Please rescue me! Down the rabbit hole in a diamond search

[MarionC]

I bought a pair of pre-set princess earrings recently and they are very nice. Of course as a PSer I could not stop there. I decided that I should go back to shopping and pick out a little bigger, a little better & w/certificates.

I have narrowed my choice down to four AGS Ideals.
These questions have come up;
The Ideal table are tiny! I like them, but that surprised me. If the stones are Ideal, why are the tables outside the parameters [found in a PS chart] for an excellent cut?
and - puzzling. One of my favorite stones is a VS1, but it has 2 crystals on the table and three more under the crown, all are dark. From the side the stone looks full of pepper flakes. It is possible that it is NOT VS1?
I know it will be eye clean but I don't want to pay the VS1 price if the stone is not VS1. Is it possible that it was misgraded?
thanks for any enlightenment.

 

[Michael_E]

Re: Please rescue me! Down the rabbit hole in a diamond sear

From the side the stone looks full of pepper flakes. It is possible that it is NOT VS1? Is it possible that it was misgraded?

That depends on how you are looking at it. If you're looking at a picture that shows the stone at 40X magnification, then it may be just fine. If you are looking at it with a 10X loupe or your eyes only, then yes it is most likely being misrepresented. Here's the GIA definition of VS1: "Inclusions so slight they are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification" If it doesn't fit that, then it's not a VS1.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Please rescue me! Down the rabbit hole in a diamond sear

AGS Ideal cut trumps the cut chart. I doubt the ideal cut grade was even in existence when that cut chart was written. I greatly prefer smaller tables on almost any stone, and definitely on a princess. I think you'll have to link the VS1 with the inclusions for us to comment. But I will say yes, you may see tiny specs in a highly magnified photo and the diamond still be totally eyeclean in real life viewing. AGS is pretty strict on clarity.

 

[MarionC]

Re: Please rescue me! Down the rabbit hole in a diamond sear

Thanks, Michael.
I can see the largest crystal easily with 10x, and 5x since I know where it is.
It seems like a non-sequitur to call a stone an "eye-clean VS1" [how it is being described], since any VS1 is expected to be eye-clean.
I don't think the stone is misrepresented since it was graded by AGS and is being sold by the vendor with that grading. Maybe this was one diamond that kind of got by the grader.
Anyway, as frustrating as it is, I will pass on this stone.

 

[MarionC]

Re: Please rescue me! Down the rabbit hole in a diamond sear

Hi DS.
I do love the small table and glad to hear it's a good thing. I've never paid a lot of attention to princess cuts, but want square earrings that are not in the price range of asschers.
Since the certificates on these stones go back as far as 2007 I was feeling a bit on-the-fence until I got some feedback. I imagine that perhaps people in general might go for the big-table look which is why there are so many of these small-tables sitting around.. Who knows.
it will be fun to see these in person.

 

[marcy]

Re: Please rescue me! Down the rabbit hole in a diamond sear

Jimmianne, I tend to prefer smaller tables they seem to give off more fire. I don't know if you are looking at JA images or not but sometimes even on VVS stones I see some of those black specs so I have often wondered if it is some little specs in this camera? You can ask them to evaluate the stones in person before you purchase them to see if the stones are eye clean or not.

BTW, I like your PC dangles so much I was holding my PC up under my earlobe to see what I thought and I liked them but I can see why you might want a larger size.

I can't wait to see what you get.
Marcy