Oval Diamonds

[diamondtiger]

I need advice/help buying an oval diamond. What do I need to look for, etc?

Also, I would greatly appreciate any help finding a diamond. My budget for the diamond is $5500. There are 3 things I know she wants in the diamond:
1) Oval (close to round, yet still oval)
2) She always talks about the sparkle of her friend''s diamond
3) 1 carat

 

[diamondtiger]

For instance, here is one that I found:

Oval

Is this a good diamond?

 

[diamondtiger]

Anyone?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/10/2009 10:54:26 PM
Author: diamondtiger
For instance, here is one that I found:

Oval

Is this a good diamond?

No way to tell if it is a good stone or not unfortunately, you can't buy an oval without images which BN do not supply - well you could but it would be anyone's guess what it would look like when you opened the box! What I call buying blind, fancy shapes need images in order to see what you are buying.

I would contact these vendors to see what they have or can source, they can give you detailed photos and an ASET image which is very useful for judging the cut of these shapes, and a Sarin to get the crown height.

www.goodoldgold.com

www.whiteflash.com

www.niceice.com

www.briangavindiamonds.com

www.highperformancediamonds.com

This page explains about ASET

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=education-performance

 

[diamondtiger]

Thank you so much!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 9:48:51 AM
Author: diamondtiger
Thank you so much!

Very glad to help! Just shout if you need any more info

 

[diamondtiger]

One problem ... I can seem to find any ovals on whiteflash. When I search for ovals, only rounds come up. Any help?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 9:58:41 AM
Author: diamondtiger
One problem ... I can seem to find any ovals on whiteflash. When I search for ovals, only rounds come up. Any help?

Contact them and ask if they have any in house, if not they can probably source you an oval.

Ok just tried the search and some came up, did you check the oval option for shape? Most appear to be non in house diamonds but they do have a few in stock, best to ask them what they have.

 

[diamondtiger]

OK I got it to work and found one that looks promising (on the surface atleast). However, how do I get the ASET image?

Oval

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 10:29:49 AM
Author: diamondtiger
OK I got it to work and found one that looks promising (on the surface atleast). However, how do I get the ASET image?

Oval

This isn''t an in house diamond, it will be with the suppliers and WF would have to call it in, then they would get an ASET image for it and photos. There is normally a shipping fee involved for calling diamonds in, you could call and ask them if they could call it in for evaluation.

 

[diamondtiger]

What kind of table and depth should I look for in an oval? What about girdle?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 10:55:46 AM
Author: diamondtiger
What kind of table and depth should I look for in an oval? What about girdle?

I will post a chart you can use as a guide but don't get too hung up on the numbers if you find one you love which doesn't quite add up.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc3.asp

A few useful tips also

Try to look for the table percentage being less than the depth

Try to avoid girdle extremes and extra thickness. An example thin to very thick, although you see this more in fancy shapes than rounds, a trusted vendor will be able to advise you on girdle thickness and its effect on a particular diamond. Ideally thin to slightly thick, thin to medium, thin to thick might be ok.

Always check with the vendor as to how much of a bow tie the oval shows

Very useful shape selector

http://www.gemappraisers.com/shapePickerNew.asp Ovals can vary in shape, some are shorter and fatter, others long and thin.

 

[diamondtiger]

Found another one. The measurables that are given seem to be good. However, it doesn''t look like the ASET image is listed. What are your initial thoughts on this one?

What do you think?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 11:26:24 AM
Author: diamondtiger
Found another one. The measurables that are given seem to be good. However, it doesn''t look like the ASET image is listed. What are your initial thoughts on this one?

What do you think?

Might be ok, where it says call for availability this normally means the diamond isn''t an inventory stone and would need to be called in by the vendor.

 

[diamondtiger]

Yeah I sent them an email requesting more information on the diamond.

Man, finding an oval diamond online isn''t as easy as I thought it may be. Perhaps buying an oval from my local jeweler is the best idea ...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 11:36:03 AM
Author: diamondtiger
Yeah I sent them an email requesting more information on the diamond.

Man, finding an oval diamond online isn''t as easy as I thought it may be. Perhaps buying an oval from my local jeweler is the best idea ...

It might take a bit more work but it can be done and you can sometimes find the prices online are considerably cheaper than from brick and mortar stores.

 

[diamondtiger]

I''m not going to give up as I hope I can get a better diamond for what I would pay at my local jeweler. She wants the Tacori 2620 band so at least that part has been settled. Finding the diamond is a different story, though, and I only have 2-3 weeks to get it ...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 12:03:45 PM
Author: diamondtiger
I'm not going to give up as I hope I can get a better diamond for what I would pay at my local jeweler. She wants the Tacori 2620 band so at least that part has been settled. Finding the diamond is a different story, though, and I only have 2-3 weeks to get it ...

You can definitely get a better and less expensive diamond this way. Now you have contacted WF they will be able to help you and check around to see what is with their suppliers which might be suitable for you, so see what they advise. They are a good company and will help you and are used to locating virtual stones for their clients.

 

[tyty333]

I must have looked at 30+ ovals on the James Allen site and didnt really find much that I considered attractive. I didnt check any numbers
but here are the ones that I found the most attractive...

My favorite but its only .91
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-IF-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1139128.asp


This looks nice too but may be too much oval shape (vs more round oval)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1185593.asp

This has a little bit different look (bow tie with a cutlet) - this is not one of my favorites though
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1083409.asp

This one has a bow tie but its got a 1.2:1 ratio (more roundish)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-IF-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1102098.asp

Might want to check this one out too
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VVS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1245175.asp

 

[ckrickett]

Date: 7/11/2009 12:52:19 PM
Author: tyty333
I must have looked at 30+ ovals on the James Allen site and didnt really find much that I considered attractive. I didnt check any numbers
but here are the ones that I found the most attractive...

My favorite but its only .91
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-IF-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1139128.asp


This looks nice too but may be too much oval shape (vs more round oval)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1185593.asp

This has a little bit different look (bow tie with a cutlet) - this is not one of my favorites though
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1083409.asp

This one has a bow tie but its got a 1.2:1 ratio (more roundish)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-IF-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1102098.asp

Might want to check this one out too
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VVS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1245175.asp

the 2 I highlighted are the ones I would choose if I were on your budget.

Now ovals are larger then rounds so a .91 carat oval would have decent finger coverage. I do agree that the first one is the nicest. You might not need to be EXACTLY at 1 carat. .91 is a nice sized stone.

also good old good has some decent tutorials for basic knowledge when looking for a stone....http://goodoldgold.com/ShapeTutorials/ShapeTips1/, I found that helpful for basic info for fancy shapes.

good luck

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 12:52:19 PM
Author: tyty333
I must have looked at 30+ ovals on the James Allen site and didnt really find much that I considered attractive. I didnt check any numbers
but here are the ones that I found the most attractive...

My favorite but its only .91
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-IF-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1139128.asp


This looks nice too but may be too much oval shape (vs more round oval)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1185593.asp

This has a little bit different look (bow tie with a cutlet) - this is not one of my favorites though
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1083409.asp

This one has a bow tie but its got a 1.2:1 ratio (more roundish)
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-IF-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1102098.asp

Might want to check this one out too
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VVS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1245175.asp

2 and 5 look promising, on number 2 the girdle would need checking by JA''s gemologist to make sure the very thin part was not a durability issue.

 

[diamondtiger]

Thanks for the help everyone!! My diamond knowledge is limited to what I have learned on the Internet so your help is greatly appreciated!!

FWIW ... I do like #1. Are you saying that a .91 carat oval would look like a 1 carat round?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 4:34:33 PM
Author: diamondtiger
Thanks for the help everyone!! My diamond knowledge is limited to what I have learned on the Internet so your help is greatly appreciated!!

FWIW ... I do like #1. Are you saying that a .91 carat oval would look like a 1 carat round?

Possibly, carat weight doesn't always show face up, what we call spread - so a diamond which doesn't quite weigh a carat can look similar to a 1 carat face up depending on how the diamond is cut and the weight distributed. This isn't always a good thing if the diamond looks large for its weight if cut quality has been sacrificed. What I would do if you like this diamond is to ask James Allen for an Idealscope image, ASET is better for fancy shapes but JA don't do them. That would tell us more about the diamond, also ask them if they can get the crown height by running a Sarin on the diamond.

More on spread - http://diamonds.pricescope.com/spread.asp

 

[diamondtiger]

Any promise in this one?

???

 

[tyty333]

Date: 7/11/2009 5:06:30 PM
Author: diamondtiger
Any promise in this one?

???

The numbers on that one are good (table and depth). I remember seeing this one also and I do like it. Its got a pleasing bow-tie (you can
see the arrows in the bow-tie and I love seeing arrows!) Again, ask for an idealscope image to check for light leakage.


Edit - BTW I looked at a conversion chart that said a 1 carat round should face up at 6.6 mm. Most of the ovals you are looking at are in
the 7+mm (even though they will be thinner on the other dimension). This gives most people the illusion that ovals show up bigger than
a round of the same carat weight.

 

[diamondtiger]

Probably a dumb question, but you''re saying that''s a good thing right?

 

[tyty333]

Date: 7/11/2009 5:48:07 PM
Author: diamondtiger
Probably a dumb question, but you're saying that's a good thing right?

Never a dumb question...but whats a good thing?

That you can see the arrows - Yes - a good thing (to me it means that at least parts of it are well cut like a Hearts and Arrow
round diamond- there is nothing scientific to back this up...its just my opinion)

See this Hearts and Arrow round diamond (it is cut to very tight standards) - you can see the arrows
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6061/


That an oval of the same weight can *look* bigger than a round of the same weight - Yes, a good thing

 

[diamondtiger]

Thanks for the help. Man, there''s a LOT to learn!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/11/2009 5:06:30 PM
Author: diamondtiger
Any promise in this one?

???

Yes I believe there is.