9 replies to this topic

[Conner12]

I've been looking through hundreds of diamonds and of course trying to get best value, appeal, measurements, cut, etc. I've narrowed down to links shown below:

1) [url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1357356.asp[/url]

2) [url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1342719.asp[/url]

3) [url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1358267.asp[/url]

4) [url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1345800.asp[/url]

5) [url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1314100.asp[/url]

Other than the clarity rating, I don't see too much difference in #1 & #3. Is it me, or does #3 have some yellow sections in the diamond? This isn't visible to the naked eye, is it?

I like #2 because it seems to have more brilliance/sparkle in the picture, however it could just be the lighting.

I like #4 & #5 because they look very eye-clean, and seem to be the median of all of these. price, carat. However, they don't look like the sparkle? is this the lighting conditions of the photo that makes it look like this?

Thanks for your help!

[LaurieH]

I'm gonna say, take #1 out of the running. NOW. You're looking at 4- VS2s and one SI2...and you're still all in the same ballpark price-wise and size-wise, so go ahead and nix the dog in the bunch.

After that, you've got all GIA Excellent cuts. Diamonds are notoriously hard to photograph, so the photograph is not going to be able to tell you if it sparkles--it's just however the light is hitting the diamond at the exact moment it's shot. Sparkle requires you to rock and tilt the stone--the technical term is "Scintillation", so really all you're able to tell is the Brilliance (proportion of light to dark areas seen when the diamond is held still), but not the Scintillation or Fire (the red/yellow/blue that you'll see when the light hits the stone and is broken into prismatic colors, reflected on or through the facets.) You can, however, get a better idea of the inclusions, but keep in mind that the GIA definition of VS is "Minor inclusions visible under 10x magnification or better" and they are eye-clean face-up, so you will not see the inclusions when looking at the stone in real life without magnification.

My votes would be for:

Choice 1--Dia #2
Choice 2--Dia #3, if your budget permits.

Good luck and happy shopping

[davidelevi]

In some way, it looks like your mind is being made up for you. 4 out of the 5 are marked as "not available", which usually means they are on hold or sold.

Other than that, and in general, don't worry about the colours you see in the photo; you have a much better indication of the colour of the diamond in the grading report (as long as it's GIA or AGS).

Evaluating sparkle from a single photo is also impossible. Use the photo to assess clarity, and to some extent symmetry and contrast, but that's about all. Your best guide to the diamond's sparkle and fire - short of an expert's or your own eye - is the GIA or AGS cut grade.

[jan]

It did kind of look like most of them but #2 were kind of cloudy in the photos. Not sure how accurate those photos are. Is there any way they can show you a photo of the live stone? Something like this one.

http://www.dbof.com/...-1-25-ct-vs2-g/

[Conner12]

What do you think about this?

[url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1303866.asp[/url]

although it's SI2, I don't see any major inclusions and i've seen other higher rated stones with more issues. Is there something about this diamond im not considering? or see? thank you.

[LaurieH]

What set the grade for this one is those two pretty significant feathers on the pavillion near the girdle. I'd be VERY concerned about those when setting or if the diamond were to get struck. There's no way to know from a plot which direction the feather goes (towards the inside, towards the outside or straight down) so you really do have a risk of the feathers getting worse or chipping out if the diamond were to get struck just right (or wrong, as it were) or pressure during setting. If they were further towards the culet (point) it would still set the grade, but I'd be less concerned about them, because it wouldn't be in a fragile place once the diamond is set, but being SO close to the girdle... yeah.... bigger isn't always better. The other inclusions aren't so bad, but with those feathers, I'd totally recommend taking a pass.

[Conner12]

LaurieH, on 27 February 2011 - 10:46 AM, said:

What set the grade for this one is those two pretty significant feathers on the pavillion near the girdle. I'd be VERY concerned about those when setting or if the diamond were to get struck. There's no way to know from a plot which direction the feather goes (towards the inside, towards the outside or straight down) so you really do have a risk of the feathers getting worse or chipping out if the diamond were to get struck just right (or wrong, as it were) or pressure during setting. If they were further towards the culet (point) it would still set the grade, but I'd be less concerned about them, because it wouldn't be in a fragile place once the diamond is set, but being SO close to the girdle... yeah.... bigger isn't always better. The other inclusions aren't so bad, but with those feathers, I'd totally recommend taking a pass.

wow...thank you very much! makes alot of sense how that could fracture or chip out. thank you!!!

[matekat]

The other inclusions aren't so bad, but with those feathers, I'd totally recommend taking a pass.

[Conner12]

thanks for all the help so far. how about these:

[url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1360225.asp[/url]

[url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1318782.asp[/url]

[url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1342805.asp[/url]

[url]http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1355149.asp[/url]

[davidelevi]

On paper, they all look good. They also look remarkably similar.

The question is which one you prefer, and to decide that you need to see them. The single photo on the site is not enough. Talk to JA and ask how they can help you make up your mind; no matter which one you pick, they are all superb stones (as much as we can tell from the paper!).