Advice needed: 0.9ct diamond

[hamandcheese]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and also new to buying diamonds hence would love to get some advice from those of you who are more knowledgeable here

After a ton of research, I recently shortlisted this diamond from an online retailer. I only looked at the proportions and the HCA score - the proportions from what I can see so far looks alright and it has a 1.6 HCA score. Based on my research, I think it falls within the proportions of an ideal cut? However, being an SI1 stone, the inclusions look quite prominent to me? I can see a lot of little spots in the zoomed image provided. Would anybody be able to tell based on the image I provided, if this stone is likely to be eye-clean?

I have also included the other specs for this stone - hoping anyone of you can give your honest advice if this would be a good purchase. Unfortunately, this online retailer will not provide ideal scope images hence I can only rely on the GIA report and the high resolution images provided on their website.

Thank you everyone!

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Not an expert, but the 57/35/40.8 combo is considered pretty safe. Falls within tolk ideal proportions! As long as you don’t have any “clouds/clouds not shown” in the clarity plot I think you’re pretty safe from a haziness perspective. I personally don’t think you’re going to notice the crystals, but that’s just my view. If you can zoom the image out to actual size ~6.15mm you’ll notice whether the inclusions are clear to you. But IMO they should be okay.

 

[mwilliamanderson]

I agree with @AllAboardTheBlingTrain, that under most lighting conditions you probably won't see the inclusions but depending on person's eyesight they may see them at certain lighting and angle combinations. I think it's a pretty nice stone. There are some slight angle variation/symmetry issues that keep it from being stellar IMHO.

You found a stone with good proportions, but you might be able to find something a bit crisper looking and with inclusions not under the table. You also might consider whether you need the highest color grade with a lower clarity rating. You could balance it out a bit and come down in color to E or F and up in clarity. Here's a good example. Notice how all the arrows are black in the face up position and there's an overall all symmetry to the facet shape size across the diamond.

Diamond | 1.086 ct E VS2 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4409488

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 1.086 carat E color VS2 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4409488

www.whiteflash.com

 

[hamandcheese]

@AllAboardTheBlingTrain @mwilliamanderson Thank you both for being so helpful!

After taking a look at the diamond suggested by @mwilliamanderson I can now see the difference between that diamond and the diamond I selected - so I should not only be looking out for the proportions but I should also make sure that there are 8 clear "arrows" on the diamond? Would these "arrows" determine how much fire and brilliance the stone would have? And based on the "arrows" on my selected diamond, would you say there is a possibility that there may not be much fire / brilliance?

Also, I read something about "black crystals" which is easily seen by the naked eye and I was just wondering are these spots circled here in red the "black crystals"? Thanks again!

 

[tyty333]

Can you put the stone on hold and provide the link?

With 2 stones having the same angles/table/depth/numbers, the one being H&A (with images to prove that its H&A) should have
better light return compared to the non-H&A stone. A lot of stones are "near" H&A though while some are nowhere near H&A
so there is a wide variance between the performance of non H&A stones. That being said, you can have an H&A stone with a bad
combination of angles for light return but I* think these tend to be rare(?).

Super Ideals, with how we define them on Pricescope, are always H&A stones. H&As don't just happen. They are a level of
precision that takes extra time and planning not to mention the added loss of weight to achieve H&A.

 

[hamandcheese]

Can you put the stone on hold and provide the link?

With 2 stones having the same angles/table/depth/numbers, the one being H&A (with images to prove that its H&A) should have
better light return compared to the non-H&A stone. A lot of stones are "near" H&A though while some are nowhere near H&A
so there is a wide variance between the performance of non H&A stones. That being said, you can have an H&A stone with a bad
combination of angles for light return but I* think these tend to be rare(?).

Super Ideals, with how we define them on Pricescope, are always H&A stones. H&As don't just happen. They are a level of
precision that takes extra time and planning not to mention the added loss of weight to achieve H&A.

Unfortunately, this retailer is unable to reserve any of their stones.

Here is the link to the stone. They don’t really have much useful information on their site apart from some high res images and a 360 view of the stone.

DeGem

gia.degemdiamond.com

Would this stone be a bad choice then since it does not have 8 hearts and arrows? Or would you say it’s a decent choice with okay-ish light return? The last thing I would want is a dull looking stone.....

Thanks!

 

[mwilliamanderson]

When I look at diamonds, I want to see that all 8 arrows go black in the face up position. The fact that some are grey and some are black indicates that the pavillion main angles vary from one another. It’s just an indicator that it is lacking a bit in terms of attention to precisions, as tyty33 suggested. It’s still going to exhibit brilliance and fire. Will you notice the difference between it and an ACA diamond? Many of us here can, but that is going to depend on your eyes and your ability to see subtle details.

I did a search on DeGem and found this one, which I like better. It’s a touch deeper than we usually recommend but I think it will be fine.

DeGem

gia.degemdiamond.com

 

[hamandcheese]

When I look at diamonds, I want to see that all 8 arrows go black in the face up position. The fact that some are grey and some are black indicates that the pavillion main angles vary from one another. It’s just an indicator that it is lacking a bit in terms of attention to precisions, as tyty33 suggested. It’s still going to exhibit brilliance and fire. Will you notice the difference between it and an ACA diamond? Many of us here can, but that is going to depend on your eyes and your ability to see subtle details.

I did a search on DeGem and found this one, which I like better. It’s a touch deeper than we usually recommend but I think it will be fine.

DeGem

gia.degemdiamond.com

I think I would be able to notice the difference if there is a stark difference in the way the diamond sparkles between a normal diamond and an ACA diamond. I did pay a visit to a local jeweller here where they carry both types of diamonds and I could see the difference between the two. One looked dull and didn't sparkle much (it barely sparkled actually) whereas the other ACA one had lots of rainbow flashes?

I'm pretty new to buying diamonds so I'm not very well-versed as to what else I should be looking out for in terms of appearance between the two stones. If I do want the beautiful rainbow flashes in my diamond, the only way would be to look for one with 8 perfect "hearts and arrows"?

 

[mwilliamanderson]

You will get beautiful fire (rainbow flashes) from a well proportioned diamond whether it is an H&A diamond or not. That is due to the diamond's high refractive index. The precise patterning of H&A is more about the look of symmetry.

Imagine a round table set for 8, with gold rimmed fine china. Each plate is equally distanced from it's neighbor and the forks, knives and spoons sit parallel to each other in perfect alignment catching the light. The wine glasses are placed at the tip of each knife and sparkle in the candlelight.

Now imagine the table set with the same china pattern but using 4 salad plates and 4 dinner plates for some reason. The server was in a hurry so the silverware is sloppily placed and the wineglasses are in a different location at each setting. All of the sparkle is still there. The plates still have gold rims and the utensils sparkle in the same way just as the wineglasses do. The difference is in the organization.

Some people might not even notice the lack of symmetry around the table. If shown both tables, they might not be able to say what's different. Others, like me, would have to go around the table and start pulling the plates to the edge, making the silver parallel and so forth.

Just like with color and clarity, you need to decide what is worth paying extra for based on your preferences. Hope that helps.

 

[mrs-b]

I like this stone a lot. I think in real life the arrows should be just fine. I don't believe you'll see any inclusions.

If the price is right, I'd say - proceed.

 

[hamandcheese]

You will get beautiful fire (rainbow flashes) from a well proportioned diamond whether it is an H&A diamond or not. That is due to the diamond's high refractive index. The precise patterning of H&A is more about the look of symmetry.

Imagine a round table set for 8, with gold rimmed fine china. Each plate is equally distanced from it's neighbor and the forks, knives and spoons sit parallel to each other in perfect alignment catching the light. The wine glasses are placed at the tip of each knife and sparkle in the candlelight.

Now imagine the table set with the same china pattern but using 4 salad plates and 4 dinner plates for some reason. The server was in a hurry so the silverware is sloppily placed and the wineglasses are in a different location at each setting. All of the sparkle is still there. The plates still have gold rims and the utensils sparkle in the same way just as the wineglasses do. The difference is in the organization.

Some people might not even notice the lack of symmetry around the table. If shown both tables, they might not be able to say what's different. Others, like me, would have to go around the table and start pulling the plates to the edge, making the silver parallel and so forth.

Just like with color and clarity, you need to decide what is worth paying extra for based on your preferences. Hope that helps.

Ah that makes much more sense. Thank you for the lengthy explanation!

 

[hamandcheese]

I like this stone a lot. I think in real life the arrows should be just fine. I don't believe you'll see any inclusions.

If the price is right, I'd say - proceed.

I think I might just go ahead and purchase this one. Thank you for your input!

 

[whitewave]

that stone is at least 20x zoom. You won’t be able to see any of those inclusions at a reasonable distance most likely

 

[daisygrl]

@AllAboardTheBlingTrain @mwilliamanderson Thank you both for being so helpful!

After taking a look at the diamond suggested by @mwilliamanderson I can now see the difference between that diamond and the diamond I selected - so I should not only be looking out for the proportions but I should also make sure that there are 8 clear "arrows" on the diamond? Would these "arrows" determine how much fire and brilliance the stone would have? And based on the "arrows" on my selected diamond, would you say there is a possibility that there may not be much fire / brilliance?

Also, I read something about "black crystals" which is easily seen by the naked eye and I was just wondering are these spots circled here in red the "black crystals"? Thanks again!

What you see is a black crystal but I do not believe there are as many as it shows in the picture. It appears that one or two crystals are being mirrored, meaning when you turn the diamond a certain way, you might not see all those black "circled dots" - it might be fewer of them, they just happen to mirror in the diamond at a certain angle. I find crystal inclusions to be really cool - remember, your stone was one, too, once.

 

[hamandcheese]

What you see is a black crystal but I do not believe there are as many as it shows in the picture. It appears that one or two crystals are being mirrored, meaning when you turn the diamond a certain way, you might not see all those black "circled dots" - it might be fewer of them, they just happen to mirror in the diamond at a certain angle. I find crystal inclusions to be really cool - remember, your stone was one, too, once.

Ah so if it’s a black crystal, wouldn’t it be more visible then to the naked eye? Cause it’s black? And from face up I’d be able to see all those black dots (assuming I have good eyesight) since these would reflect exactly like in the photo shown?

 

[hamandcheese]

And there is a tinge of yellow here - does anybody know what this is?