Not sure if we wasted our money

[aishavilla]

Hi All,

My booyfriend (now fiance) purchased an engagement ring, and we are not sure if it is worth keeping or returning.
It is a Princess cut, but it is also described as a "rectangular modified brilliant"...I am not sure why it has two separate names.
Measurement: 5.45 x 4.80 x 3.93
Weight: .90 carat
Depth: 81.9%
Table: 76%
Girdle: Medium - Slightly thick
Culet: None
Polish: very good
Symmetry: Good
Clarity grade: VS1
Color Grade: G
Flourescence: None

He paid $4325 for it. It is a small budget, but that is all that we could spare for now.
My concern is that the depth seems to be poor.
Is it worth keeping, or should we return it and look for something else?

Please help!

 

[Mara]

Well in my opinion your money is never wasted when spent on diamonds!

Congratulations on your engagement! It's somewhat hard to judge a fancy cut stone (princess or modified rectangular brilliant..means the same thing!) by just the numbers, but you are correct in thinking that your depth is a little off. For that same token, so is your table. Your stone would probably fall somewhere in the 3A cut grade range on a scale from 1-4. Not spectacular, but rather somewhat typical (e.g. US average cut).




Secondly, he paid a bit too much in my opinion but since he bought it in a brick and mortar store, it's typical to have some markup over online stones. Just for comparison...check out this stone:




http://www.superbcert.com/Shop_By_Product/Diamond_Details.cfm/P/689/N/1;1




SuperbCert has some excellent princess cut stones with stellar numbers and great light return (click on ImageScope link on that url above to see), and also note that this same size stone is $1k cheaper than the stone your fiance bought...it is H color and SI1 clarity, but if its eye clean it should look NO DIFFERENT than your G VS because a well cut stone faces up whiter in general than a non-well cut stone and IMO VS clarity is wasted if you can get an SI eye clean stone for less. Lastly, this SC stone is actually bigger when it comes to diameter so it will face up larger than the stone you have. Some extra food for thought.

But really at this point what is your recourse? You mention taking it back, would your fiance be upset if you did that? Or is he belatedly realizing there could have been more research done and prompting you to check into it? In the end, the decision on what to do is yours and your fiance's, but if you love the stone, don't get bogged down in the numbers and 'what if's'...just enjoy your new diamond. Or if you are both willing to get something else that may return light better and/or look more beautiful, then go for it!




Just for your information, here is what is the range for #'s on princess cut stones for the 1A-1B range for excellently cut stones. To further confuse you, not EVERY stone that has these numbers will look great, but it's a good starting place--also you can use the 2A numbers which will yield a great stone as well most likely (www.gemappraisers.com).




Good luck!




1A-1B AGA Cut Grade Range: Princess:




table: 60-71%


depth: 64-75%


pol/symm: good-excellent


crown %: 8.5-11.5%


girdle: thin-med, med-thick

 

[pqcollectibles]

Based on the info you gave, your diamond could be a Cut Class 2B to 3A(??). The average selling price from a Price Scope Vendor would run around $3350 for a comparable diamond. If you have a simple set, you could add anywhere from about $100 to $400 depending on the metal. For a local purchase, the price may not be too bad at all.

I did a quick search and found several .90 carat, G, VS1 Princess diamonds available. The 4.8 mm measurement you listed for your diamond is on the small side. Most PS diamonds listed average 5.3, 5.4, to 5.5mm on both sides with one diamond measuring 5.8mm on one side. You could be loosing some size to the thickness of the girdle. The thicker girdle is an area for light to leak (light goes out thru the girdle instead being refracted back out the table) causing the diamond to sparkle and flash less than a better cut.

You commented the "color seems poor" to you. G is actually a very good color. What Lab did the Certification? GIA, EGL, IGI? Does the diamond sparkle or does it seem lack luster and dull?? Did you purchase the ring in a Mall jewelry store??

 

[Mara]

Was surfing around WF's site on their Expert Selection area looking at their idealscope images of fancies (handpicked performers!) and found this excellent princess as well!!




http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-548858.htm


1.02c G VS1 GIA certified princess with an excellent IdealScope image for $4400 with a diameter of around 5.65mm and a l/w ratio of 1.03. Nice!

Also noticed that your numbers for diameter seemed a little off, if this is a princess stone you have, it's not a square...looks more rectangular? Or maybe it was just a typo.

 

[aljdewey]

If the money bought an engagement ring for you, then of course it wasn't wasted!




You could, however, have likely gotten more for your money, so it's good to hear that you have the opportunity to return it.




You are right; the depth on the stone seems quite high, and that's why it doesn't have the diameter that it should (which you can see compared to the stone Mara mentioned from WF - it has a 5.65mm measurement.




Also, princess cuts are indeed described on grading reports as "modified rectangular brilliant", so no worries there, but on a true princess stone, it should be SQUARE.....meaning that the two measurements should not vary as greatly as your stone does with 5.45 x 4.80.




All of this is technical stuff, though, and the real question is "do you like your ring"? If you love it, then all the specs in the world don't matter. If you are asking because you were hoping to get a stone that has more light return and brilliance and sparkle and flash, then you still have a window of opportunity to return and select a stone that will give that to you. The one Mara mentioned looks like a real winner....the beauty of it is you can pick up the phone and call the vendor! Ask about the stone - where are the inclusions, what color are they, is the stone eyeclean, how does it perform.




Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[geo10000]

Hello, the term "princess" is more of a term to market square shape diamonds with pointed corners. The gemlabs shy away from these marketing terms and apply more consistant terminology in a more clinical definition, hence the more wordy "rectangular modified brilliant". Realize, here that you have more of a rectangular verses square shape based on the information you provided.
As for the depth, it is a bit deep. Depth, however, can be compensated by a higher crown angle...remember that a proper compensation should be taken for this as you are paying for diamond that you don't see. I have seen many diamonds with overall depth percentages that fall outside the typical range and look beautiful because the crowns were cut higher to compensate.

Good luck to you.

George