Which of these would you go for? Why?

[travist223]

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9543/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11122/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11054/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10789/

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, I'd knock out the K because you are going to probably see the tint in that one.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11122/ beautiful facet pattern but I am not sure I like the clarity on that one

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11054/ not the best picture but looks like it has great light return, good if you want a more rectangular stone

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10789/ good if you are going with an antique style setting

Not sure why you didn't post these, but I like them better than some of the ones you posted. Be sure you are looking at the diameter measurements because some with lower ct weight may be larger in appearance.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10789/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10696/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11179/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11940/ ($4980)

 

[travist223]

Is there a color and clarity that are the best without wasting money? What's noticeably inferior?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, G-J is the near-colorless range. You can sometimes see a slight tint in a J, but it very much depends on the individual stone. I think it also matters how the stone will be set. For example, if it is a modern cushion going in a halo setting of F-G stones, then you might see a a slight contrast in the halo and the center stone of J or lower. But each J has to be evaluated individually, and Good Old Gold can help you with that. G-H is safe for most people, I color is a great value but just not quite as white as G-H, and J may show a slight warmth. So much depends on the cut of the stone, plus a stone can be at the high end or low end of a color range and show more or less tint due to that.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Is there a color and clarity that are the best without wasting money? What's noticeably inferior?

IMO...G/H VS2..

 

[Gypsy]

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10696/ Best choice.

It is important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. So... no. Not really. Within 2 color grades it is hard. Not impossible. But very hard. And it gets harder once set. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

This is how I think of it.

Ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. One there's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really. They are all white?

Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great.

And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.

YES. If you have an accurately graded F and an H THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE right next to each other you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white, the shade difference is apparent because of the proximity.

 

[CymoneD]

I agree with diamond 10696 because it has the best results for light performance, it has great calrity and the price is awesome for a diamond close to 1ct.