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Bigger looking Small Diamond?

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tjyoung

Rough_Rock
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Jul 26, 2008
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Ok, So my girlfriend is set on me getting her the biggest stone I can afford. You know, she''s got "the bigger, the better" philosophy. My budget could allow for a 1-1.05 carrots. But, the quality wouldnt be the best. I''m looking at F-H color and SI1 clarity. So, I dont want to go any lower than that on those catagories. So, the only thing I could cut back on would be the cut. I''m not really keen on that either becuase I know that a better cut diamond looks bigger.

So, whats the smallest, carrot weight I could go for and still have it look like its a 1 carrot? (Assuming its a H&A or AGS0) I''m thinking I can get away with a well cut .8-.9 carrot diamond and have it still look like its the size of a carrot. But, I''m not sure.

She''s not set on it being 1 carrot so she can tell everyone its one carrot. Its not a complete superficial reason, but she just wants it to look like its one carrot. So for the sake of arguement, would a diamond like this : http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4320/ would look like its almost a carrot? Thanks to everyone in advance that answers.
 
Heh, I like your sig. line.

And, beyond that ... well, it sort of depends on what you mean by "looks like one carat." A beautifully cut .8 will look much better than a poorly cut 1 ct. in many ways, and might, if the 1 ct. was cut as a steep/deep or with a thick girdle, look bigger ... but only if you compare apples and oranges, so to speak. There''s a great thread on comparing diamond sizes here: check that out, and see what you think. .8 will face up around 6 mm, but a 1 ct. will face up closer to 6.4 ... there''s some difference, but it doesn''t in any way outweigh the benefit of having a well-cut stone. Also, what size is your GF''s finger? Check back to the link, and there''s a handy little chart that should help you with how things face up.

All that said, and not to go against your OP, but you might consider a warmer stone if size is very important to your GF: a lot of people on the board (including myself) are on the lower side of near-colorless, and happy with it. If you or your GF are color-sensitive, stick with the F ... but if not, trust to the fact that a good cut will mask a lot of body color. I wear a J, and while I can see some warmth in some lights, generally speaking, it looks white as can be to me (and I''m the kind of person who quibbles as to whether something is "watermelon" or "rasberry").
 
That is a beautiful diamond! As Circe says, the cut is so important for face up size and performance. Also as she mentions, you could certainly drop the colour a bit to get increased size, perhaps look at G H or even I.
 
I think it depends on your gf''s size hands. I have a size 5.25 finger and an 0.8ct stone and I think it looks close to a ct, and unless you have another ring next to it that''s a full ct you won''t really notice the size difference I think.
On the other hand, if your gf has larger fingers, then I think a smaller stone isn''t going to look like a 1ct stone. Does this make sense?

There is a chart on diamond size and finger size to give you a comparison.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/diamond-size-comparison.83517/
 
In my opinion, rounds, marquis, or pear shaped diamonds look bigger than the stated ct weight.
 
I had the same issue with my girl. She just wanted the biggest "most sparkly" diamond I could afford. I ended up with a 0.82ct but got a three stone ring so that the total ct weight is about 1.23ct. That might be an option if she wants to say that her ring is over 1ct. I looked at 0.8 right next to 0.9 and 1.0ct, and while I could tell the difference with all of them next to each other, if you just have a 0.8 on a finger, and then you switch it have a 1.0 on a finger, I do''nt think you''ll be able to see much of a difference. The better cut is well worth the smaller ct weight. Stick with H SI1 if that''s what your comfortable with, but SI2 could also be a great value. Just check to make sure its eye clean. Let us know what you decide! Good luck!
 
There are several things you can do with a setting to maximize size (besides dropping to an eye clean SI1-2 H-I). Putting the diamond in a bezel and even a delicate halo on a slender band will make the stone appear larger. Also, elongated stones such as pears, radiants, ovals, and marquise will give the illusion of looking bigger/covering more finger than squares and even rounds -- although rounds perform best and can mask body color/inclusions better (due to light return) when you drop in quality.
 
I just wanted to add that if you get a 0.75 ct solitaire and surround it with 0.26 ct in melee such as a halo and down the shank, your girl can say she has over a carat ring -- and the halo will give it the diameter of a 2.5 ct!
 
well, she has average size fingers from what I guessing becuase I know she wears a size 6 ring. And, I wish I could add a couple smaller diamonds on the side to make it look bigger. But, She just wants a round stone on a thin 6 prong tiffany setting. So, basically what I was trying to get at was would a well cut .8 to .9 carrot diamond thats cut well look noticably smaller than a 1 carrot?

Travis.
 
Date: 7/28/2008 1:44:00 PM
Author: tjyoung
well, she has average size fingers from what I guessing becuase I know she wears a size 6 ring. And, I wish I could add a couple smaller diamonds on the side to make it look bigger. But, She just wants a round stone on a thin 6 prong tiffany setting. So, basically what I was trying to get at was would a well cut .8 to .9 carrot diamond thats cut well look noticably smaller than a 1 carrot?

Travis.
Click to expand...


I understand, this picture might act as a guide for you so you can see an example of approximately the sizes/ weights you mention. Photograph by Butterfly17


.55_.78_1.0_1.25_1.5_2.0.jpg



from left to right-

.55, .78, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 2.03
 
And another pic, 2 round diamonds you can compare with


storecomp1.jpg
 
I think a well cut 0.8-0.9 will look so similar to 1ct that nobody will notice (especially given that 98% or so of the diamonds you see out there are NOT well cut, or at least not ideal cut). Well cut stones look bigger than poorly cut ones because they reflect more light from all parts of the stone, even close to the edges. I think GOG actually has a video demonstrating this (it compares an ideal with a larger steep/deep and the ideal looks bigger!). Plus, you avoid the big price premium that comes with going above 1ct.

May I suggest going down in color a bit to get a larger stone? There are some gorgeous I-J color stones here (my ring is an I princess and my pendant is a J round). Well-cut stones of lower color will look whiter, as will ones with fluorescence if you can find one. IMO, F is actually color overkill, G-H are nice but expensive, whereas I-J are some really good deals!

This 0.91 I/SI1 promises to be a great stone if it''s eye-clean (get pictures of course)!
 
When the size difference is less than 0.5mm, which is what you''re looking at in the 3/4 to 1 carat range, no one will be able to tell if you have less than a full carat unless they put a 1 carat right beside yours for comparison. And depending on the quality of the cut, your smaller stone could actually measure the same in mm''s as a larger stone! My 0.75 carat canary diamond (in my avatar) actually has the same L x W as some 1 carat stones. To me, anything from 3/4 on up has enough size to appear substantial as a solitaire. Diamonds by Lauren has photos in their descriptions of some rings that shows a whole boxful of diamonds in the 0.75 to 1 carat range. If the sizes weren''t displayed numerically, you wouldn''t be able to tell which was which! I''m not able to post photos, but maybe someone here can find it and post it.
 
Well I might be the exception then because I can definitely eyeball a .83 from a 1.00 ct. diamond. I have a .83 laying around it looks noticably smaller on the hand than a comparable 1 ct.

When you get to .90 then it becomes pretty much a wash.

I too would suggest you consider SI2, if you find a vendor who verifies it''s eyeclean. Honestly you will NOT see the inclusions if it''s eyeclean.
 


Date: 7/28/2008 12:53:32 AM
Author:tjyoung
Ok, So my girlfriend is set on me getting her the biggest stone I can afford. You know, she's got 'the bigger, the better' philosophy. My budget could allow for a 1-1.05 carrots. But, the quality wouldnt be the best. I'm looking at F-H color and SI1 clarity. So, I dont want to go any lower than that on those catagories. So, the only thing I could cut back on would be the cut. I'm not really keen on that either becuase I know that a better cut diamond looks bigger.

So, whats the smallest, carrot weight I could go for and still have it look like its a 1 carrot? (Assuming its a H&A or AGS0) I'm thinking I can get away with a well cut .8-.9 carrot diamond and have it still look like its the size of a carrot. But, I'm not sure.

She's not set on it being 1 carrot so she can tell everyone its one carrot. Its not a complete superficial reason, but she just wants it to look like its one carrot. So for the sake of arguement, would a diamond like this : http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4320/ would look like its almost a carrot? Thanks to everyone in advance that answers.
Click to expand...
I'm a little confused...if your girlfriend is saying bigger is better, why are you trying to figure out ways to cut size. You could juggle the 4 C's a little more I think, and go 1ct+. I would go to H,J orI, and for sure look at SI1 and SI2, and maybe look at Very Good cut stones. Not everyone has an AGS0 or Excellent cut stone. There are many people with beautiful "Very Good" cut stones that sparkle like mad. I would go and look at some AGS0 and Very Good cut stones at the Mall and see if you or your girl would really mind the latter. I had a VG cut stone and loved it! Did you post your budget? I'm sure someone here could find you a happy medium within your budget! Well, it's food for thought at least! Good luck!
(I agree with purrfectpear, I could tell the difference between an .81 and a 1ct.)
 
Hey tj, I clicked back on the WF link I posted earlier, and it was listed as sold. Did you reserve it, or did some lurker get to it first?
 
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