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Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement Ring

H

hondaf17

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 26, 2013
Messages
16
Hello everyone. I have been reading as much from these forums and site as possible, trying to digest a lot of information.

I have looked at a lot of stones in person and have narrowed my search down to 3. I have uploaded the salient details of each of the three diamonds (see attached pictures). My questions are as follows:

1) Of these three, which would you pick, and why?
2) HCA is confusing. I have two GIA triple excellents that have a worse HCA score than a triple very good. Diamond 1 is GIA triple excellent and scores an HCA of 3.6 and Diamond 3 is GIA triple very good and scores an HCA of .4. How is this possible? Shouldn't an excellent cut diamond have more brilliance and fire?
3) Do you see anything glaringly wrong with either of these stones?
4) Any concerns of the inclusions in the SI1 stones? They are in the table, but they're small and I cannot see them with the naked eye. Plus, as far as I can tell, the inclusions are clear, not black.
5) How do the prices look?
6) Any other thoughts/feedback.

THANK YOU very much!!

diamond__1.jpg

diamond__2.jpg

diamond__3.jpg
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

Your first 2 stones take a 'hit' on the HCA because they are too deep....my choice would be none of the 3, I think if you keep looking you will find better stones.

If you could post what your budget is, and what is important to you (cut, size, color, clarity, etc) many here will help you look.
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

all 3 are sub-par.
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

Yeah, I wouldn't consider any of those three - like the other posters said, the first two are too deep and the third one just doesn't have good numbers (likely both flat-ish and shallow-ish).

Not sure how much you can stretch your budget, but here's a stunner from James Allen, 1.54ct F-VS1, AGSOOO with medium fluor - http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-...arat-f-color-vs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-190610 - I think JA offers a discount to Pricescope members, varying between 1-5% depending on the stone - might be worth asking JA about.

Otherwise, if your budget is between $15-$16k, I don't think you can stay in the F color range and still get an ideal cut stone - you might have to go to H color but there are some beauties at Whiteflash and Brian Gavin Diamonds within that price range... http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/search.aspx - http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/brian-gavin-hearts-and-arrows/
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

Thanks everyone for the help and responses.

Most important to me is cut. I want her to have a very brilliant stone. That is why I have done a lot of research on cut, but it looks like I have more to learn.

2nd most important is color. I would love to stay in the F color. When compared with G's and H's I can tell the difference. If I have to compromise in color I could accept a G if it helps me get the excellent cut.

3rd most important is carat weight. I would like to stay around 1.50 +/-.

4th most important it clarity. I want SI 1 or better. I would like it eye clean. In the SI 1's I've looked at in person I have not been able to see anything with the naked eye, so I believe this is a good place to land.

My price range is $15,000-$17,000. I'm not comfortable buying something this expensive online that I don't get to see first.

So, if I want triple excellent, how do I go about finding it? I have already told my jeweler retailers that I want GIA triple excellent. However, even these stones (such as the first two) aren't perfect on the HCA, and take a hit for "being too deep" or "angles are off" or something. What else can I tell the people helping me?

Also - someone please help me understand this. How can stone #3 - triple very good GIA have a better HCA rating than two triple excellent GIA stones? That seems very counter-intuitive.

Thanks again for the advice, this is greatly appreciated to a rookie.

PS - I have about 30 days to figure this out and make a purchase!
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

Cut grade on #3 gets downgraded because of the very thin girdle.

Just send your jeweler a link to HCA and tell them you want it to score under 3.
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

I completely understand wanting to see the diamonds in person. Maybe ask the jeweler to bring in an AGS0 F SI1...they measure for light performance so should be a nice stone. Also I am guessing the jeweler will be hesitant to bring in a bunch more stones, so have them do a search and send you certs prior to bringing in more stones. Then you can weed out diamonds before seeing them.

Did you like the stones you saw? The HCA is just a tool to help determine the light performance of a diamond, but doesn't necessarily mean a higher score will be a bad diamond. See GOG site for further research.

I am not sure why a very good cut has a low HCA so I hope some experts chime in on this!
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

There is a cheat sheet around that list some PS preferred proportion combos. It' limits you a bit because there are beautiful stones outside of these, but using it in your case may help you or your jeweler select stones that are likely good performers within GIA EX cut criteria, though of course the gemologist will have to evaluate it for you to determine if there are any internal or external characteristics that make it less than an ideal choice.

Table: 54-58
depth 60-62.3
crown 34-35
pavilion 40.6-41
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

There are very reputable diamond dealers on this site, will you buy online? If so, the diamond experts on this site can help you.
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

Yes, I have looked at all of these diamonds in person, and a lot of other stones. I liked these diamonds. I thought all of them had a lot of brilliance and were very nice. In fact, I was ready to buy #1 until I found this sight, learned about HCA, and began to second-guess myself.

Diamond #1 has an HCA of 3.6. HCA says you want under 2.0. How much of a difference, really, is it from 3.6 to 2.0? Would it be a noticeable difference? It seems that very small differences in angle, depth, etc can impact the HCA score quite a bit.

Am I dumb for letting the HCA impact my decision like this? I just want her to have a perfect stone! I thought I had it until Diamond #1 disappointed on the HCA scale...

Thanks a lot for the continued advice.
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

Could you ask the jeweler to show you a stone with an HCA less than 2 just so you can compare it? It doesn't have to be in your specs...but it may help you see whether you can tell a difference. If you are set on 1 of those 3 stones, the first one would be my choice. Also you mention you were color sensitive. You probably can see a color difference when seeing a F next to an H stone, but can you tell when the H is stand alone? Just might open your options with that particular jeweler if you look at lower colors.
 
Re: Need Help/Advice - First Diamond Purchase - Engagement R

marymm|1367024171|3435300 said:
Yeah, I wouldn't consider any of those three - like the other posters said, the first two are too deep and the third one just doesn't have good numbers (likely both flat-ish and shallow-ish).

Not sure how much you can stretch your budget, but here's a stunner from James Allen, 1.54ct F-VS1, AGSOOO with medium fluor - http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-...arat-f-color-vs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-190610 - I think JA offers a discount to Pricescope members, varying between 1-5% depending on the stone - might be worth asking JA about.

Otherwise, if your budget is between $15-$16k, I don't think you can stay in the F color range and still get an ideal cut stone - you might have to go to H color but there are some beauties at Whiteflash and Brian Gavin Diamonds within that price range... http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/search.aspx - http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/brian-gavin-hearts-and-arrows/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback.

I agree that the 3rd one is cut the "worst" as the proportions/angles seem to be off, and it seems shallow and squashed. If that is the case, how is the HCA the best of all 3, at .4?!!?

I think I'm putting too much weight into the HCA rating. I've seen all three of these stones in person and they all seem pretty brilliant to me.
 
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