3 carat stone from WHITEFLASH

[Phoenix]

Agreed.

 

[:)]

Lien, I remember your original post where you were bothered about the F by GIA, but the appraiser felt G-ish thing. I think in your case you are smart to wait to get a colorless stone to keep you comfortable. I think that if the F/G bothered you, you would be really unhappy with an I. Especially in Singapore were I am assuming (as I assumed in the original post a long time ago) that part of the color discrepancy was due to an Asian preference for high color/clarity over size and maybe they are a bit more conservative with color grading. I think if 'F/G' bothered you, that 'I' would make you even more uncomfortable. The price jumps a lot, but if you can get ahold of a more recent copy of 'the guide' (which I used when trying to help you with pricing the other time), you can get a good general estimate of what price to expect to pay.

 

[Phoenix]

, thanks so much for your post and your insight and suggestion, very helpful indeed.

You're right about the Asian preference for higher colour and clarity and I must say I am a little like that (ok, maybe a lot

), but I am beginning to realise that these are not so important, and am leaning towards slightly lower clarity (like SI1) so that I'd end up with a larger stone and/ or a lower price.

WRT colour, I've never had anything lower than a G for my e-ring (I do have 3 stone-RHR, where the centre stone is an H/I but it is a smaller size - less than 1 carat). I *think* I'd like a white or blue-white stone but am not so sure, and obviously cost is a major factor. I've never seen, let alone own, an ACA or an ideal cut larger (3 + and above - in my personal opinion) diamond (though I have seen Lazare, Tiffany's and Cartier's but not sure if they can be considered ideal - or are they?). So, although I believe that if a stone is well-cut, it should "hide" the colour better, I don't actually know how that works in real life.

One of the reasons for my returning the 3.02 F VS2 stone is not so much that it is a lower F colour, it is more that I paid for an F and got something more like a G. I was seriously comtemplating keeping the stone, thinking that the higher clarity (VS2 but appraised at VVS2) made up for the lower colour, but the stone is not ideally cut (total depth is 62.6%, crown angle 35.5% and pavilion angle 41%).

, I am intrigued by your blue-white diamond. Do you have a picture of it? I've tried searching for it on the forum but can't seem to find it. Again, another Asian preference is not to have stone with any fluorescence, let alone strong fluorescence, but after having read so many posts here and seen so many pictures with strong/ medium fluor, I think i'd like to own one with strong fluor, but obviously not with oily/ milky appearance. It'd be cool to have that extra "oomph", plus I'd save some money too.

All in all, I am now thinking perhaps a G with strong fluor. I may go to an F if the price is *reasonable* (IMO). Or I may go back to an H if it is a larger stone (say a 3.5 - 4+). Oh, I don't know!

. Obviously, I can't decide yet, at least until I see a few (or at least the specs of a few) and post them here for you fellow PS'er's opinions. You've all been so helpful with others in their quest for their stone, so now I'd like to ask you all for help.

, I will definitely get in touch with GOG and ask them to source me a suitable stone. I am also asking WF for their help, as well as a few others like ERD etc. Not sure how long that would take, I'd like to have a stone asap, since my original e-ring is now sitting on one of my ear lobes, and the 3.02 F VS2 which was supposed to be my upgraded e-ring, is no longer

.

Btw, would it be possible for you to post that price guide or help me get the information somewhere? I'd really like to see how prices differ and how far I'd have to stretch. I did a search on PS but prices seem to vary quite a bit, for eg. WF has a 3.6 stone but it is priced at $89k. Obviously, the premium is to do with the superior cut, but my budget does not stretch that far

.

Thanks again.

 

[starryeyed]

Hi LienTN.

I''m not sure exactly what you are looking for or what your budget is, but how about:

3.00 E SI-1 "Select Ideal" Mod Floro $45.8K

 

[Harriet]

Lien,

I have first dibs on an ACA with higher colour!

 

[Phoenix]

Starryeyed, thanks for that. I will check it out.

Harriet, no worries. I think your requirements and mine are slightly different, especially since I went to Tiffany and Cartier today to look at various colours and I can definitely detect a strong tint in an I stone (you were right, and even in an H, and I think that their stones are supposed to be at the higher end of the spectrum. So I can rule out anything below a G and might even stick to F or even go to an E. (I wish I wasn't so colour-sensitive

). Also, I think your're looking for a bigger stone (a lot of price difference between a 3 and 4 caraters, even between just over 3 and 3.5+

). Clarity-wise, I am gonna try and go with SI1 to save some money. Happy hunting though.

. May we both end up with beautiful stones that fit our respective requirements, ACA or not.

 

[Phoenix]

Hey, Harriet, are you going for fluor and if so, strong or medium? Just curious.

 

[Harriet]

I''d never thought about flourescence until the recent thread about "blue-white" diamonds. Now, I''m intrigued. My ACA faces up really white. It''s only the side view that bothers me. Wish I could afford the 3.61 G ACA. First, it''s colour, then it will be size. It''s neverending.

 

[:)]

The price guide I had is several months old now and out of date - I will try to get some generalities for you out of it when I get home tonight. If you are interested in fluoro, do at least keep colorless in mind (don''t dismiss it only because of the expected price - I found that it helps to broaden the search with size and color due to paucity of stones - doing this for a say 1 carat wouldn''t help because of so many more stones of that size, but given the paucity of larger ones looking broadly, and looking at the stone diameter instead of just carat weight helps!) - because of the fluoro voodoo thing sometimes they discount those colorless stones simply because of fluoro (just because they assume anyone looking for a colorless stone will not be looking for fluoro).

 

[:)]

This one is an AGS 000 G SI1 for $42,500 without any discounts (I just got it directly off the website) - I would confirm angles though - it looks like it says 35.7 and 40.8?? In that case it would fall outside AGS 000 parameters though so I must not be seeing the numbers correctly..

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=131&item=887957

 

[Phoenix]

Thank you, . I will keep in mind your suggestion and will also check out the JA stone.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/31/2007 9:08:04 PM
Author:
This one is an AGS 000 G SI1 for $42,500 without any discounts (I just got it directly off the website) - I would confirm angles though - it looks like it says 35.7 and 40.8?? In that case it would fall outside AGS 000 parameters though so I must not be seeing the numbers correctly..

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=131&item=887957

I bet this would be a fireball!

 

[:)]

Lien, sorry it took me so long. I also forgot to tell you that I don''t have pics yet. As soon as I do I will post. I actually bought a digital camera a couple of years ago but have never actually used it!
Okay, looking at the chart from July/August ''06. 3-3.99 range, with regards to clarity, there are huge jumps going from Included to SI, fairly regular jumps between each clarity from there. For color, there is a large jump from J to I. Fairly regular jumps from there.
I will concentrate on the general ranges you gave.
considering simply a 3.00 carat stone, in
EFGHI colors
VS2, SI1 range

Generally, in the VS2 range, almost 3K PER CARAT jump from I to H, 2.5K per carat from H to G, 3K per carat from G to F, 600 dollar per carat from F to E.

In the SI1 range, 1K per carat from I to H, 1.4K per carat from H to G, 2K per carat from G to F, 200 dollar per carat from F to E.

Of course these are generalities (and very old numbers), with adjustments being made for reports, special sizes/''magic numbers'', rarity of sizes, eyecleanliness, super duper cut, etc, etc. Obviously an appraiser can help the most, as can the PS your diamond feature at the top of the page. I just used this as a general guide to see like small increases versus enormous increases to keep expectations/possibilities realistic.
Hope this helps!

 

[starryeyed]

Just to toss it out there, have you seen this ring from Signed Pieces:

3.27 Tiffany Lucida I VS1 Ex/VG Med Blue, Plat $38K

Comes with the little blue box!

 

[Phoenix]

Thanks, . That''s ver helpful. It''s great to know that the jump from F to E is not that great. I''ve always fancied having an E colour stone, if all other factors (eg. cut, clarity etc.) are *right*.

I am still concentrating my search on the range E-G for now, with clarity ranging from VS2-SI1. Just out of curiosity, what is the approx price jump between a VS1 to VS2 for, say, F colour?

I can''t wait to see your pics!

Starryeyed, the Tiffany ring looks gorgeous, though I am not sure about the I colour. One of my best friends has a Lucida, and it is really beatiful. However, I''ve been bitten by the RB, H&A bug, if I hadn''t bought my FVS2 and seen all the (much more beautiful than mine) RB on this forum, I''d seriously consider this one.

Thanks everyone, for all your help. I am going to start a new thread for my new diamond search. Look forward to receiving your comments.