shape
carat
color
clarity

Please Help A Newbie Choose!

ladyleonine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
8
Thank you for replying :)

I understand your comment re: inclusions, but could you elaborate on what specifically you don't like about the cut of the diamonds we'd chosen? (learning here!)
 

farmer gal

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
1,063
Ok sorry I will go more in to detail:) First I would like to start off that when looking for a diamond it is a good idea to use the HCA tool. It would be ideal if you can find a diamond that scores below a 2, but your eyes in person might be the better judge.

For the first diamond I do not like the apperance of it at all, and I don't like the percentages at all. I like the pavillion angle to be as close to 40 as I can get. This one is 41.6. HCA results:

Light Return Good
Fire Good
Scintillation Good
Spread
or diameter for weight Very Good
Total Visual Performance 4.3 - Good - Only if price is your main criterion

For the second one I do not like the location of the cavity and I would be afraid of durability issues so I would not consider it

for number three again I would worry with that large of twinning wisps that there would be durabilty issues, but that is me

For number 4 I don't like the numbers, you can just see the light loss with this one as well.
HCA score:
Light Return Good
Fire Good
Scintillation Good
Spread
or diameter for weight Very Good
Total Visual Performance 4.4 - Good - Only if price is your main criterion

For number 5 it is looking better cut wise, but I don't think it will be eyeclean and that would bother me:)
HCA score:
Light Return Excellent
Fire Very Good
Scintillation Very Good
Spread
or diameter for weight Very Good
Total Visual Performance 1.8 - Excellent
within TIC range
 

ladyleonine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
8
Thanks so much for your advice. We are on a really strict budget as platinum is so much more expensive than gold so unfortunately I didn't find anything at WF or BG that fit our requirements.

Went back and reviewed my very first list of JA stones and these are the 3 I've narrowed it down to now:

H VS2 http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1425645.asp (HCA 1.3 Exc)

G SI2 Hearts & Arrows http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1407806.asp (HCA 2.4 VG)

F SI2 http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1421471.asp (HCA 1.8 Exc)

James Allen have confirmed that they are all eye clean, icy white and beautiful, and are recommending the G SI2 as the pick of the bunch as it's H&A and needed to meet strict grading standards to be awarded as such. They assure me that the cavity on the edge should not be a durability issue or it wouldn't have met H&A standards (?), and as it will be covered by a prong I'm not too concerned about it visually...

That said, I am leaning towards the H VS2 as it has the best HCA report and clarity, but, all the H&A diamonds I've seen have been breathtaking...it's so hard to choose when I can't see the stones myself!

How useful is the HCA tool in determining light performance/ fire/ brilliance?
 

slg47

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Messages
9,667
do you have idealscope images? JA should be able to provide these.
 

ladyleonine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
8
there's an Idealscope image for the G SI2 diamond on the JA site:

1407806%20Idealscope.jpg

Have asked if they can send me Idealscope images for the others.

thanks...
 

0-0-0

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
1,257
+1 H VS2

Safer numbers and clarity. Photo looks good as well and I doubt the IS image will show any issues.
 
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