Help me decide - is this the right oval?

[efwil1]

I've been trying to find the right oval for the past few weeks now. Reading online about how challenging it can be to find a good one has been daunting. I've now gone to two stores to look at their stones in person and been disappointed with the quality.

However, I am still hopeful that I can find a good one, as I think my girlfriend has her heart set on an oval. After doing hours of research on what to look for, then searching through hundreds of online images. I've found the following stone - a 1.6ct F VVS2 - that looks pretty good to my eye. But, of course I wanted to run it past the experts on here.

I've attached three images - an actual picture as well as the Sarin and ASET. Please take a look and let me know if you this this looks like the one. If so, I will take the plunge and keep fingers crossed that it looks as good in person!

 

[tyty333]

Is there a video of it anywhere?

Edit - I like to shop somewhere like JamesAllen where you can pick your top 3, see videos of them moving, get asets (if local),
get a gemologist to look at them and let you know what they think/see. Yes, ovals are hard to pick.

 

[efwil1]

Hopefully! I've reached out to the seller to request a video and they should get back to me in a few hours. I'll share it here if/when I get it.

 

[tyty333]

Great!

 

[efwil1]

Here's the video from the seller:
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=egyhk3>&s=8#.ViZf-36rSM8

Any thoughts on whether or not this one looks like a good egg?

 

[telephone89]

My computer wont load the video very well, but from what I did see, it has a nice white bow tie, which is one of the things I look for (or none). Hopefully someone else can load the video and give some more opinions. From what I saw, it looked pretty good.

EDIT - 9th times a charm. I don't love the darkness on the top and bottom, but it does seem to only appear in the straight up position

 

[tyty333]

I hate those videos. You cant stop them and step through them. You can see how the facets go on/off. Hate them...you can pass
that on to the vendors.

I cant really give you an opinion one way or the other. I would say it could rate anywhere from being ok to nice. I dont think it will
be fantastic but I dont think it will be horrible either...so basically I cant help you much on this one. My only other thoughts are
that you could have it sent to you and take a look at it and take some of your own pictures to post and then get more opinions
(a long with your own to go by).

 

[efwil1]

Yes, I agree about the darkness at the top and bottom. I had sort of noticed it before, but after your comment I went back and rewatched the video. It's definitely quite prominent. I think you can even see it as a light leakage area on the Sarin image. I bet that would bug me.

So from these comments it sounds like this one is probably not particularly special. I guess it's back to the drawing board. Thanks for the quick input. I will post again if I come across another good option.

 

[efwil1]

Hi again,

I've been continuing the hunt for a good oval - in particular from James Allen (thanks for the recommendation tyty333). Based on suggestions I've been reading on the forum over the past few days, I've selected three within my budget (<$16k) that look nice to my eye and have requested ASETs for them.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.51-carat-f-color-vs1-clarity-sku-355314
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.54-carat-d-color-si1-clarity-sku-432280
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.79-carat-f-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-564747

However, I was also hoping to get the advice from the experts on here. If you were deciding on an oval, which would you select? Alternatively, are there any others in this range that you might recommend?

I'll follow up with the ASETs and gemologist recommendation too once I have it - probably in a few days.

Thanks for the help!

 

[telephone89]

I would order them
1
3
2

I dont like the 2nd one - it may not be eye clean.

 

[efwil1]

Thank you for your help telephone08. I agree with all of your comments - noticed the inclusions on the SI1 after reopening the link on my computer and zooming a bit more. Thank you for the catch. And really happy that you also like the 1st one the best - I was somewhat concerned because it doesn't meet the specs for the "ideal" oval (e.g. too deep) but I still think it has a nice facet pattern and appears to have good light performance. We'll see what the ASET looks like...