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GIA Very Good Cut versus Excellent

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ShinySearcher

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 28, 2013
Messages
54
Hi everyone, thank you for all the great insight on the forum.

I am in the middle of looking for the perfect GIA Round Brilliant Center stone with a diameter around 6.7-6.8mm and I am trying to keep my budget around 7k.

I was previously looking at stones .93-.99, GIA, Ex, Ex, Ex, F, SI1, No Fluor, HCA 0-2 but now that I have increased size requirement to around 1.05-1.20, while still keeping budget below 7k, I am trying to figure out best options. I am now looking at G/SI1s and F/Si2s for some compromise. I started to consider a VG cut vs Excellent. What is your overall opinion on this? If I had to go to VG, which area is best to drop as far a cut, symmetry or polish?

Thank you!
 
Have you considered H/I color? You can drop the cut a little bit, but you either need to look at pictures, or have a vendor help you get a good one that basically doesn't look that much different from an ideal cut.
 
Don't compromise cut. I think you could compromise on fluorescence.
 
Hi Shiny,
When considering cut, the difference between EX, VG and G in polish and symmetry is not what the human eye will perceive as the difference when it comes to the quality of cut.
Changes in the size of the table, and crown/pavilion angle will produce much more noticeable effects on the cut.
If you can get to see some VG and EX diamonds in person, that can be a great help.
Some people do prefer a "Hearts and Arrows"- some don't. That's only one aspect and not necessarily related to the difference between a stone rated by GIA as VG or EX cut grade.
I agree with Julie's suggestion of finding a vendor you trust to work with.
In many cases, a VG cut grade will be just as lovely as an EX- and may save you some money
 
There are some lovely VG cut grade stones posted here on PS. I unfortunately don't have time to go dig them up.

With the SI2 grade, the eye-clean(er) ones are much more likely to already be in-house at a vendor, and what you find on a virtual stone list nowadays is not likely to be eye-clean under all conditions, at all angles, etc. I know mine isn't but it doesn't bother me. Inclusions in the table area are much easier to see than those out near the edges. Be very cautious about SI2 if you don't want to see anything, ever. Yes, there are prongable inclusions, but you have to take into consideration where the arrows are, how you want the arrows oriented, and where the prongs of the mounting are and how much of an inclusion they will cover. And does prongable inclusion out at the edge adversely affect the strength of the diamond if you put a prong on top of it.
 
There are some Very Good cut stones out there that are beautiful. I have one. I have also read posts on here about some 3X stones that scored higher than mine on the HCA. BUT, I think you REALLY need to compare a VG cut to an EX cut with your own eyes in different lighting conditions.

I was able to spend about 30 minutes comparing an EX cut to a VG cut under florescent lights, in the back near the bench, outside on a cloudy day and outside in sunlight. BECAUSE I couldn't see a discernible difference, I chose the VG cut. It was much cheaper than the excellent cut (although I think the ex cut was also whiter.)

You should also consider color too. If you can drop down in color, you can afford a bigger stone or save money.

My stone is an SI2 and there is a small feather near the edge. I can only see it if I wear my ring one way. If I flip it, it then disappears. I would just make sure the vendor (preferably one on here) can tell you whether it's eye clean or use a jeweler where you can see the stone.

Do you have any idea what your fiancee to be may or may not want to compromise on?
 
That is why we never will make a blanket statement to buy just any GIA Excellent cut stone. That is a very wide range and some stones are better than others. That is how the HCA comes in handy. But I wouldn't sacrifice cut. I'd go for one of the better GIA Ex cut stones and I absolutely would expand my search to include fluorescence because you get a discount, usually, for a really phenomenal natural feature!!!
 
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