Rating these four diamonds

[Chelsea Palmer]

Hello, and thank you for reading my post. I was looking at 2 carat earth mined diamonds on Blue Nile. I’m attaching a screenshot from their website. The diamond on the top left looks the prettiest to me, yet it’s only graded “very good”, and it’s the least expensive one. I did not click on any of the diamonds to read their specs. I’m curious, just by looking at this picture, is it possible to determine how the other three could be more expensive and also graded “excellent”? Thank you.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

Good question, looking forward to responses.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Quick thoughts - visual pictures are one thing, diamond performance is what you really want to focus on for a diamond. The first one shows arrows but it is by no means a heart and arrows cut diamond. The other three appear to have larger tables and they might fall into 60/60 type of diamonds. GIA diamond cut grades have a much wider range than AGS used to allow. All GIA triple ex diamonds are not all excellently cut by stricter standards. That is why you must consider the specs, and the light performance evaluation that is done by some vendors.
As for price, it often depends on when the diamonds were procured by the vendor. Prices fluctuate and are bought and sold at various prices by vendors. You can sometimes find two fairly similar diamonds at differing prices. Cut is king when it comes to diamonds, and I wouldn’t consider any of those four personally.

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

Dear MissGotRocks, as someone with a limited knowledge of diamonds, besides the 4Cs and Holloway and Towlowski things I’ve seen it online, about which I also have limited knowledge, what you seem to be saying is that although the top left diamond looks prettiest, it isn’t necessarily the prettiest. But if you were to look at those four stones in real life, are you saying the top left one wouldn’t be the most beautiful? Again, I know very little, but the top left photo looked like the most beautiful diamond. But obviously there’s more to this than I know. Thank you.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Dear MissGotRocks, as someone with a limited knowledge of diamonds, besides the 4Cs and Holloway and Towlowski things I’ve seen it online, about which I also have limited knowledge, what you seem to be saying is that although the top left diamond looks prettiest, it isn’t necessarily the prettiest. But if you were to look at those four stones in real life, are you saying the top left one wouldn’t be the most beautiful? Again, I know very little, but the top left photo looked like the most beautiful diamond. But obviously there’s more to this than I know. Thank you.

No, not saying it is not the prettiest. It looks more like a hearts and arrows diamond as opposed to the other three. However, when you look at the arrows and the center of the stone, you see that it is not perfect - and that stems from the cut. Table, depth, crown and pavilion angles that are not complimentary. We generally recommend these specs:
Table 55-58
Depth no more than 62.2
Crown angle 34 - 35
Pavilion angle 40.6 - 40.9
However, they have to work together in the correct combos. The Whiteflash website has lots of information about ideal cut diamonds and how they are selected and tested for light performance. Interesting reading if you have a chance to do so!

 

[lovedogs]

The top left is by far the best cut, despite the gia labeling

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

No, not saying it is not the prettiest. It looks more like a hearts and arrows diamond as opposed to the other three. However, when you look at the arrows and the center of the stone, you see that it is not perfect - and that stems from the cut. Table, depth, crown and pavilion angles that are not complimentary. We generally recommend these specs:
Table 55-58
Depth no more than 62.2
Crown angle 34 - 35
Pavilion angle 40.6 - 40.9
However, they have to work together in the correct combos. The Whiteflash website has lots of information about ideal cut diamonds and how they are selected and tested for light performance. Interesting reading if you have a chance to do so!

Thank you, MissGotRocks. So even though the top left one looked to be the prettiest at first glance, you’re saying the table, depth, crown and pavilion angles might not be complementary, and that it is not necessarily perfect. But the other three don’t look perfect at all to a diamond neophyte such as myself. I was just wondering that, if the top left diamond appears to be the prettiest at first glance in these blown-up pictures, would it not look to be the prettiest in real life? I guess not?

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

The top left is by far the best cut, despite the gia labeling

Dear lovedogs, is that your opinion? Or a fact, based on criteria that I did not delve into? All my questions are based on curiosity only. I am not a diamond expert, and know very little about them in fact.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Thank you, MissGotRocks. So even though the top left one looked to be the prettiest at first glance, you’re saying the table, depth, crown and pavilion angles might not be complementary, and that it is not necessarily perfect. But the other three don’t look perfect at all to a diamond neophyte such as myself. I was just wondering that, if the top left diamond appears to be the prettiest at first glance in these blown-up pictures, would it not look to be the prettiest in real life? I guess not?

If the other three are 60/60 type diamonds - meaning their table and depth are both in the 60 range - then the top left one would be my choice. Even though not perfect, it has the type of cut and symmetry I would prefer. It is a more modern cutting style as opposed to the 60/60 type of cutting style.

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

If the other three are 60/60 type diamonds - meaning their table and depth are both in the 60 range - then the top left one would be my choice. Even though not perfect, it has the type of cut and symmetry I would prefer. It is a more modern cutting style as opposed to the 60/60 type of cutting style.

Thank you, MissGotRocks. So based on the four photos, and absolutely no other criteria, because all I showed you was the screenshots, you would pick the top left diamond. Which brings me back to my original question which is, just by sight alone, why are the other three rated higher and more expensive?

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

In other words, what qualities could the other three diamonds possess that would make them superior to the top left one that would be visible to the naked eye, if looking at all four of the stones in real life?

 

[MissGotRocks]

Thank you, MissGotRocks. So based on the four photos, and absolutely no other criteria, because all I showed you was the screenshots, you would pick the top left diamond. Which brings me back to my original question which is, just by sight alone, why are the other three rated higher and more expensive?

As I said earlier, the pricing is probably more dependent on when and at price the diamonds were procured by the vendor. The cut grades on the other three being triple excellent probably factors into the pricing as well. There is a difference in clarity - some are VS1 and some are VVS2. That affects pricing and it would be interesting to see if any of them have fluorescence which also affects price. Many different factors go into pricing a diamond. Clearly, appearance alone is not the deciding factor. Hearts and arrows diamonds are different than 60/60 diamonds. 60/60 diamonds generally have larger tables, can be more shallow in crown and depth. They generally favor brilliance over fire. Those other three, if they are in fact 60/60 diamonds, have different criteria for excellent cut. Two different animals.

 

[lovedogs]

As I said earlier, the pricing is probably more dependent on when and at price the diamonds were procured by the vendor. The cut grades on the other three being triple excellent probably factors into the pricing as well. There is a difference in clarity - some are VS1 and some are VVS2. That affects pricing and it would be interesting to see if any of them have fluorescence which also affects price. Many different factors go into pricing a diamond. Clearly, appearance alone is not the deciding factor. Hearts and arrows diamonds are different than 60/60 diamonds. 60/60 diamonds generally have larger tables, can be more shallow in crown and depth. They generally favor brilliance over fire. Those other three, if they are in fact 60/60 diamonds, have different criteria for excellent cut. Two different animals.

This.

And no, @Chelsea Palmer my opinion is just my opinion, not a fact. It's based on my personal preferences based on optics. I suspect as do most others that the other 3 are more 60/60 style

 

[Chelsea Palmer]

This.

And no, @Chelsea Palmer my opinion is just my opinion, not a fact. It's based on my personal preferences based on optics. I suspect as do most others that the other 3 are more 60/60 style

And no? No sure what that is in reference to. But I wouldn’t assume anything you responded with is fact, because I don’t think the photos I posted provided factual info. Even the limited diamond grading report info isn’t necessarily fact. Anyway, this was simply a curiosity question. I would buy the top left diamond. Thanks for all the replies everyone.