Opinion on an RB diamond for a solitaire

[susief]

Hi all. Would anyone be kind enough to give me their thoughts on this diamond?

Carat weight 0.72
Shape Round
Cut Ideal
Colour J
Clarity SI1
Length/width ratio 1.01
Depth % 61.1%
Table % 58.0%
Crown angle 34.5
Pavilion angle 41.0
Polish Excellent
Symmetry Excellent
Girdle Medium to Slightly Thick
Culet None
Fluorescence Strong
Measurements 5.79 x 5.75 x 3.53 mm

HCA score 1.9 - Light return excellent, fire/scintillation/spread very good.

I don't want perfection, just a nice looking diamond with a good spread for a decent price.

It's for a 5th anniversary solitaire ring

The diamond is from Blue Nile so that's all the information I have. I definitely want to buy from Blue Nile as I am in the UK and don't want to deal with international customs.

Also thoughts on 4 v 6 prongs in white gold would be welcome.

Thanks in advance!

 

[susief]

Oh and it's the equivalent of 1140 dollars pre-tax. Does that seem reasonable? The certificate is GIA.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The numbers look potentially okay, although with a 41 pavilion angle with that crown angle, I would prefer an idealscope image. But my bigger concern is ordering an SI1 without seeing magnified images. As long as you don't mind potentially having to return it, I think it would be worth seeing in person.

 

[susief]

Thank you diamondseeker, that's really helpful!

Blue Nile don't do Idealscope images as far as I know. What is the concern with the angles?

I have had SI2 and SI1 diamonds of a similar size before and never noticed anything inclusions, so hopefully I am just not very observant but yes there are 30 day returns if it is an issue.

Thanks again for taking the time to help.

 

[susief]

Hopeful bump

 

[Gypsy]

41 degree pavilion angles can result in leakage. I would stick to 34-35 degree crowns and 40.6-40.8 crown angles. And run the numbers through the HCA https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca to see if they are complimentary if you aren't going to be able to get an IS.

Also regarding SI clarity. I know for a FACT that Blue Nile can check for you if a stone is eyeclean or not. "Not" is a bad investment. So make sure you ask that of Blue Nile on any stone you get. Regardless of your eyesight.

 

[susief]

Thank you so much Gypsy. I had no idea they could check for eye cleanliness - I'll definitely ask them to do that. Good point about the investment/value even if it doesn't bother me.

The HCA is 1.9 - does this mean light leakage is less likely? would you consider it, if eye clean?

Also made a mistake with the currency conversion, it is about 1500 USD pre-tax. I can't find anything equivalent in this price range (though maybe that means there's a problem...)

 

[Gypsy]

Thank you so much Gypsy. I had no idea they could check for eye cleanliness - I'll definitely ask them to do that. Good point about the investment/value even if it doesn't bother me.

The HCA is 1.9 - does this mean light leakage is less likely? would you consider it, if eye clean?

Also made a mistake with the currency conversion, it is about 1500 USD pre-tax. I can't find anything equivalent in this price range (though maybe that means there's a problem...)

It's a pass fail test. Under 2 is a pass. So yes, it passed. But within that range there are better and not better stones. Which is why we recommend idealscope images.

 

[susief]

Thanks again Gypsy.

I spoke to Blue Nile and they are checking if the stone (and another one I put on hold) is eye clean. They should be able to get back to me on Monday. So we'll see.

I've had a look for companies that offer Idealscope images and there don't seem to be any in the UK. I unfortunately had a very bad experience with customs when ordering jewellery from the US previously, which dragged on for weeks and completely put me off ordering from a US company. Which is a shame as they are so much better than what we have here! So I'm going to have to do without them and order "blind", though I know this isn't ideal.

 

[susief]

OK I heard back from Blue Nile:

"it is eye clean 8" from the crown side and there is only a slightly visible inclusion through the pavilion."

Sorry to be ignorant, but does that mean the inclusion will only be visible from the bottom? So not when it's set and viewed from the top? If so that doesn't bother me at all. The inclusions are cloud and crystal.

I've been trawling through old PS threads about 41 degree pavilion angles and the consensus seems to be they are not too bad when combined with a crown angle like 34.5... is this right?

Realistically I am not going to get an Idealscope image without ordering internationally which isn't an option, so just trying to decide if this diamond is the best I can get for my money.