Second thoughts on Diamond Selection. Did we make a good purchase?

[lavieenviolet078]

I am looking for some feedback on a diamond my guy and I reserved for my engagement ring. We are working with a local jeweler to have the ring made. We were shown about 5 different diamonds ranging from 1.01 carat to 1.30 carat.

After viewing the diamonds under ASET imager, hearts and arrows scope, and in various forms of lighting, we ended up purchasing a 1.30 carat "Fire and Ice" diamond for $10k. The diamond is H color, eye-clean SI1 clarity, and GIA triple excellent cut. Dimensions are 7.11x7.14x4.24mm. Proportions are in the diagram attached.

There is no doubt that the diamond is beautiful and will look great in the setting we chose. But I'm wondering, did we pay a fair price for this diamond? What are your opinions about the "Fire and Ice" diamonds? Our jeweler was very enthusiastic about these but I will say he was not a pushy sales person. We viewed all the diamonds under different lighting and scopes before learning the specs and making our selection. I am open to any and all feedback so please do not hesitate to share your thoughts!

Thank you in advance for your responses

 

[lavieenviolet078]

Here are the proportions

 

[flyingpig]

It is a 60/60 style which excels in spread. For 1.30c, a reasonable spread is 7.0xmm. This is well above 7.10mm.

Here is something similar.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3089316
If the 10k price tag includes the setting and you like it, it is a reasonable choice.

Many recommend a stone with a small table (55-58 )and a steeper crown (34-35) for more dispersion and fire. People's tastes differ

 

[lavieenviolet078]

Thank you for your reply. The price tag is for the stone only. It does not include the setting. The setting is a custom made platinum setting with pave diamonds on the band. We know we are paying a premium on this setting due to the fact that it is handmade. However, I am definitely concerned that we overpaid for the diamond.

Is 60/60 a good style?

 

[rockysalamander]

As a comp. Here is a super-ideal cut, Eye-clean SI1. These have the smaller table mentioned by @flyingpig (where a 60/60 will show more white light).

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3838488.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3872115.htm

Edited to add. A well-cut 60/60 will have "abundant brightness" and can have "great scintillation" quoting @John Pollard . A well-cut smaller table/steeper crown angle like the two Whiteflash diamonds will have more fire. Your "Fire & Ice" uses the cut to make them larger in spread, as compared to diamond like WF. Your eyes are the best judge of which 'flavor' of diamond performance you prefer.

If you look at the video at the top of this page, you can see a video comparing a WF type (AGS) to a 60/60 (GIA) - but not Fire&Ice brand.
https://www.whiteflash.com/about-diamonds/diamond-education/diamond-fire-1568.htm

 

[lavieenviolet078]

Thanks! So these are about $600 less than what we paid.

The 60/60 definitely did reflect a lot of white light. It was totally gorgeous in the daylight as well as office lighting. Dim room lighting I did not like it quite as much. The ASET images were very good for it and showed very little light leakage. It seems like a lot of this is so subjective. One comp it looks like we way overpaid and the other seems much more in line.

 

[rockysalamander]

Thanks! So these are about $600 less than what we paid.

The 60/60 definitely did reflect a lot of white light. It was totally gorgeous in the daylight as well as office lighting. Dim room lighting I did not like it quite as much. The ASET images were very good for it and showed very little light leakage. It seems like a lot of this is so subjective. One comp it looks like we way overpaid and the other seems much more in line.

Another way to look at this is how much would it cost to get a 7.11 mm diamond from WF. That is between a 1.32 and 1.4 carat diamond, so puts comps between $9500 and $10,400. Diamond buying is all about making trades, so you traded some fire for size and brightness. Sounds like it is a trade you are (mostly) happy about.

It is interesting that you didn't like it as much at low light. Usually, bright sunlight is the most unflattering to diamonds and low-light can be quite pretty. I don't have a 60/60 diamond anymore to do a comparison, but my memory was that it was bright-lights that tended to show a more frequent flat-glare (again, it was not a precision cut stone as yours is), but low-light made is all sparky and pretty.

If there is a "Hearts on Fire" (https://www.heartsonfire.com/where-to-buy.aspx) or "Crafted by Infiniity" (http://www.craftedbyinfinity.com/web/locations/) showroom in your area, they both are more WF-type super-ideals. You might find it helpful to go have a look and see how you eyes feel about the balance. Wallets on Fire, I mean Hearts on Fire, are very pricey - we advise leaving your wallet in the car .

 

[flyingpig]

Is 60/60 a good style?

https://www.pricescope.com/communit...e-of-the-beholder-can-one-cut-fit-all.232226/
A good read.
Judge for yourself.

 

[lavieenviolet078]

Another way to look at this is how much would it cost to get a 7.11 mm diamond from WF. That is between a 1.32 and 1.4 carat diamond, so puts comps between $9500 and $10,400. Diamond buying is all about making trades, so you traded some fire for size and brightness. Sounds like it is a trade you are (mostly) happy about.

It is interesting that you didn't like it as much at low light. Usually, bright sunlight is the most unflattering to diamonds and low-light can be quite pretty. I don't have a 60/60 diamond anymore to do a comparison, but my memory was that it was bright-lights that tended to show a more frequent flat-glare (again, it was not a precision cut stone as yours is), but low-light made is all sparky and pretty.

If there is a "Hearts on Fire" (https://www.heartsonfire.com/where-to-buy.aspx) or "Crafted by Infiniity" (http://www.craftedbyinfinity.com/web/locations/) showroom in your area, they both are more WF-type super-ideals. You might find it helpful to go have a look and see how you eyes feel about the balance. Wallets on Fire, I mean Hearts on Fire, are very pricey - we advise leaving your wallet in the car .

That is a good way to think about it. It definitely reflects a lot of white light in both natural and indoor lighting. I didn't like it as much in the one situation because the ceiling was a brown textured ceiling and the stone was reflecting differently underneath this ceiling in the lower light. In this lighting I preferred one of the other diamonds we were shown, and I preferred mine in all of the other lightings.

I am *mostly* happy with the trade-off as a the setting we chose looks best with the 1.3 carat rather than the 1 or 1.15 carat stones that we looked at. I believe our jeweler only showed us quality stones and will do an excellent job making the ring. However, I know that the store is on the expensive side and after reflecting for a couple of days, I was worried that maybe we had grossly overpaid for a branded diamond. We did appreciate the experience of seeing the diamonds live before making a selection. We looked at a Crafted by Infinity diamond in the viewing as well- it was very beautiful and throwing tons of fire but it didn't stand out to me quite as much as the Fire and Ice. I have not seen any Hearts on Fire live but would like to check them out as a point of comparison.

Thank you very much for all of your feedback, this has given me a lot to think about!

 

[lavieenviolet078]

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/60-60-vs-ideal-mrb-proportions-–-is-beauty-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-can-one-cut-fit-all.232226/
A good read.
Judge for yourself.

Thank you for the great read! It seems like the answer is, "it depends." Haha.