Question about girdles and picking a diamond. Please Help!

[ReneeT]

Ok. So I’m going to be buying a Princess Cut diamond online and I’ve learnt a lot about them from reading stuff online but I’m still not sure about girdles. Some things I read said it was ok to have a thick girdle on a Princess cut diamond while others say to stick with thin to medium. I’m considering buying one of the 3 diamonds listed below. Can anyone give me their opinion as to which one is best? They are all GIA certified. Can someone also talk to me about thick girdles on a Princess cut diamond?

Thank you so much for you help!

Diamond #1) Carat Weight: 0.70
Cut: Very Good
Colour: F
Clarity: VS2
Polish/Symmetry: Very Good/Very Good
L/W Ratio: 1.01
Depth %: 71.1
Table %: 67
Measurements: 5.05 x 4.98 x 3.54 mm
Fluorescence: None
Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick

Diamond #2) Carat Weight: 0.73
Cut: Very Good
Colour: E
Clarity: VS1
Polish/Symmetry: Very Good/Excellent
L/W Ratio: 1.01
Depth %: 78.9
Table %: 69
Measurements: 5.08 x 5.02 x 3.46 mm
Fluorescence: None
Girdle: Slightly Thick to Thick
Diamond #3) Carat Weight: 0.71
Cut: Very Good
Colour: E
Clarity: VS1
Polish/Symmetry: Very Good/Very Good
L/W Ratio: 1.02
Depth %: 69.3
Table %: 68
Measurements: 5.03 x 4.95 x 3.43 mm
Fluorescence: None
Girdle: Medium

 

[talen316]

I''m a newb here myself, but have been in the mkt for a PR stone as well and have asked the same questions you''re asking here. Just passing along what I''ve learned with the disclaimer that I''m very much a novice at this myself.

Regarding girdle thickness, I think any of the PS experts will tell you that anywhere from Thin to Slightly Thick is generally regarded as the sweetspot. I believe very thin and Thick/Very Thick are also widely regarded as less desireable, but acceptable. Anything EX TN or EX TK is recommended to avoid. You get too thin and the risk of chipping/breakage becomes more of a concern, especially if they thin out towards the corners. The problem with girdles that get too thick is that proportionally more of the carat weight can be wasted or "hidden" in that part of the stone which may give you a slightly smaller spread in some cases.

All of the stones you picked out seem like they could be good candidates. From what I''ve read, many prefer to start with a depth in the 70-75% range and a table that is a bit smaller than the depth, but that''s just a general rule of thumb and no guarantee for success. However, I''m sure you''ll be quickly advised on here that in terms of achieving top light performance in a PR stone, the crown and pavilion angles and the relationship between them play a critical role in the light performance of the stone. You should ask the merchant for a Sarin report on the stones you''re interested in and then supplement your original post with that data. That should help the board experts give you a better assessment of the stones.

Still, even with all of the necessary measurments on paper, it is still an inexact science to predict the performance of the stone. ASET or Idealscope pictures can provide important additional confirmation regarding light performance so ask for that as well. Also, if you''re buying online and can''t see the stones in person, ask the vendor if they have the means to provide a short video clip of the stone under various lighting conditions.

GOG and WF both do an excellent job providing about as much information as possible on stones before you buy them. Before you make a final decision, you might want to talk to both of those merchants if you haven''t already.

Just my two cents from a fellow newb.

Good luck with your shopping!

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome Renee.

Unfortunately you can't really tell much about a Princess cut without photographs and ASET images ( read about ASET here. ). As Talen says, it can be much easier to work with a vendor who has in house diamonds, and has done the cut analysis on them, that way finding a beautifully cut Princess is much easier. With in house diamonds, the vendors own these as part of their inventory, so they can grab the diamond at a moment's notice and describe them to you, also advise on such things as girdles, but you can be sure that an in house Princess won't have any issues.

With non in house diamonds, they are very much an unknown quantity and the vendor usually has to call them in to see and describe to you, so you may have to go through quite a few until one comes along which may suit you.

With these diamonds you listed, you could ask the vendor if he can provide photographs of these diamonds and an ASET image...

Here is a chart you may have seen, it will give you some guidance for the numbers, but if you find a gorgeous Princess that you see and doesn't quite match up, don't worry too much as the numbers don't always tell the whole story with fancy shapes.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc1.asp

 

[ReneeT]

Thanks for the help. I will keep looking and get more info.

I just notice that the info for the second diamond was wrong. The Depth % should read 68.9.

Does any of the 3 diamonds seem ok based on the info I have for them? I don''t have a problem ordering one and then sending it back it I don''t like it.

 

[talen316]

Renee,

If forced to make a call given the limited info provided, personally, I would probably go with option #1. It appears to be a very good candidate and assuming all three are comparably cut diamonds, you''re probably paying an additional premium for the E color and VS1 clarity on the other two options. With that said, it''s still a crap shoot without more info.

While the depth on option #2 may be beyond the ideal depth per the chart that Lorelei provided, I''ve seem certs on AGS ideal cut stones that have had similar depth % and with table % much smaller than the depth % as is the case with this stone so it just goes to show that dimensions outside of the preferred range on a princess stone don''t necessarilly mean in isn''t a great looking stone as Lorelei noted. Option #2 might be my second choice.

Perhaps someone with more knowledge than me can factor into consideration the girdle thickness to get a better guestimate on what the crown and pavilion angles might look like, but not sure imyself f girdle thickness is a contributing factor to the angles though...