Which Diamond - .96, H, SI1 or 1.29, H, SI1?

[fitch1980]

Hello Everyone,

I have been shopping for an engagement ring now for several months and I have received a lot of advice from Pricescope and all of the forums people have posted in this forum. I have narrowed my search down to two diamonds that I am trying to choose between. My budget could only afford around a 100 point diamond solitaire, but then I found a 129 point that I really liked. The price difference is $2000 and I am trying to justify spending the extra money for the larger diamond. If anybody could give me their opinions or expertise I would greatly appreciate it. Would anyone choose either of the two diamonds?

Round Brilliant Round Brilliant
GIA Certificate EGL Certificate
Carat .96 Carat 1.29
Meas. 6.3 x 6.32 x 3.99 mm Meas. 7.04 x 6.95 x 4.32 mm
Total Depth 63.2% Total Depth 61.8%
Total Table 56% Total Table 57%
Girdle - thin to medium Girdle - medium faceted
Culet - none Culet - None
Finish Polish - Good Finish Polish - Good
Symmetry - Very Good Symmetry - Very Good
Clarity - SI1 Clarity - SI1
Flourescents - None Flourescents - None
Color - H Color - H

Thanks in advance.

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

#1 is too deep. If you want to spend less money find a nice .96ct that will show its diameter.

#2 looks promising.

Have you seen them both in person? Which one do you like?

 

[valeria101]

1.29, sure that. Now, EGL''s H/SI1 may be not the same as GIA''s on average, but the average may or may not be relevant for this stone in particular. These being SI, what the inclusions are and where they are inside the stone matter and remains to be seen for either of these two. Same for cut. Actually, that GIA stone is kind''a deep and there is no way to know if eitehr of these has the right proportions to make it brilliant. At least EGL gives a bit more cut info on their reports - the crown height and pavilionde pth. Do you have those ? How about the clarity plot ?

 

[fitch1980]

Thanks for your response and input.

Both of the diamonds are from the same jeweler. I have seen both of them in person and I am leaning towards getting the 1.29 diamond. I did an analysis of the diamond on the websites "Holloway Cut Adviser" the diamond scored a 1.3 (Excellent) for the cut. The color and clarity also fall under my criteria for the quality I am looking for

The 1.29 diamond is a little bit more then I wanted to spend, but it does look like my top choice so far.

Does anyone else have any opinions about the 1.29 carat diamond? I don''t have much time as I have already set a date for the proposal and I would like people''s opinions since this is my first time buying a diamond solitaire.

 

[fitch1980]

The Crown and Pavillion are both listed below:

The Diamonds Crown Height 15%
Pavillion Depth 43%

As far as the clarity the diamond it does have a slight feather or crack at 3 o''clock on the stone, it is not noticeable by the naked eye though, but definitely under 10x magnification, other then that there are only a few very small specs of carbon at 6 o''clock in the diamond.

 

[Patty]

fitch, I would ask if the feather breaks the surface of the stone. (On the 1.29) If it doesn''t then I would go with it. To me, the size difference would be worth the extra money. Also, like others have said, the .96 is a little bit deep. (My ideal cut .95 is 6.36-6.38 mms)

 

[fitch1980]

I do appreciate everyone''s responses and I do think that I will purchase the 1.29 carat diamond. Now it''s just a matter of talking down the asking price. I have done research in regards to how much the diamond should roughly cost. The cost is inline with what other online vendors and B&M facilities are charging for similar diamonds. I want to talk the price down atleast 5%.

Does anyone have any "tricks of the trade" of doing this instead of just asking for the 5% discount?

Is there anyone that would NOT purchase this diamond? I would value anybody''s opinion as I am a first time buyer.

Thanks,

David

 

[belle]

5%? where do you get that from? you said it was "in line" with the other prices, why do you feel you need to "talk down" the price?

 

[Kamuelamom]

Hi and welcome to pricescope! Glad you came here for some input.

GIA certs are usually favored over EGL certs. But that says nothing. I''m in agreement with the depth of the .96 being a little too steep, but then again I have not seen either of these stones in person, only you have and can make the judgement. $2k is a lot of difference in price. Continue to work on talking that down a bit. In the end if it is the one that sings to you, .30 difference does matter to the eye and if you have the money for it, I say why not? The difference in price probably has lots to do with going over the magic 1 ct number. .96 will definitely be a great bargain for your money, as you can clearly see.

Good luck and do keep us posted.

~kmom

 

[fitch1980]

I appreciate everyone telling me to stay away from the .96 Carat diamond, if it wouldn''t have been for this form then I would have probably went with that diamond. I really like the 1.29 diamond, so I will probably spend a little bit more then I budgeted for and get a diamond that is as brilliant as I can afford.

I thought that 5% would be a good starting point, I have not bargained yet with the price since I have only seen the diamond 1 time. So I thought that would be fair to take atleast 5% off of the price if I pay cash. Is it normal to atleast discount a couple of percent from the list price, the guy said that they don''t discount their solitaires because they are at market value. I know they have to be making something so I hopefully will be able to get some sort of discount.

 

[belle]

i think if you are paying cash, then maybe a 2% discount would be appropriate. that is the fee% that credit card companies charge merchants to be able to accept cc payments. since you won''t be using a cc, they won''t have to pay the fee. and yes, they probably are making *something*, that is the only way you can run a business.