Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes included

[urasia]

Hi All, after such a positive and helpful experience I received in the past when looking for my ER diamond and setting, I'm now helping a friend find the perfect princess cut diamond to propose to their GF with!

Below are ASET/Idealscope images from a vendor that is highly reputable on these forums.

.90 IVS2 AGS


I would really appreciate some input in regards to these particular princess cut stones and any other suggestions you may have for a beautifully cut princess cut stone with amazing light performance(e.g James Allen etc...)

Budget is $6000 for both stone (around 1 carat) and a simple classic 4 prong solitaire setting. Color can go down to I as long as faces up white and clarity down to VS2 as long as eyeclean.

Second stone in next post since PS only allows 4 uploads.

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Second stone:

1.01 GVS2 GIA



Thanks again

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Hi Pricescopers,

If I could get some opinions on these stones I'd really really appreciate it since a decision needs to be made ASAP and I'm a newbie to Princess cuts. Any advice would be a great help.

Link below to video of the diamonds:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxLwnxp5FTOOQ3RKWGdNcVllaWs/view

AGS/GIA reports

 

[ringo865]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

The first one is AGS 0, ideal light return, which is borne out by the ASET and idealscope image. The size of each stone is appx the same, so I would pick that one of these two.

Hopefully some experts can also chime in about these two or suggest others within specs/budget.

 

[AprilBaby]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

I like the look of number one.

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Thanks for the replies

If there are any princess cut experts out there I'd really appreciate your advice also! Is this the diamond to go with or should I keep looking? Any advice or suggestions of other stones would be really appreciated!

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Hi again Pricescopers! Also wanted to get opinions on the I colour stone. Vendor says it faces up white. Do you think it would be too yellow?

 

[flyingpig]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Although my experience and knowledge with princess cut diamonds are limited, I think #1 0.9c I is very well cut.
I don't see any flaw with the ASET/IS. In fact, it appears top performing even among AGS 0 princess cut diamonds.
I like the small table and 3 chevron + 1 main combo.

Will it be yellow? That's hard to answer, especially when it is up against 1.0c G. You will need to view this in person.

My concern is that the grade report is 2006. Who know what happened to the stone for the last 11 years? Princess cut diamonds are prone to chipping and erosion.

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Thanks for the input Flyingpig! Hmmmm now I'm a little paranoid about te AGS cert being so old. Is there anything in particular I should query with the vendor in regards to this?

I'll need to make a final decision soon so if anyone has any more advice or suggestions I'd really appreciate it.

Also is $3600 a reasonable price for the 0.9 carat stone?

 

[flyingpig]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Thanks for the input Flyingpig! Hmmmm now I'm a little paranoid about te AGS cert being so old. Is there anything in particular I should query with the vendor in regards to this?

I'll need to make a final decision soon so if anyone has any more advice or suggestions I'd really appreciate it.

Also is $3600 a reasonable price for the 0.9 carat stone?

You can find 0.9+ I VS AGS0 at similar price.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/?CaratFrom=0.9&CaratTo=30&Color=I,H,G,F,E,D&Clarity=VS2,VS1,VVS2,VVS1,IF,FL&Cut=TrueHearts&PriceFrom=200&PriceTo=&Sort=Price,%20DefaultOrder&ViewsOptions=Images

Whiteflash also have nice stones at ~15% premium.

The price is reasonable.

Again, the fact that the report is from 2006 really bugs me. You can ask the vendor. But they are going to say the stone has no issue. Basically, you need to trust your vendor. You can take it to an independent appraisal; but that's extra cost. Even after that, nothing replaces a proper lab report.

So, now you need to look at the whole package that your vendor offers; can you trust the vendor, what is return policy, upgrade policy, what settings they offer, past customer service record, etc....

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Thanks again Flyingpig! The vendor has offered to send to AGS for an update. They have incredible customer service and are very highly regarded on these forums. I've also personally had wonderful dealings with them in the past.

If certificate is updated and is no longer an issue, would you say this would be a top performing diamond and a great option to go with? Or is it worth still looking around?

I'm open to more advice and perhaps some stone suggestions from the PS community. Any help would be really appreciated as I'm organising this all for a friend and would like to make sure he has an amazing sparkling princess diamond to propose to his girlfriend with

 

[tyty333]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Thanks again Flyingpig! The vendor has offered to send to AGS for an update. They have incredible customer service and are very highly regarded on these forums. I've also personally had wonderful dealings with them in the past.

If certificate is updated and is no longer an issue, would you say this would be a top performing diamond and a great option to go with? Or is it worth still looking around?

I'm open to more advice and perhaps some stone suggestions from the PS community. Any help would be really appreciated as I'm organising this all for a friend and would like to make sure he has an amazing sparkling princess diamond to propose to his girlfriend with

I think the .9 looks like a nice performer. I like the smaller table. The price is ok. This stone is $150 more and is an ACA but
an eye-clean SI1. For comparison sake...
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3755025.htm
.9 I/VS2 Ideal at JA GIA graded (you're paying more for AGS which is ok to me)
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.90-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2070811

I'm just wondering with your budget why you dont want to go a little higher on carat/color?

Maybe something like this...
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3644867.htm Expert selection
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3699535.htm ACA
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.03-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2277035
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.01-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2212110

Or if you're going to stick with I why not get up to the 1 carat mark. Not going to be a lot bigger but satisfaction of saying
it's a carat (they may or may not care).
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3638397.htm ACA
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3782400.htm ACA
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.03-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2352928
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.03-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-1864829
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.01-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2352934

Ok, that's my 2 cents...just trying to give you some options.

 

[flyingpig]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Thanks again Flyingpig! The vendor has offered to send to AGS for an update. They have incredible customer service and are very highly regarded on these forums. I've also personally had wonderful dealings with them in the past.

If certificate is updated and is no longer an issue, would you say this would be a top performing diamond and a great option to go with? Or is it worth still looking around?

I'm open to more advice and perhaps some stone suggestions from the PS community. Any help would be really appreciated as I'm organising this all for a friend and would like to make sure he has an amazing sparkling princess diamond to propose to his girlfriend with

I think the 0.9c is a very good choice. Good price, good customer service. If your friends are ok with 0.9c I color, go for it.

On a separate topic, if I were shopping, I would go for an 1.0c I VS (agreeing with tyty). I am learning too as I help you, and notice that 1.0c I Princess diamonds, unlike round diamonds, do not necessarily come at a significant premium, in term of $/carat. So.. why not a full carat?

It is just there are many options and a matter of balancing 4Cs and budget according to the wearer's pref.
Having that said, again, the 0.9c I looks great.

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Thanks again Flyingpig! The vendor has offered to send to AGS for an update. They have incredible customer service and are very highly regarded on these forums. I've also personally had wonderful dealings with them in the past.

If certificate is updated and is no longer an issue, would you say this would be a top performing diamond and a great option to go with? Or is it worth still looking around?

I'm open to more advice and perhaps some stone suggestions from the PS community. Any help would be really appreciated as I'm organising this all for a friend and would like to make sure he has an amazing sparkling princess diamond to propose to his girlfriend with

I think the .9 looks like a nice performer. I like the smaller table. The price is ok. This stone is $150 more and is an ACA but
an eye-clean SI1. For comparison sake...
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3755025.htm
.9 I/VS2 Ideal at JA GIA graded (you're paying more for AGS which is ok to me)
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.90-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2070811

I'm just wondering with your budget why you dont want to go a little higher on carat/color?

Maybe something like this...
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3644867.htm Expert selection
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3699535.htm ACA
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.03-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2277035
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.01-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2212110

Or if you're going to stick with I why not get up to the 1 carat mark. Not going to be a lot bigger but satisfaction of saying
it's a carat (they may or may not care).
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3638397.htm ACA
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-3782400.htm ACA
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.03-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2352928
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.03-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-1864829
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.01-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2352934

Ok, that's my 2 cents...just trying to give you some options.

Thanks tyty333! I actually wouldn't mind going a little higher in colour/clarity however the 0.9 was the best performing diamond the vendor was able to source. I'm just trying to find the most beautiful diamond I can that has an amazing cut and light performance/brilliance. Do you think any of the ones you've suggested could potentially perform just as well or better?

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Thanks again Flyingpig! The vendor has offered to send to AGS for an update. They have incredible customer service and are very highly regarded on these forums. I've also personally had wonderful dealings with them in the past.

If certificate is updated and is no longer an issue, would you say this would be a top performing diamond and a great option to go with? Or is it worth still looking around?

I'm open to more advice and perhaps some stone suggestions from the PS community. Any help would be really appreciated as I'm organising this all for a friend and would like to make sure he has an amazing sparkling princess diamond to propose to his girlfriend with

I think the 0.9c is a very good choice. Good price, good customer service. If your friends are ok with 0.9c I color, go for it.

On a separate topic, if I were shopping, I would go for an 1.0c I VS (agreeing with tyty). I am learning too as I help you, and notice that 1.0c I Princess diamonds, unlike round diamonds, do not necessarily come at a significant premium, in term of $/carat. So.. why not a full carat?

It is just there are many options and a matter of balancing 4Cs and budget according to the wearer's pref.
Having that said, again, the 0.9c I looks great.

Thanks so much again Flyingpig!! I would have liked to go a full carat and higher colour for the reasons I just mentioned in my reply to tytu333. What are your thoughts? Can I do better than what the vendor has offered?

 

[urasia]

Re: Help with princess cut diamonds ASETs/Idealscopes includ

Hi everyone!

Just posting an update, I ended up going with the 0.918c I and it is currently on it's way to my friend. He is very happy with the result and I think it looks great also. I'm sure his girlfriend will love it!!

Thanks again so so much for everyone's help and input! I can't wait to hear his thoughts once he receives it in person. Vendor pic of the diamond in Cartier inspired setting below.