Second opinion on quality and price for a ~1.88ct D VS1 lab grown?

[finesse]

Hi folks,

First of all - thanks for all the helpful threads and resources here, it's really helped me get up to speed on what to look for in a diamond!

I'm looking for a diamond for the first time for a custom ring, and settled on a lab grown, emphasizing the best cut I can find, with a D color and eye-clean clarity.

I ended up picking a 1.88ct D color VS1 GCAL 8X diamond from Brilliant Earth. It just arrived and it looks beautiful in person.

That said, I'm seeing a couple stones from Ritani for less than half the price. I'd love a second opinion on these, am I missing something about the difference, or should I really consider returning the BE one and picking up one of these from Ritani?

Diamond 1 - Brilliant Earth:
1.88 ct
D color
VS1
GCAL 8X
Depth 61.8%
Table 56%
Girdle Thickness - Medium - Sl. Thick
Crown Angle - 34.0°
Pavilion Angle - 40.8°

Diamond 2 - Ritani:
1.87ct
D color
VS1
IGI 3 ideal, Hearts & Arrows
Depth 61.3%
Table 57%
Girdle Thickness - Medium
Crown Angle - 34.6
Pavilion Angle - 40.7
Price, ~1/2 of Diamond 1

Diamond 3 - Ritani:
1.84ct
D color
VVS2
IGI 3 ideal, Hearts & Arrows
Depth 61.2%
Table 56.5%
Girdle Thickness - Medium - Sl. Thick
Crown Angle - 34.5
Pavilion Angle - 40.7
Price, ~1/2 of Diamond 1

Thanks!

 

[DejaWiz]

Hello and welcome to PriceScope, finesse!

Most of us here are huge advocates for GCAL 8X just for the sheer amount of assessment that GCAL performs and all the info that they provide.

Right now seems to be a bit of strange times in the market, where GCAL 8X diamonds are a smidge scarce to where availability was 6-9 months ago, so prices are pretty high, even compared to GIA graded LGD with equivalent 4Cs.

Because of that, I have a hard time finding deals on GCAL 8X graded diamonds, so I'm usually scouring well cut and proportioned IGI and GIA LGDs.

For the difference in price, I see no reason to ignore the value factor of the other diamonds that you are asking about.

Here is the vendor showcase video for the 1.87 D VS1 at half the price:

Loupe360

loupe360.com

Here is the 1.84 D VVS2:

Loupe360

loupe360.com

Another thing to make the case for value: your budget puts you north of 2 carats, D color, and clean clarity...here are just a couple of examples, both GIA graded:

2.15 Carat Round Lab Diamond GIA 2437932335 | Ritani

2.15 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS1 Clarity with diamond report number GIA #2437932335

www.ritani.com

2.30 Carat Round Lab Diamond GIA 1447000498 | Ritani

2.3 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS2 Clarity with diamond report number GIA #1447000498

www.ritani.com

 

[Kim N]

I love GCAL 8x diamonds, but I wouldn't pay more than double to have one when you've found some beautifully cut Ritani stones. I like both of the stones you've chosen, and I doubt you'd be able to see the difference in cut quality between either of them and the GCAL 8x. This is another good one in the same size range.

1.84 Carat Round Lab Diamond IGI LG522232652 | Ritani

1.84 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS1 Clarity with diamond report number IGI #LG522232652

www.ritani.com

DejaWiz made a great point that your budget can get you a bigger diamond. These are a few other large ones I found that are still less than the price of the GCAL 8x.

2.34 Carat Round Lab Diamond IGI LG512226032 | Ritani

2.34 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS1 Clarity with diamond report number IGI #LG512226032

www.ritani.com

2.32 Carat Round Lab Diamond IGI LG526275431 | Ritani

2.32 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS1 Clarity with diamond report number IGI #LG526275431

www.ritani.com

2.37 Carat Round Lab Diamond IGI LG528241901 | Ritani

2.37 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VVS2 Clarity with diamond report number IGI #LG528241901

www.ritani.com

 

[lovedogs]

Agree. I also hate BE as a company. They are shady and have poor practices in terms of customer service (IMHO), plus they are overpriced. So I would go with one of the ritani stones suggested above and get a bigger stone for less. That said, I do love GCAL 8X, because it comes with peace of mind. But in this case, you're going with suggestions from trusted experts so they wont steer you wrong!

 

[finesse]

Thanks for the quick and clear replies everyone!

I’ll pick up one of these from Ritani then and bring it in for local view.

@Deja or others, is there anything in the video between these two that would point you to one vs the other? They look the same to my eye other than the 1.87ct having a lighter background haha.

Thanks for the larger size finds! I’ll take a closer look. My partner has small hands, so even the 1.88ct looks huge and I don’t think she’d be comfortable going much larger. I can maybe sneak by at ~2-2.05z.

Last thing - is there any other vendor I should take a look at here? Great to know about BE, and I take the rest as a vote of confidence in Ritani.

 

[Kim N]

Thanks for the quick and clear replies everyone!

I’ll pick up one of these from Ritani then and bring it in for local view.

@Deja or others, is there anything in the video between these two that would point you to one vs the other? They look the same to my eye other than the 1.87ct having a lighter background haha.

Thanks for the larger size finds! I’ll take a closer look. My partner has small hands, so even the 1.88ct looks huge and I don’t think she’d be comfortable going much larger. I can maybe sneak by at ~2-2.05z.

Last thing - is there any other vendor I should take a look at here? Great to know about BE, and I take the rest as a vote of confidence in Ritani.

For GCAL 8x diamonds, I like to look at Frank Darling and Adiamor.

James Allen has great stones too but they tend to be pricey.

The 1.84 and 1.87 are pretty much identical in proportions and cut quality--I would just get the cheaper one.

This diamond is really nice in the 2.00-2.05 range.

2.04 Carat Round Lab Diamond IGI LG529279427 | Ritani

2.04 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS1 Clarity with diamond report number IGI #LG529279427

www.ritani.com

 

[finesse]

Thanks for the help everyone!

I’m bringing in two from Ritani to preview at their in person location. Settled on the 1.87ct and another 2.01ct one.

Hopefully I’ll see them this week!

 

[Jax172]

I have 3 GCAL 8x stones and my best deal was at 12Fifteen diamonds. The other two I got at Frank Darling. Adiamor used to have better pricing than FD but they raised all their 8x stones to crazy prices a few weeks ago. They will price match to FD though.

 

[DejaWiz]

Thanks for the help everyone!

I’m bringing in two from Ritani to preview at their in person location. Settled on the 1.87ct and another 2.01ct one.

Hopefully I’ll see them this week!

Please also compare with this 2.15 D VS1:

2.15 Carat Round Lab Diamond GIA 2437932335 | Ritani

2.15 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS1 Clarity with diamond report number GIA #2437932335

www.ritani.com