Princess Cut - GIA Report -- Is this a quality stone?

[kittelstick]

First off let me thank any replies in advance; There is so much knowledge on this forum.

Background: I am looking at engagement rings/diamonds for a proposal sometime in the spring (or whenever it's not -11 like it is now). She is pretty set on a princess cut/square modified brilliant 3 stone setup with channel diamonds.

I think I have found the center stone I will be going with but would love some advice from the experts so-to-speak.

I've attached three different GIA reports with the sellers available diamonds and look forward to any replies.

If you are able to do so, based on the reports, can you give me an idea as to which diamond is "best" and a ballpark as to its "value."

Thanks,

Garrett

 

[ecf8503]

Can you get ASET images or idealscope images at least? You can't judge fancy shapes by the numbers, unfortunately.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI Garrett,
Congratulations on the upcoming proposal- welcome to PS.

About the stones:
Is there a reason you're going for such a high clarity?
In many cases a VS2, or SI1 or even SI2 can be a lot prettier than an Internally Flawless for reasons having to do with cut.
If you broaden your parameters yo might save money or get a larger stone for the budget.
In general, depths above 80% are considered to be a bit deep.
As far as specifics of stones or prices: no one who is not actually looking at the diamond can give an accurate assessment of cut, or clarity- or value.

 

[kittelstick]

Can you get ASET images or idealscope images at least? You can't judge fancy shapes by the numbers, unfortunately.

I emailed the jeweler to see if he can provide me with either of these images.

 

[kittelstick]

HI Garrett,
Congratulations on the upcoming proposal- welcome to PS.

About the stones:
Is there a reason you're going for such a high clarity?
In many cases a VS2, or SI1 or even SI2 can be a lot prettier than an Internally Flawless for reasons having to do with cut.
If you broaden your parameters yo might save money or get a larger stone for the budget.
In general, depths above 80% are considered to be a bit deep.
As far as specifics of stones or prices: no one who is not actually looking at the diamond can give an accurate assessment of cut, or clarity- or value.

I appreciate the feedback--- I guess I'm like anyone else who is mostly unknowledgeable --- I am trying to get the best stone for the best price. The ring in question fits the criteria of what the gf likes (and I like for that matter). 2.25 tcw (including 2 side stones and smaller channel diamonds) with 1ct center. The three attachments are options for the center stone. The remaining stones are princess cut, VS clarity, G or H color diamonds.

I've been advised to only look at stones that are GIA certified as well.

Thanks,

 

[kittelstick]

Can you get ASET images or idealscope images at least? You can't judge fancy shapes by the numbers, unfortunately.

I just spoke with the jeweler on the phone and he advised me of the following:

He said "idealscope imagines are only available with round cut diamonds."
He also had never heard of an ASET image.
He said "the polish and symmetry indicate this is a good stone."

He is not currently in possession of the aforementioned stones, but works with a diamond wholesaler to purchase the diamonds and then creates the ring accordingly.

Ideas?

 

[ecf8503]

Hmm. Well you can do an idealscope on any shape stone... and that's the way it used to be until ASET was invented and it showed more accurate light performance details. IS are more useful with rounds, whereas ASET is usually what is recommended for fancies.

Symmetry and polish aren't related to how the angles of the facets play with each other, and S&P in and of themselves have little to do with light performance. I assume you want the brightest, most sparkly stone you can get that will face up whiter and look larger than it's identically weighted but poorly cut cousin?

The eyes don't lie. You aren't buying the cert - you are buying the stone. You need to look at a lot of them in person to be able to distinguish good from fair from bad, and that can be hard to do under specially designed jewelers lighting that can make frozen dirt sparkle.

I'd consider buying online, from a trusted vendor than can provide all the light performance details you need to have to make an educated decision.

 

[kittelstick]

I appreciate the info. This is all a learning experience to me. If I am able to get an idealscope on the diamond do you feel like that would suffice? I know it's probably unusual, but the seller is actually on Ebay seller who also runs a jewelry store in California. He has thousands of sales and 100% feedback. Thoughts?

 

[Rockdiamond]

kittelstick- I think part of what I see is that using this board can be extremely helpful- yet I think how one uses it makes a huge difference.
Things like IS and ASET do provide info- however the type of info provided by these tools may not give you the answers you're looking for as an individual.
IOW- if someone has looked at a lot of diamonds, and correlated that experience looking at asets, they could look at an ASET and extrapolate the info they are looking for.
But for many ( most ) people, who have not done this, looking at good quality photographs and video are far more helpful IMO

If you post an ASET - or even pics and videos- the answers you get will represent the opinions of the well educated community that participates here. There are different looks associated with modern Princess Cut diamonds- and you may have a preference different from that of some of the participants.
If you can go looking at stones in person to get ideas, that would be very helpful.
Look at as many as possible. Use stones with GIA reports to make decisions about color but look at EGL stones for the heck of it, if possible.

There's a general misunderstanding common among people who've done a little research that high clarity means it's a good diamond.
If that's true, than SI clarity diamonds don't look as good as internally Flawless ones.
This is faulty logic due to the way clarity grading works.
Sellers can use this to upsell people by suggesting that consumers don't consider VS or SI stones - but go for more costly VVS clarity.
There's a reason higher clarity stones command higher prices- but it has more to do with very fine points. There's a cultural bias we sometimes hear that causes people to pass on any diamond with any sort of black carbon spot at all- even the super tiny VVS1 sized speck.
If that's not you, than look at SI clarity diamonds as well to see what they can look like

I always council consumers to expend max effort researching sellers- there certainly are good sellers on eBay- but a lot of less than good ones as well- this forum is a phenomenal resource for researching sellers.

By all means take your time- there's a lot of stones out there, so don't get pressured by anyone.

 

[HappilyEngaged2014]

Hello!

Good start by looking at GIA-graded stones.

One piece of advice that Michael Fried of TruthAboutDiamonds always stated was stick to a table and depth less than 75 (max).
I find the diamond (with 80%+ depth) is too deep. You will have to obtain some image that gives an idea about lighting and if leakage exists.

Cheers and enjoy the diamond buying experience

 

[HappilyEngaged2014]

I enjoyed reading the part about clarity - my fiancée's F colour, SI2 princess sparkles brilliantly and the inclusions are white/well-hidden to the naked eye that I could not pass it up.

In this case, unless you get hung up on clarity grades, I would look for a VS2/SI diamond (might even allow you to buy a bigger diamond with your original budget, too)!