Reserved my engagement ring at GOG! Your Advice?

[yochino]

Hi all. Been a loooooong time lurker and have learned so much. I thank you for that and for any great advice you could give me on the ring I reserved.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10170/
Round
Carat Weight: 1.08ct
Color: I
Clarity: SI1
AGS Light Performance: Ideal
Optical Symmetry: Premium
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None
Lab Report: GIA
In House: Yes
Width: 6.59mm
Length: 6.56mm
Depth: 4.06mm
Table Percentage: 56.60%
Depth Percentage: 61.70%
Crown ∠: 35.10°
Pavilion ∠: 41.20°
Policy: lifetime guarantee

I went to go look at it today and was undecided between this one and the following...
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10102/
Shape: Round
Carat Weight: 1.02ct
Color: I
Clarity: SI1
GIA Cut Grade: Excellent
AGS Light Performance: Ideal
Optical Symmetry: Superior
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: Strong
Lab Report: GIA
Lab Report #: 2131166515
In House: Yes
Width: 6.47mm
Length: 6.43mm
Depth: 4.02mm
Table Percentage: 55.00%
Depth Percentage: 62.30%
Crown ∠: 35.50°
Pavilion ∠: 40.80°
Policy: Lifetime Guarantee

after a long back and forth, decided the $250 saving was worth it to go with the slightly "lesser" quality stone.
to the naked eye, putting both rocks through the paces, I really could not tell the difference between the two. The reasons I chose the 1.08 over the 1.02 was bigger, cheaper and better HCA score (2.4 vs 2.6)

Any advice on whether I chose the right one, or if I should scrap both and keep looking would be great.

Thank you guys!!

 

[ame]

I like this one:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10102/

better, but I don't LOVE the inclusion. Was it eye clean? What was Jon's input?

 

[yochino]

Oh, and also, should i have rejected both due to them both being 2+ on the HCA?

 

[yochino]

better, but I don't LOVE the inclusion. Was it eye clean? What was Jon's input?

i actually didn't speak with Jon. I worked with a younger gentleman and Marie.

The inclusion smack dab in the middle did kinda bum me out too but on both of them, even with the loop, I couldn't see it. Both were immaculate to the naked eye

 

[Niel]

Oh, and also, should i have rejected both due to them both being 2+ on the HCA?

the HCA tool is kind of like a starting off point, if you didnt have any other information on the stone, then its your best tool. But because GIA rounds their numbers, its not the end all be all. And plus, you dont only have the HCA tool, you have pictures, idealscope images, and of course your eyes. Now Ive seen stones that score higher on some of the tests GOG runs, but that doesnt mean that you should exclude them. Like anything else in life, the difference between a great stone and a PERFECT stone is difficult to tell if you arent a trained eye or expert. You like them? Comparing them to ones that scored higher could you tell a difference?

 

[ariel144]

The strong blue fl. would have tempted me but in the end I probably would have gone with the slightly larger stone too...$250 is not a lot of money but it's still a savings for you.

did you get to see the AVRs? More money but love that faceting pattern.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9484/

you can't go wrong with your GOG hand picked stone...no matter what you choose IMO.

 

[04diamond<3]

The strong blue fl. would have tempted me but in the end I probably would have gone with the slightly larger stone too...$250 is not a lot of money but it's still a savings for you.

did you get to see the AVRs? More money but love that faceting pattern.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9484/

you can't go wrong with your GOG hand picked stone...no matter what you choose IMO.

The inclusions on this would bother me. Personally I think your first choice was the best! The idealscope image looks the best on that stone IMO, and it's the most affordable. That's this stone:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10170/

 

[yochino]

Oh, and also, should i have rejected both due to them both being 2+ on the HCA?

the HCA tool is kind of like a starting off point, if you didnt have any other information on the stone, then its your best tool. But because GIA rounds their numbers, its not the end all be all. And plus, you dont only have the HCA tool, you have pictures, idealscope images, and of course your eyes. Like anything elsoe in life, the difference between a great stone and a PERFECT stone is difficult to tell if you arent a trained eye or expert. You like them? Comparing them to ones that scored higher could you tell a difference?

I completely agree with your sentiment. Being an absolute noob at this makes picking the "right" stone difficult because tbh, I really couldn't tell the difference between the 4 samples they brought out. I only used process of elimination by price, inclusion and HCA number.

The inclusions on this would bother me. Personally I think your first choice was the best! The idealscope image looks the best on that stone IMO, and it's the most affordable. That's this stone:

thanks for the second opinion. the idealscope shows that my 1st choice has a tiny bit more light leakage than the runner up but when looking at it with the eye, i really couldn't tell the difference. Even the .06 difference was imperceptible.

To ask a noob opinion, the rocks I chose are pretty good in general right? It's the experts here that generally get really fine tuned in choosing the best stone? I think that for the price/specs/size ratio, it's a pretty good deal for an otherwise spectacular stone (judging from my extremely limited knowledge). I guess what I'm worried about is choosing a stone with an obvious glaring flaw that I'm missing (not sure if this makes sense). But then again, I would like to get the best performing piece possible. This is all so overwhelming once I'm faced with making the payment.

 

[Niel]

Oh, and also, should i have rejected both due to them both being 2+ on the HCA?

the HCA tool is kind of like a starting off point, if you didnt have any other information on the stone, then its your best tool. But because GIA rounds their numbers, its not the end all be all. And plus, you dont only have the HCA tool, you have pictures, idealscope images, and of course your eyes. Like anything elsoe in life, the difference between a great stone and a PERFECT stone is difficult to tell if you arent a trained eye or expert. You like them? Comparing them to ones that scored higher could you tell a difference?

I completely agree with your sentiment. Being an absolute noob at this makes picking the "right" stone difficult because tbh, I really couldn't tell the difference between the 4 samples they brought out. I only used process of elimination by price, inclusion and HCA number.

The inclusions on this would bother me. Personally I think your first choice was the best! The idealscope image looks the best on that stone IMO, and it's the most affordable. That's this stone:

thanks for the second opinion. the idealscope shows that my 1st choice has a tiny bit more light leakage than the runner up but when looking at it with the eye, i really couldn't tell the difference. Even the .06 difference was imperceptible.

To ask a noob opinion, the rocks I chose are pretty good in general right? It's the experts here that generally get really fine tuned in choosing the best stone? I think that for the price/specs/size ratio, it's a pretty good deal for an otherwise spectacular stone (judging from my extremely limited knowledge). I guess what I'm worried about is choosing a stone with an obvious glaring flaw that I'm missing (not sure if this makes sense). But then again, I would like to get the best performing piece possible. This is all so overwhelming once I'm faced with making the payment.

People here can find a flaw in any diamond, "this angle could be better" or "this little corner of this stone has a tiny bit of leakage", but its YOUR eyes that will be seeing it and if you liked how it looked thats the most important thing. also, good old gold wouldnt try and pull one over on you. If you saw them in regular non magic jewelry store lighting and you couldnt tell the difference between one that maybe from the ideal scope had just a twinge less leakage, than you should be just fine. Neither of those stones are slouches, like one of the PP said, id trust any stone GoG picks out

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You need to throw the HCA out the window when you have as much information on the diamonds as GOG provides! One of the scores was NOT better than the other. Based on the images and information provided, the second stone is superior cut quality. It also has fluorescence which would be a strong draw for me in an I color stone as it often makes stones look whiter. The only factors in favor of #1 are the slight price difference and the slight size increase. I think #2 is worth $250 more, but whether the advantages of #1 would cause you to pay for it over the advantages of #2, only you can say.

 

[yochino]

should I have worried or been bothered when I asked the sales person to see a better performing stone at a higher price range and his reply was that there is none and that it would only be more expensive because of the size?

 

[bunnycat]

You need to throw the HCA out the window when you have as much information on the diamonds as GOG provides! One of the scores was NOT better than the other. Based on the images and information provided, the second stone is superior cut quality. It also has fluorescence which would be a strong draw for me in an I color stone as it often makes stones look whiter. The only factors in favor of #1 are the slight price difference and the slight size increase. I think #2 is worth $250 more, but whether the advantages of #1 would cause you to pay for it over the advantages of #2, only you can say.

This would have been my vote as well based on the image and information available for it but in the end, you need to decide which one you like best. You not only have a plethora of information on the stone, but your eyes as well to back up or confirm the other info.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I would choose the second one because of the lighter area under the table on the first one. It is evident in both the photo and in the scope images. You might not have seen it in the store, but accross all different lighting I think the second one will eek out a little better performacne and that mind clean aspect is worth it to me. I also like the strong blue fluor in the second one, will look whiter.

As to the sales person's response to your request, they were suggesting that the cut on those stones is tops so if you wanted to see a slightly larger one and pay more, that is fine, but it won't have "better cut". *shrug* not sure if that should bother you or not. That's up to you Did you get to see and compare to other stones? I would want to see more than two anyways.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Neither of those stones is actually reserved, so I hope you will click on the one you want so it can be on hold for you until they reopen on Tuesday!