Quality & 4C's: If I can't tell, does it really matter?

[PickieBee]

Hello! I am super new here and not very expert when it comes to diamonds. Here's my situation:

I am lucky enough to have had some jewelry passed down to me from my mother. There are two diamonds that as far as I can see are beautiful and sparkly...but according to the appraisal they don't sound like they're actually the best quality (I'll give specs below). If I were researching diamonds online I would steer clear of these, but now that I've held them in my hand I realize that I can't tell the difference at all!

I plan to sell the 0.56ct diamond and buy something closer to 1ct for my custom engagement ring. Given that I can't really tell the difference, that the diamonds I'll describe below look just peachy to me, and future resale value is not a big concern, what do you think I should look for or avoid when shopping for a 1ct diamond? My thinking is that I can save money and get a bigger stone by going higher in the alphabet, etc. What is your advice?

And now, here's what I've got:
1.04 actual weight, clarity I1, color H, old european cut diamond
6.50 X 6.58mm, depth 3.8mm
has two fractures that break the surface on the crown and one chipped area on girdled edge (I can't see any of that with my naked eye)

0.56 actual weight, clarity S1, color K, cut 4, round brilliant cut

Like I said above, neither diamond looks yellow to me, and my setting will be antique-y art deco inspired, so I think a warmer stone might actually be better. I'll be shopping for another 1ct round online. What would you look for, what red flags should I be aware of?

And thanks so much for reading!

 

[AprilBaby]

Cut cut cut! Look for the best cut by following the guidelines and having a cert to know what you bought. GIA or AGS only, otherwise you have no idea if you got what you paid for!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Since you are getting an antique style setting, are you looking for an OEC? I definitely think that would look best. I have a newly cut OEC style stone that is cut to have great light performance called an August Vintage round by Good Old Gold. They also have old OEC's and can access more, if you wanted to compare some.

This is an example, but I am sure they could cut you one in a lower color which would reduce the cost:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9487/

Here's an actual old OEC. It is nicely cut and not all OEC's are.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/12019/

 

[Lorelei]

Hi Pickie and welcome!

April and The Seeker gave excellent advice! I would add, unfortunately, you probably won't make much selling these diamonds to put towards your new stone. On the secondary market, you are lucky to recoup 30 - 50% of the stone's value, you could end up with maybe some money but it probably wouldn't be much. If you do decide to sell, it would be worth consulting an independent expert to find out what a reasonable offer would be, then at least you would have some idea if it is worth selling them or not.

It might be worth keeping these diamonds, maybe when funds allow, you could use one as a pendant and have the other set into a ring as they are lovely old stones with sentimental value?

As to what to look for, April gave a great starting point as did DS, there are some fantastic new vintage style diamonds such as the August Vintage range, but with maximized optics. I have to say, a friend of mine has one of these that I have seen in person and it's amazing!

You could start if you wanted a modern round by using April's suggestions, then deciding on your colour and clarity specs. In order to maximize bang for the buck you could look at GIA Excellent cut grade and AGS0 ( come back and post the specs here with GIA Excellent in particular for us to check over for you) or run the Holloway Cut Advisor found under tools to narrow the field. Then you can consider SI clarity grades if you can check the stone in person to make sure it is eye clean to your standards and particular vision, especially if you are a young person with 20 20 vision. Or if buying online, have a trusted vendor inspect the diamond for you. Colour, G - J range could work perfectly but I would suggest looking at well cut diamonds in person to make sure you know where your colour tolerances fit. I would suggest a dealer of Hearts on Fire diamonds if you have a store locally, view some well cut stones in your desired colour range to see which you prefer. You might find a J colour isn't enough of a crisp icy white for your preference, or you might find it's plenty white enough, but you will know best by looking in person.

I hope we have given you some useful guidance to start you off, please don't hesitate to ask when you have more questions.