Newbie needs help with 1 ct upgrade

[DVC California]

Any thoughts on the below? This will be an upgrade/replacement diamond for my wife''s e-ring. The setting is yellow gold with 3 smaller diamonds on each side of the main stone. Should I go "down" on color and up on clarity given the setting? She is mostly concerned with the sparkle factor.

Thanks in advance, Steve

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.03
Cut: Premium
Color: F
Clarity: SI2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 61.3%
Table: 59%
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Good
Girdle: Thin to thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.43*6.55*3.98

Price: $ 3,270

 

[Garysax]

You can definitely go down in color if you''re trying to get a 1 ct on a budget, IMHO. F is way overkill if you''re trying to save some money.

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome to PS

I too would thing you could drop the colour to an G or H and still have a very white looking diamond. There really isn't enough info to go on to determine cut quality, it is a little on the deep side and the table is a tad large but if you have seen it and love it then that is an advantage. Really what is needed are the crown and pavillion angles which are very important to help determine optical perfomance or percentages. Who has certified it? GIA. EGL USA etc? Is it from a jewellery store? Does the vendor have a Sarin report or any other documentation which would help? Whatever you do make cut your first priority as it is this which makes a diamond beautiful. There is a ton of info in the knowledge section above which will give you a good idea of what to look for.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/25/2006 1:04:58 AM
Author:DVC California
Any thoughts on the below? This will be an upgrade/replacement diamond for my wife''s e-ring. The setting is yellow gold with 3 smaller diamonds on each side of the main stone. Should I go ''down'' on color and up on clarity given the setting? She is mostly concerned with the sparkle factor.

Thanks in advance, Steve

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.03
Cut: Premium
Color: F
Clarity: SI2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 61.3%
Table: 59%
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Good
Girdle: Thin to thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.43*6.55*3.98

Price: $ 3,270

Steve
the table might be too big. look for something like 55-56%

the girdle...thin-med or med would be nice.

6.43 x 6.55....the stone looks out of round.

 

[Jelly]

If she is looking for sparkle, you need to get an ideal cut stone. No premium/good/excellent cuts.

Also, aim for getting a GIA or AGS certified stone.

 

[Rod]

This demonstrates why one can't buy a stone based on numbers. A larger table isn't necessarily a bad thing. My 1.12 carat round has a 59% table and it's a stunningly beautiful stone. Hopefully, you are buying this stone from a trusted source, or you have seen it in person. Seeing a stone in person is the best way to see if the stone has the fire and scintillation you are hoping for. And, some premium cuts can be amazing. While everyone tends to focus on an ideal cut, in some budgets, you can buy a beautiful stone with a premium cut. The advice on color is right on. Don't be hung up on the highest color grades. A well cut diamond in a lower color can be quite white.

Just my .02 worth. Good luck with getting your wife a beautiful upgrade. I'm sure she'll love whatever you wind up with.

 

[Lorelei]

Rod makes the point regarding larger tables, generally speaking a larger table will give you a little more white light and a smaller one more fire as a very rough guide. My diamond has a 58% table but I was glad of this as it is an L colour and JMO I think it helps the brilliance and " whitens" the performance a tad. We tend to be number nuts here, but it all depends on what works for you personally , some diamonds with not so great numbers can be amazingly beautiful. If you have seen this diamond and love it then that is a great start and that is really what it is all about. Numbers are very important with online purchasing as you have no way of seeing the diamond previously, but do remember that many many diamonds are worn daily by delighted owners who couldn't tell you what the table percentage is of their diamond and don't care! Just be aware that buying diamonds can be more complex than you think and one person's way of purchasing might not be yours - some will crunch the numbers to the nth degree and insist on all sorts of analysis, others just go by the beauty of the diamond and don't want or need to do all that, whatever works best for you.

 

[Rod]

Exactly my point Lorelei!! My jeweler called me the day I was leaving for a 5 day cruise and when I heard the table percentage, I was a bit disappointed. After all I had learned, I thought the table was too large and the depth percentage not deep enough, but over the phone my jeweler commented the stone was incredible and I would be very pleased. So, I obsessed over the numbers throughout the entire cruise and when I finally saw the stone in person, it was all I could have hoped for and more. Sometimes, becoming too numbers driven can spoil the experience. Not that education isn''t a good thing, because I think it is, but don''t let the numbers be the only guide to purchasing a diamond.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would absolutely go with a G or H color but I''d go up to at least SI1 personally in clarity. And even then, I''d have to see it to be absolutely sure it is eye clean and even ok under the 10x loupe. My tendency is to agree with Rod. There are some beautiful premium cuts and that can still be a great diamond compared to the majority. But bottom line, be sure she can see it before making a final decision (before setting it). I am taking a look at a good premium cut in the next few days, as a matter of fact.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/25/2006 11:40:34 AM
Author: Rod
. Not that education isn''t a good thing, because I think it is, but don''t let the numbers be the only guide to purchasing a diamond.

I couldn''t agree more Rod

Reducing a diamond to just numbers can take away the joy and magic from one of nature''s most beautiful creations, they give you a place to start but true beauty will remain long after the depth and table percentages have been forgotten. Use the numbers to help you start but don''t write off a beautiful diamond you have seen and fallen in love with just because it is a tad deep or shallow etc. Mine is a bit deep at 62.9% but does it look gorgeous? Definitely!

 

[DVC California]

Thank you all for the great information and the insightful advice. I went back into the Knowledge section and hopefully did my homework on this next request:

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.01
Cut: Ideal
Color: J
Clarity: SI1
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 60.3%
Table: 56%
Crown Angle: 34.7
Crown %: 15.4
Pavilion Angle: 40.8
Pavilion %: 43
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Thin to Medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.52-6.54X3.94
Price: $ 3,918.00

The HCA analysis came up as follows:

Selected: 60.3% depth, 56% table, 34.7° crown angle, 40.8° pavilion angle
(The result is for a symmetrical diamond with a medium girdle and very good polish)

Light Return: Excellent
Fire : Excellent
Scintillation: Excellent
Spread : Excellent

All comments appreciated!

Thanks again, Steve

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 1/27/2006 10:25:58 PM
Author: DVC California

Thank you all for the great information and the insightful advice. I went back into the Knowledge section and hopefully did my homework on this next request:

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.01
Cut: Ideal
Color: J
Clarity: SI1
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 60.3%
Table: 56%
Crown Angle: 34.7
Crown %: 15.4
Pavilion Angle: 40.8
Pavilion %: 43
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Thin to Medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.52-6.54X3.94

Price: $ 3,918.00

The HCA analysis came up as follows:

Selected: 60.3% depth, 56% table, 34.7° crown angle, 40.8° pavilion angle
(The result is for a symmetrical diamond with a medium girdle and very good polish)

Light Return: Excellent
Fire : Excellent
Scintillation: Excellent
Spread : Excellent

All comments appreciated!

Thanks again, Steve

Steve, I like this one a lot!!!

 

[DVC California]

I finally figured out to post the pictures!

 

[DVC California]

 

[DVC California]

 

[Jelly]

Wow, great stone for the price! I don''t think you can lose with this choice! Looks like a winner!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/28/2006 12:51:11 AM
Author: Jelly
Wow, great stone for the price! I don''t think you can lose with this choice! Looks like a winner!

Ditto

 

[DVC California]

My wife waited to long to make her decision and now the J, 1.01 has been sold. She has been looking on her own and found this 1.16, K, SI1. Any feedback?

It is GIA certified with the following:

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.16
Cut: Good
Color: K
Clarity: SI1
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 59.2%
Table: 62%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Crown Angle:33.6
Pavillion Angle: 41.0
Girdle: Thin to slightly thick, faceted
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.84*6.88*4.06
HCA comes out at 2.5
Light Return: Very Good
Fire: Very Good
Scintillation: Good
Spread: Excellent

Thanks, Steve

 

[Rod]

First thing to remember is it's not certified. None of the grading labs certify anything. They just grade the stones. Sorry to hear the other stone is no longer available. I know I posted earlier that a large table isn't necessarilya bad thing as my table is 59%, but you can probably think on this one a while as it's table is probably too large. It's not likely it will be sold overnight.

Personally, the K color with a table larger than the depth would be a turnoff for me, but if you see it in person and think it's pretty, good luck. I suspect you can do better than this stone.

 

[coda72]

Date: 1/31/2006 8:41:16 PM
Author: DVC California

My wife waited to long to make her decision and now the J, 1.01 has been sold. She has been looking on her own and found this 1.16, K, SI1. Any feedback?

It is GIA certified with the following:

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.16
Cut: Good
Color: K
Clarity: SI1
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 59.2%
Table: 62%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Crown Angle:33.6
Pavillion Angle: 41.0
Girdle: Thin to slightly thick, faceted
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.84*6.88*4.06

HCA comes out at 2.5
Light Return: Very Good
Fire: Very Good
Scintillation: Good
Spread: Excellent

Thanks, Steve

It looks like Whiteflash has another similar stone to the J, SI1 you originally picked out. I won''t post it here because once things are posted they tend to sell faster, but you can see it on their website. I''m not loving the stone your wife picked out. The table is a bit big on it, and I personally wouldn''t buy a K for an e-ring. I know some people on here have, but that''s a little too much color to me. You might want to take her to a jewelry store to look at different stones to see if she''s color sensitive. If she is, you may have to go higher in color.

 

[aljdewey]

I think I see the stone Coda's mentioning, and I've sent the link to you via PM.

It's nearly identical to the one you wanted (but was sold), and it's even a touch less expensive!

Oh, and I'd agree with Coda on the K color, too. I'd personally not consider below J for an e-ring, but I'd consider K for pendants or earrings. In those cases, they are usually a bit smaller, less visible from the sides where color shows, and subject to less intense scrutiny than an e-ring.