Princess Cut and Budget Question

[snookin]

I'm looking for a princess cut diamond in a solitaire setting with a total budget between $6,000-$6,500. Please review the diamond measurements below and let me know if this diamond is a good deal for $5,471 and then I will be able to buy a decent setting inside of my total budget.
Thanks in advance!
Price
• $5,471
Carat weight
• 1.04
Cut
• Very Good
Color
• F
Clarity
• VS2
Length/width ratio
• 1.00
Depth
• 70.7%
Table
• 70.0%
Symmetry
• Very Good
Girdle
• Medium to Slightly Thick
Measurements
• 5.67 x 5.67 x 4.01 mm

 

[snookin]

Also, this is GIA certified.

 

[AprilBaby]

Look at WF Princess cuts.

 

[snookin]

April Baby that really doesn't help me. But thanks

 

[JulieN]

Do you hav a picture?

 

[ecf8503]

GIA doesn't grade cut in princesses, so who says it is "very good" cut?

Cut quality is of utmost importance - more than color or clarity (within reason). A well cut diamond will reflect light in such a way that it will look bigger and whiter than a diamond of equal carat weight that is not as well cut.

You can't buy fancies by the numbers - you need light performance images. Which is why you were directed to Whiteflash (among others) because they provide that information for you.

 

[snookin]

Welp you people are useless. Thanks for nothing you pretentious tools.

 

[ecf8503]

Welp you people are useless. Thanks for nothing you pretentious tools.

Wow. You're welcome.

 

[Niel]

Welp you people are useless. Thanks for nothing you pretentious tools.

The reason these "tools" aren't helpful is because you've provided no information that's useful for any real evaluation of a stone.

"I found a 40$ sweater, its red, its a size medium. Is it good?"


Ask the right questions you get the right answers.

Or, be a prick.

 

[John P]

First of all, GIA F color and VS2 clarity will be safe and solid: No tint. No visible inclusions.

Here are the meaningful measurements you provided.

Carat weight • 1.04
Depth • 70.7%
Table • 70.0%
Girdle • Medium to Slightly Thick
Measurements • 5.67 x 5.67 x 4.01 mm

Here's the challenge...

I quickly modeled three princess cuts at those measurements. All are 1.04cts. All use the data you provided... But you can see how different the light performance is in the ASET® simulations. And the one you're considering may resemble one or *none* of them. There are just too many variables preventing anyone from judging the cut-quality - which can impact value by 30%+.


Here is technical bla bla bla: In the sims above, red is light "drawn" from sources at high angles, green is light drawn from low angles, black/blue are areas shaded by an observer, white is light escaping from the bottom of the diamond, thus not returning to your eye.
More here, with actual images on p29 : http://www.americangemsociety.org/uploads/ASETTheory-709.pdf

It's actually not important to understand the bla bla bla. Your diamond may or may not resemble any of those. Just know that with the limited info (not your fault, since that's all that's given on most Princess Cut reports) the responsible folks around here won't commit to a cut-quality "yea" or "nay" because they don't want to give you bad advice. Thus, the qualified responses.

 

[John P]

More: The wire-frames above are "perfect" computer sims. No diamond is so-precise in the real world, thus there will be variations in cut-consistency that we can't know without an image.

More 2: We don't know how many chevrons your PC has on its pavilion. This is a dominant component, because it the number of facets could be as little as 24, or as many as 48 (sometimes even higher). This data heightens the implications of even the 2D symmetry grade.

More 3: The "Very Good" you noted in cut was assigned by the seller, thus it has little meaning. It could mean "awesome" or it could mean the same thing a car dealer says when he pronounces something a "cream puff." Since, by definition, 90% of diamonds fall into the lowest 90% of cut-quality, confidence in a seller-assigned label saying "super-duper" is best distilled to an eyebrow-raise and a position of "Okay, prove it to me." That's why contributors here request more info. A magnified image (which still won't allow decisive cut-quality estimation) and/or a light-performance image such as ASET will allow more meaningful assistance.

Why is this important? Because cut-details impact diamond value significantly behind trade curtains. So the requests for further info is about helping buyers arrive at proper valuation, as well as aesthetic input.

Even with round brilliants, where the labs give a cut grade, retail-markups may not be uniform: Ten 1.00ct F VS2 "Excellent" rounds might be offered at the same price by ten different sellers. But those sellers could have paid radically different wholesale prices, up to 30% or more, for diamonds all labeled "Excellent," from the same supplier based on details of cut. It's why contributors here ask for detail beyond a "cut grade" even with rounds, where far more details are provided on lab reports.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Good info John. Even if the OP is not interested in learning, you can be sure that many others who view this thread will benefit.

 

[cflutist]

Doesn't AGSL offer a cut grade for Princess cuts?
Perhaps OP should shop for an AGS0 Princess?
I saw a CBI Princess in person several years ago and it was a knockout.

 

[AprilBaby]

Exactly what I told him but what do I know? I'm just a tool.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Doesn't AGSL offer a cut grade for Princess cuts?
Perhaps OP should shop for an AGS0 Princess?
I saw a CBI Princess in person several years ago and it was a knockout.

Yes, and they are the only major lab that does. This article here in the pricescope knowledge base provides an overview of how AGSL goes about their light performance analysis of princess cuts.

https://www.pricescope.com/journal/ags-laboratories-diamond-cut-grading-princess-cut