Help with Solasfera

[rajnath99]

Greetings,
I hope to get engaged by early December to Mary, and am very close, but could use your help!

I want to use the following setting, as I know she wants an antique style setting (scroll down on the page – It’s stock# L1009pl:
http://antiqueengagementrings.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=22

Replica Art Deco mounting
Exact replica of circa 1920's mounting. Center stone sits low in this graceful platinum mounting. The shoulders contain six round bead set diamonds, .14 carats total, G-H color and VS clarity. The shank retains delicate design and center head has delicate vertical gallery. Accommodates approximately a 1.2 to 1.5 carat roundcenter stone (6.8mm to 7.5mm in diameter). Stock size is 6 1/2 and easily sized.
----------------------

I recently saw the Solasfera presentation from David S. diamonds and was very impressed. David is a professional in all regards. I was very impressed and am hoping to buy a Solasfera with the following specs to use with the setting described above:

•Solasfera - Round
o D
o SI2
o 1.19
o Round

I know that my girlfriend Mary is hoping for a diamond as close to flawless as possible. What I have been told by diamond experts is that the most important quality items to consider are (in the following order):
• Cut
• Color
• Clarity
• Carat

So if the Solasfera is a super ideal cut, and the D is the highest color – I should be in great shape, right? That’s what I thought, but then her friend Natalie told me that Mary would want a quality diamond and that flaws might be more important to her than the shiny performance. I think this is a quality diamond of the highest cut and color, and it is absolutely beautiful. There are some small inclusions on the outside, away from the table. The day to day performance of the stone would be amazing, I’m sure. I would think the most important thing is the beauty of the ring, not how it looks under a microscope. BTW – it is ranked very high across all of the Gemex ratings (highest possible) and has NO light leakage under the Firescope!

David presented the following alternatives with higher clarity or carat:
•Solasfera
o H
o VS2
o 1.15
o Round
•Solasfera
o H
o SI1
o 1.29
o Round
•Non-Solsafera – Generic
o I
o VS2
o 1.39
o Round
o (Significantly Lower Cost than the Solasfera)

So my question comes down to – do I look for a generic diamond that might have a higher clarity rating or go with the Solasfera? In side to side comparisons, the Generic non-Solasfera describes above looked more dull than the 1.15 Solasfera described above. Which one do you like of the four mentioned above? If you need additional info, please let me know.

Neither my girlfriend nor her friend are diamond professionals, and at this point I am confident I have done far more research than either of them! My girlfriend and I have not talked about this directly, since I want to keep things as much of a surprise as possible.

Any and all input would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[JulieN]

Date: 11/4/2006 11:29:11 PM
Author:rajnath99

I know that my girlfriend is hoping for a diamond as close to flawless as possible. What I have been told is that the most important quality items to consider are (in the following order):
• Cut
• Color
• Clarity
• Carat

So if the Solasfera is a super ideal cut, and the D is the highest color – I should be in great shape, right? That’s what I thought, but then her friend told me that she would want a quality diamond and that flaws might be more important to her than the shiny performance.

The problem with pronouns is we don''t know who you''re talking about. Did your gf say she wants cut--> color--> clarity-->carat?

Doesn''t matter what the friend wants, go with what your girlfriend wants.

 

[aaronx88]

Dear rajnath99,

I was in the same position as you a couple of months back and I will try to give my honest opinion. Your statement "I would think the most important thing is the beauty of the ring, not how it looks under a microscope" is definately my goal when I started to hunt for the "perfect" diamond. However if clarity is important to Mary, you might want to reconsider an SI2. I advise you to get the diamond appraised to get professional opinion before you buy it. You get a lot more information from the appraisal which help a lot in the decision making process.

Also, I think you need to sit down and think about the 4C again. As you go along, jot down what is important to you and off course your budget will make some influence here as well. Below are my order of preference when I bought this Solasfera from GOG.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1998/

1) CUT - Has the Solasfera really got into you? If it does, you shouldn''t be looking at generic. The question would be which Solasfera to get.

2) COLOR - Do you really need to get D? I honestly believe that anything between D, E and F would not be noticable to our untrained eye once it is set. If the setting is platinum or white gold, it will improve slightly the color as well. If you choose an E or F, you can better quality in terms of clarity.

3) CLARITY - This seems important to Mary. You need to try get some information out of her e.g. bringing her to a jewelry store and observe her for her choices as she gets education about the 4C from salesperson. Make an excuse for a diamond purchase e.g buying a pendant for your mum

4) CARAT - I believe you have made up your mind on anything above 1 carat. If you get a slightly smaller diamond e.g 1.0x ct, you get a better quality in terms of clarity.

The above advise is given based on a few assumption and let me know if you need more clarification. Also, if you are running out of time, Solasfera is very limited in quantity and the right 4Cs might not come along. When I bought my Solasfera, I did make some adjustment, e.g E color instead of F, SI1 instead of VS2 or better and 0.82ct instead of <0.75ct

Aaron

 

[tanuki]

As a solasfera owner I can tell you - you won''t regret it. This is an amazing cut with lots and lots of personality.

"Flawless" is one of those things that only you will be concerning yourself about. Most people that you show your ring to aren''t going to pull out a loupe and examine it.

I bought a 1.91 I SI1 which had a small (light colored) inclusion out on the perimeter of the diamond.
That qualified the stone to be an SI1 (so I saved on price) but the fact is that most people look down into the center of the diamond.
I feel like that worked in the favor of the consumer in my place.

The first thing that my friend at work said when she saw my ring for the first time is "it''s so sparkly", the second thing she said was "and it''s flawless".

It was far from flawless by jeweler standards - but it was "eye clean". It surprised me that she spontaneously said that word "flawless".

Of course, I told her that there was a small flaw and I knew where to find it with the loupe. Which I like because I know how to recognize my own stone.

 

[rockymountain]

Depend on what you are looking for. I am currently looking for a solasfera as well, and I really think that for me the perfect spot would be G color and VS1. But for you it might be different. Also keep in mind of what you are looking for in a diamond.

The solasfera is more sparkly and reflect smaller lights from the diamond because of the 91 facet cuts when compared to a traditional H&A arrows 5 cuts. But either way you go, I think she would be very happy.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think if clarity is important to her, I'd at least try to get VS2 clarity. So if you have to go to F or G to get that, then by all means (they are very white). I think you'd be fine with a Solasfera or a hearts and arrows cut stone. I'd recommend checking to see what Good Old Gold has to offer since they carry both. That way you may have more options. Here are some possibilities to compare to those you're looking at:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1864/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1854/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1937/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/976/