please help!

[chipp]

I would really appreciate your advice on which stone to pick. I need to decide very soon and I can''t seem to decide on my own! One is GIA rated and the other is AGS. Stone #1 (AGS) is $3000 more than stone #2. Is it worth the money for stone 1? Unfortunately, I don''t have an Ideal Scope image or image of the stone to share- this is all I have to go on. thanks for the help!!

Stone #1 AGS
Shape and Style: Round Brilliant
Measurements: 8.55 - 8.59 x 5.32 mm
Cut Grade: AGS Ideal 0
Color Grade: AGS 2.0 (H)
Clarity Grade: AGS 4 (VS2)
Carat Weight 2.403
Fluorescence: Negligible
Table: 55.6%
Crown Angle: 34.6
Crown Height: 15.3%
Girdle: Faceted, 1.9% to 3.9%
Pavilion Angle: 40.9
Pavilion Depth: 43.1%
Star Length: 50%
Lower Girdle Length: 77%
Total Depth: 62.1%
Culet: Pointed
Stone 2 – GIA
Round Brilliant
Measurements: 8.59 - 8.62 x 5.20 mm
Carat Weight: 2.35
Color Grade: H
Clarity Grade: VS2
Cut Grade: Excellent
Proportions:
Depth: 60.4 %
Table: 58 %
Crown Angle: 34.5°
Crown Height: 14.5 %
Pavilion Angle: 40.8°
Pavilion Depth: 43 %
Star length: 55 %
Lower Half: 85 %
Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted
Culet: None Finish:
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None

 

[John P]

They both look great by the numbers. Do you have an ideal-scope or ASET image? It looks like either will be wonderful, but it would help to see cut consistency. VG/VG polish and symmetry will make no difference to the naked eye, but when a diamond is crafted to extremes of top cut consistency it will often have the top grades in finish as well. Is the AGS report recent? Meaning; does it show a grade in "light performance" of 0? That's a nice pedigree. The finish grades and light performance report are both reasons for a premium. If it's a "branded" diamond that's another reason for markup.

I'd want to know the exact lower half numbers on the GIA stone. 85% could mean anywhere between 83-87% (they round that number to the nearest 5%). It's a matter of personal taste, but the high side of that range may not be as favorable for numerous "normal" lighting situations as it would be a few percent lower.

 

[chipp]

Thanks John. I don''t have ideal-scope or ASET image. sorry, i know that would help. Stone 1 has a light performance of 0. When I looked at these stones, I didn''t really see a difference between the two, but I also did not have them side by side so it''s hard to really tell.

I have a few more questions that you may be able to help me with. How do i tell if the girdle of the AGS stone is thin or thick? What does girdle: faceted 1.9-3.9% tell me? Does it matter if the stone has a pointed culet? what will that do to the look of the stone? thanks for the help!!!!

 

[John P]

Date: 7/14/2008 8:04:42 PM
Author: chipp

Thanks John. I don''t have ideal-scope or ASET image. sorry, i know that would help. Stone 1 has a light performance of 0. When I looked at these stones, I didn''t really see a difference between the two, but I also did not have them side by side so it''s hard to really tell.

I have a few more questions that you may be able to help me with. How do i tell if the girdle of the AGS stone is thin or thick? What does girdle: faceted 1.9-3.9% tell me? Does it matter if the stone has a pointed culet? what will that do to the look of the stone? thanks for the help!!!!

Side by side is the best way to judge of course, but they both look great by the numbers and your eyes trump those.

By AGS'' definition the girdle is "Thin-Medium." There is a chart in this thread if you''re interested. The culet is the tip of the diamond''s pavilion. If it''s listed as "pointed" or "none" it means the diamond ends in a point. Sometimes, either because it was planned that way or became necessary for proper finish, a small polish will be put on the tip to flatten it; making a tiny extra facet. That''s when the culet is listed as "very small, small, medium..." etc. In this case there was no extra facet added, so it''s "none."

For the record a 57-facet round brilliant is one with no culet. Whenever a culet is present it''s a 58-facet round.

 

[chipp]

John- you said that you would want to know the exact lower half number on the GIA stone because GIA rounds to the nearest 5%. How do I find this number? thanks

 

[John P]

Date: 7/24/2008 9:34:17 AM
Author: chipp
John- you said that you would want to know the exact lower half number on the GIA stone because GIA rounds to the nearest 5%. How do I find this number? thanks

GIA gives only the rounded number so you would need to have a separate scan (Sarin, Ogi, Helium). If you have a large static crown photo to post I can get pretty close by marrying it to a wire-frame. An Ideal-scope or ASET image would be even better.

 

[chipp]

ok thanks John. I''ll see what I can get. One more question for you, if you don''t mind?! Is the spread of either of these stones better than the other for the carat weight? I see that the 2.4 is a little smaller than the 2.35. will it look smaller? is it one of those stones that is bottom heavy?