Opinions/Alternatives of my 1.2-1.3 round choices?

[ort230]

Hello All,

Newbie here about to buy an engagement ring and would love any opinions from you good people. Looking for ~1.2-1.3 round stone for a simple solitarish white gold/platinum setting. Budget for stone ~10k. When I was looking I found two stones that to me seemed like good deals to this neophyte but would love opinions or alternatives.(IE should I go G/H?) I would rather pay less and get a good deal or vice versa pay more and get better stone for the money.

Carat Weight : 1.25 Price($) : 7,800 ish:
Color : I Clarity : VS1
GIA Certificate No :2131963118
Depth : 61.90 Table : 58.00
Polish : Excellent Symmetry : Excellent
Girdle : Culet :None Fluorescence : None
Measurements : 6.90x6.93x4.28

The second one in a little odd, there was no cert image but I searched google and found the cert that seemed to match but the carat weight comes up as 1.35, but everything else matched. Anyone have a clue why this may be?

Carat Weight : 1.33 Price($) : 8,800 ish
Color : I Clarity : VS1
GIA Certificate No :1136129908
Depth : 59.00 Table : 60.00
Polish : Very Good Symmetry : Very Good
Girdle : TN-M Culet :Very Small Fluorescence : None
Measurements : 7.22x7.30x4.28

I really appreciate your time, Mike

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Just have a short amount of time, but I don't like either of those. I looked up the first GIA report and put the numbers into the HCA (cut evaluator) and it scored 4.7 and we recommend scores of 2.0 or less. So I wouldn't consider that stone. #2 would not come up in the report check, so either one of the numbers is wrong or else the stone has a very old report (prior to 2000).

https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

Anyway, I think you should look at H VS2 instead of I VS1. The color will be more noticeable than the clarity.

Examples:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2657805.htm $10,627 (this one is a great buy because it gets excellent instead of ideal on polish, which you can't see, but it is otherwise ideal cut)

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1421963.asp $10,710

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1421443.asp $9960

On both James Allen stones, you'd want to request an idealscope image and post them here. Also ask if all stones are eyeclean, which they should be.

Good luck!

 

[ort230]

Thank you very much for you input. Very surprised a GIA excellent cut gets that bad of a HCA score. But good to learn a new informational tool, appreciate the link. Also I was able to pull up the GIA report from July 25, 2011 on the second diamond by changing the carat weight at the end of the link from 1.33 to 1.35. I think the HCA if I did it right was great on that one but something seems odd about it.(Edit, actually just got call from vendor saying it got recut and just sent back to GIA for new cert) I will take your advice and look at H's. If anyone else has any specific recommendations that would be great to0, and a beer on me if your ever in CT/MA Regards, Mike


PS. Is the pricescope search engine broken for anyone else? Worked fine for me a few day ago.

 

[ort230]

Thanks you diamondseeker2006 for help and recommendation. I am close to going batty(not really joking)

Does anyone have any thoughts on what they would pick out of these three? Or what they would definitely rule out?

As always any alternatives are really appreciated too.

1.278 ct H VS2 Premium Select Round Cut Loose Diamond
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2657805.htm
10.9k 6.95x6.97x4.29

1.202 ct H VS1 Expert Selection Round Cut Loose Diamond
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2424946.htm
10.6k 6.79x6.82x4.22

1.204 ct G VS2 Premium Select Round Cut Loose Diamond
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631626.htm
10.2k 6.83x6.85x4.18

I truly appreciate everyone's time.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Now you are really on the right track! These are all very nice and I don't think you can go wrong with any of them! My daughter's e-ring is a premium select stone from WF, and I will tell you that there is no way that I can tell it apart from my ACA diamond earrings (other than size).

I'd probably choose one of the Premium Select stones, and the decision would be between better color and a little smaller or lower color and a little larger. Do you have any idea which would be more appealing to your girlfriend?

 

[milton333]

A suggestion: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.227-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-104055873009
1.227 H SI1, $10,161 wire transfer price. More pics are on the way, but give them a call and ask about it, check to see that it's eye clean. I've got an H for an e-ring and think it's in the sweet spot of size with good white appearance.

ETA: My e-ring is an SI1, totally eye-clean. Going a bit lower in clarity is a good way to maximize your budget while getting an ideal-performing stone, and any reputable vendor with the stone in-house can tell you if it's eye clean.

 

[milton333]

Also, I hate to do this, because I have my eye on this one myself, but I'm not really in the market just yet:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.278-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104055121015
1.278 H SI1, looks like it should be eye clean (but call), $9k, $8,794 wire. The blue fluorescence can help it look even a bit whiter than H, and this is a super ideal stone. Don't be afraid of blue flour.