Please help me choose "the right" diamond : )

[kmajid]

First off, i can't thank this community enough for all the knowledge that it has bestowed on me. You guys have made me a much more educated buyer, which in effect has made life a lot harder haha

I was wondering if you guys could give me your thoughts on the following diamonds. I was really hoping to stay at an H or above, but came across a couple of I colored diamonds that may work. I've done a ton of research on the topic, but any feedback on I vs H and above would be welcome as well.

Thanks in advance for your feedback! Looking forward to your thoughts!

LD12767504 - HCA 1.3 (video requested)
LD12743746 - HCA 1.3 (Is this one cut too deep?)
LD12679621
LD12735885 - HCA 1.6
LD09547897

 

[Dancing Fire]

Hard to comment on Blue Nile stones w/o I-scope, H&A and ASET pics.

 

[sledge]

Step 1: Label all diamonds appropriately -- A, B, C, etc
Step 2: Place labels on dart board
Step 3: Blind fold yourself
Step 3A: Have anyone you love move BEHIND you
Step 4: Throw dart
Step 5: Remove blind fold and post pics & stats of the winner!

 

[lovedogs]

First off, i can't thank this community enough for all the knowledge that it has bestowed on me. You guys have made me a much more educated buyer, which in effect has made life a lot harder haha

I was wondering if you guys could give me your thoughts on the following diamonds. I was really hoping to stay at an H or above, but came across a couple of I colored diamonds that may work. I've done a ton of research on the topic, but any feedback on I vs H and above would be welcome as well.

Thanks in advance for your feedback! Looking forward to your thoughts!

LD12767504 - HCA 1.3 (video requested)
LD12743746 - HCA 1.3 (Is this one cut too deep?)
LD12679621
LD12735885 - HCA 1.6
LD09547897

In general, we recommend no deeper than 62.4. 62.9 is by no means "too deep", since it's not far off, but I would probably eliminate that one since you have so many other solid choices and need a way to narrow it down. If there is no video or pic of the 1.82 (1st stone) I'd eliminate that one also, since buying a stone completely blind from anyone other than a super-ideal vendor wouldn't be comfortable for me.

The 3rd one has an HCA of .9, and the last one has an HCA of 1.3.

If having to eliminate stones, I would personally not get the 3rd one, since it has a crown angle of 33.5, which is slightly outside our preferred ranges of 34-35, and BN won't give ASET/IS images to make sure it performs well.

That leaves the 4th and 5th stones (for me personally if I were trying to decide). I typically think that the Astor line is somewhat overpriced, but in this case I might go with it because the angles are complementary, which is always a good thing. But I don't think either is a bad choice at all. The prices are within 600 of each other, and the sizes aren't far enough different to be visible to the naked eye (less than .2mm). So I think between those 2 either is good.

 

[sledge]

Just kidding.

As noted by @Dancing Fire, it'd be nice to have advanced images to help you short list these stones. Have you tried searching for them on RC to see if other vendors have them listed, and if those alternate vendors may have an ASET, IS or H&A image? Just food for thought.

Also, are you married to purchasing from BN? If not, what are your budget, size, color and clarity constraints? Maybe we can find you something better.

LD12767504 - HCA 1.3 (video requested)
Has potential. Pushing depth at 62.5 because of the slightly thick girdle. No images or video to assess, so potential pass as I think you have better choices.

LD12743746 - HCA 1.3 (Is this one cut too deep?)
Not horribly deep, but a smidge outside the limits @ @ 62.9. Although I do like the chunky arrows -- guessing the LGF's are on the low side of the 73-77 range, although they are being reported as 75 on the GIA cert. I still think you can do better, and I'd keep looking.

LD12679621
I don't like the 33.5/40.8 combo. Also the stone is fairly shallow, although in acceptable criteria. Because of these factors, I'm guessing it will pull a < 1 HCA score indicating it's more ideal for an earring or pendant. I think you have some better choices, and would keep searching personally.

LD12735885 - HCA 1.6
Proportions look good, and so does the video. My only hesitation is I've seen several ASET and IS images of that 35/40.8 combo with leakage. I've also seen some without leakage. Because of that I'd want the image before I pulled the trigger.

LD09547897
Proportionally, my favorite of the group -- 57 table, 61.8 depth, 34.5 crown, 40.8 pavilion & 80 LGF. Pretty dreamy specs actually. I'd be really surprised if this one didn't have good images. Although I do wish it had 75 LGF's, as the video makes it look like these might be on the high side of the 80 range, guessing 81-82.

 

[kmajid]

In general, we recommend no deeper than 62.4. 62.9 is by no means "too deep", since it's not far off, but I would probably eliminate that one since you have so many other solid choices and need a way to narrow it down. If there is no video or pic of the 1.82 (1st stone) I'd eliminate that one also, since buying a stone completely blind from anyone other than a super-ideal vendor wouldn't be comfortable for me.

The 3rd one has an HCA of .9, and the last one has an HCA of 1.3.

If having to eliminate stones, I would personally not get the 3rd one, since it has a crown angle of 33.5, which is slightly outside our preferred ranges of 34-35, and BN won't give ASET/IS images to make sure it performs well.

That leaves the 4th and 5th stones (for me personally if I were trying to decide). I typically think that the Astor line is somewhat overpriced, but in this case I might go with it because the angles are complementary, which is always a good thing. But I don't think either is a bad choice at all. The prices are within 600 of each other, and the sizes aren't far enough different to be visible to the naked eye (less than .2mm). So I think between those 2 either is good.

This was, as always, extremely helpful. Thanks so much for the feedback! What are your thoughts on actually going with an I as opposed to an H or above? I've been hung up on staying above an I.

 

[kmajid]

Step 1: Label all diamonds appropriately -- A, B, C, etc
Step 2: Place labels on dart board
Step 3: Blind fold yourself
Step 3A: Have anyone you love move BEHIND you
Step 4: Throw dart
Step 5: Remove blind fold and post pics & stats of the winner!

hahaha i actually love this idea and may just go ahead and do it as i'm going nuts! haha

 

[kmajid]

Just kidding.

As noted by @Dancing Fire, it'd be nice to have advanced images to help you short list these stones. Have you tried searching for them on RC to see if other vendors have them listed, and if those alternate vendors may have an ASET, IS or H&A image? Just food for thought.

Also, are you married to purchasing from BN? If not, what are your budget, size, color and clarity constraints? Maybe we can find you something better.

LD12767504 - HCA 1.3 (video requested)
Has potential. Pushing depth at 62.5 because of the slightly thick girdle. No images or video to assess, so potential pass as I think you have better choices.

LD12743746 - HCA 1.3 (Is this one cut too deep?)
Not horribly deep, but a smidge outside the limits @ @ 62.9. Although I do like the chunky arrows -- guessing the LGF's are on the low side of the 73-77 range, although they are being reported as 75 on the GIA cert. I still think you can do better, and I'd keep looking.

LD12679621
I don't like the 33.5/40.8 combo. Also the stone is fairly shallow, although in acceptable criteria. Because of these factors, I'm guessing it will pull a < 1 HCA score indicating it's more ideal for an earring or pendant. I think you have some better choices, and would keep searching personally.

LD12735885 - HCA 1.6
Proportions look good, and so does the video. My only hesitation is I've seen several ASET and IS images of that 35/40.8 combo with leakage. I've also seen some without leakage. Because of that I'd want the image before I pulled the trigger.

LD09547897
Proportionally, my favorite of the group -- 57 table, 61.8 depth, 34.5 crown, 40.8 pavilion & 80 LGF. Pretty dreamy specs actually. I'd be really surprised if this one didn't have good images. Although I do wish it had 75 LGF's, as the video makes it look like these might be on the high side of the 80 range, guessing 81-82.

I was ready to go for the dart method, but then you went ahead and dissected each one haha I sincerely appreciate it as the feedback that you've supplied is incredibly helpful.

The third diamond is a 0.9 HCA by the way, so you did call it. Is 0.9 too low?

I've been really hung up on staying at an H or above, yet the ones you guys prefer are I colored diamonds. Is there really that big of a difference between say an H and an I?

I have 0% credit squared away with BN and have friends who had good experiences going through them. With that said, i would be open to going with a different vendor. I would ideally like to stay under 18K, snagging something in the 1.7-1.8 range with VS2, H.

The following diamond was recommended to me in this forum, so maybe i need to add it to the list of contenders.

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3925304.htm

 

[lovedogs]

I was ready to go for the dart method, but then you went ahead and dissected each one haha I sincerely appreciate it as the feedback that you've supplied is incredibly helpful.

The third diamond is a 0.9 HCA by the way, so you did call it. Is 0.9 too low?

I've been really hung up on staying at an H or above, yet the ones you guys prefer are I colored diamonds. Is there really that big of a difference between say an H and an I?

I have 0% credit squared away with BN and have friends who had good experiences going through them. With that said, i would be open to going with a different vendor. I would ideally like to stay under 18K, snagging something in the 1.7-1.8 range with VS2, H.

The following diamond was recommended to me in this forum, so maybe i need to add it to the list of contenders.

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3925304.htm

Omg if you aren't tied to BN please make your life easier and go with WF. The ACA is a guaranteed best of the best stone with a $1 upgrade policy. It's like pressing an easy button.