Need some much appreciated advice!

[lgj7801]

Hello,
I was hoping to run my situation past a few people to get some advice, so here goes.... Ok, looking at two round diamonds

Stone A: 1.714ct I VS2 AGS000 cut (Lazare Kaplan) -This stone has so much fire, it is truly beautiful to the naked eye. It also scored an 8.9 overall on Isee2. My concern here is the color. It did look perfectly fine table up I think mainly because of how much light it reflects. Also when you look on the cert, there are a ton of inclusions. Very small though, to my untrained eye using a stereo microscope at 10X I could barely pick out any of them. I guess my issue here is first the color; am I making too big a deal of this? Secondly, Is the fact that this stone has so many inclusions going to lower the value? Should I be concerned here? Is getting the Lazare cut worth it? Price is 17,350.

Stone B: 1.87ct GVS2 GIA XXX This stone I am going to see tomorrow. I guess my question here is lets say this stone has a cleaner(clarity) cert should I buy it since the color grade is bumped up a few notches? Should I expect to see similar Brilliance, Fire, and Scintillation since it is a XXX GIA? Price is 18,750.

I guess my question can be boiled down to "Is the Lazare Kaplan worth going down a few color grades and having that dirty table even though any inclusions are totally invisible to the naked eye? OR Should I expect reasonable performance from stone B and is that the better value given the color difference???

Wow, what a long convoluted post? I hope everyone can follow that, I could really use some advice. I have seen so many stones and have learned so much, I feel as though I have paralysis of analysis!!!

Oh, in case anyone was wondering why there is no Isee2 score for stone B is because that stone is at a different jeweler who I am going to see tomorrow.

Thank you SO MUCH in advance for all of your help!

Sincere regards
Leo

 

[oldminer]

While we can measure light performance and cut quality with various methodologies, we still cannot determine which diamond is going to have the most and best eye appeal to any individual. Kaplan diamonds at one time had a very strong grip on the "well cut" end of the market which they no longer have any exclusive on. You are going to make a decision based on your budget and what you think not only about the diamonds, but possibly about the personalities of the store and sales staff. It would be super if you could make an ISEE2 comparison of the diamonds, but the number which it generates may not be exactly what your oersonal perception of beauty correlates to.

Most folks can see the difference between I and G color, but when the diamond is mounted and not set close to another diamond of differing color, both I and G look pretty much alike to nearly all consumers.