Newbie needs help choosing e-ring diamond

[kstew]

Hello everyone. I''m a newbie here, been lurking on the forum trying to educate myself on the fine art of diamond buying the last few weeks. I visited a jeweler in the LA jewelry district today and had a great experience and want to do business with him. But I need help in narrowing down my choice of diamonds. My gf likes square cut, either radiant or princess. My budget is $4K for diamond and white gold cross-prong solitaire setting (Tiffany''s Lucida style). Here''s the stones I liked:

1. Radiant cut, 1.03ct, H, VS2, 5.56 x 5.39 x 4.21 mm, depth 78.1%, table 73%, very good symmetry, very good polish, slightly thick to thick girdle, no fluorescence

2. Radiant cut, 1.01ct, H, VS2, 5.75 x 5.40 x 3.85 mm, depth 71.3%, table 74%, very good symmetry, very good polish, thin to thick girdle, no fluorescence

3. Radiant cut, 0.95ct, F, VS1, 5.48 x 5.34 x 3.97 mm, depth 74.3%, table 73%, good symmetry, good polish, slightly thick to thick girdle, no fluorecence

4. Fire mark Princess cut (branded), 0.92ct, excellent symmetry, excellent polish, not sure of other ratings

All 3 of the radiants looked beautiful with a lot of sparkle and looked clean to my eye under the loupe. The Fire Mark princess was very sparkly for a princess and has excellent light performance (over 95% light return). My gf likes radiants for the extra sparkle, but also likes princess for the square cut, so both are options. All stones would fall under my budget, the dealer is willing to go down on price for me to make it happen. I would greatly appreciate any comments or advice on these 4 diamonds. I''m planning on makiing a decision by this weekend so I can have the ring ready in time for me to propose on the 20th of this month. I''m very excited!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/5/2009 12:58:57 AM
Author:kstew
Hello everyone. I'm a newbie here, been lurking on the forum trying to educate myself on the fine art of diamond buying the last few weeks. I visited a jeweler in the LA jewelry district today and had a great experience and want to do business with him. But I need help in narrowing down my choice of diamonds. My gf likes square cut, either radiant or princess. My budget is $4K for diamond and white gold cross-prong solitaire setting (Tiffany's Lucida style). Here's the stones I liked:

1. Radiant cut, 1.03ct, H, VS2, 5.56 x 5.39 x 4.21 mm, depth 78.1%, table 73%, very good symmetry, very good polish, slightly thick to thick girdle, no fluorescence

2. Radiant cut, 1.01ct, H, VS2, 5.75 x 5.40 x 3.85 mm, depth 71.3%, table 74%, very good symmetry, very good polish, thin to thick girdle, no fluorescence

3. Radiant cut, 0.95ct, F, VS1, 5.48 x 5.34 x 3.97 mm, depth 74.3%, table 73%, good symmetry, good polish, slightly thick to thick girdle, no fluorecence

4. Fire mark Princess cut (branded), 0.92ct, excellent symmetry, excellent polish, not sure of other ratings

All 3 of the radiants looked beautiful with a lot of sparkle and looked clean to my eye under the loupe. The Fire Mark princess was very sparkly for a princess and has excellent light performance (over 95% light return). My gf likes radiants for the extra sparkle, but also likes princess for the square cut, so both are options. All stones would fall under my budget, the dealer is willing to go down on price for me to make it happen. I would greatly appreciate any comments or advice on these 4 diamonds. I'm planning on makiing a decision by this weekend so I can have the ring ready in time for me to propose on the 20th of this month. I'm very excited!

Hi Kstew

Are all these GIA graded? It is hard to say as Radiants need to be seen to be judged, out of the info we have here I would be most interested in the last one, do you have a preference? The first is deep, although this does not always relate to face up spread really it would be best to have a diamond with less depth than that. I am not familiar with the Fire Mark to advise.

 

[kstew]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that all of these diamonds are GIA certified.

As for the Fire Mark princess cut, here''s their website. http://www.firemarkdiamond.com/ In person this diamond was as sparkly or more than all of the radiants. It is also GIA certified and GCAL tested for light performance. I''m leaning towards the Fire Mark, as it appears that the radiants do not have the best depth/table stats. I liked all three of the radiants, it was difficult for me to tell much of a difference between them as I am new to diamonds. I''m a little concerned with the good/good rating of polish/symmetry of the 3rd one. I''ve read that it is important to go for very good/very good at least

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/5/2009 1:05:18 PM
Author: kstew
Sorry, I should have mentioned that all of these diamonds are GIA certified.

As for the Fire Mark princess cut, here's their website. http://www.firemarkdiamond.com/ In person this diamond was as sparkly or more than all of the radiants. It is also GIA certified and GCAL tested for light performance. I'm leaning towards the Fire Mark, as it appears that the radiants do not have the best depth/table stats. I liked all three of the radiants, it was difficult for me to tell much of a difference between them as I am new to diamonds. I'm a little concerned with the good/good rating of polish/symmetry of the 3rd one. I've read that it is important to go for very good/very good at least

Good and above for polish and symmetry is said to be indistinguishable to the naked untrained eye so I wouldn't let that deter you too much, but if you like the FM best then thats fine. I would say ask if you can view the diamond away from the store lights as this is an important test. Diamonds which aren't well cut will go dead in daylight, although unless the light is right a diamond will not necessarily sparkle, it would give you a better idea of how it will look when worn on the hand.

More on polish and symmetry

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/symm.asp

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/polish.asp