Please help select from these True Hearts I/3.63 & H/3.51 diamonds

[anik7648]

Hi

Can you please help me pick from these two diamonds?

I didn’t want to go below H because my current ring is a G. But I also want to get close to 10mm. Also don’t want to exceed this budget.
Pics of the current ring-

3.51 Carat round diamond

This True Hearts TM diamond, 3.51 carat H color vs2 clarity has ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

3.63 Carat round diamond

This True Hearts TM diamond, 3.63 carat I color vvs2 clarity has ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Certificates are here:

 

[lovedogs]

Can you post the certificates from JA?

 

[anik7648]

Can you post the certificates from JA?

Thanks for reminding me. Just edited the post to attach the certificates.

 

[sparklegirl1414]

My vote is 2. Bigger, nicer clarity still fantastic cut and H is right next to I so not as noticeable ( to me)

 

[marrduk24]

I feel like the size difference is just 0.1mm and not that noticeable.

As for clarity, given it is a True Heart, VS2 will be eye clean with no transparency issues. So not sure you will notice the difference in clarity.

But you probably will notice the difference in color. So my vote will be for H.

 

[lovedogs]

I personally prefer the look of the 2nd one.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I’m not an expert, but I prefer the look of the second one as well. I don’t think clarity would be an issue either way, but given you’re comparing 9.75 vs 9.87mm, while not a huge difference from each other, the latter will be pretty indistinguishable from your 10mm goal while you may be able to see a difference with the former. I am personally not colour sensitive and would be just fine with an I, I can’t really tell the difference between H and I. I think that’s a call you have to personally take tbh - what matters more, getting a bit closer to the 10mm goal or having a slightly whiter diamond?

 

[headlight]

I see a definite jump in color from the H to the I. No offense, but I know some people will see that one in the I color and think you just went for size and compromised on color. I don’t know what you current diamond size is, but the sizes you are considering will show color, regardless of cut quality.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

I see a definite jump in color from the H to the I. No offense, but I know some people will see that one in the I color and think you just went for size and compromised on color. I don’t know what you current diamond size is, but the sizes you are considering will show color, regardless of cut quality.

I see a big dip in color, too. Especially if you are staying with silver metal. At this size you will be looking at a lot of the stone from the side view, which might show even more color than what you see from the top.

 

[anik7648]

My current ring is a 2 carat G color.

I saw a 3.6 carat H diamond and loved it (it wasn’t this exact diamond). I have no idea if it was high H or straight H. I also saw a 3.5 carat I and could see the tinge. So that’s why I felt maybe safer to go down to H and not to I.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

My current ring is a 2 carat G color.

I saw a 3.6 carat H diamond and loved it (it wasn’t this exact diamond). I have no idea if it was high H or straight H. I also saw a 3.5 carat I and could see the tinge. So that’s why I felt maybe safer to go down to H and not to I.

Given this information, I would do the following:
- check diamdb to see if the 3.51 size will satisfy your size preferences. I would compare the actual size of your 2ct to the 3.51, 2 to the 3.63 and 3.51 to 3.63. This will help you figure out whether you can actually see the difference between the 3.51 and the 3.63, and whether either of the two get you at the size you want. So for example if you really can’t see the difference between 3.51 and 3.63 and you like how much finger coverage you get with 3.51 (you can compare your chosen stone with a 10mm stone on your finger size or just look at your chosen stone on your finger size if you don’t want to risk tempting yourself with a 10mm “look”) then just get the H, it’s a no brainer!
- are you locked in with JA as the vendor? If not you can perhaps ask the community if they have other suggestions. I’m not an expert but I think the proportions look generally fine though, so perhaps that’s not really necessary.
- if you are able to see the tint in the I stone that you saw in person, did that tint bother you? Because seeing colour is one thing and having it bother you is another thing. If it did bother you, you are better off with the H.
- are you able to return in case the stone of your choice doesn’t meet your expectations? In that case I would buy the one that you think ticks off the most of your criteria (eg H instead of I vs 9.87 instead of 9.75) and then return it in case it doesn’t make you happy.

 

[anik7648]

Given this information, I would do the following:
- check diamdb to see if the 3.51 size will satisfy your size preferences. I would compare the actual size of your 2ct to the 3.51, 2 to the 3.63 and 3.51 to 3.63. This will help you figure out whether you can actually see the difference between the 3.51 and the 3.63, and whether either of the two get you at the size you want. So for example if you really can’t see the difference between 3.51 and 3.63 and you like how much finger coverage you get with 3.51 (you can compare your chosen stone with a 10mm stone on your finger size or just look at your chosen stone on your finger size if you don’t want to risk tempting yourself with a 10mm “look”) then just get the H, it’s a no brainer!
- are you locked in with JA as the vendor? If not you can perhaps ask the community if they have other suggestions. I’m not an expert but I think the proportions look generally fine though, so perhaps that’s not really necessary.
- if you are able to see the tint in the I stone that you saw in person, did that tint bother you? Because seeing colour is one thing and having it bother you is another thing. If it did bother you, you are better off with the H.
- are you able to return in case the stone of your choice doesn’t meet your expectations? In that case I would buy the one that you think ticks off the most of your criteria (eg H instead of I vs 9.87 instead of 9.75) and then return it in case it doesn’t make you happy.

Thank you for that feedback. It’s helpful to see on diamdb but I keep wondering how would it feel in real life. I didn’t see much difference between 9.75 vs 9.87 vs did see enough between 9.75 vs 10mm.

Based on all of the hunting I have done over months it has become clear that it is very very hard to find a well cut 3.7-3.8 carat diamonds with 10mm diameter. I had read the CBI article on why that’s the case. But now I have confirmed that as well.

James Allen does have return policy. So I guess I could start with 3.63 I and return it if the color bothers me.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Thank you for that feedback. It’s helpful to see on diamdb but I keep wondering how would it feel in real life. I didn’t see much difference between 9.75 vs 9.87 vs did see enough between 9.75 vs 10mm.

Based on all of the hunting I have done over months it has become clear that it is very very hard to find a well cut 3.7-3.8 carat diamonds with 10mm diameter. I had read the CBI article on why that’s the case. But now I have confirmed that as well.

James Allen does have return policy. So I guess I could start with 3.63 I and return it if the color bothers me.

So from this I’m gathering that you are not married to JA and can look at other sites and places. If that’s the case, use the pricescope search feature to find yourself options that get you close to the 10mm mark. There are some in H and I that get you very close or over the 10mm mark and are below your price limit. Set the HCA filter as “Ex” and make sure to check the following: “should receive all excellent or at most one very good”, size big/bigger is highly preferred, the stone should fall within both GIA Ex and AGS ideal.

I found you a couple beautifully cut super ideal stones cheaper than the I VVS2 at 10mm, but the issue is that they are a J which I think may be too far for you. Perhaps worth inquiring what a custom cut super ideal, like an ACA, in the parameters you’re looking for would cost you?

Another option may be to call someone like an ID Jewelry and ask them to source for you (if you live in the US). If you plan to do that then I would get recommendations on the board on who to call.

 

[anik7648]

So from this I’m gathering that you are not married to JA and can look at other sites and places. If that’s the case, use the pricescope search feature to find yourself options that get you close to the 10mm mark. There are some in H and I that get you very close or over the 10mm mark and are below your price limit. Set the HCA filter as “Ex” and make sure to check the following: “should receive all excellent or at most one very good”, size big/bigger is highly preferred, the stone should fall within both GIA Ex and AGS ideal.

I found you a couple beautifully cut super ideal stones cheaper than the I VVS2 at 10mm, but the issue is that they are a J which I think may be too far for you. Perhaps worth inquiring what a custom cut super ideal, like an ACA, in the parameters you’re looking for would cost you?

Another option may be to call someone like an ID Jewelry and ask them to source for you (if you live in the US). If you plan to do that then I would get recommendations on the board on who to call.

Thank you so much.
I did speak to Whiteflash. They said they could do a 3.5 carat custom cut but the price was just too high. They said 3.7 to 3.8 just doesn’t work, unless they were to recut a 4 carat.

You are right about J being too low.

I am in the US. I will call ID and see what they come up with.

I have searched long and hard at Pricescope, Brian Gavin, Victor Canera, HP Diamonds and other places that carry super-ideals and didn’t find anything. The closest option I found was the following. But JA said that their photography dept is shut due to Covid and they can’t provide any Idealscope or ASET images.

3.70 Carat round diamond

This 3.7 carat round diamond H color vs1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Thank you so much.
I did speak to Whiteflash. They said they could do a 3.5 carat custom cut but the price was just too high. They said 3.7 to 3.8 just doesn’t work, unless they were to recut a 4 carat.

You are right about J being too low.

I am in the US. I will call ID and see what they come up with.

I have searched long and hard at Pricescope, Brian Gavin, Victor Canera, HP Diamonds and other places that carry super-ideals and didn’t find anything. The closest option I found was the following. But JA said that their photography dept is shut due to Covid and they can’t provide any Idealscope or ASET images.

3.70 Carat round diamond

This 3.7 carat round diamond H color vs1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Since you can’t actually get images for the 3.7 I am not sure if it makes sense to consider that one. Perhaps request the cert to see what the dimensions are.

Otherwise it may make sense to just order the I VVS2 and see how you feel about the colour in person.