Round (with fluoro) vs Pear diamond for this setting

[Melkor]

Hello All,
First of all, I would like to thank all the knowledgeable people on this forum. A week ago, I knew nothing about diamonds, and now I know a lot of good stuff thanks to all of you (and the tutorial)!
I am planning for "the day", and found this setting I think she will really like while e-shopping. I found a round cut and a pear cut to go with it.
Round cut: I ran this through the cut advisor, and based on it, It seems a good buy if the price is right.
Here are the specs:
Carat weight:0.85, Color:H, Clarity: VS1, Depth %: 62.1%, Table %: 56%, Girdle: Medium to slightly thick,Culet: None, Fluorescence: Medium blue, Measurements:6.09 x 6.06 x 3.77 mm, Crown Angle: 35 deg, Pavilion Angle: 41.2 deg.
GIA graded.
It is priced at $3300. I tried comparing it to other diamonds on pricescope, but could not find one similar to this.
Pear Cut:
The pear cut i picked has the following specs (and based on AGA, i guess its a good cut):
Price:$3,371, Carat weight:0.90, Color: H, Clarity: VVS2,Depth %: 64.0%,
Table %:55%, Girdle: Medium to extremely thick, Fluorescence: None, Measurements: 7.59 x 5.39 x 3.45 mm, Length/width ratio: 1.41, GIA graded

I have seen neither diamond in person, I am attaching a picture of the rings. What do you guys think?

 

[Melkor]

I couldnt see the attached pictures in the original post...so trying again.

 

[Munchkin]

I''m not a cut expert, so I really can''t chime in regarding that.

However, I am a woman. I think pears can be beautiful, I have complimented many a woman on her pear-shaped stone. In spite of that, pear is one of the shapes that I''ve never wanted for my e-ring. Are you certain that she would love either a round or pear? If not, find out! That may eliminate good bit of your guesswork.

 

[Melkor]

Hi Munchkin

, Thanks for the advise, I am trying to keep this a surprise, and based on what info I have been able to gather (through observation, and through her friends), she seems to like oval/marquise/pear shapes. I really don''t know how she feels about round diamonds. I do know she likes yellow gold, and small side stones that accent.

 

[tyty333]

It would definitly help to know if she likes pears or rounds. I have a pear for an ering and I love it! However, pears are not easy to buy.
Most pears have a bow-tie and without seeing a pear in person it is difficult to judge. You need really good up close pics along with
the other images (ASET and IS) that folks here like to see. If you are *lucky* you may find a pear worth ordering and looking at in
person. Thats when it will pass the true test. So...I just wanted to say again that buying a pear can be very time consumming,
frustrating and difficult. I guess what I''m saying is that if she has not asked for a pear or commented on one then a round may be
your best bet. I''m not tryiing to turn you off of a pear (which it sounds like I am). I just want you to be prepared for the long haul.

 

[swingirl]

You have a pretty good chance of buying a nice round based on numbers alone but numbers for fancy shapes don''t mean very much. Ovals, pears and marquises need to be visually inspected as the cuts and shapes vary a lot. I would want a trusted vendor with a good eye for the fancies to help pick out one of those.

How many different pears were you shown? You want to be able to compare several. It''s hard to find a store that carries many of the fancier cuts.

 

[Melkor]

Hi tyty and swingirl,
Right now I am inclined to believe that she would likes pear/oval diamonds more that round ones. Could you explain better what you mean by bow-tie? All the info I read in the tutorial seems to be centered on round diamonds. I am not really sure what I need to be careful about/need to look for in pear/oval shaped ones. I have a lot of time in hand, and so willing to find the best one within my budget. BTW, I found these at bluenile... and it is indeed hard to find fancy shapes in-store. Thanks!

 

[stone-cold11]

Some image of a bowtie in a marquise.

http://www.diamondvues.com/2005/02/diamond_bowtie.html

Also.
http://www.diamondsourceva.com/Education/Cut/diamonds-bow-tie.asp

 

[LD]

Can you ask the Vendors for pictures of both stones? That always helps and will be critical in looking at the pear. The pear is a little shallow in depth and this can but not always cause a bow tie. A bow tie is when you have a darkened area in the centre across the stone, spreading across in a bow tie shape. Finding a pear, oval or marquise without this is time consuming but not impossible. Here''s a picture of a bow tie so you know what you''re looking for:-

 

[tommalle]

LovingDiamonds, why do you think this stone is shallow? Are you going by the millimeter measurements?

Also, I think most people like to stay between 1.50 and 1.75 length to witdth ratio. This diamond is 1.41 which means is will be a fatter pear opposed to a long, skinny pear.

 

[tyty333]

Here is a place you can play with the length/width ratio of a pear to see what you find pleasing.
http://www.gemappraisers.com/shapePickerNew.asp

The length/width will give you an idea but you also have those 2 other bluge factors that could totally blow the look of the pear. (thats partly
why they can not be judged by the numbers).

Also, the second example that stone-cold provided shows you a bow-tie in a pear. Its sort of a dead zone where there is light leakage. You
want to minimize the bow-tie effect to get a brighter more sparkley diamond. There are really no numbers that tell you if a pear has a good/bad
bow-tie (that I know of). You really have to have a trusted diamond person look at the stone and tell you what they think.

Edit - lovingdiamonds has a great example of the dreaded bow tie also!

 

[LD]

It''s a .90ct. Whilst it''s a long, chubby pear (based on the dimensions) the depth is where it''s carat weight truly shows. That suggests to me that there may be a bow tie present.

 

[Melkor]

Thanks to all of you for all the great info! I will keep an eye on this bow-tie issue. Also, because it is very difficult to find pear diamonds in-store here, I will ask for ASET and IS images from the e-vendor, and post them.
In the event I dont find a good pear/oval, and decide to go with the round, what do you guys think about the round fluoro diamond i posted in the original post? Thanks again!!

 

[LD]

Date: 4/5/2009 7:17:49 PM
Author: Melkor
Thanks to all of you for all the great info! I will keep an eye on this bow-tie issue. Also, because it is very difficult to find pear diamonds in-store here, I will ask for ASET and IS images from the e-vendor, and post them.
In the event I dont find a good pear/oval, and decide to go with the round, what do you guys think about the round fluoro diamond i posted in the original post? Thanks again!!

Unfortunately ASET and IS images are not a good way to assess a pear cut. You really need to see photos from all angles if you can''t get to see it in real life. Work with a trusted vendor and let their eyes guide you.

I''m not good at RB numbers so will let an expert help you out but I can highly recommend fluor. Love it!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/5/2009 6:22:12 PM
Author: Melkor
Hi tyty and swingirl,
Right now I am inclined to believe that she would likes pear/oval diamonds more that round ones. Could you explain better what you mean by bow-tie? All the info I read in the tutorial seems to be centered on round diamonds. I am not really sure what I need to be careful about/need to look for in pear/oval shaped ones. I have a lot of time in hand, and so willing to find the best one within my budget. BTW, I found these at bluenile... and it is indeed hard to find fancy shapes in-store. Thanks!

Hi Melkor,

This page has some excellent photos of bow ties, and info.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/ShapeTutorials/ShapeTips1/

All elongated shapes can show a bow tie to a certain extent, if you want to minimize this as much as possible then you will need to work with an experienced vendor who can find you a pear where the bow tie isn't too obvious.

As to buying a pear online, I strongly recommend you work with a vendor who has these shapes in house with photographs and other images which are essential so you can see what you are buying. Pears can vary tremendously in cut quality, shape and so on so if you buy just by a couple of numbers you are buying blind and have no idea of what you will get when you open the box.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 4/6/2009 4:58:19 AM
Author: Lorelei


Hi Melkor,

This page has some excellent photos of bow ties, and info.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/ShapeTutorials/ShapeTips1/

All elongated shapes can show a bow tie to a certain extent, if you want to minimize this as much as possible then you will need to work with an experienced vendor who can find you a pear where the bow tie isn't too obvious.

As to buying a pear online, I strongly recommend you work with a vendor who has these shapes in house with photographs and other images which are essential so you can see what you are buying. Pears can vary tremendously in cut quality, shape and so on so if you buy just by a couple of numbers you are buying blind and have no idea of what you will get when you open the box.

Ditto.

Many experts and consumers find ASET photos to be of great help with fancy cuts. They really can help with "sight unseen" purchases. Here's a link that explains them.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-we-prefer-aset-to-ideal-scope-with-fancy-shapes.73949/

 

[atroop711]

if you think she would like pears and ovals more than rounds..why not have an oval center stone with pears on the side. Someone on SMTR just posted this exact combo and it''s lovely

 

[Melkor]

Well, i took the advise and figured out for real what she likes.... it turns out to be a Marquise! anyway, now that I know about the bow-tie and that it is better to see the diamond before buying it, I will stick with local jewelers. Thanks to all of you again! I am having the ring custom made around the diamond (not the same setting as posted earlier) and will post pics when it is done.

 

[vespergirl]

A marquise will look lovely in that setting. They face up the biggest of all the shapes, as well, so it''s going to look HUGE! Can''t wait to see the finished ring - good luck!