Noob Here Please HELP!

[blingz11]

HI everyone,

I am a newbie with diamonds and the standards and jargons so a bit of help would be amazing.

I'm looking to purchase and engagement ring and have been looking around but not too sure about the standards etc.

Can someone explain to me what are the important things to look out for?

I know that size, clarity and cut is important but at the end of the day, i believe what matters to me is Clarity, and also what will affect the sparkle on a diamond.

I was also looking at BlueNile for diamonds and not sure if you guys have other recommendations.

Looking for a Princess Cut.

 

[Niel]

HI everyone,

I am a newbie with diamonds and the standards and jargons so a bit of help would be amazing.

I'm looking to purchase and engagement ring and have been looking around but not too sure about the standards etc.

Can someone explain to me what are the important things to look out for?

I know that size, clarity and cut is important but at the end of the day, i believe what matters to me is Clarity, and also what will affect the sparkle on a diamond.

I was also looking at BlueNile for diamonds and not sure if you guys have other recommendations.

Looking for a Princess Cut.

cut is what will make the diamond sparkle. Clarity wont effect the sparkle of a diamond unless you get into si2 cloudy or speckled stones. a VS2 stone will most likely not have any clarity issues that reduce its sparkle any more than a IF stone. also both are most likely going to appear eye clean, meaning you wont see the incusions that gave it those gradings.

 

[Todd Gray]

There is a lot to consider when shopping for princess cut diamonds, not the least of which is the facet design, especially on the bottom half of the diamond which is referred to as the pavilion. Since princess cut diamonds are not cut using a standard facet structure, like round brilliant cut diamonds, there can be dramatic differences in the volume of light return, brightness, and sparkle factor, depending on the number of chevron facets located on the lower half of the diamond. I have a diagram saved on my computer somewhere that demonstrates this, but can't seem to find it right now... anybody? Hey Wink, do you have one laying around that you can post?

You'll find that everybody has their preference when it comes to gemological laboratories, and mine leans towards the American Gem Society, especially when it comes to Princess cut diamonds because the insight provided by the ASET image featured on their Light Performance based diamond grading reports is invaluable to the selection process... lots of information to be found here on PS on ASET and such if you search for it.

 

[krisjon]

Cut is king. You can have the most perfectly flawless stone around, but with a crappy cut, it's just a clear, dead stone.

 

[WinkHPD]

There is a lot to consider when shopping for princess cut diamonds, not the least of which is the facet design, especially on the bottom half of the diamond which is referred to as the pavilion. Since princess cut diamonds are not cut using a standard facet structure, like round brilliant cut diamonds, there can be dramatic differences in the volume of light return, brightness, and sparkle factor, depending on the number of chevron facets located on the lower half of the diamond. I have a diagram saved on my computer somewhere that demonstrates this, but can't seem to find it right now... anybody? Hey Wink, do you have one laying around that you can post?

You'll find that everybody has their preference when it comes to gemological laboratories, and mine leans towards the American Gem Society, especially when it comes to Princess cut diamonds because the insight provided by the ASET image featured on their Light Performance based diamond grading reports is invaluable to the selection process... lots of information to be found here on PS on ASET and such if you search for it.

Here is part of what Todd is talking about. The graphic below shows three distinct patterns on the pavilions of a princess.



Here is from some information published by Paul Slegers of Infinity diamonds when they used to cut the best princess cuts I have ever seen. I greatly lament the fact that they were not profitable to cut and are no longer made.

Infinity Diamonds: Princess Revolution

In 2005 the American Gem Society Laboratories introduced the World’s only scientifically
endorsed system for measuring light performance in diamonds. This system verified much
that the industry already-knew about performance in round brilliants: It confirmed “Ideal”
configurations with “Hearts & Arrows” precision as having sharper contrast, more visible
dispersion and crisper scintillation than less optimal round brilliants.

PRINCESS SHOCK

The most significant discoveries of the AGS studies involved princess cut diamonds: Introduced
in the 1960s, diamond cutters have traditionally chosen this shape as a secondary option when
the rough crystal is not suitable for producing a round. As a result numerous configurations
abound and, as a “secondary” shape, there have been no uniform standards or judgments of
quality.

The AGS exposed major design errors in the way princess cuts are typically produced.

Pavilion Faceting

The bottom of a princess cut, called the pavilion, is fashioned with multiple “chevron” facets
in each quadrant. There may be as few as two or as many as five chevrons in each quadrant.
Sometimes a cutter will even mix the number of chevrons per quadrant; usually to cover up
sloppy work. More chevrons = more facets = more ability to hide errors or create pavilion “bulge”
for extra weight.

DIFFERENT MAKE = DIFFERENT LOOK

The image above shows princess cuts with 2, 3 and 4 chevron pavilions. You can see 24, 32 and
40 facets (on just the pavilion) respectively. Logically, the character of the visual performance is
different for each of these different “makes.”

Alarmingly, this is rarely discussed with consumers. The difference in character between princess
cuts with 24, 32, 40, 48 pavilion facets (or a mix) is an important factor but often omitted from a
sales presentation. Even more startling is the number of professional jewelers who are simply not
aware that these differences exist!

Paul believed, and I agree that the proper number of chevrons for a princess cut diamond of less than two carats is two. Otherwise the flashes are too small to disclose much dispersion. It is VERY hard to find a truly beautiful princess today.

Wink

 

[blingz11]

HI guys,

Thanks for you help so far but I do have a few more questions if I may.

1. Fluorescence levels - how would this affect the price and quality of a diamond?

2. Clarity - how high is the minimum level of clarity before we can't see the difference between two levels of clarity? for example: if VVS2 is already really good, i dont know if its justifiable for me to spend a lot more to get to VVS1.

3. Colourlessness - same as the question with Clarity, whats the minimum level you would go for a colourless diamond where it is as colourless as possible without impeding the limit of the budget?

4. BlueNile "signature Ideal" cuts - have you guys have any knowledge on the standards of Bluenile in terms of their "signature Ideal" diamonds? does it mean on a princess cut diamond that is about 1ct, a signature ideal cut would mean that it would probably have 2 chevrons and would most probably sparkle a lot?

5. Polish - how would polish levels affect it?

6. would depth, table size affect the sparkle>?

I would like to thank you guys in advance for this and your help is greatly appreciated.

Ed

 

[Gypsy]

See the "Knowledge" tab at the top of your screen?

Almost all of you questions can be answered by those links. I'd highly suggest you spend a couple hours clicking through that tab.

Start there. After that, post your remaining questions and we'll be able to help you more from there.