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- Apr 23, 2018
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- 5,791
I'm thinking back to your original thread where you indicated you wanted approx 1 carat E+ color and VS2+ clarity stone. All within a $6k budget.
Later you indicated you'd be willing to sacrifice color (never defined how much) to maintain excellent/ideal cut stone and eye clean SI1 or VS2+ clarity. Additionally you had 10-15% flex in your budget for the "perfect" stone indicating about $7k max dollars.
So when I see the K stone, I think to myself it's obviously much bigger than your 1 carat goal. Also, it meets your revised max budget and clarity desires. I do worry about the color. Having seen @lovedogs K colored CBI stone, I can attest it's absolutely gorgeous. I like more white stones and honestly never thought I'd say I liked that color. Her stone swayed me to the other side. However, it also seems very white for a K in many of the photos and videos she's shared. Also she shared some where you could see the warmth which I still found charming.
Problem is that each individual person has different tolerances for color. She obviously loves the warm tones. As I spend more time looking at diamonds, I find myself changing my preferences. My fiancee tends to be very color sensitive and easily sees the tint in her H colored stone. I see it too but not as easily as she does. Thankfully she is not bothered by it. I think @rockysalamander is similar to my fiancee, meaning she easily sees tint but appreciates the variety.
So back on topic -- are you buying this stone for yourself, or are you buying for your fiancee? Do you know your own color acuity as well as theirs? Have you seen some diamonds in person to verify the difference between an E, I and K are?
I feel buying the K requires you to be confident in the color acuity of the person receiving it. If you aren't then I think the I color is a safer goal. Also, looking at the proportions and videos I prefer the personality of the I stone that Rocky recommended. That smaller table and more complimentary crown/pavilion angle combo throws a little more fire in the videos. I tend to like fire so I'd want to pick that stone. This isn't to say the K isn't a performer or top notch. It's absolutely great. But again, I prefer the most fire and to my eyes the I has a personality that produces a little more fire although it may be pretty negligible under normal lighting and not the glamour lighting used in the videos.
All that said, I will leave a few comments on the I. As noted above, I like the fire the stone exhibits. I think you get a great bang for the buck with it being an Expert Select (ES) vs A Cut Above (ACA). Both brands carry all the same upgrade programs, buyback policies, excellent customer service, etc. The images look great, just like an ACA. On the ASET there is a spot near the edges about the 1 o'clock position that may have contributed to this being an ES vs ACA stone. It's not detrimental.
My only concern is the grade setting knot inclusion. This is where talking with WF is advantageous. They own all these stones and can pull the stone from their vault. You need to verify the knot doesn't cause any structural issues (very unlikely) and that the stone is 100% completely eye clean. WF defines eye clean as no inclusions 10" away looking at the top of the diamond with 20/20 vision. Because the knot is located on the pavilion I would ask them to consider a top down and side view of the diamond both.
Assuming it all checks out I think this is a winner for you. Gives you better size, stays within budget, keeps the color in a safer range, is a fireball of sparkles and offers all the same great customer service and upgrade programs that you'd want and expect. I would echo the others and go place this stone on hold while you make a final decision.
FYI, prior to finding the BGD Blue I bought my fiancee, I was considering a WF ES stone and it was a firecracker too. The rep didn't understand why it didn't make the ACA cut as it outperformed similar ACA stones I compared it against. You don't find these stones everyday so I think you find a great bang for the buck, assuming it all works out on the clarity issues.
the cut is really what matters to me and this seems to be within everyone's acceptable range as an 
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