Newbie needs Radiant Cut Grading Help

[1badgerfan]

I have bounced around the forums a little and read up a lot but I am having trouble making sense of something and I hope some of the experts here can help.
I am trying to find a high quality radiant cut stone for an engagment ring. I have done searches for a few weeks using the depth% and table% number for a class 1A as specified on the AGA website which seems to have pretty strict standards. In doing a search this way I found the following stone on Blue Nile.

1.11 Carat
F Color
VVS2
60.7 Depth %
65 Table %
11.4 Crown Height %
Slightly Thick Polished Girdle
Very Good Polish and Symmetry
Length to Width ration 1.02 - 6.07 x 5.96 x 3.62 mm
No cutlet or flourescence

All everything rates as 1A Ideal on the AGA DIY grading except the crown height which is a 1B premium making the diamond a 1A ideal cut. However, Blue Nile rates it as a Good cut vs their top for Radiant which is Very Good. Their reasoning is the following (from Customer Service):

"We have rated the diamond as a "Good" cut due to the depth percentage falling beneath a certain range. The depth and table percentages have the most impact on how a diamond will reflect the light that enters the stone, which dictates how much brilliance the stone will have. As a result we use these measurements to determine what the cut grade is. Here is the scale we use for radiant-cut diamonds: "
Very Good- Depth- 62% - 74% Table- 65% - 78%
Good- Depth- 56% - 77% Table- 63% - 80%

Any advice? It seems that the Blue Nile Rating system looks for a Depth and Table much higher than the AGA one.

I suppose I could always buy and return if I don''t like it. I just don''t know if anyone has seen this situation before. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[kcoursolle]

Everything looks fine so far, except I''d like a slightly higher crown. It''s really best to have images with radiant stones. Since it''s blue nile, they probably won''t be able to provide ideal scope pics or images, but you could always take a risk and return it if you don''t like it. You should also check out jamesallen.com, goodoldgold.com, and whiteflash.com because they can provide more information on their stones including pictures, they have an upgrade policy, and their prices are still reasonable relative to bluenile.

I used to own an F/VVS2 radiant as well, and I would suggest lowering in color to either save money or go larger. I did this and I am thrilled! Many SI stones are even eye clean, so why pay for what you can''t see anyways? The VS range is still very very safe if you prefer a "mind clean" stone.

By the way, I''m a huge WI badger fan myself!!! I used to camp out for first row P tickets for the football games and even do some body painting to get on ESPN...a long time ago when I was an undergrad. I still manage to see the games even here in LA by finding a bar that caters to WI alumni by showing their games on TV.

 

[Lorelei]

Radiants really need to be seen to be judged and as K says, BN don''t offer any pics or other cut aids as far as I know. They do have a good return policy by all accounts though, so if you ordered it you could send it back if you didn''t like it. Also I ditto you could drop the colour a tad and the clarity to VS to broaden your options.

 

[1badgerfan]

I spent many saturdays in section P. Now I''m at the opposite end in Y for my fall Saturdays.

Thanks for the advice. I am open to a stone with less clarity, this one just happened to to be one that fit what I was looking for in terms of size and shape. I can''t really go much larger as the setting it is going in won''t look good with anything much over 1.25 (I saw it with a 1.25 and it was too big). While the cost of this one isn''t an issue, it definately wouldn''t be opposed to saving a grand or so.