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Where to put the most weighting/emphasis??

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tlroyce1

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I''ve been looking for an engagement diamond for about 2 weeks now. At first I thought color made the most difference to me, but now I''m realizing cut does.
If I put the emphasis on cut, and get a low color and clarity J/SI2 is it going to make the cut look really bad?

Inclusions seem to be barely noticable in most diamonds and to me color is nearly impossible to judge unless you have two drastically different colored diamonds next to each other.

Here are two that caught my eye and seem like a great deal.
Also is there a bias against BN on here? As I see most people point to whiteflash and good old good more.

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-very-good-cut-j-color-si2-clarity_LD01409940?filter_id=0

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-ideal-cut-j-color-si2-clarity_LD01397180?filter_id=0

Also, a friend put me in contact with Millman Diamonds in NY on 47th st. Has anyone had experience with them.

Am I headed in the wrong direction with my choices?
Advice?
Suggestions?

Thanks
 
SI2 might be risking it if you are going with BN as they do not have a picture of the diamond presented.

Most PSers points to WF, GOG is because of the large amount of data they presented for their diamonds, so it is easier to make a selection without seeing it physically.

I would at most go to a scale of J, SI1 on BN, possibly K with WF, GOG. But call their customer service to make sure the stone you are interested in is eye-clean first.

stone 1 HCA 5.2
stone 2 HCA 5.4

Frankly both are bad performer. Use the cut advisor to check out your stone first. Read about how to use the cut advisor and what are the limitations.
https://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp

GIA excellent cut are are defined too loose, some are really excellent cut some are not, the stones you selected are not. Try and get the HCA to be below 2.
 
Date: 9/21/2008 12:32:08 PM
Author:tlroyce1

If I put the emphasis on cut, and get a low color and clarity J/SI2 is it going to make the cut look really bad?



Thanks
Click to expand...
A diamond of any colour and clarity ( if eyeclean to eyecleanish) will look great if the cut is excellent, conversely a D Flawless would look like dull glass if the cut was poor. The first diamond you posted is poorly cut so scratch that one, the second might be ok if I am reading the crown angle correctly at 35 deg on my monitor, however with CA 35/ PA 41 an Idealscope image is essential to be able to see if this combo works well in that particular diamond, and BN don't provide those. So I would keep looking, use the numbers posted in your other thread to use as a guide.
 
WF''s ES and ACA stones and GOG stones are personally picked for excellent performance. An excellent cut stone will still face up white compared with a not so ideal cut stone.

For BN, they are not selected except by from the grading report as far as I know and there are no additional plots such as IS, ASET or even the actual photograph of the stone for me to determine it''s performance so I would play on the safe side and stay away from my minimum acceptable level.

That''s my 2cts.

I would worry about the indented natural, that is too general an inclusion, and the scan is too bad for me to determine where it is.
 
I''ve also noticed that WF has "virtual diamonds" I actually just inquired about one, is this something I should stay away from, or just run of the mill practices.
 
Their ACA and ES selections are in house or inbound. Their other selections are not though. You could stay away from those or just call up their sales rep and tell them what you are looking for and they would guide you or bring in some of their virtual diamonds that you are interested in.
 
I called Blue Nile to find out if the stone is eyeclean. They said they would get back to me later today, and in the meanwhile put the stone on hold.

Is it possible that the stone could score a 1 on the HCA and have a low idealscope rating? I don''t quite understand how the two tie together.

Also, when I spoke to BN they said they recommend going one color up, but posters on here seem to say if it has a truly great cut that you will not notice the color?

Thanks
 
Date: 9/22/2008 3:12:48 PM
Author: tlroyce1
I called Blue Nile to find out if the stone is eyeclean. They said they would get back to me later today, and in the meanwhile put the stone on hold.

Is it possible that the stone could score a 1 on the HCA and have a low idealscope rating? I don''t quite understand how the two tie together.

Also, when I spoke to BN they said they recommend going one color up, but posters on here seem to say if it has a truly great cut that you will not notice the color?

Thanks
Click to expand...
The last BN diamond looks promising by the numbers. As to the HCA it is used to eliminate lesser performers not to select a diamond. As Idealscope image is used to determine if a diamond is leaking light, so they both have different roles to play. As to the colour, some do recommend keeping the colour as high as possible, however if the cut is good an I colour will still look white to many, the best way to find out your own preferences is to check out some well cut, same size and shape, same lab graded I colour in person.
 
Blue Nile has a good return policy so if you decide to get one from them you can return if it doesn't look as good as you'd like. There really isn't anyone at BN to visually inspect the stone and chat with you about it's pros and cons. And that's what the bias is all about.

Most PSers want to be able to talk to someone who has that stone in their hands and can photograph it, describe it and give their opinion on it. The PS vendors hand pick most of the stones (and the cutters they use) that they carry in-house and are willing to pull in other stones and assess them before recommending them.

We like to use all the tools available if we're going to buy a stone on the internet. The numbers only tell so much. Photos, ASETS tell more.

So it's not that you can't find something you'll be happy with at BN. It's just riskier without visuals. I'm guessing that a 1.75ct for under $9000 can't be a beautifully cut stone, otherwise it would be in BN's Signature-Ideal Collection. (1.75ct in their Signature-Ideal collection is around $14K however they don't seem to offer any J's. That probably is why they are suggesting to go up in color)
 
swing -
How can it not be beautifully cut if its an ideal cut, and scores a 1 on the HCA? Isn't that way above average?

I even put a few of the expert selection diamonds from white flash into the HCA and they came back at 3 and 4, even this BN signature ideal is a 1.2


, when the ideal one I put in came back at 1.
http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-signature-ideal-cut-i-color-si1-clarity_LD01414991?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report

I dont have access to the diamond calc and gem advisor since they are expensive.

could it be that I just stumbled onto a great diamond?
 
This latest one is in Signature category, scores well on the HCA (Anything below 2 is good and lower isn''t better. It''s just a method to weed out the bad ones) and is smaller and more expensive than the 1.75 for $8K. So this most recent one may very well be a great stone.
 
How can you use the cut advisor without the crown and pavillion angles? I don''t see this info on the BN diamonds.
 
Date: 9/23/2008 12:26:02 PM
Author: ShariMichele
How can you use the cut advisor without the crown and pavillion angles? I don''t see this info on the BN diamonds.
Click to expand...
Read from the GIA reports.
 
Date: 9/22/2008 7:30:03 PM
Author: tlroyce1
swing -
How can it not be beautifully cut if its an ideal cut, and scores a 1 on the HCA? Isn''t that way above average?

I even put a few of the expert selection diamonds from white flash into the HCA and they came back at 3 and 4, even this BN signature ideal is a 1.2


, when the ideal one I put in came back at 1.
http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-signature-ideal-cut-i-color-si1-clarity_LD01414991?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report

I dont have access to the diamond calc and gem advisor since they are expensive.

could it be that I just stumbled onto a great diamond?
Click to expand...
The above diamond appears to be a very well cut diamond looking at the numbers. Also concerning the HCA in case you aren''t aware, it isn''t a case of the lower the score the better the diamond, the aim is to score 2 or below in most cases, then evaluate with Idealscope images, trusted vendor/ appraiser advice.
 
tlroyce1 if you by chance get this or anyone else. What is your opinion on Millman Diamonds?
 
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