2.3 carat RBC dilemma - WF ACA with lower color/clarity OR "compromise" cut with JA?

[HappyNewLife]

@HappyNewLife the good news is that you liked the WF

phew. *pets ACA on finger*

 

[gm89uk]

This is a great example of a well cut non superideal holding its own against superideals without compromise (apart from upgrade policy). When the cut is that good, most visual differences are likely from subtle personality differences, such as size of the arrows and angles. Thanks for posting.

 

[Drizzle]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It is really hard to capture everything on iPhone videos/cameras, so take what it is with a grain of salt.

Update: The BF and I went back to the jeweler yesterday (who has been amazing to work with) to take another look - mainly focused on Crafted by Infinity James Allen. And this time I was actually able to see the difference between the JA and CBI stones, specifically in the jewelry store lighting where the scintillation and fire is emphasized (hopefully I'm using the right terminology here).

The JA stone shows more white flashes vs the CB shows more contrast with fire-y sparkle reflecting more rainbow colors....if that makes sense. Once I spotted the difference (only in that certain lighting though to be fair) it was easy to separate them by the naked eye. We blind tested by shuffling a couple more times after I spotted the difference, and I passed each time. It was definitely a moment where I felt my eyes got "trained".

Here's the thing...they're different, but both beautiful in their own way. The difference, once spotted, was easy to tell apart (in the jewelry store lighting) but it's not the case where one is obviously *uglier* than the other, if that makes sense. I'm still trying to process the difference I saw and trying to ask myself if I actually have a preference to one look over the other.

 

[gm89uk]

Fair enough to CBI, Probably arrows being more aligned, more lighting up simultaneously. What about the ACA?

 

[Drizzle]

Fair enough to CBI, Probably arrows being more aligned, more lighting up simultaneously. What about the ACA?

For me personally, it was *hard* to tell apart WF ACA and James Allen even from yesterday's visit. WF ACA and JA both had a similar look - that white, bright, sparkliness look, vs the CBI stones have that dramatic contract where you can see bigger fires when tilting them around. Again this is all strictly under that one lighting condition (jewelry store) and I am no expert.

 

[cflutist]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It is really hard to capture everything on iPhone videos/cameras, so take what it is with a grain of salt.

Update: The BF and I went back to the jeweler yesterday (who has been amazing to work with) to take another look - mainly focused on Crafted by Infinity James Allen. And this time I was actually able to see the difference between the JA and CBI stones, specifically in the jewelry store lighting where the scintillation and fire is emphasized (hopefully I'm using the right terminology here).
The JA stone shows more white flashes vs the CBI shows more with fire-y sparkle reflecting more rainbow colors....if that makes sense. Once I spotted the difference (only in that certain lighting though to be fair) it was easy to separate them by the naked eye. We blind tested by shuffling a couple more times after I spotted the difference, and I passed each time. It was definitely a moment where I felt my eyes got "trained".

Here's the thing...they're different, but both beautiful in their own way. The difference, once spotted, was easy to tell apart (in the jewelry store lighting) but it's not the case where one is obviously *uglier* than the other, if that makes sense. I'm still trying to process the difference I saw and trying to ask myself if I actually have a preference to one look over the other.

Here are the rainbow colors that she is talking about from my older 2.21 F-SI1 CBI diamond.

 

[erislynn]

FWIW before you make a decision, it was rather easy to pick out the JA stone in both sets of videos. In the videos with dim lighting especially, there's a certain lack of perfect symmetry when the stone is facing the camera straight on. The superideals to my eye have this neat, corrugated look full circle, which is nice to consider, if that's important to you.

 

[partgypsy]

I suck at the videos too! But what you said about the CBI I really liked is the amount of precision and color play I could see. I also really like how ACAs are cut as well.
I was really worried you would drop one or more diamonds when you were videotaping! You are definitely more coordinated than I am!

 

[whitewave]

For me personally, it was *hard* to tell apart WF ACA and James Allen even from yesterday's visit. WF ACA and JA both had a similar look - that white, bright, sparkliness look, vs the CBI stones have that dramatic contract where you can see bigger fires when tilting them around. Again this is all strictly under that one lighting condition (jewelry store) and I am no expert.

And wal Mart lighting lol. I can't get much shopping done these days

 

[whitewave]

I believe color flashes are fire
https://www.whiteflash.com/about-diamonds/diamond-education/diamond-fire-1568.htm

 

[lalala]

Just checking in! Have you made a decision?

 

[824jagdds]

Hi, @Drizzle. I have been following this thread with great interest, as I am in a similar range for specs and have enjoyed hearing your opinions as you view the diamonds up close. THANK YOU for starting this thread and reporting back, it has been very helpful. I have a long post that will end with a few questions for you. You have made the kind of real life comparison viewing that is a big undertaking and that I was not really looking forward to arranging.

My GF and I have made two trips to Diamonds Direct, one to get a general feel for what size she wanted and settings she likes, and on the second trip to see where we needed to go on color and clarity. (I was happy that she did not like the $5K Tacori Dantela we thought looked amazing online.)

I went in thinking that the sweet spot was going to be largest diamond in the I / VS2 range. As I am an orthodontist and she is a dental student, I brought my loupes (2.5x) to the store. I felt the 10x jewelers loupe was overkill, but as she may view the diamond through her own loupes some days, I had a higher need than "eye-clean". I was surprised walking out of the store that we were both unable to spot inclusions in the SI1 we viewed at 2.5x. So especially with HPD or WF, I feel we are comfortable with SI1 or SI2.

As for size, she has very tiny fingers (3.5) and so she says she is ok with a 7.5mm but I really liked the 8.0+. Because for all the talk about Cut is King, I have to disagree that it's really size that catches eyes in real life. She's cool with larger too.

With color, neither of us liked the Js that we viewed, which is similar to your opinion. Both of us could discern the difference between an H and an I. We weren't sure if "needed" an H once set in jewelry, and at the time I was thinking the jump to a G represented to much of a size compromise to be worth it. However, now I am in the "Is H good enough or should I be looking at G?" camp. But I haven't ever compared G and H IRL. The whole "super-ideals face up whiter" confuses the issue further... which is another reason I am posting to get your opinions.

We also made a trip to see Hearts on Fire at a local jeweler to get an idea of whether we could see a difference in Super-Ideal or not. Unfortunately, the jeweler did not have enough of an inventory to make useful side-by-side comparisons because anything we compared it to was too far away in other confounding variables. We even saw a GIA Very Good cut that looked really good (blasphemy, right?)... which really shocked me and got me wondering if all of this education I have gotten on PS, WF and HPD websites has just clouded the issue. I walked out wondering if I am saving up all this money to buy the Emperor's New Clothes. Although I love learning all about this stuff, it really feels like sometimes all this is just silly and I should just get a larger rock in the non-super ideal group. Because all the sparkle in the world doesn't matter if the diamond isn't freshly cleaned anyway!

This is where your thread has been AWESOME... A real life person looking at close to the same size color and clarities has been educational.

In particular, I have found it very difficult to find answers to certain questions and would like your opinions.

1. Do you feel you really need a super-ideal or would a non-branded AGS 0 or even a GIA XXX work? Is there that big of a difference? What was your personal opinion? Have you and your BF thought about the Expert Selection on WF?

2. Between the WF ACA and the CBI, how noticeable was the fire difference? To me it looks like there is a serious $ premium for CBI. However, fire to me is an important feature, so did you feel it was worth the extra money?

3. Where do you feel you need to be on the color spectrum? Same question but what about in ACA or CBI? How did you feel comparing G vs H in particular? Did you feel the super-ideal cut turned the H into a G? To me G "feels" safest... but that's how I felt about VS2 before I saw an SI1 under magnification and figured out we are totally cool with SI1 and maybe even SI2 from somewhere like WF or HPD.

Thank you again. Best of Luck with your search and your decisions!

 

[cflutist]

@824jagdds
The whole "super-ideals face up whiter" confuses the issue further... which is another reason I am posting to get your opinions.

Yes they do face up whiter. Here is a photo taken indoors under natural lighting.
My pear is graded F by the GIA. My 2.79 F-VS1 CBI was graded F by AGSL. Which looks whiter to you?

 

[whitewave]

Hi, @Drizzle. I have been following this thread with great interest, as I am in a similar range for specs and have enjoyed hearing your opinions as you view the diamonds up close. THANK YOU for starting this thread and reporting back, it has been very helpful. I have a long post that will end with a few questions for you. You have made the kind of real life comparison viewing that is a big undertaking and that I was not really looking forward to arranging.

My GF and I have made two trips to Diamonds Direct, one to get a general feel for what size she wanted and settings she likes, and on the second trip to see where we needed to go on color and clarity. (I was happy that she did not like the $5K Tacori Dantela we thought looked amazing online.)

I went in thinking that the sweet spot was going to be largest diamond in the I / VS2 range. As I am an orthodontist and she is a dental student, I brought my loupes (2.5x) to the store. I felt the 10x jewelers loupe was overkill, but as she may view the diamond through her own loupes some days, I had a higher need than "eye-clean". I was surprised walking out of the store that we were both unable to spot inclusions in the SI1 we viewed at 2.5x. So especially with HPD or WF, I feel we are comfortable with SI1 or SI2.

As for size, she has very tiny fingers (3.5) and so she says she is ok with a 7.5mm but I really liked the 8.0+. Because for all the talk about Cut is King, I have to disagree that it's really size that catches eyes in real life. She's cool with larger too.

With color, neither of us liked the Js that we viewed, which is similar to your opinion. Both of us could discern the difference between an H and an I. We weren't sure if "needed" an H once set in jewelry, and at the time I was thinking the jump to a G represented to much of a size compromise to be worth it. However, now I am in the "Is H good enough or should I be looking at G?" camp. But I haven't ever compared G and H IRL. The whole "super-ideals face up whiter" confuses the issue further... which is another reason I am posting to get your opinions.

We also made a trip to see Hearts on Fire at a local jeweler to get an idea of whether we could see a difference in Super-Ideal or not. Unfortunately, the jeweler did not have enough of an inventory to make useful side-by-side comparisons because anything we compared it to was too far away in other confounding variables. We even saw a GIA Very Good cut that looked really good (blasphemy, right?)... which really shocked me and got me wondering if all of this education I have gotten on PS, WF and HPD websites has just clouded the issue. I walked out wondering if I am saving up all this money to buy the Emperor's New Clothes. Although I love learning all about this stuff, it really feels like sometimes all this is just silly and I should just get a larger rock in the non-super ideal group. Because all the sparkle in the world doesn't matter if the diamond isn't freshly cleaned anyway!

This is where your thread has been AWESOME... A real life person looking at close to the same size color and clarities has been educational.

In particular, I have found it very difficult to find answers to certain questions and would like your opinions.

1. Do you feel you really need a super-ideal or would a non-branded AGS 0 or even a GIA XXX work? Is there that big of a difference? What was your personal opinion? Have you and your BF thought about the Expert Selection on WF?

2. Between the WF ACA and the CBI, how noticeable was the fire difference? To me it looks like there is a serious $ premium for CBI. However, fire to me is an important feature, so did you feel it was worth the extra money?

3. Where do you feel you need to be on the color spectrum? Same question but what about in ACA or CBI? How did you feel comparing G vs H in particular? Did you feel the super-ideal cut turned the H into a G? To me G "feels" safest... but that's how I felt about VS2 before I saw an SI1 under magnification and figured out we are totally cool with SI1 and maybe even SI2 from somewhere like WF or HPD.

Thank you again. Best of Luck with your search and your decisions!

I have seen J color WF expert selection and they were gorgeous! @kgizo yours are expert selection, correct? I would have never guessed in a million years that they were J color.

I had bought a .37 K color HPD/CBI that was white also. It was too small! Lol (bought for a small ring project that ended up changing). I was surprised how white it was. I ended up changing it out for a .56 G SI2 that will eventually be a side stone in a 3 stone ring. I am completely happy with the SI2 and have never been able to find the inclusions. (CBI Inclusions are transparent). I wound up with a G because of price and available inventory with the SI2 combo. I was open to I/J/K.

 

[824jagdds]

@cflutist it's hard to say since in the photo your whole right hand is whiter

 

[cflutist]

@cflutist it's hard to say since in the photo your whole right hand is whiter

In all cases my CBI is whiter. I have seen CBI GHIJs which all face up colorless. I have no stake in saying this, other than to share my experience as a Gemologist (GIA) 1989 about how the Super Ideals, and CBI specifically, break barriers that other diamonds do not.

 

[824jagdds]

@cflutist I hope I did not offend... I wasn't disagreeing with you over whether the phenomenon is true. In fact I would prefer to be able to buy an H and not need to go G. I just noticed the right side of the photo with your left hand is darker overall probably due to being in shadow which would make color and brightness comparisons difficult. Either way that round is amazing. Probably the exact setting I will get for my GF, but closer to 2 carats. Six claw prongs with pave on the band is what I'm thinking.

 

[Alexiszoe]

@824jagdds , not OP but I had a similar experience. I owned a Super ideal round brilliant, J color 1.5 carat from a reputable vendor on PS here. I then had the opportunity to compare it in real life to several JA non-branded ideal stones (i.e. scored well on HCA and other parameters) of similar size that I picked out for my friend.

1) There was a very slight difference - my super ideal diamond was slightly more firey in comparison , but the non-branded performed beautifully too. There's a price premium for my super ideal branded stone vs the JA diamond.

For ME, having seen both - I would go with the non branded, ideal cut diamond, and use the price premium for a larger size or higher color. I do not feel the price premium for that level of precision cut translated into a big leap in performance to make it worthwhile. This is really down to personal preference though.

2) On color - it is true that a well-cut diamond faces up whiter - but based on my experience that is only seen when it's directly facing me. Most of the time, we see our ring (and diamond) at an angle or from the side. In those situations I can definitely see the tint. The setting and size makes a difference too - the bigger the diamond the more likely you will see the tint. With a 6 prong setting it would probably hide color better.

 

[Drizzle]

Hi @824jagdds, thank you for the kind words! It's so nice to hear from another (real time) e-ring diamond seeker and I'm glad that you found my posts helpful. Sounds like you and your GF have done a fair share of research and already taken several field trips to see different diamonds IRL. Before I answer your questions, I wanted to share a few updates.

BF and I actually went back to the jeweler last Saturday for the Meet the Cutter event (quick shout out to @Wink @John Pollard @Paul-Antwerp for their warm hospitality and fellow PSer @Lula, it was lovely to meet you & your sister as I really enjoyed chatting with you and admiring your ring ). Before the event, BF and I spent about another 2 hours (no joke!) looking at the stones again. This time, the difference was more apparent and I could even tell the CBI apart in most lighting from an arm's length. It's worth mentioning that this was also the visit where my BF (who probably has less passion for diamonds than your average neighbor) started to see the difference. It's one of those things once you see, you don't un-see. IMHO, the JA and WF still looked similar (I personally *slightly* preferred the JA more) whereas CBI stood out in the following way. Will also be posting videos later.

• Under jewelry store lighting/spot lighting: JA/WF showed more "traditional" beauty of a diamond (for a lack of better word) with white sparkly flashes vs CBI had a more "unique" look - a mirror like surface that "darkened" for contrast, with stronger fire/lots of rainbow flashes. I believe the technical term is scintillation.

• Under fluorescent lighting (typical office lighting) and dim lighting: CBI looked more crisp (again due to having more contrast) than JA/WF which looked more dull/flat in comparison.

The visual difference had been clearly established by this point and I had narrowed down my options to CBI and JA. However, I still wasn't ready make the final decision, one of the obstacles being I wasn't sure how I felt about the way CBI looked under spot lighting. It was clear that I preferred the way CBI performed in office/dim lighting, but I needed more time to process everything. The jeweler was more than understanding, encouraged me to come back and have another comparison session whenever I wanted, and told me not to rush the decision until I was really sure.

I was getting frustrated with myself that I still couldn't make a decision, and spent the whole next day contemplating (luckily it was Sunday) and collecting information on the Internet. From talking to @Lula at the event, I learned that it's common for super ideal diamonds to go "dark" in spotlighting (also direct sunlight). I found numerous threads on PS as well as other forums, where people are asking the same question. To put it simply, it's a biological phenomenon where the human eye cannot process the overload of light return coming from the diamond under intense lighting that the pupil closes a little, resulting in a darker looking stone. Forgive my poor explanation, here are a few of the threads I found on the matter for those of you interested.

• https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-does-a-diamond-go-dark-in-direct-sunlight.132751/

• https://www.pricescope.com/communit...-cut-diamond-look-hazy-in-harsh-light.206805/

• https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-well-cut-stones-go-dark.79488/

• https://www.pricescope.com/communit...cut-diamonds-and-effect-on-appearance.144474/

After doing hours of research on this, I thought to myself "I should just stick to the James Allen GIA 3X - sure it looks *a bit* more muted next to the CBI in some lighting but it's not like I'll be carrying a CBI with me at all times to compare...plus in spotlighting/direct sunlight, the fact it's not an super ideal actually plays some advantage...plus I'll wind up with a higher color/clarity (G VS1 vs H SI1)"

I went back to the jeweler on Monday after work, feeling more than 50% sure I would just go with the James Allen. But since I was already there, I decided to look at the diamonds side by side again. The difference between the JA and CBI was more pronounced than ever (this would've been my 5th trip to the jeweler) and I could not deny I much preferred the CBI in office lighting, dim lighting, casual lighting. Even spotlighting, while the stone would turn "dark," there was so much fire and dispersion coming from it that I thought it was simply beautiful. Then it really hit me hard, why the hell am I trying to pick the James Allen over CBI again?

Looking back, I can think of 2 factors.

1) I didn't even realize how hung up on the 4 C's I was, and the whole "shop by specs" mentality I was so deep stuck in. I think us newbies get bombarded with so much information on the internet as we jump into this unknown world of diamond buying, those of us who over analyze (especially with a relatively high price tag attached), tend to default to thinking with our "head" and not our "feeling." This is silly, because it defies the entire purpose of why people buy diamonds. It must've been engraved in me deep down subconsciously, that I *needed* to maximize the 4 C's given the budget - and that does not translate to going from ideal cut (JA's specs fell into the AGS0 parameters) to a super ideal in exchange for losing 1 color/2 clarity grades when you approach it from a pure logic perspective. It was so hard for me to get over this mentally.

2) The biggest lesson learned in this process so far is that your "palette" for diamond performance DEFINITELY improves over time (whether you want it or not). It took me a total of 5 visits to the jeweler to be able to finally come to the conclusion on my own. What I can say with 100% certainty is that my visual "palette" for diamond performance had improved with every visit. FWIW my BF's also did, and he was definitely more of a casual observer. As my jeweler said, when you're comparing diamonds in top 1% cut grade, the difference is not as dramatic to the untrained eye. But once you pick it up, you don't un-see. I'm just so glad that I was able to take my time, and didn't jump to any conclusion after 1-2 visits. I cannot thank my jeweler more for his unworldly patience and non-pressuring, non-judging demeanor.

Wow this post has turned into a book!

I will end the post with this: Yes, I ended up going with the CBI stone and I could not be happier with my decision. Once I was able to get over the mental hurdle, and just accept and process what I was seeing, I genuinely think I ended up with the prettiest stone (given my choices and budget limitation of course). I went back to the jeweler again today (working on my custom setting process with them) and had the chance to look at my CBI and it further reinforced that I made the right call - after all it's gonna be on my finger for the rest of my life, and I'm glad I did not compromise on the cut.

 

[cflutist]

Hi @824jagdds, thank you for the kind words! It's so nice to hear from another (real time) e-ring diamond seeker and I'm glad that you found my posts helpful. Sounds like you and your GF have done a fair share of research and already taken several field trips to see different diamonds IRL. Before I answer your questions, I wanted to share a few updates.

BF and I actually went back to the jeweler last Saturday for the Meet the Cutter event (quick shout out to @Wink @John Pollard @Paul-Antwerp for their warm hospitality and fellow PSer @Lula, it was lovely to meet you & your sister as I really enjoyed chatting with you and admiring your ring ). Before the event, BF and I spent about another 2 hours (no joke!) looking at the stones again. This time, the difference was more apparent and I could even tell the CBI apart in most lighting from an arm's length. It's worth mentioning that this was also the visit where my BF (who probably has less passion for diamonds than your average neighbor) started to see the difference. It's one of those things once you see, you don't un-see. IMHO, the JA and WF still looked similar (I personally *slightly* preferred the JA more) whereas CBI stood out in the following way. Will also be posting videos later.

• Under jewelry store lighting/spot lighting: JA/WF showed more "traditional" beauty of a diamond (for a lack of better word) with white sparkly flashes vs CBI had a more "unique" look - a mirror like surface that "darkened" for contrast, with stronger fire/lots of rainbow flashes. I believe the technical term is scintillation.

• Under fluorescent lighting (typical office lighting) and dim lighting: CBI looked more crisp (again due to having more contrast) than JA/WF which looked more dull/flat in comparison.

The visual difference had been clearly established by this point and I had narrowed down my options CBI and JA. However, I still wasn't ready make the final decision, one of the obstacles being I wasn't sure how I felt about the way CBI looked under spot lighting. It was clear that I preferred the way CBI performed in office/dim lighting, but I needed more time to process everything. The jeweler was more than understanding, encouraged me to come back and have another comparison session whenever I wanted, and told me not to rush the decision until I was really sure.

I was getting frustrated with myself that I still couldn't make a decision, and spent the whole next day contemplating (luckily it was Sunday) and collecting information on the Internet. From talking to @Lula at the event, I learned that it's common for super ideal diamonds to go "dark" in spotlighting (also direct sunlight). I found numerous threads on PS as well as other forums, where people are asking the same question. To put it simply, it's a biological phenomenon where the human eye cannot process the overload of light return coming from the diamond under intense lighting that the pupil closes a little, resulting in a darker looking stone. Forgive my poor explanation, here are a few of the threads I found on the matter for those of you interested.

• https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-does-a-diamond-go-dark-in-direct-sunlight.132751/

• https://www.pricescope.com/communit...-cut-diamond-look-hazy-in-harsh-light.206805/

• https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-well-cut-stones-go-dark.79488/

• https://www.pricescope.com/communit...cut-diamonds-and-effect-on-appearance.144474/

After doing hours of research on this, I thought to myself "I should just stick to the James Allen GIA 3X - sure it looks *a bit* more muted next to the CBI in some lighting but it's not like I'll be carrying a CBI with me at all times to compare...plus in spotlighting/direct sunlight, the fact it's not an super ideal actually plays some advantage...plus I'll wind up with a higher color/clarity (G VS1 vs H SI1)"

I went back to the jeweler on Monday after work, feeling more than 50% sure I would just go with the James Allen. But since I was already there, I decided to look at the diamonds side by side again. The difference between the JA and CBI was more pronounced than ever (this would've been my 5th trip to the jeweler) and I could not deny I much preferred the CBI in office lighting, dim lighting, casual lighting. Even spotlighting, while the stone would turn "dark," there was so much fire and dispersion coming from it that I thought it was simply beautiful. Then it really hit me hard, why the hell am I trying to pick the James Allen over CBI again?

Looking back, I can think of 2 factors.

1) I didn't even realize how hung up on the 4 C's I was, and the whole "shop by specs" mentality I was so deep stuck in. I think us newbies get bombarded with so much information on the internet as we jump into this unknown world of diamond buying, those of us who over analyze (especially with a relatively high price tag attached), tend to default to thinking with our "head" and not our "feeling." This is silly, because it defies the entire purpose of why people buy diamonds. It must've been engraved in me deep down subconsciously, that I *needed* to maximize the 4 C's given the budget - and that does not translate to going from ideal cut (JA's specs fell into the AGS0 parameters) to a super ideal in exchange for losing 1 color/2 clarity grades when you approach it from a pure logic perspective. It was so hard for me to get over this mentally.

2) The biggest lesson learned in this process so far is that your "palette" for diamond performance DEFINITELY improves over time (whether you want it or not). It took me a total of 5 visits to the jeweler to be able to finally come to the conclusion on my own. What I can say with 100% certainty is that my visual "palette" for diamond performance had improved with every visit. FWIW my BF's also did, and he was definitely more of a casual observer. As my jeweler said, when you're comparing diamonds in top 1% cut grade, the difference is not as dramatic to the untrained eye. But once you pick it up, you don't un-see. I'm just so glad that I was able to take my time, and didn't jump to any conclusion after 1-2 visits. I cannot thank my jeweler more for his unworldly patience and non-pressuring, non-judging demeanor.

Wow this post has turned into a book!

I will end the post with this: Yes, I ended up going with the CBI stone and I could not be happier with my decision. Once I was able to get over the mental hurdle, and just accept and process what I was seeing, I genuinely think I ended up with the prettiest stone (given my choices and budget limitation of course). I went back to the jeweler again today (working on my custom setting process with them) and had the chance to look at my CBI and it further reinforced that I made the right call - after all it's gonna be on my finger for the rest of my life, and I'm glad I did not compromise on the cut.

Congratulations and welcome to the CBI family. You will find that your diamond will continue to surprise you when you least expect it. I am so happy for you.

 

[Drizzle]

@824jagdds here's the link to the thread where I uploaded all the videos:

https://www.pricescope.com/communit...nfinity-wf-aca-and-james-allen-gia-3x.235609/

 

[Drizzle]

@824jagdds

I think my last update have answered some of your questions but I wanted to touch up on a few things I didn't cover

1) We were open to the WF Expert Selection, but simply could not find any stone within the specs we wanted. When I put in the parameters and filtered on "In-House" only, all the options that returned were A CUT ABOVE.

As for the difference between excellent/ideal and super ideal...based on my somewhat limited experience, I feel like there's not a canned answer. Personally, I preferred the JA (GIA3X/AGS0) over WF (Super Ideal), but CBI (Super Ideal) over JA. Ultimately what drove me to my final decision was how *crisp* the CBI looked in natural/office lighting - I figured that's the lighting I'll be in the most, you know?

Photo taken under combination of natural/office lighting:
From left: JA (G), WF (H), and CBI (H)



2) If fire and scintillation is what is important to you, I think you should at least see the CBI in person once. Fire/dispersion was probably the biggest differentiating factor that separated the CBI from WF/JA. You can check out the videos in another thread I linked above. Funny enough, *personally* for me, it was probably my least favorite aspect of CBI (as you may have gathered from my recap post).

3) I was (and still am) super set on having my diamond look "icy white"...in fact my original wish list was G+. But having looked at them in person, I can honestly say facing up, there is no difference between G and H. It's only when looking at them the side or up-side-down on a white backdrop where you can see the tint.

In the below photo, JA (G color) is 2nd from the left - and the rest are all H colors.



I agree with you that size is what catches people's eyes, plus diamond shrinkage syndrome is real But if your GF is truly happy with 7.5mm and see no huge value in going up (lucky she's 3.5!), I would say get her a 7.5mm in a G color. Personally, I would maximize on the carat and cut, and compromise on color (but not any lower than H) and clarity. Clarity for me was more of a "mind" thing than ever. Of course it had to be eye-clean, but for the longest time I struggled getting out of the VS zone - thus prolonging my decision making lol. Hope this helps!

 

[lalala]

Congratulations!! So happy you ended up with a CBI! Can't wait to see the final ring and hand shots!

 

[whitewave]

Welcome to the CBI family!

 

[Lula]

Congratulations, Drizzle, and welcome to the CBI family!

My sister and I enjoyed meeting you, too -- it was fun talking diamonds with a PS member. It was great to see Paul and John again, and meet Wink for the first time in person. I wish we could have stayed longer at the Meet the Cutter event, but we had dinner plans in another part of the city (the traffic there is something else!).

Please come back with photos of your completed ring!

 

[whitewave]

This was true for me: " It's worth mentioning that this was also the visit where my BF (who probably has less passion for diamonds than your average neighbor) started to see the difference. It's one of those things once you see, you don't un-see. IMHO"

 

[matt_k]

HPD inclusions are not visible. I have an SI2 and I can't find the inclusions.

Same here! My 1.59 I SI2 is completely eye-clean.