Winner Winner.... yup, got a Chicken Dinner.

[Laila619]

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VS2-Very-Good-Cut-Round-Diamond-1450771.asp
$14.4k 2.01 K VS2 GIA-VG/EX/EX MBF 55/37/40.4/80



Also a GIA VG, but in this one the proportions work well - one of the rare nice GIA VG proportions combos. Shallow pav is balanced by steep crown and small table - you can see that there is no excess darkness in the pic and arrow heads/shafts are well-defined. Deeper than most at 63% but faces up fine thanks to med girdle and shallow pav, *and* it has med blue fluor. But it's a K. Recent report, discounted b/c VG cut grade.

Nice find and interesting cut! The medium blue fluor is a nice bonus. With that high crown and small table, I would imagine lots of colored fire!

 

[yssie]

My dream stone would have exactly those proportions

 

[Christina...]

I just wanted to chime in and say that I just recently purchased a GIA VG cut (gasp) with very similar proportions as the one that Yssie posted. I was looking for a stone that would produce lots of fire and knew that I really wanted a tiny table and high crown. Yssie sort of helped walk me through it, so big shout out to Yssie . It was nerve racking to go against all the advice given (myself included) about sticking with AGS ideal or GIA EX, but I went ahead, and have not been disappointed in the least with it's performance. So, don't let the cut grade scare you. While I wouldn't have attempted it on my own, I'm am a believer that you can find a great stone outside of GIA EX, with the help of all the super knowledgeable people here!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yeah, I agree that Yssie knows how to pick great ones that aren't the typical ideal cut for sure!

I didn't look below J color, so that is why I didn't post any K's.

 

[pkh106]

Hi everyone, so i've been busy all day working the search engines and didn't get a chance to see the great responses and awesome suggestions. They look great, that truly is fantastic to pull out suggestions that are so on like that.
I took the suggestion on contacting another PS vendor and he's now giving me a hand. I think his biggest asset is that he's able to stay within your budget. I'm checking out your suggestions now and let me data them in.
Here's one that was recommended to me; that's maybe a final contender?
GIA
2.08CTW
I/SI2
EX/EX/EX
Strong Blue
Depth 60%
Table 59%
33deg - crown
40.8deg - pav
HCA = 1.0

thoughts?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I like the strong blue fluor. for sure, and the stone looks good. I can see the inclusions in these pics. Does he say it is eyeclean in person? I am really glad you are working with a PS vendor who can help you!

 

[pkh106]

I like the strong blue fluor. for sure, and the stone looks good. I can see the inclusions in these pics. Does he say it is eyeclean in person? I am really glad you are working with a PS vendor who can help you!

i'm really liking the blue too!
yes, i'm told that it's visually confirmed eye-clean.
i agree with the earlier statement there's slim pickings. i'm going to read over the 5 posted earlier and see how i can stretch my budget a bit.

 

[MissGotRocks]

So glad you are considering other stones and have a vendor to work with!!

 

[Christina...]

I like the strong blue fluor. for sure, and the stone looks good. I can see the inclusions in these pics. Does he say it is eyeclean in person? I am really glad you are working with a PS vendor who can help you!

i'm really liking the blue too!
yes, i'm told that it's visually confirmed eye-clean.
i agree with the earlier statement there's slim pickings. i'm going to read over the 5 posted earlier and see how i can stretch my budget a bit.

yeah, I can see the inclusion as well. I know that they confirmed that it's eye clean, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's eye clean to your standards. I think that the general definition among vendors is that eye clean is at half and arms length. So if your thinking 6 inches, 3 inches, clean from the side, from all angles, in all lighting environments, whatever the case may be, you need to be very clear about it.

 

[yssie]

How old is the report?


ETA awww

 

[TitanCi]

That IS looks pretty snazzy, I like it. The stone is 3.75x larger than what I think a 2.0+ct should be (roughly 30mm vs 8.ish). Do you ladies really think the inclusions will be noticeable? The only one I see is directly in the center of the table and a few above it... Other than that, I think this may be promising. I have a stone with a 33 CA and 40.8 PA and that thing is bright with nice amounts of STRONG fire!

 

[pkh106]

Hi Everyone-
So just a little update from the middle of last week. I spent the entire rest of the week and the better part of the weekend getting myself sorted out. I reviewed all the suggestions above and while they were GREAT! They were out of my stretched budget. The PS Vendor i've been working with has been great and helping me (in person, none-the-less), calling in stones, and verifying what's out there and other options from my original budget.
I just pulled the trigger on this one for nearly the exact same price as the original purchase:
https://myapps.gia.edu/ReportCheckPortal/getReportData.do?&reportno=2136362083&weight=2.08

I'm glad that everyone had a chance to chime in here earlier and share their thoughts on what i originally had.
i totally fell for the EGL vs GIA price vs carat "smokescreen".
there's no way you know what the heck you're getting when you go with anything other than GIA/AGS.
I thought i had the system "beat", but there's no such thing. I spent entirely too long pouring over numbers and understanding the softness grading, but was totally blind-sided by the "cut-grade". I took the assumption that EGL-IDEAL (ideal PLUS of all things) was at least a GIA-EX. But not the case mentioned earlier, only a GIA-VG. That's the difference between having that head obstruction and darkness noticed in the photos. There's no such thing as a deal with anything other than GIA/AGS. I know, i know, there's a million posts out there saying the same thing, but i was too stubborn to believe it. If you want to save your time, not just listen, but hear the advice of the many on here. I had to spend the time, go against what the PS vendor recommended, ship it here, finally hear it from others and see it myself in person...and now go through the process of the return, to finally hear myself say it out loud.

I'm MUCH happier now. I know i got a good price, feel really confident on what i was recommended and stayed within my original price range. The stone should be here tomorrow at which point i can click off some more photos and maybe do a side by side with my original photos for comparison.

 

[Haven]

You done good, PKH!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Congrats - you learned a lot in a short amount of time. I appreciate your candid response - I'm sure this will be referenced for others to learn from.

Can't wait to see pictures of your stone - should be beautiful!!

 

[Christina...]

Yah! I'm happy that you were able to find another stone, and quite quickly too! I hope that you can post side by side comparisons as well. Like MGR said, this thread will probably referenced in the future so it would be nice to include a comparison. Looking forward to pics!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

That is terrific! I love the strong blue fluoro, too!!! Can't wait to see it and I am SO happy you were open to learning and avoided a potentially big mistake! That bodes well for marriage, too!

 

[yssie]

Add me to the list of those looking forward to your pics and thoughts tomorrow - the new one is very nice by the numbers

 

[VRBeauty]

Can't wait to see it and I am SO happy you were open to learning and avoided a potentially big mistake! That bodes well for marriage, too!

My thoughts exactly! Congratulations on a job well done!

 

[pkh106]

So here's some unscientific and uncalibrated results with the new stone.
I tried to take it in the same spots and lighting as before.








and i'm really digging the fluorescence (you can see it best in this shot), it really fires in the sunlight



So my untrained eyes can easily tell this is a much less colored stone than the previous one.
Previously it was an EGL-USA (I), this is a GIA (I) and the difference is very noticeable. I can't tell how much more, (i.e. i can't rank the EGL-USA), but hands down i can tell.
The clarity, the EGL-USA (VS2), is cleaner than the GIA (SI2). The difference was that the inclusions were gray on the EGL, and black on the GIA. Speaking of eye-clean, the GIA is eye clean from 6inches on. If you didn't look at the report or have it pointed it (i.e. like the photo i originally posted when i repurchased), you won't be able to see it. The cut hides it really well. Which brings me to my next point.
EGL-USA (IDEAL PLUS) vs GIA (EX), no contest. I can't believe the differences when i look at them face on. Again, i'm glad the seasoned veterans pointed that out to me, to see a GIA-EX nearly made me cry when i opened the box. The difference is remarkable. Looking at it and then looking away i see spots like a camera flash does to your eyes.

.... so... is chicken dinner back on?

 

[TitanCi]

^I can't see any fluor shots...

 

[Haven]

I think it is very difficult to see fluor unless you're standing under a blacklight. I've owned two diamonds with MB fluor, and I'm not sure I've ever really seen it. But I do see some FIRE! in some of those shots.

 

[pkh106]

^I can't see any fluor shots...

haha, oops, you're right, it just look more bluish in direct sunlight.

 

[VRBeauty]

I'm so glad you ended up with a diamond that you're really excited about! Congratulations! :appl

 

[yssie]

.... so... is chicken dinner back on?

I'm in for seconds

It looks fabulous, and I'm really glad you're happy!! So, I say Congrats again, and this time with absolutely no reservations

Feel free to post more pics I don't see the fluor either, but I like fluor - maybe my work monitor is dulling my colours.

 

[Gypsy]

What a wonderful thread. I'm so happy your journey has such a wonderful conclusion! The chicken dinner is DEFINITELY back on!

 

[pkh106]

.... so... is chicken dinner back on?

I'm in for seconds

It looks fabulous, and I'm really glad you're happy!! So, I say Congrats again, and this time with absolutely no reservations

Feel free to post more pics I don't see the fluor either, but I like fluor - maybe my work monitor is dulling my colours.

here's some more photos, i just realized i need a blacklight to make the thing glow.
anyway, here's some zoomed in on a tripod; one is in the black case that was sent with it.


here it is on a dirty window sill...



i'm in process of obtaining insurance now. i should insure for the appraisal value right?
the PS vendor was kind enough to send an appraisal with the certification.
my homeowners is offering a cash-out policy that's cheaper than q-report and jewler's mutual.
any suggestions on why not to put it on the homeowner's policy?

dinner's not over yet! i'm going to get it set once i clear up the insurance and then we'll have desert.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Chicken ain't nothing but a bird - you got a great rock!!!

Congrats and kudos to you for being such a fast learner!

 

[yssie]

Thanks for the extra pics pkh I got home and I do think I see the fluor in your earlier pics too

How inflated is the appraisal? I like to leave a little room for prices rising but you don't want to be paying unnecessary premiums on thousands of dollars, especially if the inflation puts you in a higher premium bracket.

Some questions to ask - how much is covered, exactly? I know my homeowners covers very little - I'd have to get a rider. What exactly is covered? Loss, theft, damage, owner stupidity? Do they cover for travel? Will they definitely cash out or do they prefer to try to replace with like kind and quality first? If so do they allow you to choose your jeweller?
... I'm sure there are others, those are the first that come to mind.

 

[Gypsy]

Another insurance question: Is the diamond insured during setting, during repairs, etc? Or do you have to use a jeweler with their own insurance that is willing to cover your piece while being worked on.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Looks great!