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Sanity Check on Diamond Wants

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PaigeHarper

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Messages
5
Hi,

I'm considering buying a super ideal diamond from one of the top vendors (think: CBI).

Is it ridiculous to insist on buying a diamond with the following characteristics and pay a premium for them?
  • Color D, E, or F -- People say a good cut G will face up whiter than a poorly cut E/F, but maybe it's a mind-clean thing.
  • Clarity VS2 or preferrably VS1 -- Even though the CBI website says their diamonds are eye-clean, at least even for the S1 I checked on their website.
And just for fun, what percentage of your gross income (either individual or household) do you think is appropriate to splurge on luxury items such as jewelry/diamonds? Not necessarily for an engagement ring, but just any diamond (be it necklaces or earrings), or engagement ring upgrade, or RHRs, etc.

Thank you for your input.
 
Is it ridiculous? Absolutely not. Everyone varies as Kenny used to say. DEF is gorgeous, many people want size more than color. If I could get both, I would. Clarity is subjective too. I have an eye lean Si1. I don’t even know where my inclusion is. Some people can’t stand knowing there is one. If you can afford the size you want in those colors and clarity, by. All means ask for it!
As for percentage of income, I never thought about it. I buy what I can afford at the time to pay in full.
 
If you want completely eye clean then VS is probably the way to go without first viewing in person. Eye clean to a vendor is usually from the top at about a foot away, so your criteria may be more strict. As for color get what you like. If you want colorless but don't get it the Stone might not be mind clean to you... Regardless of whether others can notice the tint.
& $$$ would be based on the purpose of the diamond?? Engagement/just for fun/ upgrade. Regardless though my thought process is what% of savings.. Not income
 
PaigeHarper said:
And just for fun, what percentage of your gross income (either individual or household) do you think is appropriate to splurge on luxury items such as jewelry/diamonds? Not necessarily for an engagement ring, but just any diamond (be it necklaces or earrings), or engagement ring upgrade, or RHRs, etc.

Thank you for your input.
Click to expand...

It's what you can afford at the time and what makes you happy to justify an expensive purchase. You should take your time and do your research making a big purchase. At the end of the day you don't want to have any regrets, after all its your money and your happiness.
 
I have a CBI and it is OUTRAGEOUSLY beautiful, never seen a more beautiful stone. Mind clean is an important issue for me as well, so depending on the type of inclusion, SI1 could actually work. Like @beardog said, I also don't think of it as percentage of income. I believe in buying once and buying the best I can afford, if that requires saving some more, so be it.
 
beardog said:
If you want completely eye clean then VS is probably the way to go without first viewing in person. Eye clean to a vendor is usually from the top at about a foot away, so your criteria may be more strict. As for color get what you like. If you want colorless but don't get it the Stone might not be mind clean to you... Regardless of whether others can notice the tint.
& $$$ would be based on the purpose of the diamond?? Engagement/just for fun/ upgrade. Regardless though my thought process is what% of savings.. Not income
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Thank you for the reminder of "eye clean" to a vendor. I forgot about that.

Would VS2 be good enough or VS1? What's the real difference? This is a question for all who has input. Thank you.
 
It depends on the type of inclusion and what bothers you. VS2 would be fine for me but it might bother someone else.
 
I've seen SI2s that require magnification to detect the inclusion, and I have very good eyes. Color is personal. I can pretty confidently grade to GIA standards. I can see all the colors. But, I find they mostly all interesting (though K and L can be mushy for me). It depends on the design and look I have for a piece -- how that color will play in my design. My daily diamonds are G/H/L. Nobody has noticed that the L is different than the G, and the G and H sit next to each other {all old cuts, so different than modern rounds}. I'm pretty pale skinned, so color should theoretically jump off my skin.

If you perceive any body color as being a "lesser stone", than you should go with as colorless as your eyes can see. There is no intrinsic value to color - its your perception of the relationship between value and color.

If the existence of inclusion requiring magnification to see will mean "a lesser stone" not a "great value", then you may need higher clarity. Keep in mind even an IF is IF only under 10x. There is plenty to see at 20x, 40x, and on up. Again, its all about the perception of clarity and its relationship to value or desirability. Me? I pay for what I can see and what does not impact performance. I also might actually choose a stone for a cool or unique inclusion. I am, at my heart, terribly practical and sensible about the role of bling in my life -- to me. Each gets to make their own evaluation of importance (and that might change over time).

If you buy from CBI, you can see it before you buy it. I'd ask for colors lower than you think, as well clarity.

In terms of %, I don't think in those terms. I think in terms of how much cash I have available for jewelry pieces -- taking into consideration other major expenses. My house was damaged in the storms last year and my son transferred to private school...my bling budget (which is a dedicated savings account) went to those needs.
 
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I'm colour-sensitive and in the UK, where anything lower than an H or I is very hard to find in High Street shops - presumably because it's a cultural thing to want definitely white stones.

I'm also a clarity freak - spots of carbon or obvious inclusions that look like the stone is dirty drive me insane! lol

I was lucky enough to have a CBI in perfect specs to satisfy my mind-clean issues - F VVS2 - and I am very happy I bought it for my good lady :)

After some more time on PS, though, I am a lot more open to VS2 and SI stones with 'good' inclusions - well, when I am playing pretend shopping with budget I don't have :lol: lol.

If you want mind-clean, get mind-clean IMHO - as mentioned above, 'do it once, do it properly'! :))
 
OoohShiny said:
I'm colour-sensitive and in the UK, where anything lower than an H or I is very hard to find in High Street shops - presumably because it's a cultural thing to want definitely white stones.

I'm also a clarity freak - spots of carbon or obvious inclusions that look like the stone is dirty drive me insane! lol

I was lucky enough to have a CBI in perfect specs to satisfy my mind-clean issues - F VVS2 - and I am very happy I bought it for my good lady :)

After some more time on PS, though, I am a lot more open to VS2 and SI stones with 'good' inclusions - well, when I am playing pretend shopping with budget I don't have :lol: lol.

If you want mind-clean, get mind-clean IMHO - as mentioned above, 'do it once, do it properly'! :))
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Thank you. I think I'll get a F, VS1 :)
 
Everything is subjective and depends on the individual. I think the only way you will know is if you go out there and look at diamonds yourself. Then look at CBI stones as well. They can send it to you for your personal review. Take everything you’ve learned form PS, look at lots of diamonds, then get honest with yourself. You know yourself the best.

I thought I had to have at least an F MRB. I changed over to a K OEC. But that was only after seeing a beautiful one in real life. I have mind clean clarity issues. That stayed with me. My ering is a vs1. I could live with an eye clean vs2. Strangely one of my studs is an SI1. I discovered I could give up a little for earrings, but not ering. It can be a long road to figure out what you really want. And it can change over time and with more experience.

For jewelry in general, it just depends on your personal budget and what you feel comfortable spending. I don’t go into debt and spend only what I can.
 
Of course you should look at the Cut first.
I would settle for an F since it is colorless also and SI1 since it is eye clean but never
on Cut. Take only Ideal Cut with depth in the 60 to 61% and table 57 to 59% so you will have a bigger diamond mm diameter
 
david b said:
Of course you should look at the Cut first.
I would settle for an F since it is colorless also and SI1 since it is eye clean but never
on Cut. Take only Ideal Cut with depth in the 60 to 61% and table 57 to 59% so you will have a bigger diamond mm diameter
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I am not sure 59% table falls within (admittedly not concrete) SuperIdeal standards?
 
Is it ridiculous? No it's not, but you may not be able to tell much of a difference, and it will cost more. If the cost does not bother you and it makes you happier to have those specs, go for it. Most of us have budgets and so there is usually some level of compromise going on for one or more of the specs. Everyone has a different answer to the below. It really depends on so many things, including what else is your money going to. I am pretty conservative and so when I was regularly buying jewelry my yearly budget was around 1.5% of my annual salary.
 
I have excellent eyesight and can't see the SI1 inclusions in my RB. Clarity is the first thing I compromise on. I will say that there is something very crisp and bright about a D color diamond, providing it's cut well. But I am very color sensitive.

It's all about what matters to you, and in order! to figure that out it helps to see a lot of different diamonds.
 
doberman said:
I have excellent eyesight and can't see the SI1 inclusions in my RB. Clarity is the first thing I compromise on. I will say that there is something very crisp and bright about a D color diamond, providing it's cut well. But I am very color sensitive.

It's all about what matters to you, and in order! to figure that out it helps to see a lot of different diamonds.
Click to expand...

Same, I think clarity is often a "mind clean" thing. Over the course of wearing my diamonds for a day, it gathers enough dust and oil to bump the clarity to a SI :P
 
I have an E SI1 CBI. All CBIs are eye clean. You could easily go to SI1. No need to stick to VS1, except for mind clean issues. VS2 is fine.

For me, my “E” is a mind clean issue, but IMO color is not a very obvious tangible quality in my CBI.

The cut is extremely interesting and lively. Such that I don’t really notice that my diamond is very white. Mostly I don’t notice the color at all. Sometimes the diamond picks up the color of my surroundings, blue under a blue sky, golden in golden indoor sun, grey in my grey car interior. When I turn the stone to the side I can see it’s extremely white. I love that. But face on, the color is under many circumstances isn’t obvious. The cut quality stands out. It’s beautiful and endlessly interesting.

This makes me think that you could go pretty low color on a CBI without ever noticing the difference. Pay attention instead to which flavor of cut you want out of the CBI. Table size, for example. Or what size diameter you want.

Good luck!
 
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No, neither high color or high clarity is "ridiculous." Just depends on what you want.

Personally, I love crisp white diamonds (and so does my fiancé), so D/E is our preferred color range. Neither of us could tell the difference between a D or an E, but we were both able to see some color in an F from the side. Then again, color is highly personal, so I would suggest searching for a CBI dealer or a Hearts on Fire dealer near you and looking at a variety of stones from D to J in the size range you're looking at to determine what you prefer. :)

Clarity depends on the individual diamond. I think that at the VS2 level it's fairly easy to find a stone that is eye-clean to even the most hawk-eyed of persons. SI1 is a little more of a grey area, but the SuperIdeal vendors are usually able to find some SI1s that are eye-clean to most people's standards. Then again, this also depends on the size of the diamond you're looking at. For stones 1 carat and under, it is fairly easy to find eye-clean SI1s. As you get up to the 2-3 carat range, it is usually necessary to go with a VS2, and sometimes even a VS1, to get a truly eye-clean stone.

And as for what I chose for my fiancé: D/VS2. Beautifully crisp white and completely eye-clean. The best of both worlds. :)
 
I think everyone has their own sweet spot for a diamonds 4cs.

And also I think that sweet spot can be different depending on what the project is. A persons needs for an Ering may be different than a pendant or earrings. I think it’s very individual preference.
 
MakingTheGrade said:
Same, I think clarity is often a "mind clean" thing. Over the course of wearing my diamonds for a day, it gathers enough dust and oil to bump the clarity to a SI :razz:
Click to expand...

Darn diamonds are dust and grease magnets, I swear!
 
I have on several occasions tried out beautiful VS2 stones and had to send them back. If the designation were due to a natural or something hidden and hard to find I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t like having an inclusion that I can see with a 10x loupe, and a black spot is the worst, since in the wrong place it reflects off many facets and looks like a multitude of black spots. But maybe I have not seen the right VS2.
Just my 2 cents and the way my mind works : )
 
Thank you all for your responses! Tough decisions indeed (but definitely first world problems) :)

Ideally, I'd like an E or F and VS1. At the same time, it wouldn't be ideal if I had to compromise on the size as I'd want the diamond to be "big" enough to truly appreciate its precision cutting.

Maybe it really just comes down to budget as the deciding factor, and maybe that's the hardest part? I guess I'm really conflicted on how much is an appropriate amount to spend on diamonds/luxury items. Maybe that'll be for a different thread :)
 
A good upgrade policy (meaning $1 more, not double) will allow you to get the best cut stone within a range of parameters now and then upgrade either color, clarity, or size in increments. Anniversaries or push presents (or just because).
 
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