Need Help - Shallow vs Steep

[concertao]

Hello,

We've been in the process of buying an engagement ring for SO. First of all, I've learned a lot from this forum so thanks to everyone for putting valuable information here. Unfortunately, I live in a third-world country so I don't have access to the good vendors like in the US, and diamonds with GIA/AGS certificates are very rare here. Vendors usually put their own certificates, which I don't trust at all. However the brand Forevermark is present here, so instead of getting diamonds without any international certificates, I thought getting a Forevermark diamond even though they grade their own diamonds (which is a red flag) is better since they are probably more reputable than my local vendors.

We want a ~0.50 ct ring. We are not considering bigger carats as SO has a finger size of 3.5 and she likes smaller ones to be able to wear comfortably daily. The ring setting will be six-prong and paved, something like this:


We have narrowed down our options to two. Prices are similar (1st one is a bit more but irrelevant for us) Below you will find the certificates, and details of the options that we narrowed into. Certificates are also attached. Although we know that we should prioritize cut instead of higher grade color and clarity, excellent cuts are only present on higher color and clarity diamonds here where we live.

1st option D color scores better on the HCA tool but it has faint fluorescence which scares us as we don't know a way to know if this fluorescence has negatively affected the diamond such as haziness, milkiness, etc. Should we be concerned about the fluorescence? 1st option is shallow, 2nd is steep which one would fit above ring setting better? From what I understand, it's a tradeoff between shallow and steep. Also, HCA is way better on 1st one, but it says it's good for pendants and earrings. Any help is appreciated!

1. Option:
HCA score: 0.9
Carat: 0.52
Color: D
Clarity: VVS1
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 5.22 - 5.24 x 3.13mm
Table: 58.7%
Crown angle: 33.0
Pav angle: 40.9
Depth: 59.8%
Girdle: 3.2%
Report Link: https://institute.debeers.com/en-gb/report/030002425470

2. Option:
HCA score: 4.2
Carat: 0.51
Color: E
Clarity: VVS2
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: Negligible
Measurements: 5.07 - 5.09 x 3.20mm
Table: 55.9%
Crown angle: 35.9
Pavilion angle: 41.0
Depth: 62.9%
Girdle: 3.7%
Report Link: https://institute.debeers.com/en-gb/report/030002299920

Two options side by side (1st option left, 2nd right):

 

[concertao]

To add, side by side photos taken under sunlight.

 

[concertao]

Forgot to add, we are also concerned about darkness in the color D one (first option)

 

[0515vision]

Hello @concertao! Welcome to Pricescope and congratulations on your upcoming engagement!

I'm not an expert here, but I can give you some insight. The HCA is more of an exclusionary tool. It's not necessarily meant for picking out a particular stone. Aside from the HCA score, though, these stones could have better angles. They won't be optically optimal .

Are you set on one of these two? Are you able to see others?

Off the top of my head, the preferred crown angle is 34-35 degrees and pavilion angle is 40.6-40.9. Table numbers are 55-58 and depth 60.4-62.4.

Also, your photos are too far away for us to make any meaningful observations. Does this vendor provide highly magnified videos?

If you share your budget and color preference, maybe the experts here will be able to guide you to a ~0.50ct stone with great optics which you'll love.

 

[Kim N]

I like the proportions of the first one much better than the second, and the faint fluorescence wouldn't concern me at all. The second stone is a steep/deep and likely leaks light.