Round Brilliant : Good deal ?

[djefiolino]

Hello everybody,

I would to purchase a diamond with the following characteristics (GIA certified):

Round Brilliant

Measurements 5.84 - 5.85 x 3.54 mm
Carat Weight 0.72 carat
Color Grade H
Clarity Grade VS2
Cut Grade Very Good

Proportions
Depth 60.6 %
Table 55 %
Crown Angle 32.5°
Crown Height 14.5%
Pavilion Angle 40.8°
Pavilion Depth 43.0%
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 80%
Girdle Thin to Medium, Faceted, 3.0%
Culet None

Polish Excellent
Symmetry Excellent
Fluorescence None
Clarity characteristics Crystal, Cloud

The price is $3420.

It is for an enagement ring.
I'd like to have your opinion.

Thank you very much.

 

[djefiolino]

Hello,

Anyone ?

 

[Gypsy]

I don't like the crown angle on that stone. And Very good cut isn't good enough. That's the reason the price is discounted. A well cut stone costs more.

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough. And you ONLY want to stick to GIA Ex or AGS0 stones.
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. You do not use the HCA on AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. James Allen and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.

Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium. With AGS0 stones you don't strictly need an idealscope image. But getting one is nice to confirm performance and that is why almost all our best vendors provide them for you.

 

[Gypsy]

So in short. NO. That stone is a pass. Read the above, click on the links. Stick to GIA X for cut. Or AGS0 stones.

 

[Lorelei]

Hello everybody,

I would to purchase a diamond with the following characteristics (GIA certified):

Round Brilliant

Measurements 5.84 - 5.85 x 3.54 mm
Carat Weight 0.72 carat
Color Grade H
Clarity Grade VS2
Cut Grade Very Good

Proportions
Depth 60.6 %
Table 55 %
Crown Angle 32.5°
Crown Height 14.5%
Pavilion Angle 40.8°
Pavilion Depth 43.0%
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 80%
Girdle Thin to Medium, Faceted, 3.0%
Culet None

Polish Excellent
Symmetry Excellent
Fluorescence None
Clarity characteristics Crystal, Cloud

The price is $3420.

It is for an enagement ring.
I'd like to have your opinion.

Thank you very much.

Hi djefiolino and welcome!

Is this diamond intended for a ring? My thoughts lean towards Gypsy's that you could do better, but this stone might be worth a further look just to be sure if we can get an image that is. If the overall cut precision is good and the angle averages are tight, it might be a contender if you can't find anything else. The main thing that jumps out at me is that the crown angle is shallow but if the pavilion angle actually hits 40.8 or a little more rather than swinging towards the shallower, it might be perfectly fine and if this stone is intended for a pendant, it might not be an issue at all, for a ring stone, it's possible there could be some negative effects due to the angle combo, but we can go into that if needed and it could in actuality be fine. But there are some ' safer' combos you can choose if hitting the bulls eye of the best cut and performing diamonds is your goal. It depends whether you can get more info on this diamond, if you want to and what you actually want - for example, do you want the best cut diamond with superior optics or just a well cut stone with supporting images and the approval of a trusted expert? At a guess, this might be a diamond that shows a good display of brilliance due to the proportion configuration but fire or coloured light could be reduced. You might prefer a diamond with a more balanced mix of fire and brilliance.



If you can give us a little more info, would you like us to see if we can hunt up some alternative diamonds that might suit you?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I agree with passing on this one. Stick with GIA Excellent (or AGS Ideal) because GIA EX is a very broad range and some of those are even better than others. I'd want the crown angle to be between 34 and 35 and the pav angle between 40.6-41.0.