decided on a stone - sanity check please

[jom]

so yesterday, after a couple of phone calls with mark at ERD, i decided on this particular stone:

http://engagementringsdirect.com/DiamondDetails.aspx?Item=176984329

same stone, but on JA:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1269715.asp

i plan on setting the stone in a simple 4-prong platinum ring, and if all goes well, proposing to my gf next fri. so as you can see from my profile, i''ve only been a member for a few short days, but it''s been an informative few days. i scoured the vendors looking for stones by numbers alone, and then talked to mark on the phone yesterday. he came across this one in his search and really liked the numbers. he called it in and took possession by the afternoon and i agreed to purchase it soon thereafter. mark said he highly recommends this "beauty." i guess i''m just looking for a peace of mind with this purchase. truly the only things that are missing are the ideal scope images, but mark assured me that they checked out just fine. i haven''t found any like stones that''s priced like this one, so on the one hand, i feel like i got a great deal, but on the other, i''m wondering if there''s something amiss. so i''m looking for any affirmations and/or concerns from you fine people! this is, after all, a decent sum of money! thanks for any input!

 

[jom]

btw, here''s a summary of the numbers:

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.10
Cut: Ideal
Color: G
Clarity: VS2


Depth: 61.5%
Table: 55.0%
Crown Angle: 34.5
Pavilion Angle: 40.8
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Thin to medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.65*6.68*4.10

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/17/2010 10:33:33 AM
Author: jom
btw, here''s a summary of the numbers:

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.10
Cut: Ideal
Color: G
Clarity: VS2


Depth: 61.5%
Table: 55.0%
Crown Angle: 34.5
Pavilion Angle: 40.8
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Thin to medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.65*6.68*4.10

Hi Jom

The diamond looks promising, an Idealscope image would be the next step.

 

[stone-cold11]

ditto.

 

[jom]

that was the answer i was afraid of. i don''t think ERD provides idealscope images, or do they?

 

[stone-cold11]

They do have.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/17/2010 10:56:36 AM
Author: jom
that was the answer i was afraid of. i don''t think ERD provides idealscope images, or do they?

They are at present working on a new ASET set up so they might be able to provide that image, it would be as useful as IS.

 

[jom]

thanks to both of you. i''ll ask mark about it today - see if he can send me a couple of images. seems like an equally proportioned ACA diamond from whiteflash would be about $750-1000 more. i guess all the more reason to have the IS checked out. but if it''s not perfect, am i really willing to dish out another thousand bones? ugh...buying a car is much easier!

 

[Roxie Bling]

Date: 2/17/2010 11:07:20 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/17/2010 10:56:36 AM
Author: jom
that was the answer i was afraid of. i don''t think ERD provides idealscope images, or do they?

They are at present working on a new ASET set up so they might be able to provide that image, it would be as useful as IS.

Really? This is good news. So this means they will start providing ASETs for their customers? I know there has been some discussion on PS that ERD has not been providing ASETs or IS, lately.

Wonder when this will be up and working.

 

[Dreamer_D]

An IS is nice, highly desired, so ask Mark about it. But on the other hand, Mark''s opinion counts since he has personally seen it, as do the numbers and the GIA cut rating. I am willing to bet that this diamond is very nice and will be a looker

. When we critique diamonds here on PS we are sometimes talking about subtle variations in great that are not noticable to most people under most viewing conditions -- especially when a diamond already checks out by the numbers and the cert and the vendor. I suppose you have to decide whether peace of mind or known "perfection" (as far as we can tell online) is worth extra money *or* time etc.

 

[jom]

Date: 2/17/2010 9:30:36 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
An IS is nice, highly desired, so ask Mark about it. But on the other hand, Mark''s opinion counts since he has personally seen it, as do the numbers and the GIA cut rating. I am willing to bet that this diamond is very nice and will be a looker

. When we critique diamonds here on PS we are sometimes talking about subtle variations in great that are not noticable to most people under most viewing conditions -- especially when a diamond already checks out by the numbers and the cert and the vendor. I suppose you have to decide whether peace of mind or known ''perfection'' (as far as we can tell online) is worth extra money *or* time etc.

i asked mark for IS images via email today, but i''m not gonna push too hard for it. i did allude to it over the phone yesterday, but he didn''t volunteer it. that''s why i thought they might not provide it. i really want to take his word for it since this is not exactly a big sale, and i can''t see him risking his reputation over this sale. mark seems to have a very good rep here. i know his expertise is in cushions, but i feel like rounds are more scientific and thus easy to "master", so to speak.
i''m not sure if seeing the arrows on a non-IS image is worth anything, but that pic on the JA link does show arrows with pretty good symmetry, as far as i can tell. certainly the color added by the IS would be more helpful.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 2/17/2010 10:55:58 PM
Author: jom

Date: 2/17/2010 9:30:36 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
An IS is nice, highly desired, so ask Mark about it. But on the other hand, Mark''s opinion counts since he has personally seen it, as do the numbers and the GIA cut rating. I am willing to bet that this diamond is very nice and will be a looker

. When we critique diamonds here on PS we are sometimes talking about subtle variations in great that are not noticable to most people under most viewing conditions -- especially when a diamond already checks out by the numbers and the cert and the vendor. I suppose you have to decide whether peace of mind or known ''perfection'' (as far as we can tell online) is worth extra money *or* time etc.

i asked mark for IS images via email today, but i''m not gonna push too hard for it. i did allude to it over the phone yesterday, but he didn''t volunteer it. that''s why i thought they might not provide it. i really want to take his word for it since this is not exactly a big sale, and i can''t see him risking his reputation over this sale. mark seems to have a very good rep here. i know his expertise is in cushions, but i feel like rounds are more scientific and thus easy to ''master'', so to speak.
i''m not sure if seeing the arrows on a non-IS image is worth anything, but that pic on the JA link does show arrows with pretty good symmetry, as far as i can tell. certainly the color added by the IS would be more helpful.

The IS doesn''t jst allow you to see arrows, the way that the color is distributed gives you an idea about how well the diamond returns light. This tutorial will help explain why we care about it: http://www.pricescope.com/idealscope_indx.asp

 

[jom]

yeah, i figured that''s the purpose of the ideal scope - to qualify the numbers on the reports. if mark comes back with images, i''ll surely post them.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/17/2010 8:58:23 PM
Author: Roxie Bling

Date: 2/17/2010 11:07:20 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/17/2010 10:56:36 AM
Author: jom
that was the answer i was afraid of. i don't think ERD provides idealscope images, or do they?

They are at present working on a new ASET set up so they might be able to provide that image, it would be as useful as IS.

Really? This is good news. So this means they will start providing ASETs for their customers? I know there has been some discussion on PS that ERD has not been providing ASETs or IS, lately.

Wonder when this will be up and working.

According to Dan at ERD, yes they are, it is excellent news!! Give them a call and ask when they are ready to go with it.

 

[jom]

mark sent me an IS of the stone and here it is:

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/18/2010 2:22:20 PM
Author: jom
mark sent me an IS of the stone and here it is:

Its a very nice image.

 

[stone-cold11]

Looks good.

 

[jom]

Date: 2/18/2010 2:25:18 PM
Author: Lorelei
Its a very nice image.

yeah, i didn''t want him to think i was doubting his judgment, but i''m pretty compulsive about gathering all the information i can before making a purchase. you fine people on PS, however, take it to the next level! thanks for pushing me to push for the image...haha!
from the comparative searches i''ve done, seems like i got a pretty good price on the stone. now i''m just waiting to hear back from mark about the setting. hopefully it''ll all be done by tomorrow afternoon. at that time, i''ll surprisingly be very happy, despite the lightening of my wallet.

 

[jom]

6 and 9 o''clock arrows aren''t as straight as the rest. is this an issue with the cut? i don''t think the angle is that off, b/c other arrows would be affected otherwise, right? would a hearts image tell you that much more?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/18/2010 2:36:15 PM
Author: jom
6 and 9 o'clock arrows aren't as straight as the rest. is this an issue with the cut? i don't think the angle is that off, b/c other arrows would be affected otherwise, right? would a hearts image tell you that much more?

Its fine Jom, it isn't a h&a cut where the optical symmetry ( responsible for the h&a patterning) is crucial, I think it looks very good indeed for a non h&a stone. If it was h&a then these deviations would be significant but otherwise in my opinion nothing to worry about. It looks similar in the photo so I think its probably the optical symmetry of the diamond rather than the image.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/18/2010 2:34:21 PM
Author: jom

Date: 2/18/2010 2:25:18 PM
Author: Lorelei
Its a very nice image.

yeah, i didn't want him to think i was doubting his judgment, but i'm pretty compulsive about gathering all the information i can before making a purchase. you fine people on PS, however, take it to the next level! thanks for pushing me to push for the image...haha!
from the comparative searches i've done, seems like i got a pretty good price on the stone. now i'm just waiting to hear back from mark about the setting. hopefully it'll all be done by tomorrow afternoon. at that time, i'll surprisingly be very happy, despite the lightening of my wallet.

Nothing wrong with that, it makes you a smart shopper! I often use the analogy of buying a car when advising consumers, that you wouldn't dream of buying a car without opening the hood and getting the vehicle inspected and Gypsy wrote an excellent piece along the same lines today. Why should it be different with diamonds which are also a multi thousand dollar purchase in many cases??

 

[stone-cold11]

The stone is just tilted, I think, when the image is taken.

 

[jom]

according to ERD, it''s an H&A diamond. the fact that it isn''t may explain why the price was as low as it was. altho, this rock is still up on ERD''s website, for a higher price. hmm.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/18/2010 2:46:44 PM
Author: jom
according to ERD, it''s an H&A diamond. the fact that it isn''t may explain why the price was as low as it was. altho, this rock is still up on ERD''s website, for a higher price. hmm.

Its advertised as h&a on ERD''s website but not on James Allen''s, nor does it say h&a on the report ( not that saying it is h&a is any guarantee). If it matters to you that it is a h&a then you would need hearts images to prove it is, I don''t think ERD offer hearts images but you could of course ask them. I think JA only offer hearts images on their own h&a brand.

 

[jom]

this kind of goes back to one of my earlier question. i noticed all H&A diamonds on JA come with AGS reports (all ACA diamonds on WF come with AGS reports as well, fwiw). does that mean only they diamonds certified by AGS get the H&A moniker? could a properly/proportionately cut GIA certified diamond qualify as an H&A? and if so, are they not given the H&A designation b/c it''s GIA and not AGS?
mark mentioned that they use GIA b/c that''s where he used to work and is familiar with. also, GIA is in his building.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/18/2010 3:01:33 PM
Author: jom
this kind of goes back to one of my earlier question. i noticed all H&A diamonds on JA come with AGS reports (all ACA diamonds on WF come with AGS reports as well, fwiw). does that mean only they diamonds certified by AGS get the H&A moniker? could a properly/proportionately cut GIA certified diamond qualify as an H&A? and if so, are they not given the H&A designation b/c it's GIA and not AGS?
mark mentioned that they use GIA b/c that's where he used to work and is familiar with. also, GIA is in his building.

All WF ACA's have AGS0 cut grades as part of the ACA brand standard, I also believe James Allen's True Hearts do too. It is possible that a GIA graded diamond could qualify as h&a yes but this depends on various factors - normally brands such as ACA, Infinity etc prefer to use AGS to get the AGS Platinum Report for their h&a diamonds.

 

[jom]

$500 extra to get a true H&A worth it?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1193774.asp

looks like a nice rock, and .03 carat is prob rather negligible.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/18/2010 3:20:47 PM
Author: jom
$500 extra to get a true H&A worth it?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1193774.asp

looks like a nice rock, and .03 carat is prob rather negligible.

That depends on your preferences....

Thats a nice diamond but one of the hearts is a bit uneven at around 8 o'clock, I would call this stone ' near h&a' because of this heart.

 

[stone-cold11]

Ditto.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Unless you like *knowing* your diamond is an H&A, stick with the one you picked. In real life, you will not be able to judge a difference in optics or performance, beyond the normal variations in diamond "flavours" of appearance that cannot be expalined entirely by numbers and IS images.