subpop''s diamond search

[subpopculture]

I''ve been a lurker on the site for a while now. I''ve read over the tutorials by staying up later than I should and trying to absorb as much of this as I can. My goal is to have a ring to propose to my SO by this Christmas, so I''m kinda down to the wire (am I already too late?). I''m looking for:

Cut: round
Carat: 0.9 - 1.1
Color: F or G
Clarity: VS1 or VS2

I''ve got a budget of approximately $6000 (I could fudge the numbers a bit, but ideally, $6000 includes the setting). I went to a B&M and saw a G color, VS2 clarity, 1.0x carat round diamond for about $6100, which just didn''t seem like a fair price to me, but now looking at some of the search results that come up, it seems to be pretty evenly priced. Can I find something better? I''m liking the looks of WhiteFlash and Good Old Gold for online vendors.

Any advice for a last minute shopper?

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome to Pricescope!

These might fit the bill for you.

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-136238.htm

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1125427.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3756/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3761/

All of those should be well within budget so you can get a great setting too. Also you could drop your colour and clarity a little and perhaps go larger if you wished, and still have a very clean and white diamond, but this is a personal preference.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 12/11/2007 5:05:50 AM
Author: Lorelei
Welcome to Pricescope!

These might fit the bill for you.

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-136238.htm

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1125427.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3756/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3761/

All of those should be well within budget so you can get a great setting too. Also you could drop your colour and clarity a little and perhaps go larger if you wished, and still have a very clean and white diamond, but this is a personal preference.

Lorelei he has a bit more to spend?
BTW the WF stone is an older AGS and has no cut grade. It is not nice

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/11/2007 6:30:40 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

Date: 12/11/2007 5:05:50 AM
Author: Lorelei
Welcome to Pricescope!

These might fit the bill for you.

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-136238.htm

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1125427.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3756/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3761/

All of those should be well within budget so you can get a great setting too. Also you could drop your colour and clarity a little and perhaps go larger if you wished, and still have a very clean and white diamond, but this is a personal preference.

Lorelei he has a bit more to spend?
BTW the WF stone is an older AGS and has no cut grade. It is not nice

Garry, you are absolutely right, I just checked and posted the wrong diamond, sorry to the original poster - nix that first recommendation! Good thing you are keeping an eye out!!!
I couldn't find much in the price range for him as I was working on 5k for the diamond to leave 1k for the setting, maybe this darn cold is affecting my brain...

This is the diamond I actually meant to post!!

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-395179.htm#

I am wondering with the lighter areas on the left side of the IS, whether that is the result of lighting from the table facet

 

[Ellen]

What setting you want will dictate the stone. If you are only getting a simple inexpensive setting, you have more to work with. Also, IF that''s what you want, and it''s a stock setting, you may not be too late.

Besides''s Lorelei''s, heres a couple more.

Here''s one, I know it''s an SI1, but there is a chance it would be totally eyeclean, you just need to ask. 5% off with PS discount.

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-540905.htm#


With this, wire price is discount.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3761/

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/11/2007 8:09:08 AM
Author: Ellen

With this, wire price is discount.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3761/

Hee - we posted the same diamond!

Aaaagh! Not doing well today, I wanted to post the high five emotie...

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/11/2007 8:16:44 AM
Author: Lorelei

Hee - we posted the same diamond!

Aaaagh! Not doing well today, I wanted to post the high five emotie...

lol Too much Nyquil??

I need more coffee.

Otherwise I would have said ditto instad of posting it again.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/11/2007 8:19:41 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 12/11/2007 8:16:44 AM
Author: Lorelei

Hee - we posted the same diamond!

Aaaagh! Not doing well today, I wanted to post the high five emotie...

lol Too much Nyquil??

I need more coffee.

Otherwise I would have said ditto instad of posting it again.

I tell ya, you are right on the money! I am just going to nip off and take my next dose!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/11/2007 8:28:20 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/11/2007 8:19:41 AM
Author: Ellen

lol Too much Nyquil??

I need more coffee.

Otherwise I would have said ditto instad of posting it again.

I tell ya, you are right on the money! I am just going to nip off and take my next dose!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/11/2007 8:47:16 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 12/11/2007 8:28:20 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/11/2007 8:19:41 AM
Author: Ellen

lol Too much Nyquil??

I need more coffee.

Otherwise I would have said ditto instad of posting it again.

I tell ya, you are right on the money! I am just going to nip off and take my next dose!

don't fink it's worked yet....

 

[subpopculture]

Thank you to all for your recommendations. I see that most of the diamonds you''ve recommended are about 0.8, so it seems I will have to rethink my budget in order to up the size (she''s pretty fixed on the "magic" number 1.0, but I personally think just under 1.0 is fine), and still maintain a decent quality.

In my B&M searches, we found a setting she really liked, so I''m thinking of taking the loose diamond I ultimately acquire to this B&M jeweler to set the diamond. Is that an okay idea? (Will they get jealous I didn''t buy their diamond?) She liked a Jeff Cooper that looked something like this one.

In my own searches through the online vendors, I found diamonds of a similar quality to the ones you all have recommended, so I feel validated in my own diamond searching abilities.

I found this one, though I''d have to fudge my numbers in order to get it put into something. I guess I could always propose with a loose stone...

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/11/2007 11:29:27 AM
Author: subpopculture
Thank you to all for your recommendations. I see that most of the diamonds you''ve recommended are about 0.8, so it seems I will have to rethink my budget in order to up the size (she''s pretty fixed on the ''magic'' number 1.0, but I personally think just under 1.0 is fine), and still maintain a decent quality.

In my B&M searches, we found a setting she really liked, so I''m thinking of taking the loose diamond I ultimately acquire to this B&M jeweler to set the diamond. Is that an okay idea? (Will they get jealous I didn''t buy their diamond?) She liked a Jeff Cooper that looked something like this one.

In my own searches through the online vendors, I found diamonds of a similar quality to the ones you all have recommended, so I feel validated in my own diamond searching abilities.

I found this one, though I''d have to fudge my numbers in order to get it put into something. I guess I could always propose with a loose stone...

Actually, that''s not facing up as it should. It''s looking smaller than it should, due to the depth (a bit deeper than I like to see), and the girdle. While the diameter (which is really what you want to look at, not ct. weight) is bigger than say, the one Lorelei and I picked, I hate to see you paying for something, and not getting your full money''s worth. And that''s a lot of money to me, for the little bit of size. Just my .02!


As for a jeweler setting an online stone, you need to ask them. Some are quite willing, and some are quite not.

 

[Lorelei]

Added to what Ellen was saying, if you would consider dropping either the colour or clarity a bit or both, you should be able to hit that 1 ct for your girl.

See these ones.

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-358376.htm

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1114672.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

 

[subpopculture]

I see. I think color is more important to me than clarity, so I poked around some more (at the SI1/SI2 level). I found a D/SI1 that caught my fancy. It rates well in the Cut Adviser (within TIC). Should I be bothered by the H & A pictures looking rather like swiss cheese with all those inclusions?

(Here''s it''s data for the record
Shape: Round
Carat Weight: 0.91ct
Color: D
Clarity: SI1
GIA Cut Grade: Excellent
AGS Light Performance: Ideal
Optical Symmetry: Superior
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: Negligible
Girdle: 2.16%
Culet: None
Lab Report: GIA
Lab Report #: 15386937
In House: Yes
Width: 6.19mm
Length: 6.21mm
Depth: 3.86mm
Table Percentage: 55.84%
Depth Percentage: 62.21%
Crown ∠: 34.13°
Crown Depth: 14.94%
Pavilion ∠: 41.00°
Pavilion Depth: 43.33%
Upper Girdle ∠: 41.90°
Lower Girdle ∠: 42.18°
Policy: Lifetime Guarantee

 

[subpopculture]

Date: 12/11/2007 11:59:39 AM
Author: Lorelei
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1114672.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

This GIA report says the clarity rating is based on clouds not shown. The tutorial says that''s a warning:

A worrying ''comment'' is "Clouds Not Shown"; a cloud drawn on plots can look so bad that no one would buy the diamond. Clouds are only a problem on SI1 and lower clarity''s if no other inclusion is marked on the plot, i.e. the cloud is the grade maker. Big clouds can dull the diamond.

 

[subpopculture]

This one looks interesting too: http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/3886/. It rates a 0.8 on the HCA, with a tiny cloud included.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/12/2007 2:05:33 AM
Author: subpopculture

Date: 12/11/2007 11:59:39 AM
Author: Lorelei
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1114672.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

This GIA report says the clarity rating is based on clouds not shown. The tutorial says that''s a warning:

A worrying ''comment'' is ''Clouds Not Shown''; a cloud drawn on plots can look so bad that no one would buy the diamond. Clouds are only a problem on SI1 and lower clarity''s if no other inclusion is marked on the plot, i.e. the cloud is the grade maker. Big clouds can dull the diamond.

It can be rarely, but generally with an in house diamond such as that, with a good vendor such as James Allen, there is an excellent chance the diamond is fine as they will have examined it and purchased it for inventory. However it is always best to check with the vendor with any diamond as to inclusion / eyecleanliness issues.

 

[subpopculture]

Date: 12/12/2007 2:19:01 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/12/2007 2:05:33 AM

Author: subpopculture

Date: 12/11/2007 11:59:39 AM

Author: Lorelei

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1114672.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

This GIA report says the clarity rating is based on clouds not shown. The tutorial says that''s a warning:

A worrying ''comment'' is ''Clouds Not Shown''; a cloud drawn on plots can look so bad that no one would buy the diamond. Clouds are only a problem on SI1 and lower clarity''s if no other inclusion is marked on the plot, i.e. the cloud is the grade maker. Big clouds can dull the diamond.

It can be rarely, but generally with an in house diamond such as that, with a good vendor such as James Allen, there is an excellent chance the diamond is fine as they will have examined it and purchased it for inventory. However it is always best to check with the vendor with any diamond as to inclusion / eyecleanliness issues.

I see, so the warning is more of a benefit of the doubt type situation. Then that diamond is a pretty good deal, but how does it stack up against the two GOG diamonds I found above? It''s a 1.0 carat, but the rest of the specs seem comparable to me. I''m willing to sacrifice 0.1 carat for a VS2 clarity.

 

[Lorelei]

The .90 G VS2 is an AGS0 which some would value more. It depends on if the JA diamond is fine with the clarity grade, whether you want to hit the carat mark, or D colour and smaller and lower clarity if eyeclean. All diamonds are well cut, it depends on what matters most to you and your comfort level.

Have you considered Ellen's selection too?

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-540905.htm#

 

[subpopculture]

Date: 12/12/2007 3:37:56 AM
Author: Lorelei
The .90 G VS2 is an AGS0 which some would value more. It depends on if the JA diamond is fine with the clarity grade, whether you want to hit the carat mark, or D colour and smaller and lower clarity if eyeclean. All diamonds are well cut, it depends on what matters most to you and your comfort level.


Have you considered Ellen''s selection too?


http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-540905.htm#

Hmm, true, I had rolled over that diamond before. Will the vendor answer truthfully (enough for me to trust until I get the diamond to an appraiser) if I ask them if the diamond is eye-clean?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/12/2007 11:11:20 AM
Author: subpopculture

Date: 12/12/2007 3:37:56 AM
Author: Lorelei
The .90 G VS2 is an AGS0 which some would value more. It depends on if the JA diamond is fine with the clarity grade, whether you want to hit the carat mark, or D colour and smaller and lower clarity if eyeclean. All diamonds are well cut, it depends on what matters most to you and your comfort level.


Have you considered Ellen''s selection too?


http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-540905.htm#

Hmm, true, I had rolled over that diamond before. Will the vendor answer truthfully (enough for me to trust until I get the diamond to an appraiser) if I ask them if the diamond is eye-clean?

Absolutely. The vendors who are used here such as Whiteflash are all very experienced at describing eyecleanliness to buyers. It benefits no one to have diamonds out of action whizzing back and forth, on the basis of them not doing the most accurate job they can, of describing '' eyecleanliness''. Just make sure that you give them the most honest answer you can regarding your own comfort level and they will do their best to see if the diamond is a good match for you.