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Thoughts on this diamond from James Allen....

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It's certainly a bit more, but AGS calls it zero, and that counts for something. It's what I'd go for in a Princess.

I know...you found a diamond they called the cut "good" on. It may be a lucky performer.

That's much of what this board is about. A lot more to read about if this could be what you're also interested in.

Otherwise, a) ask for reflector images, b) shop a place like Blue Nile, and c) learn about cut and princesses. Otherwise, again, just shop for AGS0.

Warm regards, and welcome to Pricescope!

P.S. Sorry, I just looked at BN for you, and found no AGS0 options. Also, I saw your previous post. Pay attention to the advice you got there. At least, I think, Jim at JA will get you reflector images, albeit not ASET ones. These can help you find a good performer. Maybe if you actually consult with him live, tell him you want that, plus documented images, he'll be able to find you a good option. It would be nice to know he could produce that way! As far as we know, BN, despite their large selection, can't.
 
First off I am pretty new here as well and really don't know much about princess cuts as my fiancee was looking for a round diamond.

It strikes me that that particular diamond is a little thick. If you are looking at the diamond from the top down it is roughly a 5.2mm Square.

Compare that to this:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1141244.asp

This is a 0.8 Caret diamond from the same site but is listed as a better cut and costs $300 less. From the top view they would appear to be exactly the same size. The extra 0.2 carets in the diamond you listed just makes the diamond thicker. In addition to paying for extra depth that you can't really see a stone that is too deep won't reflect the light back properly.

Don't go out and buy the stone I listed on my advice. I was just using that as an example I personally like the looks of the smaller one but know nothing of proper princess proportions.

Edit: I was looking around to see what a 'perfect' princess would look like at whiteflash and saw a 1.06ct stone with dimensions of 5.4x5.6x4.1 Interestingly enough it is larger in all 3 dimensions than the stone you listed. I suppose this implies smaller pavilion/crown angles and sounds to me like the cutter was attempting to keep the stone over 1ct for marketing purposes. Naturally that stone was about $7K and probably out of your price range (and definately out of mine)
 
You''re right the "perfect" princess at whiteflash would be way out of my price range. I''m looking for something along the lines of $3,000-$3,500 for an engagement ring. I know I have more reading to do on this site, but I also know I''m not going to be getting a ''perfect'' ring, I''m more worried about the best bang for my buck. With the diamond I listed, I tried to reference the "AGA Rules For Determining "Overall" Cut Grade" posted on this site for princess cut diamonds and see how the diamond compared. Granted James Allen doesn''t have all the information listed that the AGA grading reference does, but I thought the diamond was a 1B-2A cut based on the AGA scale. Now I''m not exactly sure what that means, but that seemed like a reasonable grade to me and way better than what I had seen at brick and mortar stores that I''ve looked at the past few months.

Also, I liked the way the diamond looked on the James Allen website and using the "virual loupe" at James Allen I didn''t see any big inclusions on the ring that I have seen on some other rings in the price range and size. Like I said I have a lot to learn and I''m sure I''m not completely understanding the advice everyone is giving to me, but I''m just curious if the ring I listed is a good deal or if it''s a horrible deal and if I can do better with the same price range and within the same carat range. Again I''m open to all advice anyone has as I try and figure out all this diamond stuff. Thanks for your responses.
 
I just looked at that Whiteflash diamond to see what an 'ideal' princess photo would look like.

Yeah JA doesn't have the info listed for AGA cut grading, I was going by thier internal cut grading that listed the lighter stone I referenced as 2 grades better in cut ideal vs good. I have no idea what grade means at JA that might be an interesting question to email them. However I looked at round diamonds thier where the standards for what makes a good stone is more well defined (using the cut advisor on this site), and 'ideal' did seem better overall than 'good' with respect to their Hollaway Cut Advisor scores.

What troubled me about the stone you picked out is it seemed to sacrifice quality for being heavier which in itself is fine, except the extra weight came on the underside of the diamond which you can't see if it is in a ring, versus the extra weight making the top of the diamond larger. So if the lighter stone is cut better (thus sparkles more) and appears to be the exact same size from the top, it seems like a better choice to me. Or another example would be that this stone may look noticibly smaller than other 1ct stones.

As for inclusions I don't think you will see any in any vs2 or better diamond except under magnification.
 
The AGA cut chart is proportion based and cannot be used as an absolute for fancy cuts. It doesn''t tell how sparkly the stone will look but merely gives you nice looking proportions. It doesn''t account for all the angles. Even an Idealscope isn''t enough - it only measures light leakage. Unless you use the ASET, I would try to look for AGS0 which has already passed the ASET test for light performance of the princess cut stone.
 
I am also looking for princess cuts and having a hard time interpreting all the info out there.

Take a look at this article from good old gold....helps breakdown all the different pieces that go into analyzing a princess.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/classic.php?page=princess.htm

Makes me want to buy from Good Old Gold too! Also - go to the home page and view their new video on the princess of hearts cut....you will really see the difference between a standard cut princess and the more brilliant cut princess of hearts.
 
Date: 5/1/2008 12:16:18 AM
Author: SWVADiamondShopper
You're right the 'perfect' princess at whiteflash would be way out of my price range. I'm looking for something along the lines of $3,000-$3,500 for an engagement ring. I know I have more reading to do on this site, but I also know I'm not going to be getting a 'perfect' ring, I'm more worried about the best bang for my buck. With the diamond I listed, I tried to reference the 'AGA Rules For Determining 'Overall' Cut Grade' posted on this site for princess cut diamonds and see how the diamond compared. Granted James Allen doesn't have all the information listed that the AGA grading reference does, but I thought the diamond was a 1B-2A cut based on the AGA scale. Now I'm not exactly sure what that means, but that seemed like a reasonable grade to me and way better than what I had seen at brick and mortar stores that I've looked at the past few months.

Also, I liked the way the diamond looked on the James Allen website and using the 'virual loupe' at James Allen I didn't see any big inclusions on the ring that I have seen on some other rings in the price range and size. Like I said I have a lot to learn and I'm sure I'm not completely understanding the advice everyone is giving to me, but I'm just curious if the ring I listed is a good deal or if it's a horrible deal and if I can do better with the same price range and within the same carat range. Again I'm open to all advice anyone has as I try and figure out all this diamond stuff. Thanks for your responses.
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Hi SWV,

If you read here enough, you'll learn cut is king. It's what makes or breaks a diamond. Cut will make it sparkle like mad, and also help lower color stones face up whiter. Many of us would rather have a smaller, well cut stone, than a larger poorly cut stone. The one from JA would really show the color, it's not cut well. I would say definitely pass.

Might I suggest getting her a great cut stone, at a vendor who has a great upgrade policy? This stone is affordable, and not horribly smaller in diameter. Just a thought!
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http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-912080.htm#
 
I think you can do better than the first stone.
 
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