Opinion on diamond for a novice...

[yolli71]

Hello,

I just discovered this website the other day and it''s great...I''ve learned quite a bit so far! I just wanted the opinion of some of you experts out there. I''m in the process of buying an engagement diamond for my girlfriend and found one I think I''m set on. Please let me know what you all think...

Details:
Round Brilliant
Measurements: 7.81 - 7.84 x 4.86 mm
Carat Weight: 1.83
Color Grade: H
Clarity Grade: VS2
GIA Cut Grade: Very Good

Proportions:
Depth: 62.1 %
Table: 56 %
Crown Angle: 35.5°
Crown Height: 15.5 %
Pavilion Angle: 40.4°
Pavilion Depth: 42.5 %
Star length: 50 %
Lower Half: 80 %
Girdle: Very Thin to Slightly Thick, Faceted
Culet: None

Finish:
GIA Polish: Excellent
GIA Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None

I''m looking to buy this diamond from a local jeweler but needless to say it''s fairly expensive (for me at least), so I want to make sure this is a "quality" diamond. The other local jeweler I''m talking to said that for the amount of money I''m spending, I should only get a GIA cut grade of EX. Is this true? Am I selling myself short by purchasing a GIA VG cut? This diamond seems to do well in the HCA when I checked. I also saw it in real life and it looks very nice to me.

Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Ellen]

Hi yolli,

I'll be honest, I am not liking the pavilion angle. You would be hard pressed to find anyone around here, true experts included, who would recommend going that shallow. I'd stick to 40.6-41.

There are some good buys with a VG cut, but they are hard for a novice to figure out. It's much easier and safer to stick with GIA EX, and AGS0 stones.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 4/13/2008 6:09:38 PM
Author: Ellen
Hi yolli,

I''ll be honest, I am not liking the pavilion angle. You would be hard pressed to find anyone around here, true experts included, who would recommend going that shallow. I''d stick to 40.6-41.

There are some good buys with a VG cut, but they are hard for a novice to figure out. It''s much easier and safer to stick with GIA EX, and AGS0 stones.

Ditto.

 

[JulieN]

depends on how much the price is.

 

[yolli71]

Thanks for the feedback. Price is $15,500.

 

[Splinter]

A quick search, just on Bluenile throws up this stone:

1.72 AGS 0 H VS2

For $15,374. Now, it''s only 0.11 carats smaller, yet it''s an AGS 0 cut and is $100 cheaper. I''d take this stone over the 1.83 GIA very good any day.

I''m not recommending buying this stone necessarily, just saying that for $15,500 you can probably find a better stone. Most folks around here agree that cut is the most important factor in judging a good stone.

 

[yolli71]

Thanks Splinter. The one thing that confuses me is that when I check out Blue Nile and some other websites, I''ll see a GIA grade of VG but a retailer grade of "Signature Ideal" or "Ideal" (and also sometimes "Excellent"). However, I can also see an EX GIA cut yet the Blue Nile, etc. grade might be EX and not "Signature Ideal". It seems some of these retailers have their own grading systems in addition to the GIA cut grade.

Any reason for this?

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 4/14/2008 10:09:53 AM
Author: yolli71
Thanks Splinter. The one thing that confuses me is that when I check out Blue Nile and some other websites, I'll see a GIA grade of VG but a retailer grade of 'Signature Ideal' or 'Ideal' (and also sometimes 'Excellent'). However, I can also see an EX GIA cut yet the Blue Nile, etc. grade might be EX and not 'Signature Ideal'. It seems some of these retailers have their own grading systems in addition to the GIA cut grade.

Any reason for this?

Yolli - A Blue Nile Signature Ideal diamond is in house. A Blue Nile Ideal is not. It doesn't mean that the Ideal stone is necessarily any worse than Signature Ideal, just that it is offsite. The AGS grading system top grade is Ideal. The GIA grading system top grade is Excellent. Blue Nile carries both AGS and GIA graded stones, which may be part of the reason they use their own grading system as well.

In any case, if you want to buy from Blue Nile, I suggest using the Holloway Cut Advisor (see the 'Cut Advisor' under the 'Tools' tab at the top of this page) as a weeding tool to eliminate poor cut angle combinations.

 

[yolli71]

Thanks Fly Girl. Okay...that makes sense if these online retailers are carrying stones graded by both GIA and AGS and the grade systems/terminology are different.

Regarding the Cut Advisor, I haven''t seen a grading explanation but from what I''ve read it looks like I want the grade to be at 2 or below? What if the score is below 1 (say like ., is that good too?

Thanks!

 

[Splinter]

Yeah, as Fly Girl says, it''s just a Bluenile thing. You''re best off ignoring it and looking at the actual certificate to see what quality the cut is.

As far as the HCA goes, it''s really more of a tool to eliminate bad diamonds than to pick the best. Between 1 and 2 is fine. A score of below 1 is great, but shouldn''t be the only deciding factor.