Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Selecting a radiant from James Allen - need your help!

A

animalia

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
9
Hi everyone,

First post here!

My partner and I are getting engaged sometime over the next few months and we've both agreed to take the online route in regards to purchasing my ring. The PriceScope forums have been an invaluable resource for an inexperienced diamond buyer such as myself and I definitely want to make the most informed decision for our budget - hopefully with your help!

After spending countless nights searching google images and searching posts on this forum, I have fallen for the idea of a 3 stone ring made up with a radiant flanked by two trilliants. I love the rectangular look, and alongside the trilliants I think could get some nice spread on my small 3.5 ring finger ;)

I've been into Tiffany's and the closest thing I've seen in real life is the 3 stone lucida setting however I was thinking of something with a few minor changes. I've read that there was (a possibly discontinued?) similar setting a while back with slightly different shoulders featuring a radiant center stone rather than the lucida but I cannot seem to find any detailed pictures. I've tried ebay, google, the tiffany site, as well as here.. but no luck!

Anyhow, I thought that to get things started I should get on my way to securing the center stone and I've found myself searching James Allen in particular as they list the actual diamond images for fancies.

Please let me know if I'm on the right track.... I'm going to request the ASET info for the best 3 I can find but there are any suggestions or anything I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas :)

My total budget is 14,000AUD including the setting and my selections below are for (at least what I think) similar stones. They all have a similar ratio around 1.16-1.19 as well as measurements that i think would suit my tiny fingers...

I'm liking the look of these:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS1-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1442132.asp
Carat Weight: 1.22
Cut: Very Good
Color: E
Clarity: VS1
Certificate: GIA
Depth: 62.2%
Table: 69.0%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.86*5.90*3.67
Ratio: 1.16

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1355816.asp
Carat Weight: 1.15
Cut: Good
Color: F
Clarity: IF
Certificate: GIA
Depth: 75.4%
Table: 57.0%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.49*5.48*4.13
Ratio: 1.18

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Ideal-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1435797.asp
Carat Weight: 1.28
Cut: Excellent
Color: F
Clarity: IF
Certificate: GIA
Depth: 70.2%
Table: 65.0%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 6.57*5.54*3.89
Ratio: 1.19

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VVS2-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1447335.asp
Carat Weight: 1.20
Cut: Good
Color: G
Clarity: VVS2
Certificate: GIA
Depth: 75.7%
Table: 68.0%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle:
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.34*5.38*4.07
Ratio: 1.18

Any responses, thoughts and ideas would be much appreciated!
 
I would not IN ANY WAY spend that kind of money on any high clarity radiant. First they are cut deep so they look smaller for their weight as it is, and second you just do not need to go with high clarity, it all gets lost in all those facets. I'd be concentrating on SI1 and VS2 stones.

You have the budget for a decent sized stone, but honestly you are wasting it on stuff you can't see.

Let me see what I can find you.

Read this thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/for-all-who-have-been-successful-selling-on-ps.179234/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/for-all-who-have-been-successful-selling-on-ps.179234/[/URL]
 
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-SI1-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1389795.asp this one has promise. (Ignore the JA cut ratings, they are meaningless for radiants, and other fancies). A Lucida setting, even the nicest platinum x-prong (Comfort Fit Vatche or Lattice by H Levi) aren't going to cost you 3.5k. I'd put it on hold and ask for an ASET image (should take 3 days) once they have the ASET for you post it on here and we'll help you understand it (unless you've been doing your homework and can read one yourself).

Of the ones you picked my favorites are: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VVS2-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1447335.asp and http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1355816.asp

So I'd get an ASET of those three. And ask for the gemologist to look them over as well.
 
LOVE the one that Gypsy picked out.
 
Thank you so much for your responses and kind suggestions JuileN, Gypsy and Grymicast184rc!

I have the ASET images and comments below:

1447335aset.jpg1355816aset.jpg
1389795aset.jpg


From left to right here were the ones I'd shortlisted:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VVS2-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1447335.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1355816.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-SI1-Very-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1389795.asp

I'm happy to share with you that diamond 1447335 (1.20crt G VVS2) is bright and has very nice light performance. It outperforms your other selections with a more consistent sparkle and also faces completely eye clean. This diamond is our gemologist's favorite and I strongly encourage you to consider it for your diamond purchase.

Diamond 1355816 (1.15crt F IF) has good light performance and it faces eye clean, but appears slightly darker under the table. Diamond 1389795 (1.55crt D SI1) should appear eye clean to the untrained eye, but the gemologist felt its light performance was a little weak by comparison. Additionally, it appears somewhat "glassy" under table.
Click to expand...

So it seems that the G VVS2 was the winner of the bunch... How did I do?

I'll probably have a nail-biting decision to make over the next 24 hrs as this is my first diamond purchase!
 
That 1.2 G faces up really small because it is so deep almost 76% depth. Have you seen these on GOG with great light performance. They are square but don't have the cut corners as they are square cushion cuts (some are Brellia Hearts and Arrows) and they are all closer to 6mm x 6mm. Once set you will not be able to tell whether the corners are rounded or cut cornered:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9671/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9672/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8296/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9296/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8997/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9737/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9494/

Just thought you might like to see what else is out there in your budget that faces up larger and are proven to be great performing stones.
 
I'm still undecided here...

Thanks for your reply Arial144, but I was actually after the cut cornered look - like an elongated octagonal shape.. So a cushion cut would probably not be suitable for the setting I had in mind.

Could anyone give me an idea on those ASET images? I'm not too familiar in regards to recognising a winner.
 
The 1.20 G VVS2 and the 1.15 F IF have pretty good ASETs. The F will be a touch bigger looking. I would ask if the dark spot on the G (long side) is visible.
 
Thanks JulieN,

I also noticed that dark area on the left side of the 1.20 G VVS2 but wasn't sure if that was normal... I'll ask the service rep and see what they say!
 
Here's what they said:


"They confirmed with me that the diamond is very bright and is your top performer. While the ASET image suggests that there is a dark area in the table, both gemologists confirmed that the image looks quite severe, but that in person, it's consistently bright and that there is no dark area in the diamond; merely some contrast (as all diamonds have). I'm confident that if you finalize with this diamond and see it in person, you will not be disappointed. We also have our 60 day exchange/return policy in place in the event that you aren't 100% satisfied with the diamond as a option to fall back on. I understand this would be a hassle for the customer so I wouldn't suggest the diamond if I thought they wouldn't love the diamond."

So, to help myself come to a decision, I've decided to do a mockup of my dream ring including this particular stone in photoshop..

mockup.gif

What do you think? :tongue:

I guess naturally as a first-timer I'm hesitant to rush into my first purchase but overall I think I'm feeling good about this stone...
 
I kinda like the F. But I would give the G a chance in person based on the gemologists recommendation.
 
I don't like those trillions. There are two types of trillions. There are the really angular ones and there are chubby ones like this: http://images.marketplaceadvisor.channeladvisor.com/hi/68/67760/10428.jpg

If you can, I would go for the chubbier ones as I think the look is a little softer. And also without the sharp brittle corners I think they are more durable.

See pictures below. I am talking about the bottom two types of trillions, instead of the top one.

trillion_diamond_275_x_244_ajediam.jpg

_805.jpg

pair-0-25tcw-white-trillion-natural-loose-diamonds.jpg
 
My boyfriend and I must be like snails when it comes to making decision but we have received a few more ASET images after he spoke to a rep earlier last week.

I do think I prefer the facet patterns of these as well as the 1.15 F-IF that I had on hold under my name earlier as I feel they'll be more suitable for the style of ring I'm dreaming of.

How do you think my boyfriend's selections hold up against mine (as above)?

1355015.jpg
this was also suggested by Grymicast184rc (http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-IF-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1355015.asp). In this case the gemologist preferred this stone out of the these as it had amazing fire, brilliance and scintillation.


1355016.jpg
and http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1355016.asp This was the gemologists second choice as the next best performer, with good light performance.

Are there any other questions I should get my boyfriend to ask? I really appreciate any further thoughts or comments from the community as I hope this thread will help other beginner Radiant lovers else out there!
 
animalia|1348620150|3274655 said:
My boyfriend and I must be like snails when it comes to making decision but we have received a few more ASET images after he spoke to a rep earlier last week.

I do think I prefer the facet patterns of these as well as the 1.15 F-IF that I had on hold under my name earlier as I feel they'll be more suitable for the style of ring I'm dreaming of.

How do you think my boyfriend's selections hold up against mine (as above)?

1355015.jpg
this was also suggested by Grymicast184rc (http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-IF-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1355015.asp). In this case the gemologist preferred this stone out of the these as it had amazing fire, brilliance and scintillation.


1355016.jpg
and http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-IF-Good-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1355016.asp This was the gemologists second choice as the next best performer, with good light performance.

Are there any other questions I should get my boyfriend to ask? I really appreciate any further thoughts or comments from the community as I hope this thread will help other beginner Radiant lovers else out there!
Click to expand...


F IF or G IF for me.
 
The G IF is my pick for sure! plus JA 60 day policy is great
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions guys..

I've purchased the G-IF and had my stone shipped to Victor Canera to be included in a custom design we are now working on.

The international wire transfer from Australia to JA only took one business day and Victor received the stone the following day. Very quick and efficient :)

Victor was kind enough to send me a picture of the stone once it had arrived:

my_stone.jpg

So far I'm pretty stoked... so now I'm on the the next stage of my ring journey - setting design!
 
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top