Opinions on 2.115ct WF H&A

[crstov]

Hi PS!

Firstly, I just wanted to say what an amazing resource and community there is here, which makes such a difference in what can be a very daunting process.

The band of my wife's engagement ring (round brilliant with side pears) recently separated from the setting on one side, and I think the repair process is a good excuse for her to have an upgrade of the centre stone. The current centre stone is .7ct, F, VS2, GIA triple excellent, 62.8 depth, 54 table - I'll be reusing this stone for a solitaire pendant.

Initially I wanted to upgrade it to a 1.7ct, but I feel like she deserves 2ct, and I have always liked the look of 2ct centre stones in her design.

I am based in Australia and 8 years ago when purchasing her original centre stone I went through a local diamond dealer that was quite competitively priced (having regard to price scope searches). However, I have done a lot more reading as part of this process and am now aware that, for example, triple excellent can mean very different things for different diamonds. Whilst I attempted to be an educated buyer back then, my knowledge barely scratched the surface. It also seems to me that buying online without ASET or Idealscope is incredible risky.

Based on advice I have read on these forums, I am thinking that the safest option will be purchasing from WF.

With that in mind, I am interested in opinions and suggestions for alternatives for this WF round brilliant: Link

1. 2.115 ct
2. Hearts and Arrows
3. J colour
4. SI1 (indicated as being eye clean, although there is a quite a bit of wisp/feathering)
5. 61.4 depth
6. 56.6 table
7. 34.5 crown
8. 40.7 pavilion
9. HCA score of 0.9

The Idealscope and ASET look good to my untrained eye.

In terms of budget, I don't really want to exceed the roughly $17k USD mark (give or take) - I understand this makes stretching to 2ct difficult, and this might be an argument for sizing down.

One concern is the change from an F to a J (which is a fairly big jump colour wise, although from most videos I have watched, J seems fine to me for round brilliant. The WF example above also doesn't look to be a particularly bad J.

Thank you in advance.

Chris

 

[MamaBee]

I think it’s wonderful that you want to upgrade the size of your wife’s diamond. I have to caution you to ask your wife what her preference is..size or color..The worry about the cut is unnecessary because it’s a Whiteflash ACA. My concern would be going from an F to a J. That’s a big jump. A J will be tinted…If she’s fine with going warmer in color for size then that’s good..I had an I..It was tinted yellow from the side. It really bothered me so I upgraded to an F. I’m color sensitive though. She may not be but you should ask. I would go with her to stores that have AGS or GIA diamonds that she can try on to see how she feels about a J color. Looking at diamonds on a video is much different than seeing it in real life. Only look at diamonds graded at those labs so you know the grading is accurate.

 

[Diamond_Enthusiast]

I think it’s wonderful that you want to upgrade the size of your wife’s diamond. I have to caution you to ask your wife what her preference is..size or color..The worry about the cut is unnecessary because it’s a Whiteflash ACA. My concern would be going from an F to a J. That’s a big jump. A J will be tinted…If she’s fine with going warmer in color for size then that’s good..I had an I..It was tinted yellow from the side. It really bothered me so I upgraded to an F. I’m color sensitive though. She may not be but you should ask. I would go with her to stores that have AGS or GIA diamonds that she can try on to see how she feels about a J color. Looking at diamonds on a video is much different than seeing it in real life. Only look at diamonds graded at those labs so you know the grading is accurate.

Agree! If she is used to seeing F color, J is a huge drop in color and may bother her especially if she is color sensitive. Another thing is that for larger stones, the body color of diamonds is more obvious and you will see more color especially in the side view. Going to from 0.7ct to anything near the 2ct is going to be really nice jump in size either way, so it might be better to balance it out without lowering too much on color. If you going close to 2ct but just under, you can potentially avoid the premium at the 2ct mark and get the look of a similar sized stone in a higher color. What is her ring size? FYI - I'm Sydney and from my experience, a well cut diamond around a 2ct will stand out (strangers will be looking).

 

[kb1gra]

Question- are you potentially open to a lab diamond? If you are, you can easily hit this mark in size and the desired color. There are vendors precision cutting these stones. You can check in the lab forum for more details but wanted to toss it out there.

 

[tyty333]

I would not go from an F to a J. I would go down in size and up the color like...

Diamond | 1.725 ct H SI1 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4417924

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 1.725 carat H color SI1 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4417924

www.whiteflash.com

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4430024.htm Make sure you are good with clarity
or "I" color would be my lowest suggestion

Diamond | 1.714 ct I VS2 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 2721322

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 1.714 carat I color VS2 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 2721322

www.whiteflash.com

You can ask WF for pics of H/I colored stones next to an F.

Relative size difference between a .7 (her's is deep) and a 1.7 stone on a size 6 finger. Its a HUGE difference just going to a 1.7 stone.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Yippee for your wife. Sounds like fun.

I agree to ask her about the color. I once went from a 1 ct F to a 2 ct I and am still traumatized.

 

[crstov]

Thanks all for the great advice - very much appreciated.

Mamabee, we sat down and looked at different examples of J diamonds including bad examples (this one on JA) and some better examples (this one or the WF example in any original post. She definitely didn't like the poor JA example I just linked, but we both agreed that the better J examples seemed fine.

Of course, having put video the WF H 1.725ct example linked by Tyty333 next to the video of the 2.115, the difference in brightness seems fairly stark. .4 carats mentally feels like a big trade off, particularly with the H being more expensive overall.

One thing that had me feeling like J was a sweet spot for round brilliant was this Good Old Gold video. Particularly from the comparisons at 4:30 and 6:00, it just seems like it would be so hard to pick the difference in a real world situation. And that example if is a G versus (presumably a good) J, so fairly close to an F to J jump.

I have taken your advice above and asked WF to put the 1.7ct examples next to the 2.115, and also to put an F colour next to them for a good basis of comparison.

The other challenge I am dealing with is local jewellers being reluctant to make the ring with a supplied loose stone!

Kb1gra - I wouldn't go a lab diamond, although I am impressed by some of the examples I have seen.

 

[diamondsareagirls]

I am not an expert like others here, but I have a WF J and it seems very white to my untrained eye ( I did score perfectly on the color sensitivity test that gets posted on here!). It’s extremely bright and SO much fire. I feel like you would love this ring when you see it in a box or on a finger! I have only wished for bigger, never a lighter color!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You cannot accurately judge color from pictures. There is a big difference in F and J. I will tell you that I first upgraded from a 1 ct F to a 1.5 ct H, and that was an acceptable color difference. Later I went to I color, but my WF studs are still H color. I would not go to a J as that is when you can begin to see tint and the stone just won't be as white and bright. I color is the lowest I'd recommend. You size jump from a .7 to 2 cts is a huge one. I'd far rather have a 1.7 ct in H or I color.