Which one should I get??

[yoeddie]

Howdy all, just wanted to post up a couple of diamonds and let you all give me your expert opinions. Sadly, my hopes of getting a nice 1 carat rock were a bit high for a recent college grad, so I''ve settled for something in the 50 point range--stinks, but I guess that''s what anniversaries are for.

So here are some links, they''re all WhiteFlash diamonds; I''m really impressed with WF and am set on getting the diamond from them, hopefully soon here.

#1: diamond #1

#2: diamond #2

#3: diamond #3

Those are the 3 for now. I know that #3 is a little bit bigger, and I guess that throws off the comparison, but I''m just wondering if it''s worth it. I think I want to stay right about $2,000 max (before setting), but this is only a little more so we''ll see. TIA!

 

[valeria101]

If price and Whiteflash are your constraints, why pay the premium for a H&A? it does sound like you have not seen a H&A versus a good, not branded cut in that size in person to see how important is the difference... if this is not true, than why not. However, G, VS, H&A are not specs of a diamond 'on a budget'. And 2K is still alot of money to spend on something you have never seen before. How much worse do you think this would be? or a larger I color, for that matter?

These comments aside, the stones you picked are fine ones and you could probably model the light retun and such... to pick the best.

Hope

this helps...

 

[fire&ice]

Personally, I would maximize your budget & consider a larger H/I SI1 stone. In a well cut diamond of this size, you should see little to no difference in color & an SI1 with have a very good chance of being eye clean.

 

[Giangi]

Being the budget a concern, I'd suggest a very well cut H-I SI 1-2. The one you posted are beautiful, but why don't you drop the quality by a few grades and get a considerably larger diamond?

 

[yoeddie]

Thanks for the responses thus far!

I picked these two because I am of the "bigger is not better" ideal, and she has really small fingers to boot (like sz 4, 4.5). We've already looked at a few in retail stores just to get a feel in general for how each size looks on her finger.

I'd MUCH rather buy a really nice smaller diamond than one that's not so nice and bigger. I've tried and tried to get as much info out of her as possible, but without much success. She really doesn't want anything bigger than 70 or 80 points at best because of the size of her fingers and because it's just not that important to her. So I want her to have one of the absolute best diamonds since I cannot get a nice big one.

Plus, it's going to be set in platinum. Now how do they look, given this additional info?

I've also seen H&A vs. "normal" cuts in person and I def want the best cut possible. Thanks again!

 

[pqcollectibles]

Hi Yoeddie!

I bought my diamond from White Flash. Great folks to work with! And they have a wonderful lifetime upgrade policy. Great for anniversaries! And, you can't go wrong with an ACA. They are marvelously sparkly!

I wanted a H&A after seeing one live and in person. They are wonderful. Getting a "branded" diamond was just a bennie. WF had the carat size I was looking for in my color range and price point. But,.... I sacrificed on what I thought I had to have for clarity. I bought a beautiful 0.766 ct H, SI1, that is 100% eye clean! I also previewed it compared to a 0.85 ct J color, VS ACA. The J had no yellowish tinge and was GREAT mock set against white gold and platinum. It was really a tough choice!

You can go lower in color with Super Ideal CUTS. They face up whiter than the actual color grade, which is done table down and cutlet up in the body of the diamond.

WF can physically pull an ACA out and tell you about the inclusions too. No one can see the inclusion in mine and I get compliments every day!

 

[magna2]

If you have already decided on Whiteflash and want to stay under $2000 then go with No. 2.

However, you might get a better deal if you were to go non-branded H&A in a lower color and clarity - H/I color and VS2/SI1 range.

 

[valeria101]

Hi!

I did not want to cast any doubt on your choices with the earlier post: your Q is much more informed than many others so... my first grasp was to make sure you would consider most choices out there. Of course, your choice is a matter of taste and, therefore, a good one.

As for plat: some say only very white diamonds look good in it, so say that a white setting makes less white diamonds look whiter. This, I have not really experimented with. I know that a white metal bezel makes tinted stones look whiter to me, but this is just an optical illusion so it may work differently for different people. Not to mention that the mentioned effect does not really work for very tinted grades (N and over). For a G, no worries.

Best of luck!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hey, Just to support you here, I got a .42 diamond that's a G VS2 and it's gorgeous. Even after 10 years, I'm still glad that I stayed smaller in size and got a better quality diamond since it represents something much more substantial than the "bigger bang for your buck" philosophy. I just inherited a D VVS1 and my two diamonds compliment each other nicely, and this makes me even more glad that I didn't go down in color/clarity way back when just to have a bigger stone.

Michelle

 

[valeria101]

...

oh this small posts... never get to write it all inone place! Sorry for the repeated text.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 10/20/2003 5:18:04 PM MichelleCarmen wrote:

Hey, Just to support you here, I got a .42 diamond that's a G VS2 and it's gorgeous. Even after 10 years, I'm still glad that I stayed smaller in size and got a better quality diamond since it represents something much more substantial than the 'bigger bang for your buck' philosophy. I just inherited a D VVS1 and my two diamonds compliment each other nicely, and this makes me even more glad that I didn't go down in color/clarity way back when just to have a bigger stone.

Michelle----------------

WOW!

Ok, D, VVS is not too far from the top!

Do you get to war the two stones together? Do they match? Even if this is an old story for you, it is new to me, so

 

[fire&ice]

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On 10/20/2003 2:38:59 PM yoeddie wrote:

Thanks for the responses thus far!

I picked these two because I am of the 'bigger is not better' ideal, and she has really small fingers to boot (like sz 4, 4.5).

I'd MUCH rather buy a really nice smaller diamond than one that's not so nice and bigger. So I want her to have one of the absolute best diamonds since I cannot get a nice big one.

Plus, it's going to be set in platinum. Now how do they look, given this additional info?

I've also seen H&A vs. 'normal' cuts in person and I def want the best cut possible. Thanks again!----------------

Well, I don't know how to phase this. What you are experiencing/feeling is normal & admirable. But, my point is that a G/H SI diamond *is* a very nice stone - don't buy into the hype of colorless/can't see anything under a 10x loupe. One *will* notice the size. The naked eye is not going to be able to see much if any difference in a well cut G/h I for that matter over an F.

The reason I am expressing my sentiment & why I think you should seriously think about it - is because many many moons ago - my to be felt your exact sentiment. We focused on better not bigger. We bought an F/VVS stone smaller stone. Had I bought a bigger stone & focused more on visual better rather than paper better, I'm not sure I would have felt the need to go "upgrade".

BTW, my to be (now hubby of 20 years)had a very limited budget - starving grad student. I respected that. He really was the one who wanted to perfect little stone. I was happy with whatever he gave me. And, I knew how "good" the stone was. But, I now know that a G/H even I in a smaller size is a *very* good stone.

Off my soapbox.

 

[yoeddie]

Thanks so much for all the input, it is helpful.

I have to admit though that I'm rather stuck in my ways about this. For whatever reason, and I'm sure many of you may find this just terrible, I cannot bring myself to buy anything below a G color grade, or an SI1 clarity (the latter I think will cause less uneasiness than the former

).

I definately want to buy a diamond that is very, very nice, so that I can at least say that it's not the biggest, but it's dang near the best. Plus, I really couldn't find any substantial price differences on WhiteFlash until I got up to the 70/80 points range. Be that as it may, I really don't want to go any smaller than 60, and I guess this thread in a way was to see which one of the 3 people generally tended to prefer. (I have to admit that I rather expected the bigger one to win

.)

I have heard as well that diamonds that are cut as wonderfully as these H&A's also tend to look bigger than an equivilent diamond of a lesser cut. Is this at all true, or is it something people in my situation like to tell themselves over and over again?

Cheers!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Valeria- Hi, Yes, wow is how I feel too!!! lol! I was thrilled to get the stone. My stones do almost match (you can only tell the color difference when they're next to each other under certain light - outside they look the same) and I could wear them as earrings, but am instead going to either make the D into a pendant or another ring. It is so pretty

(This is a great treat for me as my husband isn't too into diamonds so I wasn't expecting to get any new jewelry in the near future.)

Michelle

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 10/20/2003 9:06:58 PM MichelleCarmen wrote:

Valeria- Hi, Yes, wow is how I feel too!!! lol! I was thrilled to get the stone. My stones do almost match ----------------

Thanks a mil! I thought I was either a fool or color blind or both since I cannot tell a G from a D unless either both are huge or nicely placed table down on white background, uder difuse light and all... At least now I now it cannot be all that terrible.

How about some stack rings? Sure this can be aranged and you could wear the two at once. I surely like that arangement, especially if I can play around with my stacked, color stone rings... But great diamonds should be quite nice stacked up too!

 

[aljdewey]

----------------
On 10/20/2003 7:32:14 PM yoeddie wrote: I have heard as well that diamonds that are cut as wonderfully as these H&A's also tend to look bigger than an equivilent diamond of a lesser cut. Is this at all true, or is it something people in my situation like to tell themselves over and over again?

Cheers!
----------------

Yes, it's at all true, and here's why.

Take a well cut 1 carat stone....it typically measures about 6.5mm in diameter. Take another stone...1.10 ct and not so well cut.....and assume it measures about 6.5mm in diameter.

Which looks bigger? That's right....they look the same dimensionally, because they are. Carat is a weight, not necessarily a size.

So, if you get a well-cut .7 or .8, it is likely going to look visually the same as a heavier but less well cut 1 ct because the dimensions are the same.

It's not an illusion thing.....it's the fact that the heavier one doesn't look as big as it should because it's carrying all its weight in the wrong places.