What would YOU buy? 7mm F VS2 or 7.5mm I VS2??

[angeline]

I''m second-guessing my choices again! I know you must be sick of it, I''m sick of it! I thought I had decided on the 1.64 I VS1 but then there was this 1.53 I VS2 which was only .16mm smaller but $1600 cheaper! All ACA.

So please help me decide this age-old q. Size or color? (or even more size?) Summing it up:

1. 6.95mm F VS2
2. 7.5mm I VS2 ($670 more than #!)
3. 7.67mm I VS1 ($1600 more than #2, $2270 more than #1)

- all ACA

Help!

a

 

[Mara]

haha well since you asked.

for $12kish, i would choose this one:

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-2433959.htm
1.80 Expert Selection I SI1

the cut on it is not 1000000% primo but it's pretty sweet for the price.

as a 2nd choice i would take the 1.64 I VS that you like. i'm a size whore!

 

[angeline]

Hi Mara, I did see that one!! The IS looks a little wonky. Do you think it would still look great and sparkly? I was tempted, just nervous about a non-H&A, non-ACA. I''ll include the IS...

 

[Mara]

the symmetry looks like it's a little off, but the idealscope has great light return. the crown angle is a little high for me but the IS is intriguing. it'd be kind of interesting to see it in person i think. can you have brian or someone at WF compare that diamond and the 1.64? i would totally trust his opinion on one stone vs the other. it kind of depends on what the priority is. i really like that 1.80c stone for the price, but you are looking at all ACA's so if absolutely top notch cut is what you are looking for, then this stone may not fit that bill. for a small size increase, mentally it may not be worth it to give up that 'superideal' mental perfection. but for $12k that 1.80 is no slouch!

 

[belle]

Date: 8/18/2006 3:36:08 PM
Author:angeline

So please help me decide this age-old q. Size or color? (or even more size?) Summing it up:

it is such a personal decision. which is more important to you? there is not going to be a big difference either way. well....just enough difference to make this difficult!

i say throw out #3. the difference sizewise is not enough to keep it in the running with #2 for that big of a price jump.

i would lean towards size.

 

[VINA]

Personally, I prefer F|G and VS2|Si1. Colorless is a nice color on diamond. Don't make that common mistake of sacrafying color for carat weight.

Cut, color, clarity and carat. That's my order.

 

[angeline]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Vina, the thing is I can''t see the difference between a G and an I! Color blind you might say... Clarity for some reason really bugs me, even if I can''t see the inclusions with my eye, seeing them under a loupe or microscope gets to me.

I''m still undecided. WF have #2 on hold for me but that could all change! oh well, we''ll see.....

a

 

[VINA]

You can definately see a difference between 2 color grades. You may not see it in the jewelry store lighting; but you will see it at home or in office lighting. Ask the jeweller to put both stones in a white paper boat and you will see a big difference between F and I colors.

Good luck on your purchase. Just make sure that you know what F and I look like side by side on a white background and purchase whatever you are happy with.

 

[Mara]

Date: 8/20/2006 9:11:22 PM
Author: VINA
You can definately see a difference between 2 color grades. You may not see it in the jewelry store lighting; but you will see it at home or in office lighting. Ask the jeweller to put both stones in a white paper boat and you will see a big difference between F and I colors.

Good luck on your purchase. Just make sure that you know what F and I look like side by side on a white background and purchase whatever you are happy with.

I agree that you should know what you are buying, but there ARE people who cannot really see a visual difference in two color grades. I had a G stone then an H and then a J and I was just as happy with the J as I was with the G or H stone. The H looked exactly like the G to me. My husband has an E diamond and it looked the same to us as our H from the side, both were ideal cut. And in daily wear for me, colorless was not required. People should definitely be educated and get what they are happy with. Colorless or near or whatever.

 

[Gypsy]

#2 would be my choice. No way on #3.

Can you have both sent to you? And you could decide that way?

 

[gailrmv]

The one Mara suggested sounds like a great option. In general I''d take size over color in the ranges you are talking about. My e-ring is I, SI-1 (very eye clean) and that''s my "sweet spot." I can''t imagine my stone being any whiter honestly!

 

[Miranda]

Date: 8/20/2006 12:18:53 PM
Author: VINA
Personally, I prefer F|G and VS2|Si1. Colorless is a nice color on diamond. Don''t make that common mistake of sacrafying color for carat weight.

Cut, color, clarity and carat. That''s my order.

No well cut diamond is a mistake IMO! They are all beautiful and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, anyway.

That said...It''s worth checking out the 1.8...I, too, am a size girl.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/20/2006 9:11:22 PM
Author: VINA
You can definately see a difference between 2 color grades. You may not see it in the jewelry store lighting; but you will see it at home or in office lighting. Ask the jeweller to put both stones in a white paper boat and you will see a big difference between F and I colors.

Good luck on your purchase. Just make sure that you know what F and I look like side by side on a white background and purchase whatever you are happy with.

I don't dispute there's a difference, but I do dispute how important that difference is in daily wear conditions.

Sure, I agree you can see the difference when the diamonds are in a white paper boat, and that difference is important insofar as it affects the value/price of the stone.

BUT......people don't wear diamonds mounted in white paper boats side by side. Most people wear a diamond mounted in a metal setting and not placed next to another diamond of varying color.

So, in practical daily wear, what matters is "can you see body tinge when it's mounted, and if you can see it, does it bother you?"

I can begin to see tint in I color stones when they are on white paper and next to other stones, but when a stone is mounted alone, I don't begin to see color until J, and even then only in the larger J stones. It doesn't bother me.

Angeline: I don't know where your priorities lie (size vs. precision). If you are a size freak, it might be worth checking out the stone Mara pointed to. If you're not a size freak, I'd go with #2. In my opinion, there's likely no visual clarity difference, so I wouldn't find the value in spending that much more for it.

 

[Groovy Chick]

I would definitely go for the F without a moment''s hesitation! It''s a gorgeous size AND colourless!

I''m one of "those people" who can detect the colour variation between each grade when a stone is mounted and without needing a white background or another stone to compare to.

Once you get to the size stone you are looking at colour becomes very important IMO. I have an 1.5ct E and I often find myself looking through it side on and when I do I admire it''s colourlessness.

I can also detect a difference between the colours when stones are face up. I was in a jewellery store this morning and the assistant was amazed at how I could point to a diamond and tell her it''s colour and every time she checked the specs I was dead right.

There''s something ethereal about the colourless stones to me! I just looooove them!

GC from NZ

 

[VINA]

Aljdewey wrote:

BUT......people don't wear diamonds mounted in white paper boats side by side. Most people wear a diamond mounted in a metal setting and not placed next to another diamond of varying color.

So, in practical daily wear, what matters is "can you see body tinge when it's mounted, and if you can see it, does it bother you?"

That is true! But how many time a girl look at her ring at her office desk and notice how white her diamond is? It doesn't have to be on white paper. I mention the white paper so that the original poster can have some kind of reference to how I or J compared to something near colorless.

Your statement reminds me of a local jeweler friend told me not to waste money on ideal cut stones because who can see a difference between ideal cut stones and Very Good stones in normal daylight condition and practical viewing distance.

Just as I somewhat agree with him (between ideal and VG cuts) as I agree with you here. I buy ideal stones because I appreciate the little extra beauty in craftmanship. I like F|G because the little less of yellow not because I am wearing it on white paper.

I once have a good cut 20 pointers that I mixed up with five ideal cut H&A stones on purpose to see if I can pick out the good cut from the ideal cut stones base on its face up performance. I couldn't under various lighting conditions. I picked the wrong one twice and finally gave up and use a H&A viewer to find the inferior cut stone.

A few reputable vendors here mentioned that the ultimate sweet combination is F|VS2 for engagement ring.

 

[belle]

the original poster already said that she can not tell the difference between a ''g'' and a ''j'' . it does not matter one iota what other people can see or should see or want to see. she said she can''t tell the difference.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/21/2006 6:57:19 PM
Author: VINA


Your statement reminds me of a local jeweler friend told me not to waste money on ideal cut stones because who can see a difference between ideal cut stones and Very Good stones in normal daylight condition and practical viewing distance.

Just as I somewhat agree with him (between ideal and VG cuts) as I agree with you here. I buy ideal stones because I appreciate the little extra beauty in craftmanship. I like F|G because the little less of yellow not because I am wearing it on white paper.

I can get behind that notion.....and if the original poster said "I can't see a difference betwen the G and the J, but I kind of like KNOWING that it's a higher color", I'd likely agree with you.

I guess I'd say this: refer to the poster's question. The question was "what would YOU buy?" And my answer is, I'd buy #2. I personally don't think it's worth $1600 more to get an F. Just don't.

I honestly couldn't care less what my diamond looks like on white paper. I've had my e-ring for almost 4 years, and I can't ever recall placing it against something white and admiring how white it looks.

 

[VINA]

I agree with other posters that number 3 doesn't make sense.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Angeline, where have you looked at diamond color? If it has only been in jewelry store lighting, then it is to be expected that you can''t tell one color from another. It really takes getting stones into more natural lighting conditions to see if you can tell color differences or have color preferences. I think anyone could see the difference in and F and an I in the right lighting. But it''s still completely a matter of preference, as are all the C''s. Of those 3, I''d probably try the larger I because you could always upgrade the color later even if you wanted to stay with the same size. That is what Demleza recently did. I think she changed her I to a G because the I color did bother her. It really is a very personal decision.

 

[angeline]

I want to thank everyone for giving me their opinions. It is helpful...but also confusing! I know it's personal, I'm just so bad at making up my mind! The jewelry store people took me outside with the stones on a white tray. Honestly, I thought the J looked whiter than the I. Side on I could see the yellow in the J immediately. I just don't want to go to the expense of a setting (I'm thinking tension which could easily be $4k) and then be disappointed.

Sigh... what do you all think of this one?

G SI1

It's the most expensive of the lot. I would love to get higher clarity but something's got to give. The money is there, my dh would just prefer I don't spend it all I guess. So I guess I'm tied between the 7.5mm I VS2 (#2 in the original question)

and the above G. WF have said the G SI1 is eyeclean.

Thanks for your opinions!

 

[VINA]

The above G|SI1 stone got my vote. Exellent cut, near colorless, eye-clean and great weight. A no-compromise stone.

 

[suzi]

Date: 8/20/2006 12:27:29 PM
Author: angeline
Thanks everyone for your replies. Vina, the thing is I can''t see the difference between a G and an I! Color blind you might say... Clarity for some reason really bugs me, even if I can''t see the inclusions with my eye, seeing them under a loupe or microscope gets to me.

I''m still undecided. WF have #2 on hold for me but that could all change! oh well, we''ll see.....

a

I think you need to decide which of the "C''s" is the most important priority to you. It sounds as if yours is clarity. I can understand, since clarity is one of my prioriities also. I don''t think the size difference between the stones #2 and#3 is significant enough to make the price difference worth paying. You might notice a slight difference between #1 and #2...and if you are not bothered by color, I''d say go for #2. Both stones are VS2, which should absolutely be eyeclean, and most likely will not have inclusions that you will be able to see even with magnification.

I had a RHR with a diamond center stone that was SI1...I was continually "looking" for the inclusion. It drove me nuts. I ended up giving the ring away, because every time I wore it, I spent too much time trying to see the inclusion.