Opinion on this 2.01 ct Round Brilliant

[Jrg9]

Hi Everyone,

I just want to first thank everyone for their knowledge and resources. This website has been a big help to me and even though this is my first post, I have been on the forum quite a bit.

I have been researching diamonds for my future fiancé and was shown this diamond, amongst others. I would love to get your suggestions and feedback. I am not sure on the J color and proportions.

(Note: I was looking at a size of 2 ct within my set budget 14k or under)

Round Brilliant
2.01 ct
J color
SI1
Cut Grade = Good
Polish = Good
Symmetry = Very Good
No Florescence

Depth = 58.5 Table = 65% Crown = 34.0 Pav = 40.6

 

[krisjon]

Nope. Bad cut.
The table is too large and will have a fish eye, too.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut-fish-eye-effect

 

[ScottGBP]

Also, from what I understand a cut grade of "Good" is not really very good or desirable.

 

[Gypsy]

GIA Cut grades:
Excellent, some of better than others. Use HCA or cheat sheet to narrow and get an idealscope to confirm.
Very good: Not good enough
Good: Poor
Fair: Foul
Poor: Execrable

Here's a little information to get you started though:

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is. And you need a reliable lab report which means GIA or AGS only. NO EGL or IGI or anything else (HPD in Europe is fine though).
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And with MODERN ROUND BRILLIANTS GIA Ex is not enough.
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut (for round brilliants)
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone. For round brilliants that's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. James Allen, BGD, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool' for round brilliants. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA round brilliant you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 modern round brilliant stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.


I hope you enjoy your time here on Pricescope. We love newbies and helping them learn. So if you ever need something explained to you... just let us know and we'll be happy to help!

 

[Jrg9]

Thank you everyone for the responses. I appreciate your detailed response as well Gypsy! The stone that I described above was GIA but perhaps I need to either expand my price range or look for a smaller stone.

I will try to find some others to compare, but if anyone else finds any, I would appreciate the assistance!

 

[SMC]

This one may be worth taking a look at. I think JA offers a Pricescope discount though you'll have to chat with them to find out exactly what it is on this stone.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.99-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-sku-264137

With JA, you can also put up to 3 stones on hold and ask for a gemologist to review them for you and provide Idealscopes.

 

[JulieN]

Can you go to 15K?

http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4633822-2.04-carat-Round-diamond-J-color-VS2-clarity.aspx there is a small PS discount if you ask for it.

 

[Jrg9]

Those both look very good! I will contact them tomorrow and keep everyone updated. Decided to move away from the diamond that I saw in person today after listening to everyone's opinion.

What is your opinion of faint fluorescence with J color?

 

[JulieN]

faint fluor has no effect, not visible.

 

[Jrg9]

Thanks Julie. Most of the diamonds I viewed today in person were j color in ~2 ct. I personally could not see that much yellow tint, but them again this was my first day really looking at diamonds. What is your opinion on j color? I'm hoping to make the right choice!

 

[Gypsy]

You asked Julie,
But I'll put my .02 in as well on color.

Most important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. Within 2 color grades it can be hard to tell colors apart. Especially once they get set, cause you can't see them upside down anymore. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

This is how I think of it.

Ever seen one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. One there's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really. They are all white?

Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great.

And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.

YES. If you have an accurately graded F and an H THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white.


I want you notice all the qualifiers thought. I'm talking about stones with the SAME performance. An ideal H will out white an F that has compromised light performance.

GIA EX is not enough. You need the right angles to get to get ideal light performance.

NOTHING impacts the appearance of a diamond as much as cut. CUT is king.

You want the shinest whitest and brightest diamond out there: Cut is King. No other factor, not color or clarity or anything else impacts how white bright an shiny a stone is.

But color is also a very personal thing.

This is my best advice.
Go to a Local Hearts on Fire dealer. Make an appointment with them FIRST. And tell them you are specifically interested in round diamonds in the H-J color range. Decide what you think for yourself. Leave your wallet at home. Their prices are nutty.

Finally here is a great link with PICTURES to help you: http://goodoldgold.com/4Cs/Color/NearColorless/

 

[Roxy]

That's a great link Gypsy! I'm going to share that w/ my mom. I'm in the process of helping her w/ an upgrade and I'm having a tough time convincing her that her current "very good" cut stone w/ "F" color will be blown away by an HOF ideal cut stone of "H" or possibly even "I".

My center stone's a D color and she can see the difference between my D and her F, but I keep trying to explain how an ideal cut diamond faces up whiter and so a G (or H) won't show the difference against my D as easily. I've made an appointment to take her to both my HOF jeweler and HeartStar jeweler to show her the difference, so we'll see how that goes .

Meanwhile I'm going to share this link w/ her so she can see just how subtle the color variations are to begin with. And of course, I continue to warn her that if she continues to refuse to clean her diamonds on a regular (at least weekly) basis, none of this will matter because her diamond will look like a dud (no matter what color or cut it is) LOL !