PLEASE help me choose between these Tiffany diamonds!!

[snowqueen]

Hi everyone,

I''m a relatively new poster but have been lurking for months now and have found this forum incredibly informative, I can''t believe how much I''ve learned and how little I knew before! I would be incredibly grateful to get opinions on the following 2 round brillaint diamonds from Tiffanys. Now I know some people will say don''t buy Tiffanys but my fiance really wants to get a ring from there as it has special meaning for him, obviously this does limit what we can get for the budget.


DIAMOND 1:

1.15 carats, H, VS1, no fluorescence
Measurements 6.66 - 6.71 x 4.15 mm
Precision of cut/ Symmetry/ Polish: Ex/Ex/Ex
Total depth: 62.1%
Table: 57%
Crown angle: 35.1 degrees
Crown height percentage: 15.4%
Pavilion angle: 40.8 degrees
Pavilion depth percentage: 43.1%
Star length percentage: 50%
Lower half length percentage: 75%
Girdle: medium to slightly thick, faceted
No cutlet

I put the above with the angles into the HCA and it got 1.9 with excellent for fire and very good for everything else. Looking at the coloured chart on the HCA it would fall within GIA excellent but not AGS ideal which bothers me. Also it''s so close to 2 that I''m concerned if the angles are slightly inaccurate then the HCA could actually be above 2 and I would have rejected it. Another thing is that when I use the crown and pavilion percentages instead of the angles it only gets 2.7 on the HCA which I don''t understand.

I have seen diamond 1 in the shop and it did look beautiful but this was under the great lighting. I''m trying to get my head round getting a H colour as well because I only wanted to go to a G, as in my head that just ''feels'' colourless (maybe because it''s only one down from F) whereas H seems to be where people think you can see colour. I didn''t think I could see any colour but again this was under the shop lighting, and I cannot view it in other lightings. I could go down in size as originally I was only aiming for something close to 1 carat, but I''d now like it to be over 1.05 carat and we can''t get G in that size with our budget. And I''d hate to compromise size when I may never notice the H as anything other than a nice white.



DIAMOND 2:

1.06 carats, H, VS1, medium blue fluorescence
Measurements 6.64 - 6.69 x 3.94 mm
Precision of cut/ Symmetry/ Polish: Ex/Ex/Ex
Total depth: 59.1%
Table: 60%
Crown angle: 33.4 degrees
Crown height percentage: 13.2%
Pavilion angle: 40.9 degrees
Pavilion depth percentage: 43.2%
Star length percentage: 55%
Lower half length percentage: 80%
Girdle: thin to medium, faceted
No cutlet

I''ve just got the details of diamond 2 today so not seen it yet and it''s abroad so we''d need to request to see it. I''m really excited about it as it scores 1.5 on HCA with 3 excellents and 1 very good for scintillation. The spread is great for its carat size and also it''s got medium blue fluorescence which I understand could be a good thing if I go for H colour. The only thing is the stats all seemed really strange to me and outside the recommended ranges so I was delighted to see the HCA result, I''m crossing my fingers my bubble isn''t about to burst!

When I did the HCA using the percentages instead of angles I got the same result of 1.5, unlike the first diamond, which was reassuring. And the coloured chart on the HCA puts the diamond within the GIA excellent area and the AGS ideal area. I did notice though that the coloured chart on the HCA for this diamond had no red colours in the centre of it, it was all dark orangey, whereas the chart for diamond 1 had more red in the centre. Does this mean that diamonds with tables of 60% can never be as good as those with 57%?




I would really really appreciate some expert advice. As you may be able to tell from my post I''m getting a bit obsessed about all this. And whilst I now know the basics, I don''t know how to interpret star length or lower half percentages or what angles complement what. I''m not able to get any images like idealscope so I''ll just be going off my own eyes in the shop and all your good advice. We''ve been engaged for 6 months and noone can understand why I don''t have a ring yet!! But tiffanys rings with HCA of under 2 seem to be really rare so I''m so excited about diamond 2. I''m in the UK where knowledge about diamonds just seems to be limited.

Thanks for all your help and for reading my lengthy post!

 

[stone-cold11]

I would prefer #2 too, numbers are safer, but #1 could work well too. Can you compare the 2 side by side? For viewing, try to look at it in a dark corner or under the table to shield out the store lights.

HCA is a rejection tool so do not read too much into it and try to use it as a selection tool. It is more accurate with angles as % depth is rounded then need to be converted back into angles again as HCA input.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/23/2010 5:08:45 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
I would prefer #2 too, numbers are safer, but #1 could work well too. Can you compare the 2 side by side? For viewing, try to look at it in a dark corner or under the table to shield out the store lights.

HCA is a rejection tool so do not read too much into it and try to use it as a selection tool. It is more accurate with angles as % depth is rounded then need to be converted back into angles again as HCA input.

Ditto.

If you can see them in person, just let your eyes decide. Both could be lovely.

 

[snowqueen]

Thanks Stone Cold11 and Dreamer d. I can see about Tiffanys requesting diamond 2 so I can compare, although it would be a lot of hassle for them as I''m not in London. I am a little freaked out now though about diamond 2 as I''ve just read the ''confusion about shallow diamonds'' thread. Why can these diamonds be ugly? The HCA seemed to think it would be excellent for fire and light return. Without idealscope I''d like to get the safest diamond I cn on the stats. What is it about diamond 2 that makes the numbers safer as I originally thought diamond 1 had more ''conventional'' numbers.

Thanks

 

[stone-cold11]

Buy your own idealscope? only about 25USD plus shipping for the basic scope.

depends on the averaging and rounding of the numbers. Not sure what convention tiffany uses for the rounding of numbers. The values of the crown and pavilion angles are the average of the 8 main facet angles, if the deviations between them are large, there is a chance that for a crown and pavilion pair might not work well resulting in leakage, thus there is a safer number, basically further away from the edge of the HCA score 2.

 

[snowqueen]

Thanks Stone Cold, I''ll consider that. I''m not too sure how Tiffanys will react though, they don''t seem used to people who know anything about diamonds!

Does anyone here have any experience with using an idealscope in Tiffanys in the UK?
I''d also be interested in whether anyone here has had a shallow stone like diamond 2 from Tiffanys and how they found it, as I''m concerned about the shallow stone thread. Also if anyone could tell me how a Tiffanys H looks in normal everday lighting.

Thanks for any help received

 

[LabRatPhD]

Date: 3/24/2010 1:07:54 PM
Author: snowqueen
Thanks Stone Cold, I''ll consider that. I''m not too sure how Tiffanys will react though, they don''t seem used to people who know anything about diamonds!


Does anyone here have any experience with using an idealscope in Tiffanys in the UK?

I''d also be interested in whether anyone here has had a shallow stone like diamond 2 from Tiffanys and how they found it, as I''m concerned about the shallow stone thread. Also if anyone could tell me how a Tiffanys H looks in normal everday lighting.


Thanks for any help received

I have a 2 ct H/VS1 Tiffany RB and I see absolutely no color in every lighting condition I have been in so far, face up and from the side. I have had my ring for a little less than a year. I originally wanted an E or F stone, but when I saw this H with other E/F stones (was able to take a few rings near the window in the store on a cloudy day) I saw no difference and did not want my fiance to pay extra for something I could not see. I am getting an eternity band with D/E/F-colored stones and saw no difference between the band I tried on next to my stone. I couldn''t be happier with my H. I should say that I may be a tad color-sensitive because I could see some warmth in the I stones I saw at Tiffany. I think H is my sweet-spot!

 

[snowqueen]

Thanks LabRat, that''s really reassuring. I thought I could see some warmth in the I colour too so I was stressing about H. Your ring sounds amazing, 2 carat, wow!!

 

[Bosie]

Hi snowqueen

Is there any possibility of you brining your BF to this forum and showing him that for the same dollars you want to spend at Tiffany's, he could get a larger and nicer stone, or for the same size, save a ton of money and use it towards the Honeymoon. I get the sense that most people who buy thru this forum want to get the best bang for their buck and not overpay for a name, if you do not fall into this category, that is OK, you have a right spend your money how you wish. Hey you might even save a boat load of money and use it on the Honeymoon or other joint project. Just my 2 cents.

 

[snowqueen]

Thanks Bosie. I have definitely got my boyfriend thinking by obsessively showing him loads of threads on here! The problem is he absolutely will not buy online from the US (we''re in the UK) and I know he won''t change his mind on that. And there just doesn''t seem to be the same choice in the UK. After doing some research here though I have seen a couple of places recommended in London so I may look into them secretly!!