Advice/Opinions on this 0.80ct diamond?

[TheCarGuy]

Hi there everyone! New me never here. I was hoping to get some advice/opinions on the following stone. I appreciate any advice!

The GIA cert worries me, as it mentions a cloud, crystal, and feather, yet I don’t see the inclusions anywhere on the 360 degree photo on James Allen’s site. That being said, they price is very good for this stone $3,460 (GIA Triple X, VS2, G color). I’ve noticed the color seems warmer than the F color stones I’ve looked at, but appears to be less warm or “pink” than the other stones in the $3400-3700 range. I just ran the HCA score on it, and it came back at 2.3, which seems good. I didn’t check yes next to the “H&A”, as I assumed that meant is it a super ideal (or in JA’s case, True Heart), but this stone does show some really nice and defined arrows.

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond G color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

(I have it reserved)

The setting I think I’ve landed on is the following. Was going to go with a nice pave setting, but she was hoping for more design/detail on the side. She’s expressed interest in some of the Verragio designs, but doesn’t expect a Verragio ring, which is definitely nice.

14K White Gold Enchanted Scroll Engagement Ring

Sweet and simple, this design has a flowing row of pavé diamonds up the band perfectly accented with a milgrain design. From the side profile, catch a glimpse of the delicate scroll work and a surprise collar of diamonds around the base of your center stone selection!

www.jamesallen.com

 

[Kim N]

Can you ask them for an Ideal-Scope image?

If you're open to getting the setting from James Allen and a super-ideal cut stone from another vendor, I would recommend this diamond. Whiteflash has a generous upgrade policy, and you can get $100 off your first order if you register on their website.

Diamond | 0.728 ct G VS2 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4410605

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 0.728 carat G color VS2 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4410605

www.whiteflash.com

 

[TheCarGuy]

Can you ask them for an Ideal-Scope image?

If you're open to getting the setting from James Allen and a super-ideal cut stone from another vendor, I would recommend this diamond. Whiteflash has a generous upgrade policy, and you can get $100 off your first order if you register on their website.

Diamond | 0.728 ct G VS2 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4410605

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 0.728 carat G color VS2 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4410605

www.whiteflash.com

Thanks for the advice! I think I’d like to stay at .80 for the stone, but that white flash stone does look very impressive. Also, thanks for the idea on the ideal scope! Had no idea James Allen can provide those on non-True Hearts diamonds. See below for the image. Does this look okay for an ideal scope image?

 

[DejaWiz]

Welcome to PriceScope, TheCarGuy!
The 0.80 G VS2 from JA scores a 2.3 on the HCA, which is slightly out of the 1.0-2.0 recommended range.

Round 0.8000 carat diamond listed by James Allen

www.pricescope.com

At this size range, don't shy away SI1 options, as there can be some beautifully proportioned options that are perfectly eye-clean.
Ask for the grading report for these two so we can help you determine if they'd be winners or not:

0.85 Carat round diamond

This 0.85 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[Kim N]

These two are around $3970 wire price with the $100 off if you can swing it. I believe these would be better performers than the JA stone. The JA stone is decent but isn't the type of top-of-the-line stone that we'd usually recommend.

Diamond | 0.805 ct G SI1 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4486343

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 0.805 carat G color SI1 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4486343

www.whiteflash.com

Diamond | 0.805 ct F SI1 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4465122

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 0.805 carat F color SI1 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4465122

www.whiteflash.com

 

[TheCarGuy]

Welcome to PriceScope, TheCarGuy!
The 0.80 G VS2 from JA scores a 2.3 on the HCA, which is slightly out of the 1.0-2.0 recommended range.

Round 0.8000 carat diamond listed by James Allen

www.pricescope.com

At this size range, don't shy away SI1 options, as there can be some beautifully proportioned options that are perfectly eye-clean.
Ask for the grading report for these two so we can help you determine if they'd be winners or not:

0.85 Carat round diamond

This 0.85 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

I grabbed a cert for 14150096, though I was iffy on the second one so I didn’t request one for that one. See below for the cert.


That being said, I did find the following stone, which looks pretty clean, and has better percentages over my original choice. What are your thoughts on this one? (Whiteflash ACA put me a little more over budget than I’d like unfortunately).

0.82 Carat round diamond

This 0.82 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Note: I was able to make out the GIA inscription on this one, and found it on Adiamor. It’s considered their “Affinity Cut”, though a JA rep mentioned that this one has a cloud, which could be a bigger issue in an SI1 stone. (over a cloud in a VS2 stone. They actually have the stone at $150more than on JA.

 

[Kim N]

That being said, I did find the following stone, which looks pretty clean, and has better percentages over my original choice. What are your thoughts on this one? (Whiteflash ACA put me a little more over budget than I’d like unfortunately).

0.82 Carat round diamond

This 0.82 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Note: I was able to make out the GIA inscription on this one, and found it on Adiamor. It’s considered their “Affinity Cut”, though a JA rep mentioned that this one has a cloud, which could be a bigger issue in an SI1 stone. (over a cloud in a VS2 stone. They actually have the stone at $150more than on JA.

While I love the proportions of this one, it looks like it might have transparency issues due to the cloud. It looks a little less crisp in the video.

 

[DejaWiz]

Never buy a diamond that has primary clarity characteristics of clouds or "clarity based on clouds not shown".

Let's keep searching!

 

[DejaWiz]

Some others to ask for grading reports:

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond F color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond G color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[TheCarGuy]

Some others to ask for grading reports:

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond F color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond G color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Thanks for your continued advice, as well as Kim N’s! I requested carts for both. The 1895 stone has a table of 54%, and the 6948 has a number of inclusions noted, and a strong blue fluorescence, but good proportions.



That being said, I seem to keep going back to my original stone, which I still have reserved. The video looks so clear, but understanding the proportions aren’t great (but not too far out of range it seems), the price savings against other VS2 stones is pretty good. I did notice that I’ve been sticking to none or faint for fluorescence, where it sounds like with a G stone, medium would be fine. Opening up to medium does add some additional options. The following diamond is a bit more in price than I would like, but considering I’m getting the setting for $1305 vs the $1800 setting I was originally looking at, willing to spend a little more for the stone I guess, but I do think I want to stick with VS2 at this price point, just maybe would like better dimensions. This new stone has a better color (F) and better proportions, but medium blue fluorescence. No cloud notation on this one, which seems to be a first! It’s price a little over $200 over my original stone, at $3,690. Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated!

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond F color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[DejaWiz]

5.89mm spread...you won't even see the difference, even if they were sitting side-by-side.

0.78 Carat round diamond

This 0.78 carat round diamond F color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[TheCarGuy]

5.89mm spread...you won't even see the difference, even if they were sitting side-by-side.

0.78 Carat round diamond

This 0.78 carat round diamond F color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Hey again! You think this stone will be a better buy/proportions, despite the inclusions throughout/on the center of the table? I feel like I’m turning into a diamond snob now LOL, but I guess I’ve been trying to avoid the stones with visible inclusions on the table on the 360 view (granted I probably wouldn’t even notice eye-wise.

At least to my untrained eye, it definitely sounds like the one I linked would be a better stone since this stone puts me back at the 63% depth range, with a smaller table than my original stone. What do you think?

 

[TheCarGuy]

I ran an HCA score and the new one… came back at 2.6, which is slightly confusing, since every field (including spread this time) is very good this time around. at this point(sale on the setting is ending), should I stick to my original stone, go with this one, or wait entirely and give myself more time? Lol

 

[DejaWiz]

Hey again! You think this stone will be a better buy/proportions, despite the inclusions throughout/on the center of the table? I feel like I’m turning into a diamond snob now LOL, but I guess I’ve been trying to avoid the stones with visible inclusions on the table on the 360 view (granted I probably wouldn’t even notice eye-wise.

At least to my untrained eye, it definitely sounds like the one I linked would be a better stone since this stone puts me back at the 63% depth range, with a smaller table than my original stone. What do you think?

I think so, but you have to go with your eyes and your gut.

The 0.78 is 0.232in in diameter, so the size of those crystals are a mere fraction of that.
Keep in mind that the videos on JA are about 30-40X magnification, which make the inclusions appear 3-4 times larger than how the lab techs see them at 10X, which all the reputable grading labs use to assess diamonds and determine their clarity grades.

Ask JA if they can provide an ASET image of the 0.78 and any other that you are interested in.

 

[TheCarGuy]

Thanks for the reply! I started asking for ideal scope and aset images if available on all of the diamonds I’ve requested. Oddly enough, the only one they’ve had one for so far is the original 252 diamond. The one rep did slip up and tell me that the original stone would be coming from Mumbai..not sure if that makes a difference in anything.

That being said, being that the HCA score was worse for this newest diamond, but the table/spread was better, if I was down to my original one and this newest one (and this is just based on my looking at the 360 photos for..at this point hours LOL), which one would be the better option (while also considering the $230 price difference)?

 

[DejaWiz]

Get the grading report for this one, as well.
Curious about its specs.

0.80 Carat round diamond

This 0.8 carat round diamond G color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[TheCarGuy]

Got a report for the 1657 stone, though it looks like JA is having issues with their chat system, or they’re closed for chat.

 

[TheCarGuy]

Annnnd that stone is gone. I think some are watching this thread

 

[DejaWiz]

Annnnd that stone is gone. I think some are watching this thread

You are probably very right...happens very often.

 

[Kim N]

Honestly, I don't like any of the JA stones as much as the 0.728 Whiteflash stone I linked above. I know it's under 0.80, but the spread difference from your original stone is only 0.13mm which you would not be able to notice, and the cut is leagues better.

 

[DejaWiz]

5.86mm F VS1 AGS Triple Zero.

0.77 Carat round diamond

This 0.77 carat round diamond F color vs1 clarity has Ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from AGS

www.jamesallen.com

 

[Kim N]

5.86mm F VS1 AGS Triple Zero.

0.77 Carat round diamond

This 0.77 carat round diamond F color vs1 clarity has Ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from AGS

www.jamesallen.com

Oh, that's a great find, DejaWiz!

 

[TheCarGuy]

Ooh that could be a winner! I never paid for my order/made a decision yesterday, but I think I can get them to honor the sale pricing if I place an order..preferably today if I try my luck with that. Lol

That being said, when viewing this one, does it look a bit more warm/yellowish than the other stones, or am I just crazy? The cert on this one and dimensions are pretty impressive though (along with it being an F and VS1). Here’s the cert.

 

[Kim N]

Ooh that could be a winner! I never paid for my order/made a decision yesterday, but I think I can get them to honor the sale pricing if I place an order..preferably today if I try my luck with that. Lol

That being said, when viewing this one, does it look a bit more warm/yellowish than the other stones, or am I just crazy? The cert on this one and dimensions are pretty impressive though (along with it being an F and VS1). Here’s the cert.

It does look a bit on the warm side, but it could also be the lighting. Do they have an Ideal-Scope image for this one?

 

[DejaWiz]

It does look a bit on the warm side, but it could also be the lighting. Do they have an Ideal-Scope image for this one?

If I'm correctly remembering how AGS works: the generated ASET that is printed on the report is based on the physical scan.

 

[TheCarGuy]

If I'm correctly remembering how AGS works: the generated ASET that is printed on the report is based on the physical scan.

No Ideal for this one, but the cert does show the ASET map for this one.

 

[Kim N]

Yes, I understand the cert has one that will be somewhat close to the actual ASET, but I was hoping they'd have the actual ASET/Ideal-Scope as well.

 

[DejaWiz]

Yes, I understand the cert has one that will be somewhat close to the actual ASET, but I was hoping they'd have the actual ASET/Ideal-Scope as well.

I hear ya! Just saying that if JA can't get ASET or Ideal-Scope images for it (since it seems to be rare that they can), then there's a reliable fallback already in place.

Kim N are we seeing some slight crown digging and pavilion painting here? If so, then maybe this one should be passed on.

Visible Effects of Painting & Digging on Superideal Diamonds

With grateful acknowledgment to John Pollard, Sergey Sivovolenko, AGSL and GIA Laboratories for valuable resources and input. Graphics produced with DiamCalc software by OctoNus. Note: This article pertains only to […]

www.pricescope.com

 

[TheCarGuy]

Thanks for that chart, that’s helpful for sure. I’m no expert, but it does look like it has that “crown digging” appearance as shown on that chart. I noticed the black arrows on the gas one also appear almost a bit cloudy or not in focus as the others, but I really like the proportions of that one, as well as the addition of an ASET map (though it sounds like the AGS ASET isn’t the actual ASET?).

I guess I’m back to my original stone and the 5572 stone I mentioned above (which has seemingly good/better proportions, but came back at 2.6 on the HCA scale).

Any thoughts on the original 2252 vs the 5572? I just checked again, and haven’t found any new stones I haven’t already looked at.

 

[DejaWiz]

Thanks for that chart, that’s helpful for sure. I’m no expert, but it does look like it has that “crown digging” appearance as shown on that chart. I noticed the black arrows on the gas one also appear almost a bit cloudy or not in focus as the others, but I really like the proportions of that one, as well as the addition of an ASET map (though it sounds like the AGS ASET isn’t the actual ASET?).

I guess I’m back to my original stone and the 5572 stone I mentioned above (which has seemingly good/better proportions, but came back at 2.6 on the HCA scale).

Any thoughts on the original 2252 vs the 5572? I just checked again, and haven’t found any new stones I haven’t already looked at.

AGS ASET image(s) on the report is computer generated based off of a live physical scan...the software used utilizes very complex ray tracing, so it's quite accurate. The ASET was invented by @Garry H (Cut Nut) for AGS. Really cool stuff!

If you want to narrow your search for best of the best light performing diamonds, then limit to AGS 000 (triple zero/ideal) and then further assess each one from there.

It has been mentioned quite a bit that AGS has one caveat: their color grading can be a little lenient compared to GIA, but that needs to be assessed on a case by case basis for each individual diamond (it should anyway, regardless of the lab that performed the grading since there is always the human element involved during the grading process).

Please note that I am not saying only AGS 000 guarantees a great performing diamond...I'm saying that they can make the search quite a bit easier, as long as everything checks out in good order, if you wish to further assess and get down into the details and maybe go even further by nitpicking and splitting hairs against minute differences of extremely strict criteria that would never be detectable by human vision.