What would you buy? A cut above H&A or...

[firefox]

Hi, I''m rather new to this forum and while I''ve been ''studying'' as much as I can, I guess I don''t feel as confident since I have not seen most of these diamonds (that I''ve come to like) in-person.

My husband is planning on buying me a new wedding ring (when we got married, we were living rather modestly - very modest actually) and now he''d like to buy me a nicer ring. But since he has no idea about diamonds, he wants me to just pick and let him know. The thing is, I''m somewhat of a newb myself. I know different people have their preferences when it comes to a diamond...I just want a decent-sized diamond that is very sparkly and brilliant I guess. That sounds very generic but I''m taking a look at some diamonds via whiteflash, goodoldgold, bluenile, etc. and I''m wondering about a couple of things:

I know CUT is very important but HOW important?

I''m currently looking at:

Report: AGS
. Shape: A Cut Above H&A
. Carat: 1.054
. Depth %: 61.3
. Table %: 56.3
. Crown Angle: 34.9
. Crown %: 15.5
. Star : 50.5
. Pavilion Angle: 40.7
. Pavilion %: 42.9
. Lower Girdle %: 76.2
. Girdle: Thin to Medium Faceted
. Measurements: 6.55-6.58X4.02
. Light Performance: 0
. Polish: Ideal
. Symmetry: Ideal
. Culet: Pointed
. Fluorescence: Negligible
(Price listed on website $6,690.00)

Would you buy a diamond like the one above? Or would you buy this:

Report: GIA
Carat weight: 1.06
Cut: Ideal
Color: E
Clarity: SI1
Depth %: 61.7%
Table %: 54.5%
Symmetry: Ideal
Polish: Ideal
Girdle: Slightly thick to very thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.53 x 6.58 x 4.04 mm
(Price listed on website $5999.00)

Are there any stores that you would recommend in California where I can look at something similar to the first diamond mentioned? Thanks for all your help!

-Newb

*studying

 

[Regular Guy]

Mozilla here...

Color & clarity for the first?

 

[hgau999]

I''m not an expert but from what i''ve learned so far based just by the numbers and not knowing what the crown and pavillion angles are for the 2nd stone, the 1st stone looks better. Just because the girdle of the second stone is very thick, which doesn''t help the spread dimension of the stone. You could probably find a better stone with better spread if the girdle was between thin - sl. thick. For a better idea of the diamond you would need to look at the an ideal scope or ASET image.

 

[Skippy123]

The 1st one and WF and GOG have a lifetime upgrade policy if you ever want to upgrade again in the future.

 

[somethingshiny]

Skippy makes a VERY good point. And, most PSers would never turn down a H&A.

 

[oobiecoo]

I''m sure some people may disagree withg me but I think you could definitely have an amazing stone by just buying an "ideal" cut diamond instead of the H&A. Maybe not the one you posted, but ideal cuts are still wonderful and would probably let you get something a tiny bit larger for your budget.

 

[pyle112]

You should actually go look at some stones in person. one easy way to take a look at high quality super ideal stones would be to find a HoF (hearts on fire) dealer. In this way you''d also get a feeling for color and clarity preferences, and even size preferences.

You might not find very big differences in person between ideal well cut stones and super ideal stones. Over time you may find that the higher quality stones will perform better as they get dirty.

Branded superideals a guarantees of quality and performance, but you may not notice the difference.

 

[pyle112]

double post

 

[aljdewey]

Would absolutely buy #1 between those two stones.

No sense paying for extra weight in the girdle.

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 10/26/2007 4:14:28 PM
Author: aljdewey
Would absolutely buy #1 between those two stones.

No sense paying for extra weight in the girdle.

Guys...#1 is a G SI 1. (dollars to donuts...I went to look). The other options is cheaper and an E.

Does it matter?

At what point would it?

P.S Btw...I also see #2 missing crown & pavilion angles...which I'd want before making any purchase...probably.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 10/26/2007 4:29:01 PM
Author: Regular Guy

Date: 10/26/2007 4:14:28 PM
Author: aljdewey
Would absolutely buy #1 between those two stones.

No sense paying for extra weight in the girdle.

Guys...#1 is a G SI 1. (dollars to donuts...I went to look). The other options is cheaper and an E.

Ok, #1 is a G. It''s ALSO.....

1) definitely well cut
2) has what I consider to be better paper
3) is a known product inspected with an inhouse vendor.

Where is the E coming from? Drop shipper, or known reputable vendor? We don''t know.

The E is cheaper, that''s true. Don''t you wonder WHY? No one gives away profit, so if it''s better in color, and it''s similarly priced to a top-make G, then where do you think the other difference is likely to be? In my opinion, the most likely suspect is cut, and looking at the thick/extremely thick girdle makes me even more suspect.

Maybe it''s a fabulous E and it is just ridiculously cheap. But in my reality, you don''t get something for nothing, so there is most likely a REASON that a stone with equal size, equal clarity *and* two grades BETTER in color would be priced $1,000 less.

The cautious shopper in me would still choose the G.