Oval Diamond - Opinions Please

[BklynGirl]

Hello everyone! I am looking for your opinions on this diamond. First let me say that I realize that the stone is deep. That concerns me a bit and thats why I''m asking your advice. This stone was selected by a good and trusted friend who is a gemologist (and selects stones for Harry Winstons and other high end markets). He recommends this particular stone over stones with higher clarity, better cuts and higher prices (but still within the budget). I did see it in person and it really looks so beautiful, sparkles brilliantly and is completely eye clean (diamond map indicated some small crystals and a feather which I was unable to see until he showed it to me under a super-duper high powered microscope in his office). I''ve seen the stone is all light. My fiancee is willing to spend more money, but my friend honestly thinks this stone is the best over the other 4 he has (he is not making money on this either, its from an outside vendor). I love ovals and most I have seen have bowties, this one does not. I also love a D color, color is important to me. Please help!

GIA
Oval Brillilant
9.14 x 6.66 x 4.96
Carat Weight 2.01
Color D (I love a D!)
Clarity SI2
Depth: 74.5%
Table 53%
Girdle Very thin to Extremely Thk
Faceted
Cutlet 0
Polish Good
Symmetry Good
Flour 0
shown: Crown angles are greater than 40 degrees. Clouds are not shown.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/2/2009 10:43:53 AM
Author:BklynGirl
Hello everyone! I am looking for your opinions on this diamond. First let me say that I realize that the stone is deep. That concerns me a bit and thats why I'm asking your advice. This stone was selected by a good and trusted friend who is a gemologist (and selects stones for Harry Winstons and other high end markets). He recommends this particular stone over stones with higher clarity, better cuts and higher prices (but still within the budget). I did see it in person and it really looks so beautiful, sparkles brilliantly and is completely eye clean (diamond map indicated some small crystals and a feather which I was unable to see until he showed it to me under a super-duper high powered microscope in his office). I've seen the stone is all light. My fiancee is willing to spend more money, but my friend honestly thinks this stone is the best over the other 4 he has (he is not making money on this either, its from an outside vendor). I love ovals and most I have seen have bowties, this one does not. I also love a D color, color is important to me. Please help!

GIA
Oval Brillilant
9.14 x 6.66 x 4.96
Carat Weight 2.01
Color D (I love a D!)
Clarity SI2
Depth: 74.5%
Table 53%
Girdle Very thin to Extremely Thk
Faceted
Cutlet 0
Polish Good
Symmetry Good
Flour 0
shown: Crown angles are greater than 40 degrees. Clouds are not shown.

It isn't horribly deep and depth does not always relate to spread as it does with rounds. If you saw it,loved it and have compared as many other ovals as you can then that is the main thing.

The girdle isn't ideal but it is only part of the story, get the seller or an appraiser to check the very thin part of the girdle is not a durability issue, this is not always the case but best to check.

Also check very carefully it is eyeclean to your standards and ask if you can view the diamond away from the store lights, this will give you an idea of how it will look when being worn but sometimes inclusions can pop out in some lights and not in others.

Also what are the grade making inclusions noted on the clarity map of the GIA report?

 

[BklynGirl]

Thanks Lorelie! He gave us the diamond for the weekend (without any payment) to test it out. So far, it looks awesome in every light, totally eye clean and I''m looking hard. My fiancee can''t see any inclusions either. The diamond map showed some crystals and a feather, none of which are visable to us. I completely trust this friend of mine, but I want other opinions. He thinks the girdle is perfectly fine. Like I said he is not doing this for profit, he is a close friend. Whatever stone we chose will be set in a halo.

What do you think?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/2/2009 11:16:40 AM
Author: BklynGirl
Thanks Lorelie! He gave us the diamond for the weekend (without any payment) to test it out. So far, it looks awesome in every light, totally eye clean and I'm looking hard. My fiancee can't see any inclusions either. The diamond map showed some crystals and a feather, none of which are visable to us. I completely trust this friend of mine, but I want other opinions. He thinks the girdle is perfectly fine. Like I said he is not doing this for profit, he is a close friend. Whatever stone we chose will be set in a halo.

What do you think?

I think thats super that he has let you give it such a great test drive. It can be problematic sometimes getting friends or family involved in purchases but really all reputable gemologists or sellers have families and must help them out at times so if you are comfortable with a good friend helping you with this then it should be fine. If he thinks the girdle is not an issue then thats ok, if you aren't sure get an independant appraiser to check the stone out and the girdle.

 

[BklynGirl]

Thanks Lorelie! I agree about using friends and family, but in this case its fine. He isn''t in the jewelry selling business, but helps put together rings, etc for his circle only. Can you tell me, will the depth make the stone look smaller? Also, I was not interested originally in a S12 since I saw a few on 47th St. that had terrible black spots ... that was a turnoff for me. This diamond surprised me, I never knew an S12 could be eye clean. I would not be interested if I could see inclusions. Is this uncommon?

 

[FB.]

As it's from a friend who is prepared to let you test it, then it may be a good stone (it's their reputation at stake!). If you say that it looks amazing, then that backs up what your friend says. It sounds as if you have found an incredibly good stone.

But if you hadn't mentioned the friend, I would have run a mile from that stone. Too many things ring alarm bells that the likelihood of it being a stunning stone is quite low - but not impossible.

What don't I like about it (on paper)

1.
Girdle thickness and thinness.

2.
SI2 clarity is always an area to be very careful of the size, type, location and number of inclusions. I'm very reluctant to touch SI2 - especially with "clouds not shown" comments.
A large stone always looks much more impressive than a small stone. Have you put the stone alongside a similar-carat and similar-colour stone of a higher clarity, to see how badly the inclusions affect the light transmission?

3.
Polish and symmetry only listed as "good".

4.
Depth.

5.
The fact that the grading lab have commented on the crown angles suggests that something might not be quite right.

6.
Fancy shape diamonds are only cut for one reason: to maximise carat weight and especially to tip a stone above an important weight (2ct in your case). The light performance seems to generally be well down on the priority list for a cutter of a fancy shape, if he can push it above a magic carat number.

 

[Lorelei]

FB, really you can't judge fancy shapes by the numbers, they need to be seen to be properly judged, no reason to assume it isn't a lovely stone.

The comment crown angles over 40 degrees is not normally an issue, this does come up with fancy shapes. Polish and symmetry of good and above often is indistinguishable to the naked untrained eye, also with fancy shapes you will see this more than with rounds.

Depth doesn't always relate to face up spread/ size as it does in round diamonds, this article might be helpful .

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/21/1/The-matter-of-depth-in-a-princess-cut.aspx

Girdle - although a wide variance isn't generally desirable, in some cases it isn't a problem if a very thin/ very thick part is only in a small area, hence each diamond needs individual evaluation.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/2/2009 12:21:03 PM
Author: BklynGirl
Thanks Lorelie! I agree about using friends and family, but in this case its fine. He isn't in the jewelry selling business, but helps put together rings, etc for his circle only. Can you tell me, will the depth make the stone look smaller? Also, I was not interested originally in a S12 since I saw a few on 47th St. that had terrible black spots ... that was a turnoff for me. This diamond surprised me, I never knew an S12 could be eye clean. I would not be interested if I could see inclusions. Is this uncommon?

Not necessarily, depth does not always relate to face up size in fancy shapes as these can hold weight in different areas. I don't have the means to compare face up size of similar weight ovals but really don't get too hung up on the spread or how big it looks if you love the stone. You can get flat pancake ovals which have all the weight distribution on the top and edges, such stones might look large for the weight but they often have large tables and shallow crown heights. All you will get then is a big of bang and flash but not so much in the way of fire or a balanced show of fire, brilliance, scintillation and so on. Or you can get ones with obviously too much depth, hiding weight in the pavilions and the top which are more like a peg so to speak!

 

[BklynGirl]

Lorelie, you are a wealth of information! I have been looking at ovals for a while now. I appreciate your information. I do feel that the stone is lovely and white and sparkly in all lights. I have seen similar 2 ct. stones with less depth at shops on 47th St. NYC, SI1s and VS2s, in lower colors (mostly G''s) and wasn''t happy with that as I really want icy white. I also saw many bowties in ovals (a common occurrence I see) so I scruitinze the diamonds. Honestly, I''m staring at the diamond right now and it''s brilliant, white, eye clean and I think a bargain at $12,000. My fiancee is open to spending up to $18,000 on the stone, but I have seen 1.90-2.14 stones for up to $23,000 (D-E/SI1s) and I''m really liking this one so far. It doesn''t appear smaller to my eye even given the depth. I think it will look quite sizable in a halo, which I have already picked out through my friend''s vendor in platinum. Never imagined that I would actually be under budget if this is a go! lol

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/2/2009 3:19:16 PM
Author: BklynGirl
Lorelie, you are a wealth of information! I have been looking at ovals for a while now. I appreciate your information. I do feel that the stone is lovely and white and sparkly in all lights. I have seen similar 2 ct. stones with less depth at shops on 47th St. NYC, SI1s and VS2s, in lower colors (mostly G''s) and wasn''t happy with that as I really want icy white. I also saw many bowties in ovals (a common occurrence I see) so I scruitinze the diamonds. Honestly, I''m staring at the diamond right now and it''s brilliant, white, eye clean and I think a bargain at $12,000. My fiancee is open to spending up to $18,000 on the stone, but I have seen 1.90-2.14 stones for up to $23,000 (D-E/SI1s) and I''m really liking this one so far. It doesn''t appear smaller to my eye even given the depth. I think it will look quite sizable in a halo, which I have already picked out through my friend''s vendor in platinum. Never imagined that I would actually be under budget if this is a go! lol

Thanks Susan! I try to help! It sounds as if this oval is a definite contender and that you have really done your homework by thinking this through to decide exactly what you want, and compared others. What you could do if you want an impartial opinion is to take it to an independant appraiser, see if you can find one who is skilled at evaluating cut and see what they think.

Here is a tool you can use to find an appraiser in your area

https://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

 

[Kaleigh]

Sounds like a great contender to me, you love it and have seen a lot of them. They are hard to find without bowties, I know I searched for one a couple years ago for a RHR. Good luck, come back with pics if this is the one. Sounds like it may be!!!!