it is very low-risk, and I am certain that if you buy a stone with the best angles/percentages, it will outperform anything you will find in the local stores


So, to summarise the point I am attempting to make, you don't need to have a 'clear looking' diamond OR a 'white' diamond - you can have both! You just need to ensure the cut is as good as it can be, and that the inclusions are small enough to let the diamond be 'eye clean', and then you can drop in colour without sacrificing any whiteness.

 

[ChristineRose]

Lab diamonds are not grown white. I think most of them begin life blue. Yellow is the easiest to grow, but I think the ones that are destined to be white are blue. They are then treated to become white.

In mined stones the higher colors are typically yellowish, which appeals to a lot of people. But the gray undertones in lab stones are less appealing.

For a long time there were no truly white lab stones. Now they seem to have improved the process. So I don't recommend looking too hard in the GHIJK range to save money.

@OoohShiny--all three of yours are solid performers. #2 is a tiny bit deeper. #1 has a GCAL report, which is more reliable than an IGI report--but GCAL uses different standards than GIA so it's not always straightforward to translate.

The differences between these stones would be subtle enough that you'd have to see an Idealscope or see them in person to really evaluate them. That's another reason I like the GCAL. They have some more specific ratings based on actual lab measurements, and also the photomicrograph images are similar to an Idealscope and an H&A.

 

[OoohShiny]

Many thanks, @ChristineRose, that's very helpful!

 

[d66j]

So after the feedback I received here as well as some from another site, I decided to reevaluate the diamonds I was previously looking at. The original contenders from before included these two (I dropped the deep one per your recommendations):

1. https://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/4098857/?sid=
2. https://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/5116784/?sid=

I relaxed a little on the color seeing as almost all of the ones I've been looking at have been D-H and there are not too many options until opening up to the 'I' color diamonds. Here are more contenders, and also now more appealing than the two above. I included the HCA (thanks @OoohShiny) as well. Please let me know what your opinions/preferences are:

3. HCA: 1.4 -- https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/5024993/
4. HCA: 1.7 -- https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/5024976/
5. HCA: 1.7 -- https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/4824512/
6. HCA: 1.3 -- https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/5117250/

 

[OoohShiny]

So after the feedback I received here as well as some from another site, I decided to reevaluate the diamonds I was previously looking at. The original contenders from before included these two (I dropped the deep one per your recommendations):

1. https://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/4098857/?sid=
2. https://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/5116784/?sid=

I relaxed a little on the color seeing as almost all of the ones I've been looking at have been D-H and there are not too many options until opening up to the 'I' color diamonds. Here are more contenders, and also now more appealing than the two above. I included the HCA (thanks @OoohShiny) as well. Please let me know what your opinions/preferences are:

3. HCA: 1.4 -- https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/5024993/
4. HCA: 1.7 -- https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/5024976/
5. HCA: 1.7 -- https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/4824512/
6. HCA: 1.3 -- https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/5117250/

No.3 looks good - despite being SI1 the inclusions are not that visible in the zoomed image (and they aren't black specks) so in real life I think it would be just fine. I think the difference in size between this 1.09 and the 0.98 of No.6 would be noticeable in real life.

No.4 looks great and would be a good buy - eye clean VS1, good angles, good HCA - there's nothing really to comment on! lol

No.5 looks good - the 'cloud' inclusions are barely noticeable on the zoomed image, so they will be basically invisible in real life unless you have the eyes of Superman Other than that, the same comments apply as No.4!

No.6 is interesting - 16% crown should give lots of fire, if I understand things correctly plus the VS2 grade-setting feather inclusion is barely noticeable, only catching the light slightly at some angles, which I would think would be lost in the overall light performance of the stone.


I think you've picked four good ones there - MUCH better than Nos.1 and 2 in terms of the inclusions being a lot less visible. (N.B. - I am a clarity-whore and like definitely eye-clean... )

Buying 1 and 2 would be because you want D colour over everything else.
Buying No.3 would be because you are prioritising size, but the trade-off with clarity and colour is well-balanced.
I personally prefer No.4 over No.5, due to the latter having a bit of a darker ring around the centre, but either would be definitely eye-clean and I think the angles are good. Good all-rounders, I would say.
Buying No.6 would be because you are interested in the increased fire that a 16% crown height and smaller (56%) table would bring, although there would be a slight reduction in size in this case.

I'd be really interested to see No.6 in real life, I think it has the potential to be a cracking stone - the fact it is priced higher as an 0.98 I VS2 than the larger 1.02 I VS1 stones that are Nos.4 and 5 (especially when breaking a whole-number-carat barrier usually marks a jump in price) makes me wonder if the appraisers who set the pricing have also thought it performs very well!


I am but one man, though, so I think it would be great to get others' input on this - come in, @ChristineRose!

 

[Annie Loves Diamond]

Hi guys, can someone show pictures of lab-grown diamonds, I haven't seen a real one, I'm wondering how it differs from the earth diamonds.

 

[denverappraiser]

They are not visibly different, but check the dealers for photos of specific stones.