Need opinion....

[New2diamondS]

Hi All,
Let me start off by thanking everyone for posting on this board. Reading the different threads have taught me alot about diamonds.

I''ve been a long time lurker, but have never posted. It''s almost time for me to purchase the engagement ring. All the diamond searching and numbers are giving me a headache

. I''ve been looking at 2 diamonds, but would like some opinion....

Shape: Round
Weight: 1.24 CARATS
Cut Grade: Ideal (H&A)
Color Grade: H
Clarity Grade: VS2
Laboratory: GIA
Measurements: 6.97-7.03x4.22mm
Depth: 60.3%
Table: 57%
Crown Angle: 35.1
Pavillion Angle: 40.9
Girdle: Thin to medium
Culet: .4%
Polish: VERY GOOD
Symmetry: EXCELLENT
Fluorescence: NONE
$6,500

Shape: Round
Weight: 1.20 CARATS
Cut Grade: Ideal
Color Grade: G
Clarity Grade: VS2
Laboratory: GIA
Measurements: 6.81-6.84x4.18mm
Depth: 61%
Table: 58%
Girdle: ??
Culet: NONE
Polish: VERY GOOD
Symmetry: VERY GOOD
Fluorescence: NONE
$7,400

I don''t have the sarin report for the second diamonds, but can you give me some opinions from what I have given? I talked to a jewler about the 2 diamonds and he recommended the second one since the dimensions are a little better. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Mara]

Hmmm..




First off are these offline purchases? They appear to have the markup associated with an offline purchase.




Anyhow, it's hard to tell if the 2nd has better dimensions from what you noted. The first looks pretty darn nice actually, nothing BAD sticking out. Crown angle could be a little shallower but it's not a make or break situation. It gets a 2.1 on the HCA...anything under a 2.0 is excellent..so this stone is somewhat on the cusp. Should still be amazing in person.




The 2nd stone has bigger diameter and shallower depth. That doesn't necessarily mean better dimensions, it just looks slightly bigger. It could mean that this stone would return more white light and not a 'balance' of white light and fire. You'd need the Sarin numbers to see where the crown and pav angles fall. I wouldn't buy the 2nd stone without a Sarin based upon a jeweler saying he thought the 2nd one was better. Just my opinion.




How important is cut and look of the stone to you. If you are not adverse to shopping online, there are some good deals to be had, without the offline markup and also you will have a larger selection of well-cut stones. Just some food for thought, found these on the 'cut quality' search:




1.22 H VS2 Hearts and Arrows: AGS0: HCA under 2.0: $7040


1.24 F SI1 H&A AGS0 HCA under 2.0: $7035


1.20 H VS2 H&A SuperIdeal AGS0 HCA under 2.0: $7062




Personally I like the 1.24 F SI1 because its bigger, you've got an F color and no wasted $$ on clarity you can't see anyway, it's hearts and arrows, excellently cut for $300 less than that 2nd stone.

But it's more expensive than the 1st stone, so all things considered, if you want to shop offline, I'd go with stone #1.

 

[dimonbob]

Welcome to the forum.

They both look like nice diamonds but neither one is Ideal cut. An Ideal cut with a GIA certificate would have to have ex/ex not very good. Also the second diamond has a 58% table which is also not Ideal. So both are being listed as Ideal but are not. It also looks like the girdle on the second diamond is going to be very thick. Of the two I would take the first.