1.9 E VS2 vs 2.03 carat H VS2, which one would you pick

[dolores0817]

I did not see the diamonds, because me and my BF and not in the same countries, but I would be moving to his in half a year, I can not wait! He was referred to a diamond broker by a frd, and narrowed down to those two. I did not have the details here, only know both are:

--Round brilliant cut
--3 EX by GIA.
--He claimed he saw perfect hearts and arrows in both diamonds
--Excellent lights returning, and similar HCA score, below 1 for both.
--Similar price, both a bit above 30,000 USD( we think it is fair price so we decide to choose one from those 2), with the 2 carat around --1K more, but he said he might be able to negotiate it down a bit.

Now size vs color:
1.9 carat E VS2 -- 8 mm,
2 carat H VS2 -- 8.2 .

He is a bit perfectionist, and wants a perfect one at least to his eyes. When he compared those 2 side by side, he did feel H was not as icy white as the E one, but on its own, H was facing up white enough, still he prefers the E one. But I heard once it hits 2 carat, the diamond is in a different range, and is deemed to value a lot more.

He is very sweet to let me to contribute in the final decision. I have not seen the diamonds, he says assume everything else equal, now you choose slightly icier vs slightly bigger. Diamond experts, which one would you pick? FYI, I am size 5 finger and has very fair skin, we would set in a simple plain band solitaire style.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Gypsy]

I'd take the E, personally. I think 1.9 is a great size.

 

[Frenchgirl]

Me too, I vote for the E.

 

[dolores0817]

Thanks, do you think the difference between E and H is more visible than the 8 mm vs 8.2 mm?

 

[Gypsy]

2mm is a visual difference. It's just that in the 8mm range, 8 versus 8.2 isn't that big to my eyes from what I've seen in pictures and videos. H color is very white still in most lighting and honestly when set and and on the hand (so not next to another diamond) most people probably couldn't tell that it's got a small bit of tint. That said, owning an F myself, I like how mindclean it is for me. If there is color I know that it's from the surroundings and not from my diamond, and I like that I don't have to worry about melee color in standard settings or in bands I wear with it. So for ME, I consider (in terms of being mindclean) the H more of a compromise than the .2mm spread difference. But for some people hitting the 2 carat mark is a more important mindclean issue and compromising on that is a bigger deal for them, and I totally get that. It's just not one for me, and since you asked me what I would pick, my answer was the E.

I don't think there is a wrong choice though. It's all about preference. So I think the better question for you is: What is more mindclean for you: hitting the 2 carat mark and knowing you eeked out all the size you could without compromising to much on anything else at all except a tiny bit on color. Or compromising a small amount of spread, and the 2 carat mark, for a white stone.

 

[Laila619]

For a solitaire, I like a big stone (the bigger the better!), so I'd pick the 2.03 carat. It's nice to reach that 2 carat mark. Plus I feel like H is still pretty white!

 

[Gypsy]

Or compromising a small amount of spread, and the 2 carat mark, for a COLORLESS stone.

My bad. H is white. I meant colorless (as in the official color ranges, didn't mean to make this subjective).

If your FI wouldn't kill you can you ask him if they can find a nice F or G around the same price at 2 carats?

 

[dolores0817]

He has tried, it seems that since this broker knows my BF's frd personally, he was being honest. He says at 2 carat point, DEF with top cut( perfect hearts and arrows, I assume he means even better than average 3EX cut) would be a lot more expensive, there was one beyond 40K. I don't feel comfortable spending so much at our age. So we try to make it below 35K, ideally around 30K. As for G, I am not sure, but I think he must have compared the cuts and picked the H one over the others, I know there are big choices between 2 to 2.10, but 1.85 to 1.95 are quite hard to find.

Or compromising a small amount of spread, and the 2 carat mark, for a COLORLESS stone.

My bad. H is white. I meant colorless (as in the official color ranges, didn't mean to make this subjective).

If your FI wouldn't kill you can you ask him if they can find a nice F or G around the same price at 2 carats?

 

[Enerchi]

I'd go for the 2.03 H, only because of the extra size. AT that point, what's another $1K when you've already spent $30K? If the cut is equal as well as the grading by the same lab, as a solitaire, I wouldn't think you'd notice colour in your H alone. If you go for a diamond wedding band, the stones will be smaller and will face up whiter but what will stand out, is the size of your ering.

I'd pick the 2ct H.

 

[Gypsy]

Jewelers can get each other's stones in on memo. If I can find these, your jeweler can find them and may be able to get them in for you. Personally I'd go for one of these if your jeweler can get them in for you.

G VS2 2.14 ct HCA:1.3 Spread of 8.3mm and likely to be eyeclean. http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1447122.asp $32,000

F VS2 2.04 ct HCA:1.6 Spread of 8.2mm and eyeclean: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1512582.asp $32,400

G VS2 2.04 ct HCA:1.4 Spread of 8.0mm and eyeclean: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1418502.asp $32,800

G VS2 2.01 HCA: 1.9 Spread of 8.0mm and likely to be eyeclean: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1381765.asp $28,000



Your budget is fine. Your jeweler just needs to keep looking.


Note on HCA: It is a pass fail tool. Any score under 2 is as good as any other. Lower is not better under 2.

 

[dolores0817]

Thanks Gypsy, sadly my BF is not living in the U.S but I am, i am sure he would not go through the hassle to wire money abroad, so unless I purchase it myself, however, it would feel a little strange for me to keep the ring before proposal. I would firstly let my BF ask his broker to search for more if possible, however, BF seems very partial and happy with the 1.9 E. I did not know some 2 carats can also cut as 8 mm, always assume they try to make everything proportional in a 3EX cut.

Btw, seems james allen has "True hearts" series, would the quality be significantly better than the ideal ones, the price premium is like 15 to 20%.

Jewelers can get each other's stones in on memo. If I can find these, your jeweler can find them and may be able to get them in for you. Personally I'd go for one of these if your jeweler can get them in for you.

G VS2 2.14 ct HCA:1.3 Spread of 8.3mm and likely to be eyeclean. http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1447122.asp $32,000

F VS2 2.04 ct HCA:1.6 Spread of 8.2mm and eyeclean: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1512582.asp $32,400

G VS2 2.04 ct HCA:1.4 Spread of 8.0mm and eyeclean: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1418502.asp $32,800

G VS2 2.01 HCA: 1.9 Spread of 8.0mm and likely to be eyeclean: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1381765.asp $28,000



Your budget is fine. Your jeweler just needs to keep looking.


Note on HCA: It is a pass fail tool. Any score under 2 is as good as any other. Lower is not better under 2.

 

[Gypsy]

Which is 'better' between the True Hearts versus a GIA Excellent with confirmed ideal light return with an ASET is very subjective. But in a nutshell, no it's not a significant difference to the unaided eye at all. The True Hearts have precise Hearts and Arrows Patterning when viewed through the Hearts and Arrows viewer. You can't see it when the diamond is set though. The hearts are on the pavilion and you can only see them when the diamond is upside down and even though only through a scope. And the difference of the face up between a EX that's been confirmed as having ideal light return with a nice pattern of facets (like the ones I posted from JA) and a H&A is very slight, to the extent that the majority of folks wouldn't be able to tell the difference at all. I wouldn't spend money on it if I could get a nice GIA Ex like those posted above. Hearts and Arrows is all about precision in cutting, not about light return and brightness or scintillation or fire. Many of the stones that are really nice GIA Ex stones have hearts and arrows, it's just that their facets don't line up with the precision that a true hearts and arrows stone would have under a microscope. Personally if it makes do no real difference to my naked eye and I need a special scope to even see it, I don't need it.

I understand about the international thing. But we do get a lot of international buyers who do very efficient transactions with overseas customers.

Still, at 8mm that E color stone sounds lovely, and like I said that would be my choice as well. But if you prefer the H-- go for it, seriously. You are wearing it, not me or anyone else-- including your FI.

 

[Christina...]

Does your bf want to work with his specific vendor or would he be open to working with an online vendor such as JA? Truly the stones that Gyspy posted are beautiful and if your bf's vendor couldn't obtain them, then JA ships internationally with a 60 return period. They come highly recommended as well as being able to offer you more information about the stones potential light performance. JA can offer you IS images and have a GG assess the stones LP and make a recommendation.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I'd go to F or G color at 2 cts. Too much in between E and H to choose from!

If he insists on choosing between those two stones, I would likely choose the E. I'd want to see the clarity info and the lab report before saying that absolutely.

 

[stargurl78]

If it were me, I'd go with the E hands down. But I prefer icy white stones. If that doesn't matter so much to you, the H will be colorless and you'll get a slightly bigger size. All comes down to personal preferences...