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Please advise me on this oval

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newlyengaged11

Rough_Rock
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Oct 18, 2005
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Hi,

I am strongly considering purchasing on oval diamond, and I was wondering if people could help me by commenting on the specs? Unfortunately, I don''t have a photo. I saw the diamond, though, and thought it was beautiful. I think that for an oval, the "butterfly effect" is minimal, but I was concerned that the depth is not great enough based on looking at the certificate. Also, I was advised by someone that its not a good idea to go under the two carat mark if you are very close to it in buying an engagement ring, but I think at this particular store we likely wouldn''t be able to afford anything decent at two carats. What would be the drawbacks of buying something under 2 carat?

Here are the details:

Oval brilliant
9.94x7.10x3.93
1.83 carat
Depth: 55.4%
Table: 58%
Girdle: very thin to thick, faceted
Culet: none
Polish: good
Symmetry: good
VS2
F
Fluorescence: none

The price on this is approximately $22K, which includes two side stones totaling .8 carat and a handmade platinum mounting.

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
The stone does seem very shallow, too shallow for me. But on the other hand, if you saw it and loved it, perhaps the numbers shouldn''t mean so much. With fancy shapes, oftentimes, your eyes are the best judge. I do not know why it would be bad to buy a diamond right under 2 carats, unless you were planning on reselling it. Being just under certain weights like 1 or 2 carats can save you alot of money, and often you cannot see a size difference. With this diamond, it will most likely look bigger than many of its weight though, due to the shallowness. But you may be sacrifiicing some sparkle or scintilation.
 
The only thing I have ever heard is to avoid diamonds which weigh 1 carat exactly, 2 carats etc, as apparently they are cut for weight to hit the " magic mark" , i.e - the cutter saves what weight he can to hit these targets rather than concentrating on the best cut. Is that what you have heard? IMO it is best to shoot under the exact round up carat weight if you can, also as Jazmine said you will save $''s and the size difference shouldn''t be huge. I am no expert on ovals to advise you on the depth, fancy cuts are best evaluated by your eyes, however see what other opinions you get as this is an expensive purchase - if you like it then that is what matters in the long run. Just take your time and look at others if you can. I have also heard a good thing with ovals is that they are the next best for brilliance when comapred with rounds. It sounds worth investigating further. Good luck.
 
Jazmine and Lorelei,

Thanks so much for your advice! I have been really agonizing over this whole engagement ring thing, and it helps so much to get words of wisdom from people who know better.

I have been looking around a bit, and unfortunately, have been underwhelmed by a lot of the ovals I have seen (even through very good people!). I thought that we were being reasonable in our expectations and price range, so then I started to wonder whether perhaps ovals are just not for me (due to the prevalence of butterfly effects), or whether I really want an engagement ring at all! I think that sentiment is just a result of frustration with the process. I felt that for this amount of money, I should be able to feel totally confident in the purchase, though perhaps my lack of confidence in the diamonds I have seen has more to do with my nervousness at having my fiance spend this kind of money. My fiance is much more of a traditionalist than I am, though, and is quite set on this purchase.

Of the ovals we have seen, I have seen some in the "ideal" range of table and depth, and yet still there was a great deal of deadness in the center of the stone (the "butterfly"). In contrast, I have seen much less of a butterfly effect in other ovals that did not have what are considered ideal table and depth measurements. How does one explain this?

About buying "just under" a carat mark, I actually have no idea why that person advised me as they did. Certainly I don''t plan on ever reselling the ring, so that''s not a consideration.

At this point, I am thinking that I need to let go of the idea that I can find the "exact" thing I am looking for (such as exactly this color, with exactly that clarity, with a certain length to width ratio, etc.), because if I keep thinking that way, I don''t think I''ll ever have an engagement ring.

Though we''re agreed that this particular oval is not as deep as it should be, how bad it is it? Is it so bad that a reputable retailer (where I am thinking of purchasing) would be wrong to represent this to me as a high quality diamond? The jeweller didn''t really come out and say "this diamond is too shallow" - should this be a red flag to me that they are not trustworthy? I love the craftsmanship at this jeweller, and feel that they will do a very good job of matching the sidestones, and have been altogether happy with the service, which makes me think that maybe I should go ahead with this purchase.

We have taken a lot of time with this search, and done a lot of research. Of what I''ve seen so far, this is the best overall oval that we can afford. Basically, do you think that I''ll look of the depth of this oval in a few years (or sooner) and kick myself for buying this diamond?

Thanks again for your help, and sorry for my incredibly indecisive and somewhat paranoid back and forth here . . . I need to quit being such a worrier!!
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Really, how do you feel about it? Are you in love with it? Would you be if the numbers were "ideal?" Don't let numbers decide this for you. As you have discovered, lots of fancy diamonds with great numbers can have a bow tie (butterfly). Certain numbers do not determine if an oval will be gorgous or not. I do not think that your vender is not trustworthy because he didn't say "look at this diamond but keep in mind it is shallow." You saw the numbers for yourself, so you can interpret them however you wish. Does this diamond have a certificate? I know the price includes a setting and sidestones, but it seems a little pricey. Without knowing your budget or priorities, I did a search and came up with these:


http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=5773837

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=131&item=474124&aff_id=ps621

Even adding a setting to these diamonds would keep you a few thousand under the $22,000 mark you are at now (unless you are choosing a very expensive setting >$5000). Again, just because these 2 have very good numbers does not guarantee no bow tie.
 
Hi, Newlyengaged!...Congratulations, by the way!
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I am by NO MEANS an expert, but from my reading here, relying too much on "numbers" when judging fancy shaped stones can be a mistake. It is my understanding the main usefulness of "numbers" is for sorting out potential candidates "sight unseen".

It sounds to me like you have "seen" this stone as well as others, and you like it best.

If it's beautiful, has no "bow tie" or dead center, and you love it, then it's shallowness might even be considered a bonus since it increases the face-up size of the stone.

I do not understand the advice you got regarding avoiding stones close to the two (or whatever) carat mark. I think the exact opposite is true...that it's best to get as close as you can get without going over it... thereby getting the most bang for the buck.

Again...just my uneducated opinion!
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Best wishes,
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My diamond is a 2.00 exactly. What my appraiser said was that you may not want to choose a stone with a weight like this because polishing it in the future could make it drop below the 2.00 mark, thus losing a good deal of value.
 
Hi newlyengaged11- I just bought a stone last week after 1 year of looking for an upgrade. What was holding me up was the mounting, I couldn''t decide what I liked, then I found the custom mounting at an expensive jewelry store. The store policy is that you have to buy the diamond from them for them to customize the mounting. So I think I paid too much, plus traded in my old 1 ct round. Anyway. the stone was a 2.09 oval GIA cert g, si1. Today I went to go see the stone again, and now I see the bow tie. depth was 61.9% and table 55% with good polish and symmetry. I have an eagle eye, and I think I was so excited to be buying something finally, I overlooked the bow tie. Don''t get me wrong, I have seen much worse, but once I see the dead spot in the center, I think over time it will bother me. Now I might end up going with a cushion, which I have also always loved, but the size of the cushion faces up so much smaller than the oval. I would love to buy the diamond on line, but I don''t think I can find this mounting again, as it was custom made.
Anyway, you have to make sure you love it!
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I found a setting I loved but I'm not having the original store create mine, as they were asking waaaay to much. I drew some pictures of what it looks like and I'm having Whiteflash make it. You could always do that mamchris.
 
Jazmine, I have heard so many things about whiteflash, and they have the gia cert on their website for my same stone, for much less, but I am so afraid to have a ring done long distance. How did you go about starting the process with them on the setting or getting a drawing from them. How long did it take to get a quote? I am sure I could save alot, but what about the sizing and the quality of the setting?
 
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