Feedback/Opinions Requested on Engagement Diamond

[DiamondDoug22]

Hi all. I just purchased the below diamond for an engagement ring and would greatly appreciate some feedback. My biggest concern is the inclusions that show up in the GIA report (link also below). The first inclusion listed is feather but I don't see where the feather is on the diagram. The last inclusion listed is a small knot. It does not appear that the knot breaks the surface of the diamond but don't know that for sure.

I would not have moved ahead with the purchase if it were not for the VS2 grade but please let me know if the feather and/or knot present major concerns. Otherwise the diamond has a nice appearance (to me) and HCA score of excellent. Worst case is I can return it but would prefer to avoid wasting the time waiting for it if someone can tell me I've already made a mistake by purchasing. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.51-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-16507545

GIA - Report Check

Report Check

www.gia.edu

 

[lovedogs]

This is not a super attractive stone in my opinion, and I would honestly probably suggest you choose an alternative. What is your budget, desired size, and desired color/clarity?

 

[Kim N]

This is not a super attractive stone in my opinion, and I would honestly probably suggest you choose an alternative. What is your budget, desired size, and desired color/clarity?

I agree.

For your budget, I would recommend a super ideal cut diamond like this one which has guaranteed superior light performance and a more generous upgrade policy.

Diamond | 2.512 ct I VS2 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4422319

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 2.512 carat I color VS2 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4422319

www.whiteflash.com

 

[headlight]

I would not buy a stone with a knot. And this one is on the table.

 

[DejaWiz]

Hello and welcome to PriceScope, DiamondDoug22!

I agree with the others: there are diamonds out there with much better proportions and angles that will provide much better optics.

Assuming your budget is around $26-31k, here are some alternatives to have a look at if you want to stick with JA:

1.95 Carat round diamond

This 1.95 carat round diamond G color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

2.01 Carat round diamond

This 2.01 carat round diamond G color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

2.01 Carat round diamond

This 2.01 carat round diamond E color vs1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

2.01 Carat round diamond

This 2.01 carat round diamond F color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

2.01 Carat round diamond

This 2.01 carat round diamond G color vs1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

2.13 Carat round diamond

This 2.13 carat round diamond F color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

2.52 Carat round diamond

This 2.52 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[DejaWiz]

Here are the AGS000 diamonds that HA has that may fit into your size and budget desires:

All Diamonds - Magnified in 360° HD | JamesAllen.com

James Allen offers a wide selection of GIA, IGI and AGS certified conflict-free loose diamonds, all viewable in 360° HD. Take the guesswork out of buying a diamond.

www.jamesallen.com

 

[DiamondDoug22]

Than you to @lovedogs, @Kim N, @headlight, @DejaWiz for the thoughtful and fast responses!

Are the inclusions on the diamond I picked the reason you are suggesting other options or is it something else? Are the feather and knot major risks?

What I am aiming for is ~2.5ct, H or better, VS2 or better for under 30k.

@DejaWiz, I really like the 2.52ct one you sent. Thanks for taking time to search for those options!

 

[DiamondDoug22]

@DejaWiz, would you expect this to be eye clean even though it is SI1?

2.52 Carat round diamond

This 2.52 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[lovedogs]

@DejaWiz, would you expect this to be eye clean even though it is SI1?

2.52 Carat round diamond

This 2.52 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

The issue is that the stones youre choosing arent as well cut as the ones deja and others are suggesting.

 

[Karl_K]

You are getting awesome advise from the prosumers here.
A knot always breaks the surface and unless a stone is super special one of a kind, a very good reason to move on to another.

 

[DiamondDoug22]

The issue is that the stones youre choosing arent as well cut as the ones deja and others are suggesting.

This is one that deja suggested. What I don't understand is how the cut of this is better than the original stone (2.51ct) I posted. The original one has a HCA score of 0.8 whereas this one (2.52ct) has a score of 2.3. I must be missing something, I just don't know what. Thanks again for your reply.

 

[lovedogs]

This is one that deja suggested. What I don't understand is how the cut of this is better than the original stone (2.51ct) I posted. The original one has a HCA score of 0.8 whereas this one (2.52ct) has a score of 2.3. I must be missing something, I just don't know what. Thanks again for your reply.

The HCA isn't a way to choose stones, it's a rejection tool. Stones over 2 or 2.5 are usually not great choices unless you have advanced images to show performance. I personally dont like the 2.52 because of the super high crown angle (36.5). The one shown from whiteflash will be much better, as will the AGS options from james allen if you need to stick with them

 

[DejaWiz]

This is one that deja suggested. What I don't understand is how the cut of this is better than the original stone (2.51ct) I posted. The original one has a HCA score of 0.8 whereas this one (2.52ct) has a score of 2.3. I must be missing something, I just don't know what. Thanks again for your reply.

It's because of the steeper crown angle...36.5° is typically well above what we usually recommend.
I'd love to see an ASET scope image of this one for confirmation of the optical precision, but it may very well be a safe choice because of the longer lowers.
I'm confident that it'll be clean to the eyes...the inclusion that you are seeing is a concentrated spot of clouding that is magnified about 30-50x its actual size.

There is some risk with this one due to the proportions...if you want to keep it simple and eliminate all risk, then definitely look to a bonafide super ideal cut seller:
Victor Canera
Brian Gavin
Continental Diamond
JannPaul
Whiteflash

...plus they all have pretty stout upgrade programs - for life.

 

[sledge]

@DiamondDoug22 the reason for the dislike of your initial choice is two fold.

First the inclusions, not so much the feathers but because of the knot on the crown. Point blank a knot is just a nice way of saying a hole or divet that is in the diamond.

Structurally the stone may be okay but most here try to avoid knots like the plague. In circumstances where you have a stone that is unique and rare it might be worth dealing with the risk but quite honestly most MRB’s, including this one, doesn’t fit that situation.

From GIA:


The second reason is the proportions are outside the range of those known to provide ideal light return. Mainly the crown angle is too shallow. This may seem minor to you but even if one angle is off it ultimately changes the way light travels in and exits out of the diamond as the angle it enters is then compounded as it hits the other facets/angles of the stone. While this graphic is a gross simplification of the process it helps illustrate graphically what I am trying to tell you.



To compound the matter, you also need to understand the angles shown on a GIA report have to be taken with a grain of salt. In reality a diamond has 57 facets, 58 if it has a culet. While they all matter, there is large focus on the crown/pavilion relationship. Out of those 57/58 facets, there are 8 crown and 8 pavilion angles. When GIA does their reporting they measure each of the 8 then average them and finally round to the nearest 0.5 degree for crowns or 0.2 degree for pavilions.

Because of the way GIA averages & rounds it’s difficult to truly know if a particular combo works. Many times a video will pinpoint oddities, but most times an advanced image like an idealscope or ASET will provide confirmation if the angles are truly playing together nicely or not.

This is one of the reasons the HCA is a rejection tool only. It uses the data from lab reports and assumes those are all constant. Harsh reality is they aren’t so the prediction may help us narrow the field, but a stone needs further investigation.

The further you stray from the recommended proportions the more likely you are to experience angles that don’t work. There are cases where angles outside the recommended work but it depends on cutting nuances of each specific stone.

Bringing this back to something tangible. I would reject your initial choice because of the knot only. There is no inherit reward for the risk. Additionally I don’t like the video optics and anticipate advanced images would reveal further problems. The alternative @DejaWiz suggested with the 36.5/40.6 combo is risky but may pay off but I wouldn’t buy it without an idealscope proving the light return performance. Also my first glance appears symmetry is off but I haven’t traced it out yet.

With certainty I can tell you for $30k +\- then I would be demanding damn near perfection on inclusions and light performance.

 

[Kim N]

This is one that deja suggested. What I don't understand is how the cut of this is better than the original stone (2.51ct) I posted. The original one has a HCA score of 0.8 whereas this one (2.52ct) has a score of 2.3. I must be missing something, I just don't know what. Thanks again for your reply.

I also don't love the 36.5 crown, and I don't like how much the cloud is reflecting throughout the diamond.

A couple other options for you, but I still much prefer the Whiteflash stone I initially posted.

2.52 Carat round diamond

This 2.52 carat round diamond I color vs1 clarity has Ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from AGS

www.jamesallen.com

2.57 Carat round diamond

2.57 Carat round diamond

www.jamesallen.com

 

[sledge]

I'm confident that it'll be clean to the eyes...the inclusion that you are seeing is a concentrated spot of clouding that is magnified about 30-50x its actual size.

Agree that magnification could be a culprit here. I still don’t inherently love the cluster of clouds on the table. I’d be interested to see this stone in person to see if it’s eye clean yet slows down performance.

It’s possible to have degraded performance.

 

[DiamondDoug22]

Really very thoughtful and informative responses here that have prompted some further reading/research on my end. Thank you all.

@Karl_K and @sledge - I am moving on from my initial selection. Thank you for confirming what I suspected regarding knots and potentially saving me a lot of time and effort.

For @lovedogs, @DejaWiz, @sledge, and @Kim N, the 000/Hearts&Arrows/A Cut Above are the simple solution but seem to carry a meaningful premium and start to get outside the range of my budget unless I go down to an I color. Yes I expect to get a very nice diamond but my practical goal here is to buy something that looks great in person, even if it is not perfect on paper, and makes the most of my budget.

My takeaway from your comments on the 2.52ct is: it falls just outside the range for AGS Ideal but because it is a GIA diamond and there is rounding in their metrics, it could be even closer to ideal than these measurements suggest. For example, the crown could be 36.3 and the pavilion 40.69, which is even closer to AGS ideal but there is no way of knowing that from the information we have. The opposite could also be true.

I keep coming back to the F color, which looks amazing. Did not think that would be possible with my budget but I suppose that is the tradeoff for going to an SI1. What I don't have a good understanding of is how much will an ideal cut improve the way a warmer color diamond appears? Does an ideal cut I look more like a G, for example? Of the stones I have seen in person, I is the borderline for where I sometimes start to notice color, which is why I was aiming for H and above. However, those were a step down from the 000 cut quality.

 

[Karl_K]

The longer the distance light travels in a diamond the more color is apparent as it leaves the diamond.
So badly cut diamonds where the light bounces around the diamond can show more color.
However the difference between the best cuts and a generally well cut stone is going to be generally small.
If properly graded I reasonably well cut diamonds are your visual cut off point of it bothering you then an ideal cut I is likely going to also.
Now someone could argue that there I is a wide range and you could like a high I but not a lower I, that is possible and when comparing in person you can try that but online not so much.
They could also argue that the better cut the diamond the less time it shows body color, again when comparing a badly cut stone to an ideal cut, yea but a reasonably well cut stone to an ideal cut less so.
I love true super-ideal cut diamonds and they do have a lot going for them with the documentation/images to prove performance and optical symmetry.(grading report,IS/ASET,hearts image and video at the min.)
Unfortunately some online dealers have taken the term super-ideal and applied it to anything and everything so you have to be careful.

 

[Kim N]

Really very thoughtful and informative responses here that have prompted some further reading/research on my end. Thank you all.

@Karl_K and @sledge - I am moving on from my initial selection. Thank you for confirming what I suspected regarding knots and potentially saving me a lot of time and effort.

For @lovedogs, @DejaWiz, @sledge, and @Kim N, the 000/Hearts&Arrows/A Cut Above are the simple solution but seem to carry a meaningful premium and start to get outside the range of my budget unless I go down to an I color. Yes I expect to get a very nice diamond but my practical goal here is to buy something that looks great in person, even if it is not perfect on paper, and makes the most of my budget.

My takeaway from your comments on the 2.52ct is: it falls just outside the range for AGS Ideal but because it is a GIA diamond and there is rounding in their metrics, it could be even closer to ideal than these measurements suggest. For example, the crown could be 36.3 and the pavilion 40.69, which is even closer to AGS ideal but there is no way of knowing that from the information we have. The opposite could also be true.

I keep coming back to the F color, which looks amazing. Did not think that would be possible with my budget but I suppose that is the tradeoff for going to an SI1. What I don't have a good understanding of is how much will an ideal cut improve the way a warmer color diamond appears? Does an ideal cut I look more like a G, for example? Of the stones I have seen in person, I is the borderline for where I sometimes start to notice color, which is why I was aiming for H and above. However, those were a step down from the 000 cut quality.

An ideal cut stone will have edge-to-edge light performance, which can help it "face up" whiter than its stated grade. But from the side it will still show body color. The setting will determine how much of the sides of the stone you'll see.

This video shows princess cuts, but the concept is the same.

Can you ask James Allen for an Ideal-Scope image of the 2.52? That will answer your question about the cut quality. And I agree the F color is great, but I'm not liking the cloud.

 

[sledge]

Given your latest comments, I will toss another suggestion in the bucket. This one is from WF, who is a very well respected super ideal vendor on here.

Some people don't realize they also offer virtual inventory stones that would be similar to what you find on JA, Adiamor, Ritani, etc. Where they differ from those other vendors is that when they bring in a stone, they can do a full array of imaging on the stone so that you get the benefit of advanced images, etc. It doesn't guarantee a perfect stone, but those advanced images may provide some additional assurance about the cut quality.

2.53 H/SI1 GIA XXX @ $29,136 wire

Loose Cut Diamonds for Sale: Discover Exceptional Quality

Explore our GIA certified loose diamonds, including Hearts & Arrows (H&A) and super ideal cuts. Buy diamonds that offer brilliance, style, and fit your budget.

www.whiteflash.com

57 table, 61.8 depth, 36 crown, 40.6 pavilion, 80 LGF's. Yup, this one's pushing the fringe too just not as far as the other one with the 36.5 crown. I nearly bought a very similar proportioned stone for my wife from WF. Linking that original stone for reference purposes to show they can be amazing. Again, it comes down to cut nuances but at least with WF you would get imaging similar to the referenced stone. Hopefully the 2.53 rocks as hard as that one did.

Diamond | 0.90 ct G VS1 Premium Select Round Cut Loose Diamond GIA Certified | 3945630

This fabulous 0.90 carat Round Excellent cut diamond has a clarity grade of VS1 and color grade of G.It is an excellent choice for diamond engagement rings or other fine diamond jewelry. | 3945630

www.whiteflash.com

 

[momofive]

Hi Diamond Doug,
I am not an expert, but I’ve been a member since 2011 and I love to come on and read people’s stories and go through all the posts and see what diamond they eventually pick. The pros on here give excellent advice and REALLY know there stuff. When you go to a local jeweler, they are not necessarily go through the whole explanation of why or why not a particular diamond is a good choice. They basically just tell you what they think and maybe throw out a couple of technical terms. That is why, when I got my first diamond from a jeweler all I knew to ask about were the 4C’s. There is so much more to diamond shopping. Also, at a jewelers, you usually work with one salesperson. Here you have an unlimited number of pros and just people who love looking at diamonds to give you advice. The most important thing, imho is cut. No matter how big or the color of a diamond, if it is not cut well it won’t look good. I’ve seen beautiful SI diamonds on PS, because while I wouldn’t know which SI to get, the pros on here know how to vet them and get the best possible one. Also, I would take the advice of asking for the scopes. JA should have no problem providing them and then come back here and posting them. That’s my two cents. Take your time, I know the process isn’t always as easy as everyone thinks. Not if you do it right.

 

[DejaWiz]

Really very thoughtful and informative responses here that have prompted some further reading/research on my end. Thank you all.

@Karl_K and @sledge - I am moving on from my initial selection. Thank you for confirming what I suspected regarding knots and potentially saving me a lot of time and effort.

For @lovedogs, @DejaWiz, @sledge, and @Kim N, the 000/Hearts&Arrows/A Cut Above are the simple solution but seem to carry a meaningful premium and start to get outside the range of my budget unless I go down to an I color. Yes I expect to get a very nice diamond but my practical goal here is to buy something that looks great in person, even if it is not perfect on paper, and makes the most of my budget.

My takeaway from your comments on the 2.52ct is: it falls just outside the range for AGS Ideal but because it is a GIA diamond and there is rounding in their metrics, it could be even closer to ideal than these measurements suggest. For example, the crown could be 36.3 and the pavilion 40.69, which is even closer to AGS ideal but there is no way of knowing that from the information we have. The opposite could also be true.

I keep coming back to the F color, which looks amazing. Did not think that would be possible with my budget but I suppose that is the tradeoff for going to an SI1. What I don't have a good understanding of is how much will an ideal cut improve the way a warmer color diamond appears? Does an ideal cut I look more like a G, for example? Of the stones I have seen in person, I is the borderline for where I sometimes start to notice color, which is why I was aiming for H and above. However, those were a step down from the 000 cut quality.

As part of the overall value of a true SIC, also keep in mind that you will always have 100% trade in value and no major stipulations: most of these sellers only require the replacement diamond to be in stock and of equal or higher price than the diamond being traded in. BG requires at least 1 grade bump in color and/or clarity.

JA requires twice the price...you spend $30k now and any diamond upgrade will need to be at least $60k minus the original purchase price, so at least another $30k out of pocket. And the next one will need to be at least $120k, so at least $60k out of pocket. And so on and so forth.

The SIC sellers really have your back for milestone upgrades such as anniversaries, birthdays, or key holidays.

 

[sledge]

BG requires at least 1 grade bump in color and/or clarity.

My wife’s stone is from BGD so I had to do a quick double take to ensure their policy didn’t improve. I haven’t talked to BGD but their site still shows you have to upgrade 2 of the C’s in addition to being equal or greater value than the original purchase.

This can be particularly limiting if you start with higher color and clarity (D/VS1 for instance). However, starting with an H or I color and SI1 clarity leaves some nice upgrade options without requiring a boat load of money.

JA requires twice the price...you spend $30k now and any diamond upgrade will need to be at least $60k minus the original purchase price, so at least another $30k out of pocket. And the next one will need to be at least $120k, so at least $60k out of pocket. And so on and so forth.

IMO, the worst of the group. While a larger budget like this really drives home the point, the fact remains that most folks try to buy the most diamond they can afford at that specific point in their life. Even if those budgets are way smaller. And the expectation is people get married when they are young and their incomes grow so they can upgrade as they mature. But not all folks follow that path. Some may start middle or late age. Perhaps their careers and income didn’t grow as expected. Or maybe they had 6 kiddos instead of 1-2. Life changes and this plan offers the allure of an upgrade but may be difficult for all buyers to maximize on.

This isn’t the case for all buyers as I’ve helped many upgrade their original JA stones. But it’s something to take into account.

The SIC sellers really have your back for milestone upgrades such as anniversaries, birthdays, or key holidays.

One of the many reasons I really like WF is their upgrade policy. Since I listed a virtual inventory stone earlier I feel the need to clarify the upgrade plan applies to their ACA, Premium Select and Expert Select lines — true super ideals or “near miss” super ideals.

The above stated, WF offers a very simple plan. Spend as little as $1 more and you have NO restrictions.

This becomes VERY advantageous in a situation like this one where desired size is 2.5 carats and minimum color is H but the budget is too tight to fit those criteria in a super ideal. It allows you to gamble on a “strong I” color stone and if unhappy with the color then you upgrade to a G, H or whatever when you have a little more to spend. Or maybe color is more important so you take a 2 carat stone now and upgrade the size later. Or maybe you and your girl end up being more relaxed on color than you thought so you trade the 2 carat H for a 2.60 I or 3 carat J for very little money difference.

The options are endless. The plan truly grows with you as your preferences and life changes. Equally important WF has a deep stock of stones and inventory refreshes relatively quick so not only do you have theoretical choices but real ones as well.

So yes, a very good lifetime upgrade policy from the right vendor can certainly be a massive perk.

 

[DejaWiz]

Thank you very much for the clarification about BG's upgrade requirements and further expanding on the approach of upgrading over time, sledge!

 

[sledge]

Thank you very much for the clarification about BG's upgrade requirements and further expanding on the approach of upgrading over time, sledge!

Thanks for keeping me on my toes, lol. I’d love to upgrade my wife’s color and stone personality (proportions) but am okay with size and VS2 clarity. So I periodically look. As you might imagine not much fits.

 

[DiamondDoug22]

@Karl_K - great context and perspective, thank you.

@Kim N - the F in the video still looks clearer to me but the I definitely has more sparkle so I can see how that makes a difference. I have attached the idealscope for the 2.52ct and would appreciate your thoughts (and anyone else who is kind enough to take a look).

@momofive - Spot on! I understand why everything becomes oversimplified because you can go down quite a rabbit hole to understand all the nuances but there really is way more to it than I think most people are aware of.

@sledge - the 2.53ct you posted is great, definitely a contender. Am looking around now for options in this range to compare.

@sledge and @DejaWiz - thanks for pointing out some of the upgrade policy differences. I see it being somewhat low probability but the option to make a incremental upgrade rather than a huge one really is nice. All things being equal, this is a nice tiebreaker.

 

[DiamondDoug22]

Expanding on my post above after some additional searching.

These are the two stones from previous comments still under consideration:

2.52 Carat round diamond

This 2.52 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Loose Cut Diamonds for Sale: Discover Exceptional Quality

Explore our GIA certified loose diamonds, including Hearts & Arrows (H&A) and super ideal cuts. Buy diamonds that offer brilliance, style, and fit your budget.

www.whiteflash.com

Below are two additional stones I found this morning and would appreciate any thoughts on, especially in comparison to the two above:

2.51 Carat round diamond

This 2.51 carat round diamond H color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

And this is the ideal scope that goes with it

2.50 Carat round diamond

This 2.5 carat round diamond H color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Seems to be a very nice cut. Many small inclusions and mention of surface graining. Perhaps too much going on an best to avoid?

Again thank you to all for your time and thoughtful responses so far. They are most appreciated!

 

[sledge]

I would pass on the 2.52. It has some leakage going on which was somewhat expected given it’s on the fringe and reasons already noted.

For reference, I am using the green circled area as a “control point” meaning anything that is lighter than the light pinkish area in there is leakage. You can see the worst area is about 11 o’clock. Lesser amounts of leakage continue around a few clicks.

Not the end of the world, but that cloud concentration on the table in combination with this would have me looking for a more solid stone.



Ideally you want a nice bright red image with good symmetry, similar to this (from the WF 36/40.6 I linked earlier that I nearly bought my wife).

 

[lovedogs]

Expanding on my post above after some additional searching.

These are the two stones from previous comments still under consideration:

2.52 Carat round diamond

This 2.52 carat round diamond F color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Loose Cut Diamonds for Sale: Discover Exceptional Quality

Explore our GIA certified loose diamonds, including Hearts & Arrows (H&A) and super ideal cuts. Buy diamonds that offer brilliance, style, and fit your budget.

www.whiteflash.com

Below are two additional stones I found this morning and would appreciate any thoughts on, especially in comparison to the two above:

2.51 Carat round diamond

This 2.51 carat round diamond H color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

And this is the ideal scope that goes with it

2.50 Carat round diamond

This 2.5 carat round diamond H color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Seems to be a very nice cut. Many small inclusions and mention of surface graining. Perhaps too much going on an best to avoid?

Again thank you to all for your time and thoughtful responses so far. They are most appreciated!

Not a fan of the 2.52 for the reasons @sledge noted. The 2.51 has insanely thick arrows which I personally like, but others might not. And I'm not loving it overall because the arrows have kind of "clubs " at the end in tje video. The 2.5 has very thin arrows, which also just isnt my personal preference although YMMV

 

[sledge]

Below are two additional stones I found this morning and would appreciate any thoughts on, especially in comparison to the two above:

2.51 Carat round diamond

This 2.51 carat round diamond H color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

And this is the ideal scope that goes with it

Using the information from the 2.52, you can probably pinpoint there is some leakage at around 11 o'clock and something odd at 7 o'clock as well.

As noted by @lovedogs, the arrows are very fat. The report shows 70% LGF's, which means actuals are somewhere between 68-72. You normally want to stay with a 75 or 80 LGF on the report. Also, there are clubs forming on the arrow heads. And the stone appears to have some symmetry issues as well. FYI, it looks like the stone was tilted in the idealscope image, which is why the arrow shafts look smaller on one side of the diamond vs the other.

Again, if it were my money I would simply want better for $30k.






More of the typical appearance you want to find, where arrows are clearly defined:

2.50 Carat round diamond

This 2.5 carat round diamond H color si1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

Seems to be a very nice cut. Many small inclusions and mention of surface graining. Perhaps too much going on an best to avoid?

Again thank you to all for your time and thoughtful responses so far. They are most appreciated!

On a positive note, these proportions fall within the recommended ranges. When I was looking on JA the other day, I actually saw this stone but didn't mention it because I am concerned with it being eye clean and also I fear there may transparency issues with the medium blue fluor + twinning whisps (both shown & not shown), clouds and surface graining.

FYI, I am not against fluor, and in fact my wife's stone is a BGD Blue series and has MBF. You just have to be careful with the inclusions or it can be lazy/hazy.