NEED HELP Selecting Stone

[WPMitchell]

Seems there are a lot of helpful, knowledgable people on this forum so I thought I would solicit some assistance selecting a diamond. I am shopping on James Allen. I plan on mounting it on James Allens' white gold Common Prong Engagement Ring with two small side stones on each side. My girlfriend has petit hands and build. We are in are mid-forties and this is a second marriage for both of us. And 7 kids between us so God help me.

My criteria is:
budget: $5000 to $7000
cut: very good or better
color: J-H
clarity: S12-VS2, reasonably eye clean
carat: 1.18-1.34

That narrowed it down to a dizzying number of results. Would anyone care to run the comparisons and give me recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

Warren

Second post, I think I posted in the wrong section earlier.

 

[MarionC]

First of all, go with "better"; excellent, even or ideal.

 

[RT82]

I'm a novice but.... in my recent experience, SI1-SI2 is great value. No need to pay for higher. I also think don't go less than very good cut. Go for excellent if possible.

I also convinced myself that I could tell the difference between G and J. But even the J looked nice.

 

[Serendipity99]

Just to clarify I assume you are going for a round cut?

 

[RT82]

Ya, round brilliant. Sacrifice size for excellent cut if you can't make the budget work. No experience here with the online vendors.
But if you are going to plug in the dimensions eventually into the HCA calculator to narrow down stones, bear in mind ppl on here will tell you to reject stones with HCA>2. However, I just purchased a stone with an HCA of 2.6 and I thought it looked fantastic in person so my overall advice is not to lose sleep over the specifics. They're important, but being happy with what you see in person is really the only thing that matters.

 

[WPMitchell]

Thanks. Your replies have already helped. Yes I am looking at the round cut. I am unfamiliar with the HCA. I will look at it.

 

[Gypsy]

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough.
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. Over 2.5 is a no. No score under 2 is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. James Allen and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.