Need help deciding between 4 stones

[rom416]

Hi all, I’ve been looking for the perfect diamond for an engagement ring for a few months now. Went from knowing about the 4Cs to looking at crown and pavilion angles, HCA scores, ASET images etc. I’ve narrowed down my list to 4 stones, and would love to hear some expert opinions and advice as to which one I should choose/pursue further. Unfortunately, I am told ASET images are not available for any of them. Not sure if this is a red flag or not, but I was able to get them for the 2 previous stones I was looking at (not on this list)

All 4 have no fluorescence and GIA triple-excellent.

Stone 1:
1.20 H IF 35.0 40.8 56%t 62.5%d 6.75x6.79x4.23 HCA:1.5 E/E/E/VG looks AVG


Stone 2:
1.22 H VVS2 35.0 40.6 56%t 61.9%d 6.85x6.88x4.25 HCA:0.9 E/E/E/VG looks BIG


Stone 3:
1.20 H VVS2 34.0 40.6 59%t 60.0%d 6.89x6.92x4.15 HCA: 0.9 E/E/E/E looks BIG


Stone 4:
1.12 H VVS2 35.5 40.6 57%t 61.8%d 6.64x6.68x4.12 HCA: 1.2 E/E/E/VG looks AVG, Hearts & Arrows



My brief thoughts:
Stone 1 is internally flawless, it’s also the most expensive of the four. Appart from the IF, I’d say there’s not much that stands out about it, positive or negative.

Stone 2 has very close to ideal crown/pavilion angle proportions and screens “looks BIG” on the HCA calculator. It’s info also didn’t auto-fill when I typed in the GIA certificate number, which makes me think it’s gone a bit under the radar.

Stone 3 I’m probably least fond of. Picture looks a bit blurry on the right and left outer arrows, crown/pavilion proportions are the least ideal of the group, although it has the smallest crown angle, so most brilliance? What has me keeping it is that it screens “looks BIG” on HCA, but I guess that’s just because it’s a very shallow cut. It’s also the cheapest price-per-carat. Is the table % too big?

Stone 4 is a bit smaller from the rest and crown angle a bit higher. Otherwise, crown/pavilion proportions are still very close to ideal, and it was labelled Hearts&Arrows on HCA. I’d say it also probably looks the best from the picture. What has me drawn to this is the H&A.

Anyways, look forward to hearing your thoughts and advice, including regarding lack of ASET images. Thanks!

 

[DejaWiz]

Hello and welcome to PriceScope, rom416!
All of these diamonds have great potential.
Are these listed at an online retailer, or have you had the opportunity to view them in-store?

 

[rom416]

Hi @DejaWiz
Yes they are listed at online retailers, so have not had a chance to see them in-store. Was hoping to make the decision off of ASET images, but they are not available. I was thinking to order one and return it if I don’t like it, and repeat until I’m happy. Can’t order all 4 unfortunately! What would be your priority order?

 

[DejaWiz]

Hi @DejaWiz
Yes they are listed at online retailers, so have not had a chance to see them in-store. Was hoping to make the decision off of ASET images, but they are not available. I was thinking to order one and return it if I don’t like it, and repeat until I’m happy. Can’t order all 4 unfortunately! What would be your priority order?

Probably 1, 4, 2, 3 based on the pictures and what my own eyes are drawn to.
What would your own order be?

 

[rom416]

Probably 1, 4, 2, 3 based on the pictures and what my own eyes are drawn to.
What would your own order be?

Just visually from the pictures:
4
2 and 1 tied
3

 

[lovedogs]

I like 1 and 4 the best. Not a fan of 3. How much more is 1 vs 4? That would matter to me because I wouldn't want to pay for IF clarity since it's not visibly different from any other eye clean stone

 

[rom416]

@DejaWiz
Say I order one of these to check out in person, would you order it loose and then get it set, or is getting it set right away ok too? In the end, I need it set, so not sure if paying extra to get it set on my own is worth being able to see it loose.

Should I get ASET images done on my own (no idea if its possible or the cost)? Simply take it to a jeweller to get an opinion and look under an ASET scope?

Say I order it and I like it, the other thing I’m struggling with is the regret factor of “what if the other stones were better”

 

[rom416]

I like 1 and 4 the best. Not a fan of 3. How much more is 1 vs 4? That would matter to me because I wouldn't want to pay for IF clarity since it's not visibly different from any other eye clean stone

Sounds like we can all agree 3 is least visually appealing.

1 is about 25% more than 4, but keep in mind the carat difference. It’s closer to 18% more expensive on a carat-equivalent basis.

4 has six tiny feather inclusions, four of which seem to be by the girdle and none are on the table.

 

[DejaWiz]

@DejaWiz
Say I order one of these to check out in person, would you order it loose and then get it set, or is getting it set right away ok too? In the end, I need it set, so not sure if paying extra to get it set on my own is worth being able to see it loose.

Should I get ASET images done on my own (no idea if its possible or the cost)? Simply take it to a jeweller to get an opinion and look under an ASET scope?

Say I order it and I like it, the other thing I’m struggling with is the regret factor of “what if the other stones were better”

I'd recommend ordering loose so that you can fully assess, and ASET is easy once you get a little practice (scope kit with practice CZs, tweezers, and Plexi tray can be ordered from Dave Atlas for USA or the Ideal-Scope website for international).

 

[lovedogs]

Not entirely sure I'd pay more for 1 vs 4, especially without advanced images.

 

[rom416]

@DejaWiz @lovedogs
Hey guys, thanks for your input earlier today. Btw, I’m Toronto based, so the shipping time/cost for the scope kit isn’t too friendly. Thinking maybe I can find a local jeweller that can help me look at the stone. If either of you have recommendations in Toronto, I’m all ears.

I think I agree with not paying up for #1 vs #4.

A few more things I’ve had on my mind:
Is 11k CAD / $8.3k USD good value for #4?

Is #2 not getting enough attention? It’s only 5% more expensive on a carat-adjusted basis than #4, and arguably better crown/pavilion angle, so theoretically better light performance?

Regarding Hearts & Arrows, how important/rare/valuable is that? And I only know it’s H&A because it was displayed “Hearts & Arrows: Yes” on the HCA website when I put in the GIA certificate number. How legit/reliable is this? I know GIA doesn’t grade H&A, but does this mean there’s another certificate floating around somewhere that says it’s H&A?

 

[rom416]

Also, does the date of the GIA certificate mean anything? I just find it strange that #2 has a certificate that’s nearly a year old, and is not in the HCA database.

Also it was a late addition to my list, as I swear it wasn’t there a few weeks ago when some of these other ones were.

Could this be a trade-in from someone and just hitting the market now? Could it be a H&A that just hasn’t been graded by whoever makes that determination? The fact that it’s a bit incognito has me very curious about it!

 

[lovedogs]

Also, does the date of the GIA certificate mean anything? I just find it strange that #2 has a certificate that’s nearly a year old, and is not in the HCA database.

Also it was a late addition to my list, as I swear it wasn’t there a few weeks ago when some of these other ones were.

Could this be a trade-in from someone and just hitting the market now? Could it be a H&A that just hasn’t been graded by whoever makes that determination? The fact that it’s a bit incognito has me very curious about it!

I don't think 2 is very good, and it's almost certainly not h&a.

There is no special cert for h&a stones. It's about how precise/exact the cutting is.

I would choose 4 over 1 personally