Ordered 2 diamonds...is one a "keeper"? *Pictures*

[Anjaani3]

So I've been on the hunt for a diamond for quite some time while lurking, learning, and constantly upping my budget... now i'm pretty much at the top of my budget (a little maxed actually) and the wedding is a few months away -- I need my ring before then! So I came across two stones that I felt would be nice and took the plunge by ordering them with mediocre pictures or no pictures at all -- hoping the specs would speak for themselves.

I'm a size 6.5 ring and I have large but long slender hands. I feel I need as big of a stone as I can afford because it'll look good on my hands and well... I like big sparkly diamonds! For that reason, I was willing to compromise some of my specs to bring price down. I've been looking for a round solitaire, as close to around a 2 ct as I can get but keeping it at an excellent cut, GIA certif (dont know much about AGS but that would be fine too). For color I've been okay with a high J (not low J's or K's) and for clarity i've focused on SI1, but considered SI2 (like in the case below). Ive added pictures, sorry for the poor cell phone quality of some of them!

Sooo, if you hate the diamonds below, please help me find something with the specs above

Now, the diamonds I've ordered. I've discussed both of these in different topic threads so sorry for the repeat, but I'll post the details again as a refresher for any new members. Here are the specs:

DIAMOND #1
Carat Weight: 1.84 carat
Color Grade: J
Clarity Grade: SI1
Cut/Polish/Symm Grade: Ex/Ex/Ex
Measurements: 7.85 - 7.88 x 4.87 mm
Depth: 61.9%
Table: 55%
Crown Angle: 36.0°
Pavilion Angle: 40.6°
Girdle: Medium, Faceted (3.0%)
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
COMMENTS: Additional clouds are not shown. Pinpoints are not shown.

HCA: Light Return Excellent
Fire Excellent
Scintillation Very Good
Spread Very Good
Total Visual Performance 1.7 - Excellent within FIC range

Vendor comments: beautiful J color and looks white. Not milky or cloudy. It has gorgeous brilliance. From about 6-8 inches, it would be difficult to see anything to the naked eye, it looks eye clean. Under the loupe there are a few tiny dark crystals under the table and a tiny one on the side.






DIAMOND #2
Carat Weight: 2.01 carat
Color Grade: J
Clarity Grade: SI2
Cut/Polish/Symm Grade: Ex/Ex/Ex
Measurements: 8.26 - 8.28 x 4.86 mm
Depth: 58.8%
Table: 61%
Crown Angle: 32.5°
Pavilion Angle: 41°
Girdle: Medium, Faceted (3.0%)
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
COMMENTS: Additional pinpoints, twinning wisps, and surface graining are not shown.

HCA: Light Return Very Good
Fire Excellent
Scintillation Very Good
Spread Excellent
Total Visual Performance 1.7 - Excellent within TIC range

Vendor comments: diamond is pretty much eye clean except for a medium black inclusion in the pavilion which reflects in the corner of the table, a medium white inclusion in the crown near the girdle, and 2 small feathers in the table. The medium inclusions are visible to the naked eye but since they are towards the girdle/pavilion, they can be hidden with a prong.







So based on the info above, I placed the order and decided to see what I got. Diamond #1 is very pretty, a nice brilliant cut but i noticed a slight tinge of yellow in the color. Not enough for it to be a significant problem, but it is there. I expected to hate diamond #2 because of the magnified image (which i got after placing the order) since it had more inclusions than I was expecting, so I thought it would go right back...but i think i honestly understand what a brilliant cut can do to hide the inclusions because it was a beauuutiful stone. Whiter than diamond #1 (I didn't really see any yellow!) and a little more brilliant -- not sure if that's the result of a more shallow cut.

So here's my dilemma: My gut loves the color and sparkle of diamond #2 and I'm obsessed with the 2 ct size. However, when I look closely at 6-8 inches, I can see the inclusions. They don't jump out at me, but if I look for them, I can find them. On the other hand, diamond #1 is an SI1 and has just a small inclusion in the table as well, but i can also see it with my naked eye. Both diamonds have inclusions that can be found, but aren't obvious at first glance...they look pretty clean -- and i guess that falls into what is considered "eye clean" for most vendors. I'm trying to decide between the two and figure out if one of them is a "keeper" or if I can do better.

Oh and a major part: price. Diamond #1 (1.84 ct) is $9,400 and Diamond #2 (2.01 ct) is $11,100. I'm really going over my budget with diamond #2 but i love the size so much that I'm considering pushing my budget to make it work.

Is there anything in a comparable size that I could get for this budget? I really dont want to go smaller and would love to be in the 2 ct range...and I would really prefer to stay under $10k, but a 2 ct diamond is the only exception I can make to push a little passed that. Do you think these are nice stones for the price? A part of me feels like I could look passed the inclusions since they don't jump out at me right away, but I CAN see them... and I think I'll always wonder if there was a cleaner diamond out there...or if i settled bc i'm just mesmerized by sparkly things. Which diamond would you recommend of the two? or neither?

PS community, you're the experts. I'm sorry for the long post but I just wanted to put it all out there and get some honest feedback. If you've made it this far in the post, thanks for reading Here are a few pics of them together:

Left: 2.01 Diamond #2, Right 1.84 diamond #1


Left: 2.01 Diamond #2, Right 1.84 diamond #1


Top: 2.01 Diamond #2, Bottom: 1.84 diamond #1


Thoughts? THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!

 

[ariel144]

I'm no expert on MRB's but based on your statement:

"Whiter than diamond #1 (I didn't really see any yellow!) and a little more brilliant -- not sure if that's the result of a more shallow cut."

...and loving size too, I would go with the larger stone. The smaller stone has a more perfect facet pattern for MRB and love the smaller table, but if the larger stone looks whiter and more brilliant then get it. Those prices seem good for both, I just checked to see what JA had and nothing compares at those prices.

As far as the inclusions...they "won't be noticed on a galloping horse" as my dear mother-in-law used to say. The only question is will they bother you??? as those that look at your ring will never see them. People just don't put someone else's ring up close and stare at the facets of the diamond and look for inclusions...LOL! All they see is the size and sparkle...so if it performs better than the smaller stone, then that is the one I would choose too.

 

[04diamond<3]

Well this is interesting! I absolutely love the numbers on the smaller one...however, since they both scored well on the HCA *I* personally would go with the bigger. But, it's up to you. How noticeable are those twigs in the 2.01?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am always wary of low crown angles like 32.5 because they can be more prone to chipping. It is a very shallow stone with a large table. So that stone wouldn't be a possibility for me. And I am not sure that either is truly eyeclean from what you are describing. I think you'd have to stay under 2 cts to get a really great cut, eyeclean stone.

 

[Dreamer_D]

The 2ct is more brilliant because of the cut style: larger table, shallower crown and super long lower halves.

I can't help on picking except to say at this point you see them in person and I think choosing based on that is the best. Both pass the initial tests for rejection IMO.

 

[Anjaani3]

@ariel144: i guess im just not sure if the inclusions will bother me... I wish i could wear it around and see how i feel about it but its so much harder with a loose stone! I havent really found anything comparable in terms of price so i wonder if this is really the best i could do in my price range. I understand the value of a great cut and quality stone, but if i can get a bigger stone that appears to be pretty clean, why not? Im just trying to figure out if this is clean enough.

04diamond<3: i definitely thought the smaller would perform better but i was surprised! The inclusions aren't too noticeable face up, but when i tilt it a bit and look close, i can catch a couple dark spots. And obviously they're easy to find with a loupe.

Diamondseeker2006: i did a little research and i read that GIA generally looks at crowns being shallow when they are 30 or below, and especially high risk when paired with a thin girdle. Since the angle is 32.5 and a medium girdle, is there still a significant chipping risk? I came across some other info in gia.edu about the different quality of cuts, and it seemed to imply that with a diamond that is 59% depth, the crown angle needs to be around 33 to be considered an excellent cut... Is there anything i can do to find out the durability and possible chip risk with these angles?

Dreamer_D: is the shallow style cut generally preferred? Are these the types of angles i should look for in other stones as well?

I guess the biggest question im struggling with is, i love this size but i cant afford this size in VS...if i go up in quality then the size i can afford like a 1.5 - 1.6 which is a pretty significant drop in size. And one stone is si1 and the other si2 and i can still spot inclusions in both...so really, unless i upgrade to a VS, I suppose it wont really ever be completely eye clean? And per the definitions of most vendors, these are "eye clean" since the inclusions arent noticable right away.

Also, this vendor has a lifetime upgrade minus a 20% restocking fee, is that good compared to others? If i were to ever decide to upgrade, would an si2 sell well privately so i dont lose the 20%?

Thank you everyone for chiming in, you guys rock

 

[Anjaani3]

Also, in the pic where the 2ct is flipped over, are diamonds usually that blue in the pavilion? It has no fluorescence but i was outside so maybe thats the color of the sky reflecting?