I am a total novice with diamonds. If anyone is interested in providing feedback, it would be greatly appreciated! This diamond looks clean to my novice eye (viewed at my local jeweler).
GIA#: 2166909798
Color: G
Clarity: SI2
Carat: 1.20
Pol/Sym/Cut: Ex/Ex/Ex
It scores a 4.3 on the HCA - good only if price is your main concern. The angles don't work together very well. And it is a 60/60 stone. It also has a lot of inclusions under the table. I'd keep looking.
Thanks for the input. I came across another stone that grades better on the HCA scale (2.8 - Very Good - Worth buying if the price is right), is roughly the same size (1.21 carat), grades out slightly higher on clarity (SI1 vs. SI2), and is also EX/EX/EX. No fluorescence. Color is I. It looks very eye clean. Is there anything to worry about with the color being "I"?
GIA Report # is 7201628499. Diamond is $6885, nearly the same exact price as the diamond I referenced above.
One additional diamond I looked at is a bit more expensive ($8400), but it is 1.33 carat, VS2, Color H, EX/EX/EX. It does not grade out as well on the HCA, but it looks like a nice diamond. GIA # for this one is 1172246802.
Matt, remember that the HCA is not a selection tool but rather a weeding tool. If a stone scores higher than a 2, the advice here would generally be to reject it. There are exceptions of course depending upon the stone and the score.
These parameters will hopefully find you a great stone:
Table 54-58
Depth no more than 62.3%
Crown angle 34-35
Pavilion angle 40.6 - 40.9
I agree with MGR. Are you able to see pictures of the diamonds? I wouldn't buy anything that costs a few thousand dollars without pictures. Look at GIA excellent cut only, and use the numbers MGR just posted for you to narrow down the list. If the vendor you are looking at doesn't provide pictures of the stone or light return images, I'd look elsewhere since many do provide those.