Opinion on a few ACA diamonds

[shuttle06]

Hi everyone,

I'm two months into my diamond buying journey and have narrowed my sights on an ACA round brilliant diamond. I did consider Brian Gavin as well as I've heard great things about both of these companies, however, BG did not have diamonds in the range/parameters/budget I was working with.

I've lurked on PS in the past couple months and found that there are a lot of helpful and knowledgeable users on here so I thought it would be wise to post and ask for some opinions.

The most important factors to the soon to be fiancee in order of priority are:

1. The sparkle/brilliance/shine (she wants to be proud to wear it)
2. The diamond be eye-clean
3. Size
4. Color (she said as long as it's not a Z color - haha)

Using these guidelines I've narrowed it down to 4 diamonds (all within the same price and specs). They are listed below:

Option 1:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2890097.htm#

Option 2:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3227657.htm

Option 3:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3227658.htm

Option 4:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3260748.htm


My questions are:
1. Using her guidelines, which would be the best selection?
2. Do any stand out as above the rest?

Thank you in advance for your time and I look forward to hearing some feedback!

P.S. Texas Leaguer - I'd obviously be interested in your opinion seeing how they are WF diamonds. If you do see this and can help out with the price too - it would be greatly appreciated. I've paired it with a Whiteflash Platinum Knife Edge Solitaire Ring and was working with a $11k budget

 

[MissGotRocks]

These are all top of the line cut stones - you really can't go wrong with any of them cut wise.

Since they are all roughly the same size, I'd choose the highest color I could get and make sure that the stone is eye clean clarity wise. The folks at WF could probably discuss small nuances about the stones with you since they have them all in house.

As for Texas Leaguer, he is not allowed per forum rules to discuss his stones or anyone's merchandise here and he certainly would not be in a position to haggle price with you here. I'm sure their prices are pretty firm and much better than you can do in a B&M store.

 

[shuttle06]

Thanks for the reply and clarification on the rules MissGotRocks.

I actually just found a comparable diamond on bluenile and it's a slightly better color and .1ct bigger for the same price. What do you think?


Blue Nile: 1.43 H VS2 (HCA 1.6)

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?stockno=LD05377694

 

[shuttle06]

This one seems to be in the running as well. A tad cheaper and better spread than the ACA diamonds.

Blue Nile: 1.32 G VS2 (HCA 1.0)

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?stockno=LD04400040


It seems the more I look, the more I go back to the drawing board...

 

[tyty333]

Thanks for the reply and clarification on the rules MissGotRocks.

I actually just found a comparable diamond on bluenile and it's a slightly better color and .1ct bigger for the same price. What do you think?


Blue Nile: 1.43 H VS2 (HCA 1.6)

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?stockno=LD05377694

Depends what you are after...this stone is not comparable to an ACA. It may be a very nice stone but ACA's are cream of the
crop H&A, AGS000 stones.

Edit ...some ACA info...
http://www.whiteflash.com/a-cut-above-diamonds

I'm not saying you have to have an ACA to have a nice stone...just letting you know that it Blue Nile doesnt have all the documentation,
vetting, H&A, aset, idealscope that Whiteflash provides so that you know the stone is top of the line.

 

[RockyRacoon]

This one seems to be in the running as well. A tad cheaper and better spread than the ACA diamonds.

Blue Nile: 1.32 G VS2 (HCA 1.0)

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?stockno=LD04400040


It seems the more I look, the more I go back to the drawing board...

You can also get a Honda for a tad cheaper than a BMW.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Yes, unfortunately you are not comparing apples to apples with those stones vs. ACA stones.

Super ideal stones are beautiful to be sure but some folks don't want to pay the premium for them. You have to decide which factors of a diamond are most important to you - cut, size, color, or clarity. You must also remember that you get what you pay for but only you can decide how you want to spend your money.

Would you rather forego a super ideal cut stone for a larger stone?

 

[telephone89]

From your list, I would stick with the WF stones because you have Cut first. You also have size above colour, so to get something larger, you could down in colour. For example:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3256276.htm 1.476 J SI1 eyeclean ACA, $9603 wire.

This one is higher in colour, but also about $400 more than the most expensive one you already have listed
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3186652.htm 1.502 I SI1 eye clean, $10,920 wire
This one is also not an ACA, so you'd be sacrificing a bit of 'cut' to get the size and colour.

 

[chrono]

You can also get a Honda for a tad cheaper than a BMW.

An apt comparison. What is your priority? A practical mid-level car for less or a prestigious/luxury/top car for more?