Please help with loose diamond purchase!!

[ngqchau]

Hello everyone, I'm very new to the "diamond world" but I have been lurking around searching for the perfect engagement ring. I was hoping if all the experienced users out there could help me choose a good diamond. I've been to a few local jewelry dealers and I'm sure their prices are way higher than what I have been seeing online, at places such as BN, BE, B2C and so on.

I am looking for a loose diamond with the following criteria:

Carat Weight : 1.3 - 1.5
Cut : Very good or better.
Color : G, H or E
Clarity : at least a VS1

Other than those 4 C's, I really do not understand the depth, girdle, table, etc. Thus I am not able to tell if the diamonds I've found are any good. I did a search using PS and found this diamond on B2C. Is it worth the price?

carat weight -1.50
cut - Excellent
color - G
clarity - VS2
price - $12,802.61
lab - GIA
depth - 62.50
table - 57.00
polish - Excellent
symmetry - Excellent
girdle - M-STK
culet - None
fluorescence - Faint
7.28x7.31x4.56

All in all, I am looking for preferable a larger diamond but the cut and clarity should go hand in hand with it. Please help in any way that you can. Thank you in advance!

 

[Niel]

what are the angles of that stone? You would want to run it though the HCA calculator see what score it gets.


Here are some other options. Now I know you want colorless. and VS1, but keep in mind a long as its eye clean, the higher up in clarity you get the more you are paying for something you cant really see. Also, I is still considered colorless, so i think you could go that low and still be comfortable as long as you have a well performing stone.



http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1527130.as

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2650812.htm

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.315-i-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104059065018

here is one that looks fantastically large for your budget if its eye clean
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1546545.asp

 

[TC1987]

I think if you really do not want to see tint, stay in the range E down to F or G. H would be white enough for me. But "I" is right about where most people start to notice a tint, from the side or from a slight tilt, if not face-up.

I have been blasted for citing this "cheat sheet" before, because "it's too restrictive." But anyway... The crown and pavilion angles have a relationship to each other. Run the diamond's dimensions through the Holloway Cut Adviser here, under Tools, and look for a score of 2 or less. Or at least a score under 3. That will weed out most leaky diamonds and steer you toward the ones with superior light reflection / performance.

Here's the cheat sheet for rounds (compiled from various experts on PS):

depth - 60 - 62% (ed: Up to 62.3% is probably okay. More depth usually means the diamond might face up small.)
table - 54- 57%
crown angle - 34- 35 degrees
pavilion angle - 40.6- 41 degrees
girdle - thin to slightly thick, thin to medium, etc (avoid very thin or thick)
polish and symmetry - very good and above

note - with crown and pavilion angles at the shallower ends ( CA 34- PA 40.6) and steeper ( CA 35- PA 41) check to make sure these angles complement in that particular diamond - eyeballs, Idealscope, trusted vendor input - check as appropriate!

Also, configurations depend on each other. A little give here can still work with a little take there.

With that said, here''s a "Cliff''s Notes" for staying near Tolkowsky/ideal angles with GIA reports (their numbers are rounded): A crown angle of 34.0, 34.5 or 35.0 is usually safe with a 40.8 pavilion angle. If pavilion angle = 40.6 lean toward a 34.5-35.0 crown. If pavilion angle = 41 lean toward a 34.0-34.5 crown.

GIA "EX" in cut is great at its heart, but it ranges a bit wider than some people prefer, particularly in deep combinations (pavilion > 41 with crown > 35). In other words, there are some GIA Excellents that are better than others.

Also, always check diameter to be sure stone faces up as large as it should, ex: 1 ct. 6.5mm, 1.5 cts. 7.4mm, etc.

from thread [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/what-are-the-perfect-diamond-proportions.167553/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/what-are-the-perfect-diamond-proportions.167553/[/URL]

My own priorities are (most to least important):
cut
size
color
clarity

Crown angle: I seem to prefer 34 -35 degrees, and about 15% of the total diamond depth in the crown, for a modern H&A RB. Some of those really low crown angles lead to a diamond with a low crown, a big flat table, and all the diamond weight in the pavilion below the girdle.

I don't mind having a diamond that's not totally eye-clean, provided there is only one visible inclusion and it's discrete enough that one has to study the stone a little in order to find it.

 

[TC1987]

If you find a "60/60" diamond, here is the info on them. Some shallower diamonds look great, and some don't.
http://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/60-60-proportioned-diamond

You probably wouldn't want a diamond shaped like either of these, haha.

 

[ngqchau]

Thank you for your dear reply nielseel! B2C did not give me any angles so I am not sure. But you have a lot of good points that I never even thought of. About the "eye-clean", what an eye opener opinion! I do not want to pay for what I cannot see.. with that in mind, how do I know a diamond is eye clean? I will look at your suggestions and I greatly appreciate them!

TC1987: Wow! That's a lot of numbers and percentage regarding a diamond. I will definitely look into this cheat sheet. It'll take awhile though since I barely understand the 4 C's as in. So the lesser the HCA, the better the diamond reflect light? Is this right?

 

[Niel]

If you purchase a diamond from a good Pricescope vendor you can ask them to review the diamond and tell you if it is eye clean from the top and the sides (important to check both).

And you want to check it at a distance you are comfortable with. usually people will ask them to check for eye clean at 6 inches. Sense most people dont look at your diamond from much closer than that.

I agree some people can see color in an I, but ive heard people, like Gypsy for example, say that she has seen very large (2 ct) stones in an I and could not see a tint. Have you looked at diamonds in person? I think it might be smart to go and see the difference between a G and an I in person. See if thats something you want to pay for.

Also, this link is helpful
http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/Color/NearColorless/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vI3Tkd3VQU

 

[Christina...]

First only consider stones graded by GIA or AGS. Cut is the most important aspect of the diamond, it's what gives it it's amazing optics so stick with stones graded EX or ideal (GIA EX AGS ideal, same thing just different terminolgy). I'm also ok with near colorless stones but if you aren't sure what your gf would prefer then I think it's safest to stick with H and above, though I personally wouldn't pay the premium for a colorless (DEF) stone. I also agree that that SI1 or VS2 are the best value, most SI1 will be eye clean though it's always advisable to have the stone assessed by a gemologist and tell them exactly what eye clean means to you. I believe that for most vendors it is at half an arms length, face up with normal vision, so if you hope not to see any inclusions from 4-6 inches or from the sides, or have eagle vision you should let you vendor know this. I also would only purchase from vendors that can provide me with additional information other than the lab report, so I wouldn't consider B2C or BN in my list of options. JA, GOG, BGD, WF are a few that can offer you magnified images of the actual stone, ideal scope, sarin, etc that is essential when purchasing a stone sight unseen.