Your thoughts on this stone - Newbie here! TIA

[nik929]

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2192305.htm

This is the stone I want to buy for my gf. I seriously feel so blind buying something like this, it makes me anxious and very nervous!!

I decided that the quality of the stone is what matters to me the most (rather than size). I want something that''ll catch an eye from across a room regardless of its size. I''ve settled on a 1.2 g/vvs2 stone. do you guys think i can accomplish my goal with the stone linked above?

How''s the price? Does it seem fair? Would I be able to negotiate this price down if i went to a local dealer and looked for similar specs?? my pet peeve is over paying for anything!!

Thanks in advance for helping a newbie learn. If you guys have suggestions for other stones or what criterion i can sacrifice a bit on and save some money that would be a big help!! I''d like to close the deal with ring and setting for 11k.

 

[yssie]

Date: 12/4/2009 4:31:44 PM
Author:nik929
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2192305.htm

This is the stone I want to buy for my gf. I seriously feel so blind buying something like this, it makes me anxious and very nervous!!

I decided that the quality of the stone is what matters to me the most (rather than size). I want something that''ll catch an eye from across a room regardless of its size. I''ve settled on a 1.2 g/vvs2 stone. do you guys think i can accomplish my goal with the stone linked above? Quality means different things to different people. If having a near-colourless, near-inclusionless stone of excellent cut means quality to you, then you''ve done a fantastic job! To me, the excellent cut is paramount, and I''d go further down the colourless scale to an H/I and wayyy further down the clarity scale to an eyeclean SI to gain on size, but my definition of quality is different from yours

. If you''re interested in a bit more size you can definitely consider VS2 (as in, 99% sure that without a loupe you won''t see anything from any angle from any distance, you can call the vendor to confirm). You might drop colour, too, though that depends on your and your intended''s tolerances.

How''s the price? Does it seem fair? Would I be able to negotiate this price down if i went to a local dealer and looked for similar specs?? my pet peeve is over paying for anything!! Unless the local dealer specializes in H&A he won''t have anything like the ACA. If you''re okay with near-H&A or just plain well-cut stones, you might find something unbranded for a lower price, but the price is excellent if having a H&A stone is important to you.


Thanks in advance for helping a newbie learn. If you guys have suggestions for other stones or what criterion i can sacrifice a bit on and save some money that would be a big help!! I''d like to close the deal with ring and setting for 11k.

 

[stone-cold11]

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2192305.htm

ditto yssie.

 

[jet2ks]

Good advice from yssie.

I echo considering dropping a little on clarity. G is a great to guarantee that someone will not see any tint to the diamond and not pay the premium for colorless, but VVS or VS or even an eye-clean SI stone will appear the same to the naked eye and definitely will not affect the performance, while either saving you some money or allowing for a larger size. If you want VVS clarity for some other reason, that is fine, we just want you to know it is not necessary to go that high for good performance.

I love ACA diamonds for their quality of cut and the great policies from the vendor. You can, however, find diamonds that are not branded H&A cuts that will perform just as well, while spending less. If you are trying to save some money, that (and clarity) is where I would start. Well cut, near H&A diamonds will give you the across the room performance without the price premium. Whiteflash has VERY fair pricing for what you get--the most widespread B&M diamond that compares to their ACA''s is Hearts on Fire--try a comparison with those and see what overpaying really means.

 

[nik929]

Wow quick responses!!

@ yssie

What is this ACA you speak of?! lol here comes my ignorance ... and hearts and arrows... what does "near" hearts and arrows mean? is that synonymous to ideal cut?

i found another stone thats less expensive because its VS1. i think its the lowest im willing to go on the clarity

If i went down to H on the color scale would that impact the "pop"?

i''m okay with the size, i don''t think i want to go higher, if i can save $$ here and don''t have to max out my budget ill be very happy!

thanks guys!

 

[nik929]

oops heres the link to that stone

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2219634.htm

 

[jet2ks]

Date: 12/4/2009 5:11:47 PM
Author: nik929

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2219634.htm

ACA=A Cut Above. The diamonds you are linking from Whiteflash are from their branded Hearts & Arrows collection that are named A Cut Above.

If you put this diamond right next to the first you linked, you would never see the difference. They are both beautiful. Your bank account sure can tell the difference in clarity, though.

Color is very individual. The vast majority of people will not see any difference in G or H, even side by side. There are people that are more sensitive to color, however, so without knowing which your gf is, staying with a G is VERY safe, while going with an H would be safe, in my book. As long as well cut, it will not affect the sparkle.

A near H&A is a diamond that is just short of having the perfect optical symmetry necessary to achieve the Hearts and Arrows designation. The nuances are in no way visible to the naked eye, and can only be seen with the special viewer. Most of Whiteflash's Expert Selection diamonds would fall here. For example: http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-2199926.htm#

 

[FB.]

I echo what the others say.
G colour will be fine, but consider dropping the clarity to VS2, which will still almost certainly be eye clean.
SI1 is on the borderline of eye clean. Sharp eyesight might spot the inclusions.

The following is the clarity plot from one of my 1ct SI1 stones, which I'd say is certainly no worse than your average SI1.
The "grade-setting" feather can show itself as either reflective/glowing-white, or black, depending on the lighting. With my sharp eyes and a little jiggling of the stone, I can easily see the feather at six inches and often at twelve inches - and notice how tiny it appears on the inclusion plot (it's the streak that runs almost North-South).
But I would expect this stone would be considered "eye clean" by the vast majority of jewellers - and I regard it as eye clean, since no casual observer will see the inclusion because it becomes lost among the virtual facets of the sparkle.
I mention the above because "eye clean" is not an absolute answer. There are many variables and many definitions.