Opinions on cut

[i81u812]

Hi, I'm a newbie looking for a half carat to set into a pendant as a birthday gift for someone. I stumbled on this board by chance but there seems to be a lot of knowledgeable people on this board. Could I have your opinion on these choices from a cut perspective? If I didn't care about price, which one would outright have the best light performance.

Diamond #1
H - VVS2
Table: 57%
Depth: 61%
Crown Angle: 34 degrees
Crown Depth: 14.5 percent
Pavilion Angle: 41 degrees
Pavillion Depth: 43 percent
Symmetry: very good
Certification type: GIA

Diamond #2
F - SI2
Table: 56.2%
Depth: 61.3%
Crown Angle: 34.8 degrees
Crown Depth: 15.2 percent
Pavilion Angle: 40.5 degrees
Pavillion Depth: 42.6 percent
Symmetry: AGS Ideal 0
Certification type: AGS
Marketed as a Hearts and Arrow cut, $100 less than diamond #1

Diamond #3
H - SI2
Table: 60%
Depth: 60%
Crown Angle: 32.5 degrees
Crown Depth: 12.5 percent
Pavilion Angle: 41 degrees
Pavillion Depth: 43.5 percent
Symmetry: Excellent
Certification type: GIA
$300 less than diamond #1

 

[yssie]

Well, no way to be absolutely sure of which is best from just the numbers on the report - numbers on the GIA are rounded, then averaged around eight sections of diamond, numbers on the AGS are averaged, without more info/scan/pics we have no idea what sorts of ranges we're dealing with.

All of them are worth getting more info on, from just those numbers, IMO, esp if they are from a local vendor at decent pricepoints.

Some comments -
1. What sizes are these? Huge range - F-H, VVS-SI - what are you actually aiming for?
2. LGF% for all three?
3. What's the girdle on #3? W/ the shallow crown a thin girdle may be cause for concern re. chipping during setting/wearing, depending on how big the stone is (girdle is reported as percent of diametre, obviously a 1% girdle on a 9mm stone is going to be objectively thicker in mm than a 1% girdle on a 5mm stone
4. #2 may have some obstruction issues w/ shallower pav - or may not, pics or seeing it in-person will tell you more
5. Want pics, or to see hearts patterns through a H&A scope in-person, to confirm H&A.

 

[i81u812]

I don't really have a range, I just wanted something that would make a nice birthday present for my GF without breaking the bank too much.

I picked up stone #1, had to passed on stone #2 because it wasn't eye clean, and someone bought #3. Here's a vid of #1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nhZ6hhA12w&feature=youtube_gdata

I think it is a keeper?

 

[yssie]

can't tell anything from that video I'm afraid.

if you've seen it and you like it, that's the most important thing! Otherwise - it'll be a nice stone, by those numbers, much better than the vast majority of what's out there. To tell you more than that we need more info - other numbers, close-up photo..

 

[i81u812]

I tried with my camera, won't focus without buying a new close up lens. I tried a couple of sites today to see what other stones with the exact same specs cost, the cheapest one with comparable ratings was quite a bit more than what I paid for this one. I called James Allen (who i bought this from) and they said something along the lines of prices going up. Oh well, it seems shiny to me, I'm pretty happy with it.