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Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorrow!

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diamondenthusiast44

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
17
Hi everyone, I have re-structured my post from a few days ago to (hopefully) make it more conducive to responses! I am comparing an online diamond to one that my local jeweler (LJ) is pushing me to get; both are GIA-certified princess-cut H VVS2 with Excellent Polish and Very Good Symmetry. I need to decide by tomorrow which one I'm going with!

Both the online diamond and the LJ diamond have similar optical properties when I compare them in person, but the online diamond seems to be white while the LJ diamond seems to be clear (and thus the facets are a bit clearer and well-defined). With this clearness, however, comes some black shadows/reflections when I'm tilting the diamond back and forth -- these types of shadows don't occur nearly as much in the online diamond, which remains mostly white. The local jeweler says that the black shadows are indicative of higher reflectivity, as the diamond is reflecting my image (is this really head obstruction?).

I'm not sure about which diamond is better -- should the diamond appear more white or more clear? And are the black shadows in the LJ diamond actually indicative of higher reflectivity?

If anyone wants more information, here are the specs of the two diamonds (both graded by GIA):

Online diamond:
Carat Weight: 0.92
Color: H
Clarity: VVS2
Table: 69%
Depth: 74.9%
Girdle: Medium to Thick
Culet: None
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 5.17 x 5.16 x 3.87 mm

LJ diamond:
Carat Weight: 0.94
Color: H
Clarity: VVS2
Table: 73%
Depth: 75.1%
Girdle: Slightly Thick to Thick
Culet: None
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 5.32 x 5.21 x 3.91 mm

I've also attached the ASET image of the online diamond to this post. Your help would be greatly, greatly appreciated, as I have to decide by tomorrow which diamond to go with. Thank you!!

aset_image_1.jpg
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

You aren't asking me to compare apples to apples. I have an ASET of one and not the other.

If the online vendor has a good return policy, buy that one have it fed exed to you then take it to LJ and see them side by side. That way you can compare them yourself.

That's the best advice I have.
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

What lighting are you in?
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Hi Gypsy,

Thank you very much for the reply! I actually have the online diamond and have compared the two of them side-by-side. I think I like the online diamond a bit more, but it is white (for lack of a better description) instead of clear like the LJ diamond is -- so you can see the facets of the LJ diamond more clearly (but with that, the black shadows).

I would have initially opted for the online diamond after comparing the two, but the local jeweler is telling me that the black shadows on the facets of the LJ diamond are indicative of greater reflectivity (and, indeed, when I put a bright-colored folder in front of my face, the black does go away a bit). That has given me pause and made me think that it might be better to have a clearer diamond? Both seem to me to perform pretty similarly in all other regards.

Also, I do not have an ASET image of the LJ diamond, unfortunately.

Thanks!!
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Hi Julie, I'm sorry that I'm finding it hard to describe the diamonds exactly! I've compared both in the jewelry store lighting (both in the bright lighting above the counter and away from any counter) and just outside the store in the mall lighting, and while both perform similarly (and, to me, pretty well) in terms of "fire" and "brilliance", the difference that I keep observing is the whiteness in the online diamond (almost milky/opaque, but I don't mean that in a bad sense) vs. the clearness of the LJ diamond (as in, I can see into the diamond and observe more well-defined facet lines). I can't really describe it in any other way!

How does the ASET image of the online diamond seem to you guys, at least? I'm thinking to take the diamond to some other stores to see what they think about it in person and to compare it to some diamonds that they highly recommend (to see if those highly-recommended diamonds have "whiteness" or the "clearness").

Thanks for all of your guidance!
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

I am a HUGE believer in seeing the diamonds side by side and choosing the one that YOUR EYES LIKE. Every once in a while this results in me loosing a sale to a diamond that I do not like as well as the one that was sold, but, it always means, that for what ever reason, that the buyer got the diamond that they liked better.

You are going to wear this diamond, not the seller. If you like the look of the online diamond better than the look of the in store diamond, then you can listen to the reasons why one looks different than the other, but you should still buy the one that makes your eyes happy.

Just my thoughts.

Wink
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Are you able to see through the clearer stone? When you put your finger under the clearer stone can you see it easily?
This would be leakage.

The whiter stone may appear whiter because it is reflecting the light back to you where as the clear stone may be letting the light out
the bottom.

This could be one possibility.

Other possibilities are that the clearer stone is reflecting light better and that's why the facet are more visible vs being mushy when
The angles aren't good. That's why you either need an aset for the clear stone or you need to get them to an appraiser that
can tell you what is going on with each stone.

Or you can do what Wink suggest and pick the one that appeals to you the most. Be sure to look at both of them under different
lighting conditions.
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

I would get an independent appraiser to check it for you.

Is it white graining?
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Hi everyone,

Thank you very, very much for your responses and resources! I wish it were possible to get an ASET image of the LJ diamond (and/or take both the online diamond and the LJ diamond to an independent appraiser), but time (and budget) constraints make that a bit difficult.

So, if you were to just consider the ASET image of the online diamond that I posted in the original post, what are you thoughts on it? Is there enough red? Or is there too much green in the image?

Thanks all!
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Do you have a link to the stone?

Its no ACA but I don't think it looks to bad.
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

did you watch the youtube video I linked? did that help at all?

the ASET of the JA stone shows pretty significant leakage under the table. It is more of a crushed ice style.
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Hey Julie, yes, that video was quite informational! I wish I could stick the online diamond that I have next to those other diamonds in the video to see what the differences would be (hopefully there wouldn't be too many!), once and for all.

On the ASET image, the biggest negative to me is the leakage in the center of the diamond (I wish that area was at least green!), and I can maybe see a *bit* through that region in certain lighting, but otherwise, the sparkles of the diamond cover up any leakage.

Are there any diamonds with better ASETs that you might be able to suggest?
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Based on all these responses, and comparing the JA diamond to other diamonds in-store and seeing the crushed-ice appearance that Julie had mentioned above (as well as a slightly yellower tint when comparing with other H's!), I'm going to be looking for a replacement diamond on JA. I would love to get some advice from you guys on which ones you recommend (perhaps before even submitting the ASET image request), but should I continue this thread, or start a new thread? Thanks for the continued help!
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

You might want to start a new thread with specs/budget...you'll probably get more input.

Provide a link back to the other thread for history.
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Okay, great! I ended up selecting three new diamonds from JA to be inspected, so I'll start a new thread once I have the ASET images and the inspection results. Thanks a lot, everyone!

Here are the links to the three, in the meantime:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.90-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-247789
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.91-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-274862
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.92-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-277549

My search criteria included trying to keep the depth below 75%, the table below 70% (or as close to it -- one is at 71%), and the girdle no thicker than thick (it's hard to find medium girdles!). And I tried to increase the number of chevrons and paid attention to the facet patterning to try to preclude getting another crushed-ice diamond. I'm hoping for great things this time around!
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

what is your budget? usually more chevrons means smaller facets, which will contribute to the smaller sparkles that is in common with a crushed ice look.
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Oh, I liked how the additional chevrons looked under magnification, but that shows how naive I am! So fewer chevrons (and, thus, fewer facets) is a good thing? I quickly searched and found this thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/princess-cuts-2-3-4-chevron-huh.106747/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/princess-cuts-2-3-4-chevron-huh.106747/[/URL]

And, wow -- did the change in girdle thickness make the lateral sizes comparable?? I was trying to find ~0.90 carat diamonds to emulate a 1 carat diamond size at a cheaper cost (my diamond budget is ideally less than $3700-3800), but maybe that's not possible at the price range and color I'm considering?
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Sorry for another post, but just to make sure I'm counting correctly, the chevron count, to me, seems as follows:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.90-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-247789 - 3 chevrons
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.91-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-274862 - 3 chevrons
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.92-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-277549 - 4 chevrons

From the video above, I think I prefer 3 chevrons to 2 (though the 2-chevron diamond you suggested looks nice, as well). But 4 *might* be a bit much.

It also seems like the diamond I currently have (http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.92-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-217810) has 2 chevrons on all sides except for the bottom, on which it has 3. So the number of chevrons in this case isn't leading to the "crushed-ice" look (which I may have mistakenly used to describe my diamond -- I just meant there are no well-defined facets when I look at the diamond, but I think that's easy to see in the magnified image; there's seemingly less contrast than in the new diamond selections).
 
Re: Princess cuts: white or clear? Have to decide by tomorro

Part of it is the girdle thickness, part of it is the .83 G has less crown height than your picks, but 10% is still very good.

You probably have to go to I color for a ct in this price range.
 
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