Will this S12 stone be eye clean?

[j3rry333]

Hi everyone! I'm in the market for a diamond for an engagement ring, and was hoping that you all could give me some advice. I'm looking at this diamond at James Allen: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-d-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-232072

It scores a .8 on the HCA, faces up relatively large for its size, and is in my price range (US$5,000). I'm extremely color sensitive, so I'm also very happy about the D color. The only thing is, I can't really tell from the image if it will be eye clean. Any thoughts?

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[lioness]

Hmmmm.... Could very well be, but my eyesight is getting so tired that I'll be going in for reading glasses soon. I'm becoming that old gal who has to hold medicine bottles at arms' length in order to read the labels. I focus at about 15-18 inches. Anything short of a lump of carbon is eye clean to me. If I were you, I'd ask their gemologist. They won't steer you wrong.

 

[j3rry333]

Thanks for the feedback! That's a good idea to ask the gemologist.

I'm pretty young (25) with good close-up vision, so I worry that I may be a bit picky

Anyone else have thoughts? I'd love to hear several opinions before I pull the trigger.

 

[proto]

+1 ask gemologist. I would also ask for an idealscope image.

I actually considered this exact diamond last week before making my purchase.

I also went to a couple B&M shops to see the difference in clarity and colour.

The term "eye-clean" means from a viewing distance of 8-15 inches or something like that - something which I was not aware of.

I am 30 and was able to view inclusions from a distance of around 3-4 inches away from my eye and see an inclusions in a 1.5 ct diamond which was marked VS2 quality (admittedly not GIA certified VS2), although that particular one was a dark black mark in the centre table.

In the end I decided not to proceed with this diamond due to the relatively large inclusion just left of the table (10 o'clock location) and while it would not be possible to verify without seeing it in person, I would not be confident it was eye clean. I am also based in the UK, so I would take a permanent 20% VAT hit if I wanted to return the item which was another factor to consider.

if I had to do the whole purchasing process again though, I would probably go for a F/G colour instead of E as I dont think I could tell the difference (although I note your colour sensitivity), and while you can tell the colour very easily on magnified images of the diamonds then turning them sideways, once they are set, telling the difference in colour becomes significantly more difficult, and you can probably get a slightly bigger diamond.

It also depends what metal you are planning to set this into as well.

While I am no diamond expert, I have done a significant amount of reading, and I think it would be a waste to put an E colour diamond into a yellow gold setting for example and you could go for H/I colour with yellow gold and get something closer to 1.0 ct if you wanted to stay at SI2 clarity.

 

[Andelain]

While I am no diamond expert, I have done a significant amount of reading, and I think it would be a waste to put an E colour diamond into a yellow gold setting for example and you could go for H/I colour with yellow gold and get something closer to 1.0 ct if you wanted to stay at SI2 clarity.

I completely disagree with this. A super white stone really pops in a YG setting.

 

[MarionC]

It looks really busy to me, but I have inclusion-phobia. Personally I would have a line-up of other diamond options before making your decision.

 

[proto]

I would have a look at these

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/?CaratFrom=0.90&CaratTo=1.03&Color=F,G,H&Clarity=VS2,SI1&Cut=Ideal,Excellent,TrueHearts&PriceFrom=4180&PriceTo=5030&TabSelected=3&showAdvanced=show&ps=15&DiamondID=280139,286289,281366,308948,268494,311873,311857,311028&Polish=&Symmetry=&Lab=GIA,AGS&Flour=None,Negligible&DepthFrom=45.0&DepthTo=80.0&TableFrom=50.0&TableTo=83.0

havent checked any HCA values etc but these look like they would be eyeclean to me and within budget.

As for those YG pictures, especially in a bezel type setting, I think you could have got away with a I/J colour with med fluorescence and nobody would even be able to tell it was any different in colour than G/H in most lighting conditions

 

[Sunstorm]

I am very color sensitive too and I can most definitely tell the difference between E/F and G/H even in small stones (such as 30 points or under), the difference being that an E especially but even an F is icy white and thus has increased sparkle (of course with a great cut such as ideal) and G is still white but does not have that extra umph. H has a slight tint already but still acceptable but what is acceptable anyhow? I would go for a higher color with lower clarity. As I have said here before even I1s can be eye clean, it totally depend, best is a cloud and inclusions on the side of the stone. Anything right in the center is not good.

What is hard about the stone you selected is that it may be completely eye clean but I actually think that James Allen hurt themselves sometimes by magnifying their diamonds so much, e.g. by 40 X. You will never see the stones so enlarged in real life and even when grading clarity only 10X is used. I cannot tell you how to decide but it does not seem that those inclusions would affect the integrity of the stone and there is a good chance they will not be eye visible.

I have to also add though that as much as I was always trying to stay away from anything lower than a VS and I still love VS stones now especially after researching inclusions, I have sort of become and inclusionist and actually find them very cool in certain cases. They really are like beauty marks to me. OTOH, I also must point out that I mainly work with fancy colored diamonds and there even an I1 will often be completely eye clean but cool to examine. Also, there is a great difference between one VS2 and another; I have a fancy yellow VS2 in which I can hardly find any inclusions even with a loupe one reason being is that they are in the pavilion, which is often very lucky.

Many will tell you here to find another stone and this only you can decide about. You can go higher in clarity but you will certainly pay a higher price. I do think you could go down to E/F even if you are very color sensitive, I honestly find no real point in buying a D as you really cannot tell the difference between an E and a D with a naked eye even if you are very color sensitive and Ds definitely carry a premium. You could go for an E and a little higher clarity but again this is entirely up to you. IMHO even an F is very white and color is definitely my pet peeve.

 

[marymm]

Personally I would be wary of an SI2 with "crystal" listed first ... my own default assumption is that I would likely be able to see it.

But if otherwise the stone meets all your requirements, JA has a good return policy so it may be worth your while to buy it loose and inspect it in various lighting conditions.

 

[j3rry333]

Thanks for all of your feedback, everyone! I'll see what the gemologist says, but in the meantime I think I'll look at some other diamonds. I'd rather not go through the hassle of buying and returning if it's likely to have eye visible inclusions on close inspection.

Thanks again!