I have a deposit on a stone...opinions?

[Boulder]

I'm curious what other people think of this stone that I made a deposit on yesterday. I already know what Jonathan thinks...

Round
0.936 carats
SI1
F
$4840
Polish: AGS Ideal
Symmetry: AGS Ideal
Proportions: AGS Ideal
Symmetry H&A (Mara, note that it's not a WOF

)
6.25 - 6.28 x 3.88 mm
Total Depth 61.8% (3.87 mm)
Crown Angle 33.9
Crown Height 14.7%
Pavil Angle 41.0
Pavil Depth 43.1%
Culet 0.2%
Table Size 57.2%
Girdle Thickness Sl. Thick

The BScope results are:
White - High
Colored - Very High
Scintillation - High-

HCA - 1.4

Isee2 - 9.3

More info: http://www.goodoldgold.com/0_936ct_f_si1_h&a.htm

Any thoughts?

 

[Mara]

Very nice!!!

Just curious...what drew you to this stone out of the many that Jonathan offers?

The only things I noticed were the slightly thick girdle and the lower scintillation score on the Bscope.

The pictures are amazing...love the colored fire!

 

[Boulder]

Thanks, Mara! I really appreciate the feedback.

I arrived at this stone as I was looking for something under $5k with a good cut and something in the colorless/near colorles range. My girlfriend could readily pick out K color diamonds and really didn't like seeing any color at all. Also, I'm looking at a platinum setting, so I figured the whiter the better. I didn't want to go below SI1 in clarity and I wanted to get something as close to 1 carat that I could afford without getting into the 1 carat pricing. Finally, nice fire is always a plus! I had been looking at another of Jonathan's stones that was similar but with higher Bscope scores, but I didn't act fast enough.

My biggest concern has been the lower Bscope score on scintillation. That was alleviated somewhat by the performance on Isee2 (9.3) and the 1.4 on the HCA. My understanding is that Bscope performance tends to capture very specific directed light conditions whereas Isee2 tends to capture more typical, ambient lighting conditions. I've been thinking that I should potentially wait for another stone with higher Bscope scores, but I didn't know if I'm splitting hairs in pitting VH's against H's. I've never been able to see these sorts of tests done on stones that I've seen in person, so I'm not sure if I'd even be able to tell the difference between a high and a very high on the Bscope if I was to see them with my own eyes.

Is there any problem with a slightly thick girdle? It seemed to me that this would provide added security once set since the girdle wouldn't chip very easily.

 

[Mara]

Not really sure what sort of effect the slightly thick girdle will have on the stone...did you run it through the AGA cut grading charts to see what the stone comes up with? Slightly thick would be better than thin probably--but what does Jonathan say?

As for the Bscope--probably splitting hairs..its just so easy to do that when you have all this info in front of you!

The colored fire looks beautiful...and yes you could wait until another stone comes along with all VH3+ on the Bscope...but maybe it will not have such a desirable SI1 grading or not as great of an IdealScope image or similar. So maybe it's a tradeoff?

With the ISee2 and the HCA score backing it, I would say go for it! We all know Jonathan doesn't sell opaque rocks so you are probably in good hands.

Excellent color grade and with an eye clean SI you probably saved a ton of money!

Auction sites and searching online, Barry? Yeah but who knows what you'll get...the money savings aren't worth it...GOG is tried and true by many Pscopers...

best of luck Boulder!

 

[Boulder]

I'm going to run it through the AGA cut grading charts right now... That's the DIY cut grading located at http://gemappraisers.com/, right? I'll be curious as to how that comes out.

I actually didn't ask Jonathan about the slightly thick girdle. I guess the girdle didn't register with me as that important of measurement to take into consideration. Maybe I should check with him on that.

Admittedly, I love numbers and easily get caught up in all the information that can be gained through various diamond tools. It'd be nice to get something with all VH's on the Bscope, but just not sure how much of a difference I'll be able to see. I had thought about dropping down to a .83 stone at GOG that had higher Bscope scores, but didn't know if that difference in light return was worth the reduction in size. If I get into the VS2 ranges or higher with these properties it begins to get a little too expensive for me. This is my first diamond purpose, so I'm trying to accumulate as much information as I can to make an informed decision. It might be nice to wait until another stone shows up at GOG, but I have a personal deadline to have it finished by the end of August...

I really did feel better after seeing the Isee2 and the HCA scores. I really do appreciate the sheer volume of information that Jonathan provides on each stone and in general 4C's information. His information on cut was way more than I had come across before.

"Excellent color grade and with an eye clean SI you probably saved a ton of money!"
That's what I'm hoping for!!

Barry, there may be other deals out there, but I've really spent a lot of time searching online. Too many places that I've looked at don't provide enough information for me to feel comfortable in making the purchase. All the positive feedback from fellow Pscopers has certainly made me very comfortable in dealing with GOG

Thanks for the good wishes, Mara! I've read many of your posts in the past and greatly appreciate all of the feedback that you have provided people with here. I've certainly found it useful!

 

[Boulder]

DIY Cut Grading (http://gemappraisers.com/)

I hope I put the dimensions in the correct order...had to reverse the first two from AGS report. Does the AGS report usually list width then length?

In any event my input was:

Cut: Round
Weight: 0.936 carats
Dimensions 6.28 (L) X 6.25 (W) X 3.88 (D)
Table 57.2 %
Crown Angle 33.9
Crown Height 14.7 %
Pavilion Depth 43.1 %
Girdle Slightly thick to Slightly thick
Polish / Symmetry Excellent / Very Good

The results were:

Cut: Round
Weight: 0.936 carats
Table % 57.2 Grade: 1A
Crown Angle 33.9 Grade: 2A
Crown Height % 14.7 Grade: 1A
Pavilion Depth % 43.1 Grade: 1A
Girdle Thickness Slightly thick to Slightly thick Grade: 1B
Total Depth % 61.9 Grade: 1A
Polish / Symmetry Excellent Grade: 1A * Not a primary determining factor.

Final Grade: 1B
This falls within the American Ideal Cut category. Looks good, though I've never used the AGA tool before.

 

[Mara]

Looks good! 1B is a great score!

 

[Boulder]

It's hard to compare since I've only run one stone through, but it looks quite good.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Even with a sl. thick girdle, & a high on scintilation, thats a fair price for stone of that size. Si-1, is a great clarity grade. haha Mine's an Si-1, G.

Judy

 

[aljdewey]

Ok, I'm officially curious. Mara and Boulder have both answered a "Barry", but I see no post by a Barry in this thread.

What am I missing?

 

[aljdewey]

Ok, I'm officially curious. Mara and Boulder have both answered a "Barry", but I see no post by a Barry in this thread.

What am I missing?

 

[Mara]

Leonid must have removed it. It was a post by a relatively new member....'buyandselldiamond' I think was the name and his name was Barry..he told Boulder to shop around online and in auctions to find a better deal on a better priced stone and that this stone should be at MAX $4k.

 

[Boulder]

Hmmm...that's weird...

 

[Boulder]

Good memory, Mara! He said that the diamond should be $3500 ($4k max). I wish a diamond like this was that cheap, but alas!

 

[diane5006]

Leonid removed it...it was there you are not imaging things

 

[Boulder]

In competition with the .936 F SI1 were too smaller stones in the .80-.89 range. I'm not sure if it's worthwhile the additional size of the 0.936 for higher Bscope scores. Also, the .936 has lower Bscope scores, but it did quite well with its Isee2 score. Too many options!!

I also liked the looks of:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/0_82ct_f_si1__h&a.htm
0.82 SI1 F
$3750
round
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Excellent
Proportions - AGS Ideal 0
BScope:
White - VH
Colored - VH+
Scintillation - VH
Fluorescence: faint
6.07-6.09x3.71 mm
Total Depth 60.6% (3.68 mm)
Crown Angle: 34.2
Crown Height: 15.1%
Pavil Angle 40.8
Pavil Depth 42.4%
Culet: 0.6%
Table Size: 56.3%
Girdle Thickness: 1.3% Medium

AND

http://www.goodoldgold.com/0_84ct_e_si1_h&a.htm
0.84 SI1 E
$????
round
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Excellent
Proportions - AGS Ideal 0
BScope:
White - H+
Colored - VH+
Scintillation - VH
Fluorescence: none
6.08-6.12x3.7 mm
Total Depth 61.0%
Crown Angle: 34.5
Crown Height: 14.6%
Pavil Angle 40.8
Pavil Depth 42.9%
Culet: 0.7%
Table Size: 58.0%
Girdle Thickness: 1.15% - 2.63%

Any comments on comparing these stones with the 0.936?

Thanks!

 

[james100]

Personally, I'd looked for all those stones with results within the VH segment and as close to the end of the spectrum and with particular attention to the results with white light since we are buying a stone sight unseen.In this case the 0.82F SI1 seems a potential candidate.
Looking at the images as shown on the Bscope results will also indicate to you how lovely the stone can be if it has regular white patterns on 2 of the images ,how various colors are being dissipated, etc.

 

[Mara]

Boulder--what does Jonathan think of the 3 stone options and what would HE weigh more heavily..the Bscope or the Isee2 now that he has had a chance to view some stones under it. It may be interesting to hear what he says since he has viewed all of the stones in person!

 

[Boulder]

I just sent Jonathan an email about getting Isee2 results for the 0.84 E SI1 and the 0.82 SI1F. I'm not sure how Jonathan weighs the Isee2 versus the Bscope, but the former tends to give a better picture of ambient, indirect lighting conditions whereas the latter gives results in very specific, direct lighting conditions.

Jonathan did an informal survey among his assistants between the 0.84 and the 0.936, the latter came out on top. I have a feeling that size factored into that...