worth the extra money? ags ideal cut vs. ags ideal light performance

[xcravx]

I''ve narrowed my choice of engagement ring stones down to two. One has AGS ideal light performance, and the other is an AGS ideal cut. I''m wondering if the ideal cut is worth the extra $2,000, or if the difference is negligable. My concern about the ideal light performer is that there appears to be an abnormal dark spot in all the pictures on the gemex report provided. If you all could look at the two stones and tell me what you think before I buy one tomorrow, I''d REALLY REALLY appreciate it.

Stone 1
Shape: Princess
Carat Weight: 1.51ct
Color: F
Clarity: VS1
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: Negligible
Girdle: 3.44%
Lab Report: GIA
Lab Report #: 15251363
In House: Yes
Width: 6.34mm
Length: 6.40mm
Depth: 4.53mm
Table Percentage: 66.29%
Depth Percentage: 71.43%
Crown Depth: 11.24%
Pavilion Depth: 55.88%
Policy: Lifetime Guarantee
Price: $12,543.17
(Bank wire price: $12,119)
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2858/
Gemex report: http://www.gemex.com/livereport/partnerlink.php?linkid=1&cid=13&viewid=1&popup=y&pid=PR151FVS115251363

Stone 2
Shape: Princess
Carat Weight: 1.574ct
Color: G
Clarity: VS1
AGS Cut Grade: Ideal
Polish: Ideal
Symmetry: Ideal
Fluorescence: None
Culet: None
Lab Report: AGS
Lab Report #: 6207104
In House: Yes
Table Percentage: 58.40%
Depth Percentage: 78.70%
Crown Ú: 32.60‹
Pavilion Ú: 42.40‹
Price: $14,386
(Bank wire price: $13,900)
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/pr1574gvs1/

 

[risingsun]

The first diamond was graded by GIA. They don't use the term ideal. The vendor has done his own evaluation and is predicting the stone would receive an ideal rating, if graded by AGS. The second diamond was graded by AGS and was given an ideal rating by that lab. AGS uses the term "light performance" as part of their grading system. The GIA does not.

 

[xcravx]

Thanks for the input Marian. I'm just curious if, looking at the specs and reports for the stones, the forum gurus think that the AGS ideal cut stone looks to be worth the extra $2,000. I realize that the jeweler is simply giving his opinion that the GIA cert stone would receive an AGS ideal light performance rating, but since Good old gold has such a strong reputation here, I am inclined to believe it. Do you think that the AGS stone looks to a better quality stone, one that will look more beautiful than the GIA stone, and is worth the extra 2,000, or do the stone appear to be quite similar?? Thanks again!!

 

[Lord Summerisle]

if it has any bearing - i believe the second stone - the AGS graded diamond is also a Infintity Diamond according to the Gemprint certificate, and is also a Canadian diamond, which may account for the extra price. but it is a fraction smaller (6.26 as opposed to 6.34mm - so 0.8mm smaller

)

 

[cinnamon013]

The second one all the way between those two.

Man, for the dimensions, princess cuts are expensive!

 

[alexah]

Date: 9/2/2007 2:03:41 PM
Author: Lord Summerisle
if it has any bearing - i believe the second stone - the AGS graded diamond is also a Infintity Diamond according to the Gemprint certificate, and is also a Canadian diamond, which may account for the extra price. but it is a fraction smaller (6.26 as opposed to 6.34mm - so 0.8mm smaller

)

#1 is an ideal-performing F, it faces up larger & is almost $2k less.
i, personally, wldnt take the G even if it cost the same: the "X" is more pronounced & i'm not crazy about that look.
i mentioned this last nite: IMHO, you'll be hard-pressed to find a nicer stone than that F...

ETA: it cldnt hurt to ask GOG which they thought the best between them (or if the G is worth the extra)?

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

have you asked them to do a side by side comparison？ obviously if they recommend the more expensive one you are stuck with the same question of how much you trust them. But if they recommend the cheaper one, well then shoot, I suppose that would be pretty reliable. I dont know much about pricness cuts, but I woudl be a little cautious about the light leakage at the culet?

I would say call them up and have someone look at it for you visually. Then after they tell you there honest opinion of what they are seeing, have them bring up the other one for you and compare it to the actual AGS0

And while you are at it have them look at the color of the two stones side by side. Dont forget, the cheaper one is also a higher color grade.

 

[Lord Summerisle]

Date: 9/2/2007 2:07:40 PM
Author: alexah

#1 is an ideal-performing F, it faces up larger & is almost $2k less.

i, personally, wldnt take the G even if it cost the same: the ''X'' is more pronounced & i''m not crazy about that look.

i mentioned this last nite: IMHO, you''ll be hard-pressed to find a nicer stone than that F...

ETA: it cldnt hurt to ask GOG which they thought the best between them (or if the G is worth the extra)?

Aye i only mentioned it because Paul of Infinity Diamonds is a contributer on here, so for *me* it would be nice to have that extra... weither its worth the $2k extra is another matter

but i think thats down to it being a Canadian Diamond.

I still wanna see a AGS 0 princess and compare it to the commercial standard... no chance of seeing one in the UK

we''re suck in the dark ages here

 

[Regular Guy]

I don''t see G0G listed on Infinity''s distributor list.

Dollar''s to donuts...this option at GOG is a Homonym.

 

[Lord Summerisle]

true... the reason i mentioned it was the gem print shown Here

but the inscription on the Girdle is here

 

[strmrdr]

pocket the 2k and laugh all the way too the bank.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 9/2/2007 3:02:34 PM
Author: Lord Summerisle
true... the reason i mentioned it was the gem print shown Here


but the inscription on the Girdle is here

I can’t comment on whether the stone in question was manufactured by Infinity but their name on the Gemprint certificate is not evidence that it was. What it means that the machine used to scan the stone on behalf of Gemprint was licensed to Infinity (or ADIS using the Infinity address). There are hundreds of stones out there with Gemprint certificates that look sort of like that with my name in that spot and my logo at the top. I was definitely not the manufacturer and the fact that the stone was Gemprinted had nothing at all to do with the quality of the stone and it doesn't serve as any kind of endorsement from either me or Gemprint.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[xcravx]

Thanks so much for all the help folks, I've put a deposit down online on the first stone so that it doesn't disappear, with the expectation that I can simply switch it over to the AGS stone if I choose to do so. I am leaning toward the GIA stone, due to the fact that it is a color grade better, faces up larger, apparently performs nearly as well as the AGS stone, and is so much less expensive. GOG is closed on Mondays, so I will call Jon tomorrow and ask his opinion of the stones, and to do a side-by-side comparison. The inclusion on the AGS stone seems to be more visible, though I realize that it is probably eye-clean being a VS1.

Wink, though the second stone performs better, do you think that this difference is negligible considering the price difference? Also, what makes the brilliancescope untrustworthy?

Anyone who hasn't given me their input, I'd still love to hear it.

 

[JulieN]

I think it''s reasonable to say they are two different styles, 2 chevron and 3 chevron.

 

[xcravx]

Well, I''ve decided to go with the GIA stone. I spoke to Jonathan at GOG this morning, who was incredibly pleasent and insightful. The differences betweeen the two in regard to cut are negligible for me, so what it came down to was the variation in the look between the 2 chevron and 3 chevron stones. Jonathan actually sent me a video of the two stones, and it was incredibly helpful to observe how a 2 chevron and 3 chevron perform under different types of lighting. I''ll post pictures of the stone once I get it, and then of the entire ring once I have it set. Thanks to everyone for their help (especially Alexah)! If it weren''t for pricescope, I shudder to think about the quality of diamond I would have wound up with.

 

[TonyT]

I was comparing the exact same two diamonds from GOG. Nice, you bought that one that I was going to buy... .

since you already bought it... this link is a little too late.

www.goodoldgold.com/videos/2vs3CHEVRONS.wmv

AGS 0 is soo hard to find.. congrats...