These are the EC stones: thoughts?!

[shminbabe]

Hi,

well I''m posting the information that I have on the three EC diamonds I''m considering. The jeweler came over tonight with an awesome Emerald cut (no price avail. til tomorrow, I am sure we cannot afford it but it was soooo beautiful).

Will you guys take a look and give me your thoughts on these stones/stats? I appreciate your opinions so much.

1) Emerald Cut, GIA cert. dated 8/2005

Measurements: 8.89 X 6.92 X 4.66
2.50 ct
Depth 67.2 %
Table 65 %
Girdle Extremely thin to Medium
Culet None
Polish Good
Symmetry Very Good
VVS1
G color
No Fluorescense

I could not see a single speck with the 20 X magnifier. Nothing but brilliant facets, cool fire and facets, an almost blue white looking stone. It was sooo beautiful. What do you think this will cost? (she''ll call me in the morning). i know i can''t afford it but oh.my.god. I loved it. it was the ONLY stone I''ve laid eyes on that rocked me, all this time. those facets - - it looked smaller than i''d expect a 2.5 carat diamond to look but it was so catchy, the way the facets revealed themselves and i could see the light playing about it in.


2) Emerald Cut, GIA cert. dated 4/2007 (from an online vendor)
Measurements: 8.40 X 6.66 X 4.18
2.10 carats
G color
Proportions not stated except via the diagram: table 73 %
depth 62.8 %
girdle - thin - medium
culet: very small
polish very good
symmetry very good
No Fluorescence

Obviously I haven''t viewed it but the vendor sent pictures, the red images, and the GIA report shows some small inclusions on the stone.

Price: $19,000 and change

3) Emerald Cut, GIA cert. dated 5/2002
Measurements: 8.73 X 6.92 X 4.28
2.28 carats

Depth 61.8 %
Table 72 %
Girdle thin
Culet non
Polish good
Symmetry very good
VS 1
F color
Fluorescence Faint

This is at the neighborhood jewelry (not a chain). It''s a lovely stone but it doesn''t rock me the way the first stone does. No visible inclusions even w/ loupe. Price $22,500.

Please let me know what you think

I have a bad feeling the first stone is going to cost far too much and I''ll have to let it go.

I''ll post the ovals in another e mail.

thank you for your help!

jeannie

 

[strmrdr]

I don''t like the E-thin girdle on the first one.. how much of the girdle is ET?

The last 2 I don''t care for the huge tables, liking fiery EC''s rather than classic glassy EC''s.

 

[strmrdr]

If you love the fiery look of the first one better look for tables in the low to mid 60s rather than the 70s and check for a high crown height(10%+)

 

[shminbabe]

hi,

thanks for your comments. i don''t know about the girdle, it just said ''extremely thin to medium''. why is that not good? what other ''girdle'' information do i need to have? (I am trying to learn!)

oh, this one was most def. fiery. compared to the other one i saw in the store, which was indeed more of a glassy EC. I loved this one! the online vendor says he doesn''t pay attention much to numbers, prefers to see them and states that one is a beauty. the pics do indeed look pretty but of course nothing compared to seenig it in person.

jeannie

 

[strmrdr]

e-thin is a durability risk, if its a very small area due to a natural on the girdle its not a huge issue but if its a large area its a huge issue.

 

[shminbabe]

forgive my ignorance, but how can i ascertain the thinness of the girdle all the way around...?

i feel like the more i learn, the less i know!

jeannie

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 7/3/2007 3:02:43 AM
Author: shminbabe
forgive my ignorance, but how can i ascertain the thinness of the girdle all the way around...?

i feel like the more i learn, the less i know!

jeannie

have the vendor eyeball it under 10x magnification.

 

[chrono]

The first one has nice numbers but as soon as I saw the extremely thin girdle, I thought: Oh! Could chip very easily. PASS!
The next 2 have HUGE tables = Glassy look: PASS

If you like the first one, I think it's because of the small table = most likely high crown = more FIRE!
For this look, stay within 55% to 65% table
For as big a face up size EC as you can get, stay within 60% to 68% depth (I'm a bit more generous on depth because I'm giving it a small allowance for the high crown height)

For a more affordable stone, skip the VVS1. You are paying a LOT for what you cannot see and it does NOT make the stone look prettier. VS1 is plenty clean even in an EC over 2 carats.

 

[shminbabe]

Chrono,

Thanks for all your responses to my various threads on emeralds and ovals...

I''m fixated on the emerald cut now. Am starting to make sense of the terminology and what it means. I am working with a local woman, an independent jeweler my husband hooked me up with. She was the one who brought the two ovals (EGL) and the gorgeous emerald (GIA). You noticed that the girdle was "extremely thin to medium" and said to avoid that b/c it might chip at the girdle.

So I mention this to her today and she insisted it will NOT chip. That extremely thin to medium is a very good girdle size b/c a thicker girdle adds ''weight'' to the stone that is not realized in appearance.

I just don''t know what to think and feel so confused!

Obviously, I can see with my eyes that the 2.50 emerald cut stone appears smaller than the ovals, and this is b/c of the right depth that an emerald cut needs in order to have that spectacular, faceted, step appearance. Correct?

The stone I''m crazy about has depth of 67.2 % and table of 65%. You approved of those numbers when you replied.

So if I look elsewhere, I should focus on a depth of between 60 - 68 % b/c that will make the stone appear larger? The table should be 55 - 65 % to get the most fire from the stone?

GOG showed me an oval and said it was beautiful and that is why he doesn''t necessarily pay too much attention to the numbers. That one has a depth of 62.8% and a table of 73 %. The pics looked nice but I am such a newbie I cannot possibly evaluate them in a meaningful way.

When I look at the diagram on the GIA cert. for both of these stones, the EC from the independent has four steps from the center, while the EC from GOG has three steps from the center. I presume these renderings mimic those of the actual stone? The greater number of steps = greater fire? sparkle? what?!

All I can say is I loved the stone I saw...but it''s very $$$ and if I really DO have to worry about the girdle chipping...what to do?

We did talk about seeing another stone in the VS2 range (this one was VVS1) and seeing if that would drop the price.

When I plugged the exact specs of the stone I viewed into the Whiteflash EC search, the price it gave me was the exact price she quoted me for the stone. So I know there is consistency there.

She''s very nice, etc. and I feel awkward leaving her to shop online.

I wish I really knew and understood what I am doing here. I appreciate all your help. But how do I know what is right: a girdle apt to chip b/c it''s too thin (why does she disagree with that, do you think?) or a thick girdle that adds weight??

I feel like I''m drowning in the details.

jeannie