Hi all!
As a new member who has been reading PS for the past few months, I''ve grown to respect and admire the PS community, members, and knowledge. I finally joined and would like to make my first post - to ask for your kind expert opinion!
I''m engagement ring shopping and a local jeweler has shown us four loose princess cut diamonds. Would you be kind enough to comment and give me advice? What do you think of these diamond stats? Do any of these seem better than the others, if you were to force rank? Does it seem like I should continue with this jeweler, or start looking elsewhere?
#1: 2.20 ct Princess
VS 1 I
$14,400
GIA cert in 2005
6.90 x 6.61 x 5.24 mm
L/W ratio 1.044
VG polish, G symmetry
79.3% depth
71% table
Thin to very thick girdle
No culet
No fluoro
AGA cut grade (I referenced the princess cut chart): 2B Int''l fine trade cut
My own comments: This diamond has the deepest cut compared to the four choices. It seems to return the most number of small points of white light. Second in fire and return of colored light, behind diamond #2. I''ll admit I don''t like that it looks the smallest from the top, even though it''s the most expensive of the four. In my amateur eye, the "I" color looks the same as the others, and it appears eye-clean. I''m not very good with the loupe, but it seems fine from all sides under a 10x loupe (if there are inclusions, they didn''t seem to bother me). This diamond seems to exhibit darker/deeper gray tones, maybe from the depth?
#2: 2.01 ct Princess
VS 2 H
$12,500
EGL cert in 2007
7.06 - 6.85 x 5.13 mm
L/W ratio 1.031
VG polish, VG symmetry
74.9% total depth
77% table width
11% crown height
63% pavilion depth
Thin polished girdle
No culet
No fluoro
Nil graining
AGA cut grade (I referenced the princess cut chart): 2B Int''l fine trade cut
My own comments: This diamond has the second deepest cut of the four choices. It has the most fire and return of colored light as compared to the others, which I am a fan of. In my amateur eye, it appears eye-clean. I''m not very good with the loupe, but it seems fine from all sides under a 10x loupe (if there are inclusions, they didn''t seem to bother me). It''s the least expensive. I don''t like that it''s EGL cert, instead of GIA, but the jeweler told me that the newer EGL certs are good.
#3: 2.00 ct Princess
VS 2 I
$13,250
GIA cert in 2005
7.05 x 6.81 x 4.96 mm
L/W ratio 1.035
Excellent polish, G symmetry
72.8% depth
77% table
Medium to very think girdle
Very small culet
No fluoro
AGA cut grade (I referenced the princess cut chart): 2B Int''l fine trade cut
My own comments: In my amateur eye, the color looks the same as the others and it appears eye-clean. Under the 10x loupe, I saw more small inclusions than the other diamonds, but that doesn''t bother me. This diamond does not have as much fire as #1 and #2.
#4: 2.08 ct Princess
VS 1 H
$13,400
EGL cert in 2007
7.53 - 7.14 x 4.82 mm
L/W ratio 1.055
VG polish, VG symmetry
67.5% total depth
72% table width
6% crown height
60% pavilion depth
Medium polished girdle
No culet
No fluoro
Nil graining
AGA cut grade (I referenced the princess cut chart): 2A Int''l fine trade cut
My own comments: This diamond has the shallowest cut of the four choices, so it looks the bigget from the top. I admit that I like that it looks bigger for the money. It has less fire/brilliance as compared to #1 and #2. In fact, the middle of the diamond (when looking down at it) seems to be lighter/whiter in color and not as "alive", maybe due to it''s shallowness? In my amateur eye, it appears eye-clean. I''m not very good with the loupe, but it seems fine from all sides under a 10x loupe (if there are inclusions, they didn''t seem to bother me). I don''t like that it''s EGL cert, instead of GIA, but the jeweler told me that the newer EGL certs are good.
That''s all for now. If I manage to get pictures, videos, or clarity charts/representations, then I will update. I hope you enjoyed my first post; I was certainly thrilled to write it. I''ll be eagerly awaiting your thoughtful replies and opinions!
Thanks all,
Chao
As a new member who has been reading PS for the past few months, I''ve grown to respect and admire the PS community, members, and knowledge. I finally joined and would like to make my first post - to ask for your kind expert opinion!
I''m engagement ring shopping and a local jeweler has shown us four loose princess cut diamonds. Would you be kind enough to comment and give me advice? What do you think of these diamond stats? Do any of these seem better than the others, if you were to force rank? Does it seem like I should continue with this jeweler, or start looking elsewhere?
#1: 2.20 ct Princess
VS 1 I
$14,400
GIA cert in 2005
6.90 x 6.61 x 5.24 mm
L/W ratio 1.044
VG polish, G symmetry
79.3% depth
71% table
Thin to very thick girdle
No culet
No fluoro
AGA cut grade (I referenced the princess cut chart): 2B Int''l fine trade cut
My own comments: This diamond has the deepest cut compared to the four choices. It seems to return the most number of small points of white light. Second in fire and return of colored light, behind diamond #2. I''ll admit I don''t like that it looks the smallest from the top, even though it''s the most expensive of the four. In my amateur eye, the "I" color looks the same as the others, and it appears eye-clean. I''m not very good with the loupe, but it seems fine from all sides under a 10x loupe (if there are inclusions, they didn''t seem to bother me). This diamond seems to exhibit darker/deeper gray tones, maybe from the depth?
#2: 2.01 ct Princess
VS 2 H
$12,500
EGL cert in 2007
7.06 - 6.85 x 5.13 mm
L/W ratio 1.031
VG polish, VG symmetry
74.9% total depth
77% table width
11% crown height
63% pavilion depth
Thin polished girdle
No culet
No fluoro
Nil graining
AGA cut grade (I referenced the princess cut chart): 2B Int''l fine trade cut
My own comments: This diamond has the second deepest cut of the four choices. It has the most fire and return of colored light as compared to the others, which I am a fan of. In my amateur eye, it appears eye-clean. I''m not very good with the loupe, but it seems fine from all sides under a 10x loupe (if there are inclusions, they didn''t seem to bother me). It''s the least expensive. I don''t like that it''s EGL cert, instead of GIA, but the jeweler told me that the newer EGL certs are good.
#3: 2.00 ct Princess
VS 2 I
$13,250
GIA cert in 2005
7.05 x 6.81 x 4.96 mm
L/W ratio 1.035
Excellent polish, G symmetry
72.8% depth
77% table
Medium to very think girdle
Very small culet
No fluoro
AGA cut grade (I referenced the princess cut chart): 2B Int''l fine trade cut
My own comments: In my amateur eye, the color looks the same as the others and it appears eye-clean. Under the 10x loupe, I saw more small inclusions than the other diamonds, but that doesn''t bother me. This diamond does not have as much fire as #1 and #2.
#4: 2.08 ct Princess
VS 1 H
$13,400
EGL cert in 2007
7.53 - 7.14 x 4.82 mm
L/W ratio 1.055
VG polish, VG symmetry
67.5% total depth
72% table width
6% crown height
60% pavilion depth
Medium polished girdle
No culet
No fluoro
Nil graining
AGA cut grade (I referenced the princess cut chart): 2A Int''l fine trade cut
My own comments: This diamond has the shallowest cut of the four choices, so it looks the bigget from the top. I admit that I like that it looks bigger for the money. It has less fire/brilliance as compared to #1 and #2. In fact, the middle of the diamond (when looking down at it) seems to be lighter/whiter in color and not as "alive", maybe due to it''s shallowness? In my amateur eye, it appears eye-clean. I''m not very good with the loupe, but it seems fine from all sides under a 10x loupe (if there are inclusions, they didn''t seem to bother me). I don''t like that it''s EGL cert, instead of GIA, but the jeweler told me that the newer EGL certs are good.
That''s all for now. If I manage to get pictures, videos, or clarity charts/representations, then I will update. I hope you enjoyed my first post; I was certainly thrilled to write it. I''ll be eagerly awaiting your thoughtful replies and opinions!
Thanks all,
Chao