PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Help me! Might be making a decision...dont know how good this stone is!

ring_confused · Feb 9, 2009

I am looking into purchasing a 3 stone ring for my girlfriend (hooray for her, headache for me

).

I know she wants 3 stone with channel set diamonds on the side. I would like to get her between .95-1.05 center stone (all stones princess) with color of H or greater.

Buying off the net I only wanted to deal with GIA or possibly EGL-usa certs, but I have heard EGL certs can be wrong by 1-2 color/clarity ratings (which would put an SI1 G...into an I1, I, which would not be good!).

Here are the two rings that have been optioned to me. I really need your help in judging if the stones are decent!

1) GIA cert # 16841581
Report Type: GIA Diamond Grading Report
Date of Issue: January 17, 2008
Square Modified Brilliant
Measurements: 5.39 x 5.30 x 3.96 mm
Carat Weight: 1.02
Color Grade: H
Clarity Grade: SI2
Proportions:
Depth: 74.7 %
Table: 68 %
Girdle: Thick to Very Thick
Culet: None
Finish:
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good
Fluorescence: None
Comments: Surface graining is not shown.

Price: 4799

For this stone, along with about half carat sides and the channel set side diamonds he said best price is 4799.

The second stone... is an EGL-USA for which he does not have the certificate yet (claims he gets the certificates printed when a customer buys the stone? sounds odd to me...)

Clarity: SI-1
Color: g-h (he said it says g-h...does this mean whoever certified it could not place it in G or H, so made it G-H?
1.07 carat

Price is the same as the GIA cert''d stone above: 4799

He said he would email me the info on the above stone, so I will add that as soon as it comes in (the table/girdle and the rest of the information I am not too familiar with).

Can anyone explain the depth and table? I know it has to do with surface measurements, and it seems these numbers are slightly high...what would a stone look like with these numbers?

I am contemplating proposing on valentines day if I get a ring squared away. She is dying to get engaged but I would rather wait and keep shopping than blow all my hard earned money on something neither of us will be happy with.

Just a note (this is probably obvious lol) neither my girlfriend nor I are gemologists... the only time a Lupe would ever be put up against the ring was maybe for insurance purposes. I just want an eye-clean stone with no visible yellowing.

Thanks so much in advance!

ANY info you pro''s can give me is so appreciated!!!

Have a nice day
Mike

Lorelei · Feb 9, 2009

Date: 2/9/2009 9:33:18 AM
Author:ring_confused
I am looking into purchasing a 3 stone ring for my girlfriend (hooray for her, headache for me

).

I know she wants 3 stone with channel set diamonds on the side. I would like to get her between .95-1.05 center stone (all stones princess) with color of H or greater.

Buying off the net I only wanted to deal with GIA or possibly EGL-usa certs, but I have heard EGL certs can be wrong by 1-2 color/clarity ratings (which would put an SI1 G...into an I1, I, which would not be good!).

Here are the two rings that have been optioned to me. I really need your help in judging if the stones are decent!

1) GIA cert # 16841581
Report Type: GIA Diamond Grading Report
Date of Issue: January 17, 2008
Square Modified Brilliant
Measurements: 5.39 x 5.30 x 3.96 mm
Carat Weight: 1.02
Color Grade: H
Clarity Grade: SI2
Proportions:
Depth: 74.7 %
Table: 68 %
Girdle: Thick to Very Thick
Culet: None
Finish:
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good
Fluorescence: None
Comments: Surface graining is not shown.

Price: 4799

For this stone, along with about half carat sides and the channel set side diamonds he said best price is 4799.

The second stone... is an EGL-USA for which he does not have the certificate yet (claims he gets the certificates printed when a customer buys the stone? sounds odd to me...)

Clarity: SI-1
Color: g-h (he said it says g-h...does this mean whoever certified it could not place it in G or H, so made it G-H?
1.07 carat

Price is the same as the GIA cert'd stone above: 4799

He said he would email me the info on the above stone, so I will add that as soon as it comes in (the table/girdle and the rest of the information I am not too familiar with).

Can anyone explain the depth and table? I know it has to do with surface measurements, and it seems these numbers are slightly high...what would a stone look like with these numbers?

I am contemplating proposing on valentines day if I get a ring squared away. She is dying to get engaged but I would rather wait and keep shopping than blow all my hard earned money on something neither of us will be happy with.

Just a note (this is probably obvious lol) neither my girlfriend nor I are gemologists... the only time a Lupe would ever be put up against the ring was maybe for insurance purposes. I just want an eye-clean stone with no visible yellowing.

Thanks so much in advance!

ANY info you pro's can give me is so appreciated!!!

Have a nice day
Mike

Welcome!

We really need images such as ASET and detailed photographs to be able to judge a Princess or other fancy shape properly as we can't tell much by the numbers. Having said that, the girdle for the first diamond could be improved on as very thick implies that the cut isn't the greatest and can waste weight. I would not proceed with this one without images and it is likely you can do better for cut quality, but you could certainly request images if you were so inclined.

As to the best depth and table, it isn't as easy as having a ' recipe' with numbers that will necessarily get you a well cut Princess, that is why we recommend working with an in house vendor who has the diamonds on hand to advise you, and can also supply images such as ASET and photographs so you can make an informed decision. There are numbers you can use as a guide however, but please don't get hung up on them as you could miss out on some excellent diamonds that way.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc1.asp

I would also suggest you add AGS labs to your search, along with GIA, AGS are considered to be the gold standard of diamond grading, and at the moment AGS are the only lab to grade Princess for light performance. I would recommend you look for AGS0 cut grade Princess and some hand selected GIA graded Princess which have been chosen for superior looks and performance by a trusted vendor.

As to EGL labs, they are said to be softer on grading than the above mentioned labs in some circumstances, this tutorial explains how the grading labs work.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/grading.asp

I would recommend you check out the following vendors who have well cut in house Princess.

www.highperformancediamonds.com

www.goodoldgold.com

www.whiteflash.com

www.exceldiamonds.com

The vendors will be able to help you every step of the way and also help you with the setting you want.

SI clarities can be an excellent choice if the all important cut is good, but make sure such diamonds are eyeclean to your standards by checking with the vendor, and let them know your expectations concerning this. Colour F, G or H can be a nice middleground, consider I or J if it would help the budget.

ring_confused · Feb 9, 2009

Thank- you Lorelei! (very pretty name!)

Any idea what an average price point would be for a .85 - 1.05 princess of SI1/SI2 clarity in G through H color? (possibly I if the forum agrees properly documented I's will not show yellow to the naked eye).

What would be good side stone sizes for a .85- 1.05 center stone? I dont want too large and take away from the center, but also not so small they look microscopic compared to the center!

I think I need to just hold off and take my time doing research. As much as I would like to propose this valentines day I dont want to rush the ring just to get the deed accomplished. Im sure in the long run my girlfriend will agree!

Thanks!!

Lorelei · Feb 9, 2009

Date: 2/9/2009 9:56:47 AM
Author: ring_confused
Thank- you Lorelei! (very pretty name!)

Is there a list of forum-approved vendors besides the ads that pop up? I am really cautious with the whole internet thing so would prefer some places that are customer oriented (& been around awhile) as well as have competitive pricing of course.

Any idea what an average price point would be for a .85 - 1.05 princess of SI1/SI2 clarity in G through H color? (possibly I if the forum agrees properly documented I's will not show yellow to the naked eye).

Thanks!!

I think I need to just hold off and take my time doing research. As much as I would like to propose this valentines day I dont want to rush the ring just to get the deed accomplished. Im sure in the long run my girlfriend will agree!

Thanks!!!

Yes, here is the vendor listing plus you can take a look at the ones I posted above. You can also use the Pricescope your Diamond; tool above to check out the prices of diamonds, use the in house or search by cut options to bring up in house diamonds of known cut quality.

https://www.pricescope.com/dealers.asp

Here is a well cut diamond as an example for you -

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3779/