Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Very good cut but get 2.0 HCA

That is odd because I got a different HCA score. The crown and pavilion 32 / 40.6 is shallow. I believe based on the score I got it is going to have more brilliance but less fire.
 
phungc|1396651533|3647540 said:
Does it mean this diamond is absolutely dark, lifeless and beyond acceptable?

I found another diamond (links below) whose measurement is quite similar to this one but it is listed as EX cut and scores 2.8 on HCA. Would this one be a better choice?

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-234480

Thank you!
Click to expand...

If I was looking at a stone in your price range, I'd check out this one (with video):

.94ct, H color from HPD
http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-default&id=20
 
Thank you for your suggestion. That looks great and sparkle and flashy but I am looking for a 1ct one.Would you kindly give your opinions from your experience on the two below?

Very good cut and 2 on HCA 58.4% depth, 61% table, 32° crown angle, 40.6° pavilion angle
EX cut and 2.8 on HCA 59.5% depth, 61% table, 33° crown angle, 41.2° pavilion angle
 
phungc|1396655300|3647600 said:
Thank you for your suggestion. That looks great and sparkle and flashy but I am looking for a 1ct one.Would you kindly give your opinions from your experience on the two below?

Very good cut and 2 on HCA 58.4% depth, 61% table, 32° crown angle, 40.6° pavilion angle
EX cut and 2.8 on HCA 59.5% depth, 61% table, 33° crown angle, 41.2° pavilion angle
Click to expand...

I understand your desire to have "1 carat", but know that the prices go up at that "magic number" - and you will often find a 0.98, for instance, that actually looks larger. You are picking the perfect cut-off point for paying much more than you have to.
 
phungc|1396655300|3647600 said:
Thank you for your suggestion. That looks great and sparkle and flashy but I am looking for a 1ct one.Would you kindly give your opinions from your experience on the two below?

Very good cut and 2 on HCA 58.4% depth, 61% table, 32° crown angle, 40.6° pavilion angle
EX cut and 2.8 on HCA 59.5% depth, 61% table, 33° crown angle, 41.2° pavilion angle
Click to expand...


second is out. The first is not my favorite. Shallow crown and big table combo.

You can do better.
 
This explains the HCA and the idealscope thing a bit better.

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough.
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. 2 and under is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. Over 2.5 is a no. No score under 2 is better than any other (though there may be combos that are better than others -- like the J VS2 with the large table and low crown you picked, it passes HCA, but there are nicer stones out there).
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. James Allen and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.
 
What's your max budget?
 
kay1|1396657221|3647626 said:
What's your max budget?
Click to expand...

Good call. Let us find you the stones. It will be easier.
 
Oh guys. You guys would even offer your help to look one. I don't know what to say :)

Thank you Gypsy for taking your time and putting together a very concise and easy to understand about selecting diamonds. I know a lot more now.

I already find a 1000$ ring on JamesAllen.I have to pay tax around 500$ for tax. So my budget for for the diamond is around 4500$ but willing to go a bit more.
 
Would I have your thought on this one? Is it eye-clean? It is EX cut and score 1.7 on HCA 58.5% depth, 61% table, 32.5° crown angle, 40.8° pavilion angle

Thank you!
 
OK. I see the problem now.

The pickings are slim at J color and 1 carat. So something has to give. I'm stretching your color to K.

So these are the best choice under 4,500
HCA is 2.6 but...http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.00-carat-k-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-147729 this one is a K with strong blue, which will make it look whiter. And it's completely clean. So let's get an idealscope of it.

This one that you picked earlier will have to come back to consideration: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-j-color-vs2-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-214529 I said you could do better, but that was before I knew your budget, which unfortunately is a bit low for a near colorless one carat.


BUT
If you could stretch you budget... this one would be a great choice: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-263507 JA will give you a slight PS discount. It's an AGS0. And clean. You might want to call and see if you could afford this one.

^^^^^ That's the stone I'd tell you to put on hold ASAP. Because it's a very nice stone. The others aren't really even in the same league.
 
if you like any of the settings by this vendor, you may want to see if you can put this one on hold: http://www.eternitybyyoni.com/diamond_detail.php?id=1462477&ref=pricescope# Ask them for the certificate, and an image of the stone and see if it runs well on the HCA (comes up on the PS search as passing the HCA). I believe this vendor does provide idealscope images as well, so ask for that too.

And they do have a good reputation from the reviews on here.
 
Thank you Gypsy! I have placed the the 3 on JA on hold. I will work on others. By the way, what is PS discount?
 
phungc|1396671772|3647740 said:
Thank you Gypsy! I have placed the the 3 on JA on hold. I will work on others. By the way, what is PS discount?
Click to expand...

Some of our vendors offer a PS discount. You just need to call and ask for it at time of purchase. :wavey:
 
Are you sure you are comfortable with K color?

I respectfully disagree with Gypsy that cut always determines the look of a diamond more than any other factor. Color can make or break the look of a diamond, as can size. I do agree that cut should not be compromised but this comes at the expense of other factors. Color is both the easiest and hardest to compromise on, depending on how much the individual values color.

K is pretty perfuse with yellowish, and this will affect how the diamond looks, especially closer up. I would full stop not get K color unless you're absolutely certain the wearer is okay with it.
 
That's a good price for 1 ct.
 
phungc|1396726506|3648016 said:
I think I will go the J ones Gypsy suggested.

I really like the one on eternitybyyoni but they have not responded with the images at all.

So I asked JA for the price after discount of the 263507 (a big thank to Gypsy for letting me know about discount by the way) and it is $4950. The money is really the factor now. Is the price right guys?

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-263507
Click to expand...

Please make sure you ask if this stone is eyeclean to your satisfaction - per the video (and the inclusion plot on the report) there are inclusions close to the center of the table - looks to be a dark-ish crystal and a feather?
 
You have gotten some good advice here. Regardless of who you go with, be sure that you can look and return it if you are not pleased.

Wink
 
Thank you you guys a lot for all help.

I chatted with a JA rep and he said the thing in the middle is white so it should be eye-clean.
 
I think it'll be really really hard to see the inclusion. As far as inclusions under the table, this is of the better type.

Inclusions are much more obvious when the diamond is dirty, and in certain light. Most office light is unforgiving.

James Allen has the cool feature where you can shrink down the size of the diamond. That gives you a better perspective on how it'll look from farther away.
 
teobdl said:
I think it'll be really really hard to see the inclusion. As far as inclusions under the table, this is of the better type.

Inclusions are much more obvious when the diamond is dirty, and in certain light. Most office light is unforgiving.

James Allen has the cool feature where you can shrink down the size of the diamond. That gives you a better perspective on how it'll look from farther away.
Click to expand...

Thank you! So the mark in the center is very hard to see with naked-eye from the side.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top