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Purchasing a new diamond

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Snausage

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 25, 2002
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2
I am in the process of purchasing a engagement ring for my girlfriend. I have a tight budget which I do not want to go over and looking for advice from the knowledgeable people on this board.

The center stone that I am looking at is 2.08 H SI1. My concern is the clarity of SI1. Is this a bad clarity for a diamond ring? I am told from some people that it is fine, and others say for a diamond on the finger you should not go below VS2. I looked at the diamon under a loop and did not see the inclusion (spelling?) until it was pointed out to me. It is on the side of the stone and I am being told that it can be covered up by the setting.

What do you all think? Is a SI1 stone a quality stone or should I be looking at the VS2?
 

Greentree

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
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96
You get what you pay for. The SI1 stone costs much less than a VVS1 stone all other things being equal. The argument is this: "Why pay premium prices for clarity that can't be appreciated except under magnification?" It's a valid argument. It's also a personal matter. To me, a diamond should be clean enough that I can't easily spot the inclusions. If I can find them easily, it annoys me and I won't buy. Others are not bothered by them at all.
 

Snausage

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 25, 2002
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2
Understood. I am starting to feel that if an imperfection in the stone can not be seen by the naked eye, why would I spend another 1500 dollars for an upgrade. As it was , even with the loop I could not see the inclusion without being told where to look.
 

jcboeckl

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
16
Just a suggestion but why not just drop down in size and get a bit better quality of a diamond. I mean 2ct is quite large. I'm not expert but I would image if you got a bit smaller diamond which had greater spreading properties it would look bigger than it actually was. And its not like you would be dropping below a Ct.

But in the end its up to what you are looking for and what you like best.

Good Luck!
 

fire&ice

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
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7,828
Actually, an H SI1 stone is very nice and a savvy buyers choice. I would be more concerned w/ the cut. A well cut stone can hide many flaws. Do you have any of the cut specs? If you also pursued a stone w/ med blue fluor, it most possibly could face up as a higher color.
 

Rook

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 4, 2002
Messages
294
Everyone has their own oppinions and reasons for deciding on the clarity and color of a stone, most of which are valid to me, but it is a personal preference. Personally I am looking for a vs1 or vs1 clarity and a e-g color. Why, well I have found that a lot of si1 and si2 stones, are really pushing the limits calling them si's. Just today I looked a an si1 pear that had good sized carbon spot in the tip! I didn't care for that. Also I wouldn't want a vvs2 or higher because I would like some inclusions that can be seen with a loop for identification.

Also I have heard that some si's have potential stress points at the inclusions, whereas this is unlikely in a vs. But, there are clean si's, I have just not had good luck finding them.
 

biscuit

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 2, 2002
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67
Hi All!

I agree wholeheartedly that a good cut will mask inclusions. I have an SI1 that is an AGS ideal cut and I find it almost impossible to find the inclusions with a loupe! It is impossible to see the inclusions with the naked eye...so don't worry...I can attest to the fact that there are eye-clean SI1's out there. Part of the reason so many non-eye cleans are out there could have something to do with who graded the rock. Most experts out here will tell you that grading labs other than GIA or AGS will often grade clarity loosly...so that what EGL calls an VS2, AGS might call a SI2. Stick with AGS or GIA, and you can feel comfortable that there will be eye clean SI1's out there...and you'll save a bundle of $$.

One thing to remember, though, is that clarity grading is based on percentage of the whole. 5% inclusions of a 1ct rock will be SIGNIFICANTLY less than 5% of a 2ct rock. Therefore, with a rock as large as you're looking at, it may be safer and wiser to look for a VS2. Keep your eyes open...maybe you'll find a steal!!!

Have fun!!!!:praise:
 

BigLou

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Messages
20
My Advice,

At the end of the day those who grade stones are still human. I have seen VS2's that should have been SI1's. I have also seen VS2's that should have been VS1's. What I would look at is where the inclusion is. An SI1 that has a very clean table and faults in the girdle often times looks clear to they eye...and can be hard to find with the loupe. I would most likely take a G SI1 with a clean table over an G VS2 with the inclusion in the table if everything else was equal. If you are handy with the loupe than find a really clean SI1 and bank the extra cash. Good Luck.
 
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