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Ok, basically with Princess AGS are the only lab at this time to cut grade these shapes, so an AGS0 Princess is considered to be a safe bet for cut quality ( although I personally prefer not to assume anything but to evaluate each diamond carefully). GIA do have some well cut Princess although they do not grade these shapes for cut at the moment, but with these it is best to work with a trusted vendor who has in house diamonds and can provide the images you need to help you select a well cut diamond, ASET, Idealscope and photographs.

As to the diamond, it has an AGS0 report and doesn't appear to be a Signature Ideal which can cost more so it is probably as good a bet as any from BN without images - do check though that the very thin part of the girdle isn't substantial ( for example that it doesn't cover a large portion of the girdle in a vulnerable area which could chip) by asking the BN rep to find out for you.
 
i''ll be sure to talk to someone there before purchasing, but how do you think this would look?

setting:
http://www.bluenile.ca/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-platinum_337?metal_filter=platinum&setting_filter=sidestone&sort_select=LTHP&set_shape=

diamond:
http://www.bluenile.ca/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-very-good-cut-g-colour-vs2-clarity_LD01332359?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report

it''s far from final, but i''m getting somewhere i think! with a diamond that inexpensive, i decided to look at a less simple setting. what do you think?
 
Date: 1/22/2009 10:47:37 AM
Author: teddy006
i''ll be sure to talk to someone there before purchasing, but how do you think this would look?

setting:
http://www.bluenile.ca/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-platinum_337?metal_filter=platinum&setting_filter=sidestone&sort_select=LTHP&set_shape=

diamond:
http://www.bluenile.ca/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-very-good-cut-g-colour-vs2-clarity_LD01332359?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report

it''s far from final, but i''m getting somewhere i think! with a diamond that inexpensive, i decided to look at a less simple setting. what do you think?
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That is fine if you are spending less than you intended on the diamond to splurge a bit on the setting! I think that is a lovely setting, very classic and should look beautiful with the Princess diamond!
 
i notice that a lot of these posts talk about pavillion and crown angles. does BN post this information anywhere that i''m not looking?
 
Date: 1/22/2009 3:28:58 PM
Author: teddy006
i notice that a lot of these posts talk about pavillion and crown angles. does BN post this information anywhere that i''m not looking?
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Those are referred to more with round diamonds than Princess and other fancy shapes.
 
i see. thanks Lorelei, you''re a huge help!
 
Date: 1/22/2009 3:35:24 PM
Author: teddy006
i see. thanks Lorelei, you''re a huge help!
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Most welcome Teddy and I am very pleased to help!
 
It things under clarity characteristics are those inclusions which contributed to the clarity grade.
 
so essentially it''s those characteristics that allow less light through the diamond reducing the "fire" effect?
 
Date: 1/23/2009 9:23:24 AM
Author: teddy006
so essentially it's those characteristics that allow less light through the diamond reducing the 'fire' effect?
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It shouldn't be an issue with VS1 clarity, although it is theoretically possible, the effects in this clarity grade could be minute and not perceptible to the human eye, even with some lower clarities. More important is the cut quality as it is that which will give you a beautiful diamond and a good display of fire and brilliance.
 
so what i think you''re saying is with a diamond cut of ideal or very good should still give you great brilliance as long as the symetry and polish are very good and the colour is at least G? i''m not trying to cheap out and get a low quality diamond, but if i can get a larger diamond that is near the same brilliance for less money, i think that may be the way i go. i truly hope that doesn''t offend any experts
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.
but to be honest, neither of us will be looking at it under 10x magnification at all.
i know it will (quite hopefully) be on her hand for the rest of her life which is why i would never go for a cheap knock off of a diamond. but these are all still good quality diamonds, right? does this make sense at all? i may be rambling as i''m getting nervous as purchasing time gets closer ...
 
Date: 1/23/2009 9:43:32 AM
Author: teddy006
so what i think you're saying is with a diamond cut of ideal or very good should still give you great brilliance as long as the symetry and polish are very good and the colour is at least G? i'm not trying to cheap out and get a low quality diamond, but if i can get a larger diamond that is near the same brilliance for less money, i think that may be the way i go. i truly hope that doesn't offend any experts
40.gif
.
but to be honest, neither of us will be looking at it under 10x magnification at all.
i know it will (quite hopefully) be on her hand for the rest of her life which is why i would never go for a cheap knock off of a diamond. but these are all still good quality diamonds, right? does this make sense at all? i may be rambling as i'm getting nervous as purchasing time gets closer ...
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Cut is the result of the proportions of a diamond working well together to give the best light return back to the eye, so it is the most important factor to give you a beautiful diamond. For example, if you had a D colour IF clarity diamond with a bad cut, then it would look like a chunk of glass, it wouldn't sparkle. Conversely, a much lower colour and clarity diamond would look far more beautiful than the badly cut D IF if the cut was good. Polish and symmetry are the details of finish of a diamond, the experts say that good and above look the same to the naked untrained eye, but naturally as you go up in cut quality then some who want top cuts expect and get at least excellent or ideal as part of the diamond's craftmanship.


There is certainly nothing wrong with choosing lower colour and clarity in order to get a larger diamond, maybe consider G or H colour and eyeclean to your standards SI1 in order to do so. Bear in mind with Princess that you really need images in order to judge the all important cut quality as without a great cut you won't have a lovely diamond. So yes, it is quite acceptable and not ' cheaping out' but to many of us shopping smart in order to get the most bang for the buck!
 
fantastic! so knocking down the colour clarity a bit and splurging on the setting is the way that i think i''m going to go!
back to the diamond hunt! hahahah
thanks again. you guys are amazing here!
 
Date: 1/23/2009 10:16:41 AM
Author: teddy006
fantastic! so knocking down the colour clarity a bit and splurging on the setting is the way that i think i''m going to go!
back to the diamond hunt! hahahah
thanks again. you guys are amazing here!
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Hehe!! Absolutely you can! And you are most welcome - thanks for your sweet words!!!
 
There doesn''t seem to be a general "need help buying a diamond" thread, so if it''s ok I''d like to piggy-back on this one rather than start my own, since it would basically be the same. :)

I''m just starting out as well, and I''m trying to make this as painless as possible. There are so many things to consider that if I''m not careful I''m going to drive myself crazy trying to learn everything at once. What I''d like to do is lay out for you what I''m looking for, what I can spend, and any help you can give me is much appreciated.

What I''ve got is about $4,000 to put towards a round stone. Just using something like Bluenile''s diamond search it looks like I''m around 1.1ct at the top end for a very good, H SI2, all the way to .5ct for ideal G VS1. And all I can think to ask is, given my target amount (I certainly don''t mind going under that, but also don''t mind going slightly over for a great deal) what would the experts be expecting in a good diamond? Put another way, if you had $4,000 to spend, with cut being the biggest factor, what would you hope or expect to find?
 
so after some more looking, i''m thinking something like this.

setting: http://www.bluenile.ca/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-platinum_337?metal_filter=platinum&setting_filter=sidestone&sort_select=LTHP&set_shape

diamond: http://www.bluenile.ca/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-very-good-cut-g-colour-vs1-clarity_LD01438557?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0

it has a thicker girdle than the previous rocks, slightly larger with slightly lower clarity and colour ratings. oh man, i''ve learned so much this week about diamonds! i have a feeling i may be addiced to these sites after the purchase is made, hahah. could get expensive!
 
Date: 1/23/2009 2:20:29 PM
Author: elymt
There doesn''t seem to be a general ''need help buying a diamond'' thread, so if it''s ok I''d like to piggy-back on this one rather than start my own, since it would basically be the same. :)

I''m just starting out as well, and I''m trying to make this as painless as possible. There are so many things to consider that if I''m not careful I''m going to drive myself crazy trying to learn everything at once. What I''d like to do is lay out for you what I''m looking for, what I can spend, and any help you can give me is much appreciated.

What I''ve got is about $4,000 to put towards a round stone. Just using something like Bluenile''s diamond search it looks like I''m around 1.1ct at the top end for a very good, H SI2, all the way to .5ct for ideal G VS1. And all I can think to ask is, given my target amount (I certainly don''t mind going under that, but also don''t mind going slightly over for a great deal) what would the experts be expecting in a good diamond? Put another way, if you had $4,000 to spend, with cut being the biggest factor, what would you hope or expect to find?
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Hi elymt and welcome!

Go ahead and start your own thread and we can help you there!
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That way it will be easier to assist you as all your info and the posts will be in one place!
 
teddy,

I feel like Lorelei did a very good job of explaining that cut is the most important thing, and that little, tiny inclusions that you can't see with the naked eye are not going to affect the light performance of the diamond.

Why did you change the diamond choice to a GIA stone that has no way for you to judge the cut, and is VG/VG with a Very Thick girdle? Also, it's .78 cts, but you will not see any size difference from the .71 ct stone.
 
Date: 1/23/2009 2:44:10 PM
Author: teddy006
so after some more looking, i''m thinking something like this.

setting: http://www.bluenile.ca/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-platinum_337?metal_filter=platinum&setting_filter=sidestone&sort_select=LTHP&set_shape

diamond: http://www.bluenile.ca/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-very-good-cut-g-colour-vs1-clarity_LD01438557?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0

it has a thicker girdle than the previous rocks, slightly larger with slightly lower clarity and colour ratings. oh man, i''ve learned so much this week about diamonds! i have a feeling i may be addiced to these sites after the purchase is made, hahah. could get expensive!
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Teddy, did you spot any Signature Ideal or other AGS0 cut grade which are larger for your specs? I would really want images for this one and of course we can''t get them!
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I will take a look shortly to help.
 
i must have misread something, becasue i thought you guys were saying that GIA and AGS(L) were the strictes reports. and the reason i went to think is becasue concen was raised about the very thin girdle chipping.
i thought i had learned a lot in the past week. did i misunderstand something there?
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Actually, the .71 diamond (I'm feeling very defensive of it
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) doesn't have a very thin girdle. In order to attain AGS 0, a very thin girdle is not allowed.

Now, does that mean a stone with a girdle in the ideal range (thin, medium, slightly thick) will not chip? No. Stones do chip, even ones that have no feathers, no thin girdles, or anything else suspicious; they are not indestructible, so that is why making sure your ring is covered by insurance is advised.
 
Date: 1/23/2009 3:16:27 PM
Author: JulieN
Actually, the .71 diamond (I'm feeling very defensive of it
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) doesn't have a very thin girdle. In order to attain AGS 0, a very thin girdle is not allowed.

I suspect BN's 'very thin' description (which is not supplied on the AGS report, and which the stone does not have, as determined by AGS) is mistakenly due to some differences in measuring girdles between rounds and princesses, as well as different methods of measuring from AGS and GIA (in the case of rounds.) All this translating from AGS and GIA, rounds and princesses, have probably caused what's important (that the stone does not have a very thin girdle) to get lost in translation.

Now, does that mean a stone with a girdle in the ideal range (thin, medium, slightly thick) will not chip? No. Stones do chip, even ones that have no feathers, no thin girdles, or anything else suspicious; they are not indestructible, so that is why making sure your ring is covered by insurance is advised.
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Ditto.

Also Teddy, AGS and GIA are considered to be the gold standard of diamond grading labs for colour and clarity grading. However only AGS grade Princess for cut quality at this time, GIA grade just rounds for cut and their standards for cut quality are considered to be broader than AGS.
 
Yes. It is an AGS0 and BN have described it as a VG cut for some reason, also the girdle % fall into thin to medium according to my source material which is the sweet spot.
 
Yes. I''m saying that is Blue Nile''s verbal description of some numbers on the AGS report. Since the stone got 0 for proportion factors, then, according to AGS'' definition of ideal proportions, the stone does not have a very thin girdle.
 
Date: 1/29/2009 8:36:49 AM
Author: teddy006
aww man, i''m finally almost ready to make the purchase and now it says ''This diamond is not available for purchase.'' does that mean it was sold? can anyone help me to find a similar one? all of the other ones on that site seem to only have GIA reports.
http://www.bluenile.ca/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-very-good-cut-g-colour-vs2-clarity_LD01332359?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report
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Ted,

Call and ask them to make sure.
 
Date: 1/29/2009 8:36:49 AM
Author: teddy006
aww man, i''m finally almost ready to make the purchase and now it says ''This diamond is not available for purchase.'' does that mean it was sold? can anyone help me to find a similar one? all of the other ones on that site seem to only have GIA reports.
http://www.bluenile.ca/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-very-good-cut-g-colour-vs2-clarity_LD01332359?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report
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There is this. a AGS2, but somehow BN decide it only rates a G in cut. Think the cut score is dinged for VG symm instead of Ideal.

Also a H VS2 http://www.bluenile.ca/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-very-good-cut-h-colour-vs2-clarity_LD00368485?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0
 
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