Which diamond is the best?

[hooyeh]

Hello all,

I want to buy a princess cut diamond and have focused my attention on the following three, which one is the best?

I guess the color and clarity of these three should be fine for ordinary people's eyes. The thing that worries me the most is the cut (or the beauty of it) because the photos and the test results in the GCAL report are not very helpful at least for me, and I can't see the real thing before I buy it.

1. http://www.bluenile.com/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-f-color-vs1-clarity_LD02639346
Carat weight: 0.70
Cut: Signature Ideal
Color: F
Clarity: VS1
Depth %:70.1%
Table %:72%
Polish:Excellent
Symmetry:Excellent
Girdle:Slightly Thick to Thick
Culet:None
Fluorescence:None
Measurements: 4.95 x 4.92 x 3.45 mm
Length/width ratio:1.01

2. http://www.bluenile.com/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-g-color-vs1-clarity_LD02612967
Carat weight:0.73
Cut: Signature Ideal
Color: G
Clarity: VS1
Depth %:69.5%
Table %:70%
Polish:Excellent
Symmetry:Excellent
Girdle:Slightly Thick to Thick
Culet:None
Fluorescence:None
Measurements: 5.02 x 5.01 x 3.48 mm
Length/width ratio:1

3. http://www.bluenile.com/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-e-color-vs2-clarity_LD02639371
Carat weight:0.77
Cut: Signature Ideal
Color: E
Clarity: VS2
Depth %:70.9%
Table %:69%
Polish:Excellent
Symmetry:Excellent
Girdle:Very Thick
Culet:None
Fluorescence:None
Measurements: 5.04 x 4.99 x 3.54 mm
Length/width ratio:1.01

Thank you very much!

 

[E B]

Maybe a princess expert will chime in, but from what I know, it's hard to say without having more info. Do you need to buy from Blue Nile?

 

[hooyeh]

Yes.. Out of all the options, I do prefer Bluenile.

 

[Christina...]

I'm not a princess cut expert either, so I won't be much help, but I will tell you what I recommend to almost everyone considering BN....

....Because of the lack of information that they can provide it makes making an informed decision difficult, especially with fancy cuts because you can't buy by the numbers, so to speak, like with MRB. Princess cuts have a lot of different 'looks' as well, and not being able to see an actual image of the stone makes it more difficult especially if you have a preference to it's appearance, 2 chevron, or 4 chevron for example. The only princess cuts that I would personally consider sight unseen would have to be graded ideal cut by AGS, because they are currently the only lab that will grade princess cuts and offer a LP assessment. That said, they are a reputable company and have a good return policy. Have you considered having another vendor such as ID Jewelry call in these stones for you? They have the ability to take the necessary images for you and evaluate the stones, they can also beat BNs price. Might be worth investigating....



http://idjewelryonline.com/best_price.php

I just realized that your selections are all signature selections from BN, I'm not sure if that means that they personally hold the stone or not. If they do, then IDJ probably won't be able to call them in for you, but its worth asking.

EDIT: Of the three choices, if I had to choose, sight unseen, I would choose #2. I prefer a smaller table, it's very slightly larger than the others (this is important with princess cuts because they face up smaller than other shapes), and will still face up icy white, and it's probably the less expensive of the three options because it isn't considered colorless.

 

[Christina...]

Did you just purchase the .77? I just noticed it wasn't available for purchase anymore..

 

[hooyeh]

One thing that I'm not so sure about is the enlarged photomicrograph from top in the GCAL report for #2 (see here http://www.bluenile.com/certs/221630078.pdf?params=cHJvZHVjdD1CTiZwaG9uZT04ODgtNTY1LTc2NDEmbGluaz1odHRwJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJsdWVuaWxlLmNvbSUyRiUyRl9MRDAyNjEyOTY3JnNrdT1MRDAyNjEyOTY3JmxhYj1nY2FsJnNpemU9MTYwMCZjdXJyZW5jeT1VU0Qm).

What do the four relatively large dark areas around the center of the diamond mean? It seems that the actual size photo on top of this enlarged photomicrograph also shows these four dark areas.

http://idjewelryonline.com/best_price.php

I just realized that your selections are all signature selections from BN, I'm not sure if that means that they personally hold the stone or not. If they do, then IDJ probably won't be able to call them in for you, but its worth asking.

EDIT: Of the three choices, if I had to choose, sight unseen, I would choose #2. I prefer a smaller table, it's very slightly larger than the others (this is important with princess cuts because they face up smaller than other shapes), and will still face up icy white, and it's probably the less expensive of the three options because it isn't considered colorless.

 

[hooyeh]

I haven't yet made the decision...

Did you just purchase the .77? I just noticed it wasn't available for purchase anymore..