People with 2.5+ carat stones - what are your 4C's and price?

[goldeneagle]

Hi! I've been lurking for a while now and finally decided to make an account. I'm currently in the market for an engagement ring and am looking particularly for a 2.5+ carat round center stone with side tapered baguettes (I've seen a few beautiful ones on this site!). Currently I am of the understanding that for a round brilliant I should try to keep the cut at excellent or above and I'm wondering how it would look with different colors or clarities and what kind of budget would be realistic. We'd be comfortable around $25k so I'm curious if this is reasonable and how other members here have prioritized cost vs color, etc.

For people with stones about that size, what is your cut / color / clarity? How much did you pay? Do you regret compromising on any of these traits?

And most importantly, I love seeing your pictures if you'd like to post them!

Thank you!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Welcome! I'll just tell you that the majority of people around here go for H-I color and VS2-SI1 clarity. You can go for the very top quality diamonds from vendors such as Whiteflash, Good Old Gold, High Performance Diamonds, and Victor Canera (and they are all awesome!). Or you can look through GIA Excellent cut stones at vendors like James Allen who provide wonderful videos of their stones.

These are measurements to help you stay in ideal cut territory with a GIA excellent cut stone.

table: 54-58

depth: 60-62.3

crown angle: 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown angle can sometimes work with a 40.6 pav angle)

pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (sometimes 41.0 if the crown angle is close to 34)

My diamond in my avatar picture is a specialty cut, but it is I VS1 and 2.3 cts.

 

[Calliecake]

Please listen to any advice Diamondseeker gives you. You will end up with a gorgeous stone!

 

[goldeneagle]

@diamondseeker2006 -- thank you so so much for the detailed advice! I haven't looked much into table, depth, crown or pavilion angles, so I really appreciate your guidance. Your ring is beautiful.

I've looked through a few of those sites and I'm happy that the $25k budget seems to be doable if you know what you are looking for! I'm going to keep looking and maybe post a few options sometime soon to see if you or any other posters want to critique them.

Thank you again!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

At $25k, here are some examples of what you can get:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3701014.htm

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3817251.htm

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3817253.htm

https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD8620

https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD8730

https://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds/ags104091157001-2.197-i-vvs2-ideal-hearts-arrows-round

(did not see anything close at GOG nor did I see a good one at JA)

 

[goldeneagle]

@diamondseeker2006 you are fantastic, I really can't thank you enough.

With the I color, do you notice it being off-white in person? I haven't compared any in person before so I had been shooting for G-H.

 

[rockysalamander]

One more....
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3865909.htm

 

[diamondseeker2006]

@diamondseeker2006 you are fantastic, I really can't thank you enough.

With the I color, do you notice it being off-white in person? I haven't compared any in person before so I had been shooting for G-H.

I'll be honest and tell you my personal preference is G-H color in modern rounds. It was an adjustment for me when I got the antique style cut in I color, but that was the highest color they had at the time. I can handle the tint a little more in an antique cut because it kind of fits the style. But my stone faces up really white most of the time because it is well cut.

BUT, that said, I color ideal cut stones face up really white because they are cut so well. Their light return is edge to edge, so in natural lighting, they look very white especially face up. My stone can take on some tint from the surroundings, such as in a car with tinted windows, it looks much more tinted. But many people here have I color diamonds and are very happy with them. Many of the ladies here with stones over three carats have I color. I color is going to work with your budget for your size goal, but if you wanted to go with H, you'll be dropping to a lower size. The vendors I listed have upgrade policies in the event that you later wanted to increase size or color. I believe all the ones mentioned will credit you with the amount you paid for the stone towards a new diamond in their stock that costs at least a dollar more.

We can help you with the setting after you choose a diamond, too!

 

[Dancing Fire]

@diamondseeker2006 you are fantastic, I really can't thank you enough.

With the I color, do you notice it being off-white in person? I haven't compared any in person before so I had been shooting for G-H.

G/H is a good target but most likely it'll be over $25K for a top cut 2.5ct VS clarity stone.

 

[Dancing Fire]

One more....
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3865909.htm

Nice stone!

 

[goldeneagle]

Thank you all so much for the help! I think we will try to get an appointment at a jeweler soon to see some stones in person before we make any big decisions.

One more question - why didn't anyone like this stone? I know some of the crown / pavilion angles are different but I guess I just don't know what that means and why it becomes less desirable.

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3787514.htm

 

[MissGotRocks]

Because it is a virtual stone that would have to be called in rather than an ACA which has been vetted by WF. For the money, I'd rather have the assurance of exactly what I was buying.

 

[HappyNewLife]

My first diamond was one I scouted myself. I requested an ideal scope and ASET, then asked people here what they thought. I loved it and didn't have any regrets. If you do your homework, you can get a nice diamond on your own with help from the PS community.

That said, with my upgrade I'm kind of just going along with the Whiteflash service route. This time I want the AAA customer service and the vetting that goes into their ACA (A Cut Above) diamonds. My previous diamond was sparkly, but nothing like the upgrade diamond (which will be my last) I'm about to have. Will it cost more than if I did this on my own? Yep. But Im guaranteed to have the sparkliest diamond there is.

To answer your Qs:
Color: previous diamond was a G. New one will be an I. I'd like it to be an H or G, but budget doesn't allow. I am looking forward to having something different this time. Something warmer.
Clarity: precious diamond was eye-clean SI1. These are great values. New diamond is VS2.
Cut: well, you know, has to be ideal
Carat: going from 1.7 to hopefully 2.9 (still in progress as they evaluate my ring)

Hope that helps. And good luck with your search!

 

[HappyNewLife]

Pardon the typos. Was typing on my phone

 

[cflutist]

You asked about the 4 Cs.
My 3.01 pear is F-SI1
My 2.21 CBI is F-SI1
My newest 2.79 CBI F-VS1
Previously F-SI1 was my sweet spot, high color and eye clean. However, I bit the bullet with my newest diamond to buy what my heart desires. I am one of the few PSers who values high color and clarity over size.
By getting a stone from BGD, GOG, HPD-CBI, or WF-ACA they will do the vetting for you and you know will be getting the best cut stones available. Also their trade in policies vary. I know that HPD has a lifetime 100% trade in policy and a 80% lifetime buyback policy.

Here is my 2.79 F-VS1 CBI

 

[cflutist]

Here is the 2.79 from the side, nice and white but not as white as a 2.05 D-VS2 oval that I traded in locally for the pear.

 

[whitewave]

Curious why 2.5? Bigger is better? I'd look and see what high performance diamonds has.... they are super ideal crafted by infinity diamonds.

 

[Rivendell]

Mine is a Princess cut, E colour, VS1 It’s super white and beautiful

 

[Rivendell]

It’s 2.5 carats

 

[rockysalamander]

Thank you all so much for the help! I think we will try to get an appointment at a jeweler soon to see some stones in person before we make any big decisions.

One more question - why didn't anyone like this stone? I know some of the crown / pavilion angles are different but I guess I just don't know what that means and why it becomes less desirable.

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3787514.htm

For rounds, Whiteflash as two categories of diamonds. Stones they select and have vetted VS. stones from the huge market of unvetted stones. ACA are super-ideal diamonds (as are Crafted by Infinity, BrianGavin Select, Victor Canera, etc.) Expert Selection are usually stones with superior performance that just missed being an ACA. Premium, a step down from Expert. They-are diamonds that WF has in-house and has fully vetted. They take all the images, ASET, IS, videos to help you evaluate the diamond. These types of images provide proof of performance.When there is a question, they can 'walk down the hall' and look at the diamond.

Vetted stones (in order of cut precision): A Cut Above (ACA; super-ideal), Expert Selection, Premium Select.
Unvetted Stones: "virtual"

I go to WF for ACA and Expert Selection stones (sometimes premium). But, other vendors have more generous return policies and better online images for diamonds in the virtual selection (and are often a bit less). WF has a great package for their in-house diamonds, only surpassed by HighPerformanceDiamonds. I suspect that most of us did not look at WF for virtual stones. Most of us only look at their 'in-house" diamonds.

That being said, I looked as the WF Virtual stone. That diamond is a AGS000 with a reasonable spread. But, the crown angle at 32.7 will make the diamond rather a flat on top when combined with the nearly 59% table (see picture below). Most prefer a higher crown and smaller table (see PP above for ranges). Also, with the location of the clouds (and poor photo and additional clouds as a note), you'd need to have their gemologist review the diamond. The light return is good, but the proportions lead to a unfavorable looking diamond to many.

The diamond on the left is a JamesAllen .7 carat with the same proportions as your 2.5. The diamond on the right, is a ideal proportion. Can you see how squatty the left on looks? {ignore color, but for reference both of these happen to be K-color, VS1 and VVS1, respectively)