Newbee here, buying diamond seeking your experience

[talon524]

Hello everyone, great site, glad I found it. A little background and then my questions. I''m going to be buying a diamond for my g/f in the next several weeks. She is in the retail Jewelry business so I will be getting it from the Co she works for (think very large national retail chain). BUT, I want to make sure I get a high quality diamond that looks great. My pricing is very good and NOT a concern of mine, the issue is selecting the correct stone.

Here are the "basic" specs for the 2 diamonds.

#1. LEO Diamond, Marquise, 1.21 ct. SI2, G color, good cut, 9.98 x 5.97

#2. Marquise, 1.53 ct, SI1, G color, good cut, 10.5 x 6.02

Option #2 is about $1200 more (my cost)than opt. #1.
So is a LEO diamond anything special?
Is it worth $1200 for .25 CT more and SI1 rather than SI2?

WHAT are the specs I should be looking at for table % etc...?

Thanks in advance for all the help...

Cameron

 

[pqcollectibles]

There are several interesting posts by professionals on the Leo diamond in older threads. Do a Search and check 'em out.

 

[canadiangrrl]

I wasn't aware that the Leo brand extended to the marquise shape - I thought it was just for round brilliants?

 

[DiamondExpert]

Are you sure what she wants?...a critical question in my opinion.

She may have a very well formed idea being around diamonds all the time.

Does she think the stones available through her chain are the very best?

Be a little bit careful here...your reference to "a very large chain" scares me a bit...make sure your quest for an employee discount doesn't end up dictating you getting a poorly cut diamond.