the search begins!

[jom]

so in the last 7 or so days, i''ve been actively searching for a stone to propose to my gf of 4 years (hey now, i was i grad school). i''ve always liked the round brilliants in a classic 4 or 6 prong plat setting, but more recently, have started looking at cushions since you seemingly get more carat per $$$. believe it or not, my search for a setting is what led me to this forum. long story short, i''m getting the feeling that i might venture back to looking at rounds. correct me if i''m wrong here, but it seems that carat for carat, a top-down 2-D view of a round will cover more surface area than a cushion. in other words, a 1.0 round would look about the same size as a 1.1 or 1.2 cushion. is that fair to say?
that being said, i''m looking to spend ~$7000 for the stone. i''d be willing to stretch it a bit if i can get a good 1 carat, G, VS2, h&a round. that''s not to say cushions are out of the question either. i''ve also read that SIs are also ok if the rock looks clean to the eye. there really is just too many parameters!
so i''ve read that GOG and ERD are the two best places to get cushions from. is WF the best place to buy rounds from? thanks in advance for any/all help!

 

[jom]

ok...did a cursory search on WF and would like some opinions. are there any appreciable differences b/w these two:

G, VS2

F, VS2

both are ACA rounds. what am i looking for exactly when i''m looking at the sarin/ideal scope/aset/hearts reports? i know a little about the hearts and arrows, but anything more specific beyond visual symmetry?

 

[CasaBlanca]

Perhaps THIS chart may help to answer your size coverage question?

It sure helps me-tangible comparison.

However...something about it reminds me of a criminal mugshot or line up. You know how all the perps are all standing in front of a lined wall with measurements?

 

[jom]

awesome! just what i was looking for. so a 1.0 carat round will just fit inside a 1.5 cushion. i know that''s a rough way of looking at it, but it sure helps to put it in perspective. i guess it all depends on depth and the such as well.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/15/2010 11:42:11 AM
Author: jom
ok...did a cursory search on WF and would like some opinions. are there any appreciable differences b/w these two:

G, VS2

F, VS2

both are ACA rounds. what am i looking for exactly when i'm looking at the sarin/ideal scope/aset/hearts reports? i know a little about the hearts and arrows, but anything more specific beyond visual symmetry?

Hi Jom and welcome!

Usually a well cut round can face up a little larger than a cushion but there can be exceptions. The diamonds in question look great, it just depends on your preferences. The visual/ optical symmetry is excellent on both diamonds as is the optical performance. These two links might make helpful reading to explain both - here and here. The overall proportions are what gives you the sparkle/ beauty that you want, the diamonds in question also have excellent proportions as well as optical symmetry so you have the complete package.

 

[jom]

thanks for the two links - very helpful for a newboe like myself to read. so is it pretty safe to assume that ACA rounds from WF will all have relatively similar fine qualities. how do the ACA compare with the h&a''s of GOG and ERD? i''m going to guess it comes down to the sarin and idealscope reports. also, is eyeclean just that, clean to the naked eye? or is there some science to it?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/15/2010 1:03:40 PM
Author: jom
thanks for the two links - very helpful for a newboe like myself to read. so is it pretty safe to assume that ACA rounds from WF will all have relatively similar fine qualities. how do the ACA compare with the h&a''s of GOG and ERD? i''m going to guess it comes down to the sarin and idealscope reports. also, is eyeclean just that, clean to the naked eye? or is there some science to it?

You are most welcome!

The ACA is Whiteflash''s top cut h&a brand. Other vendors have their top cut h&a brands such as Crafted by Infinity and GOG have their own specially selected h&a. ERD can probably get some non brand specific h&a diamonds in on request but to the best of my knowledge they do not have their own brand.

 

[jom]

well, a couple of short days of searching and some help from mark at ERD, this is the stone i''ve decided on:

1.10 - G - VS2 - EX/EX/ID

i''m actually making my purchase thru ERD, but JA has the virtual loupe and the full GIA report for those who want to inspect the stone for me. mark at ERD said it was a "beauty" so i pretty much just left it at that. the numbers work out to a 1.3 on the HCA, i believe. symmetry is supposedly very good. i plan on pairing it with the simplest of four prong settings. anyone have any suggestions, with links preferably? i''m not sure if i want to go with the classic 4 prong style as seen on blue nile or possibly getting a knife edge setting.

and finally, one curiosity i need scratched here - does JA only "truehearts" certify AGS stones?

thanks to the wealth of resources here, this search has turned out to be rather painless!

 

[Dreamer_D]

The diamond looks good based on what you have. ERD will not provide an ideal scope image, nor do they have a great upgrade or buyback policy, so they are not my preferred vendor. But if you are happy then go for it! ERD does have a very good reputation. Can you post pics of setting you want? I can''t really dig something up without guidance

Not sure what you are asking about JA truehearts... That line at JA is an H&A line, which means top optical symmetry. You pay a premium for H&A diamonds, some people like it and others don''t care. Many other retailers sell H&A diamonds.

 

[jom]

you know, i came across ERD b/c initially i wanted a cushion for its seemingly better price-to-carat ratio. but as i started researching cushions, the intricacies and the not-nearly-as-cheap-as-i-thought factors turned me back towards round, which is actually my preferred type of stone. so while i had initially talked to mark about cushions, i quickly retreated back to a round. mark mentioned this stone to me earlier today and then i found the stone on ERD''s website. and you''re right, it kinda sucks that you don''t get an idealscope or aset image. but honestly, other than conferring with you guys, those images are rather foreign to me when i compare similar/comparable stones.
with regards to this stone, mark said it was eyeclean (the virtual loupe on JA barely shows the needles, fwiw) and that the symmetry was very good. i don''t think i''m being brash or naive for taking his word for it, and i don''t think he''d put his reputation on the line to make a sale of this size to me.

now on to settings, here''s a pic of the blue nile simple-as-can-be setting:
classic 4-prong

and a knife edge setting that i kinda like but not sure if it could be easily paired with a band:
knife edge 4-prong

i''m strictly looking at 4-prongs - a 6-prong might be too much metal for a 1.10 round.

 

[Dreamer_D]

ERD can get you either setting I am sure. What is your budget? Just tell Mark what you want and see what he can provide images of for you. Most of those types of settings are stock settings and will be under $300 in wg.

 

[jom]

Date: 2/16/2010 11:58:41 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Not sure what you are asking about JA truehearts... That line at JA is an H&A line, which means top optical symmetry. You pay a premium for H&A diamonds, some people like it and others don''t care. Many other retailers sell H&A diamonds.

wrt JA truehearts, all of their truehearts line of stones are AGS as opposed to GIA. my question, i think, is whether or not there are GIA stones on JA that would qualify as truehearts if they were examined by AGS?

btw, do you think viewing the idealscope image is that crucial? i think i''ve asked mark all the right questions and he''s been very helpful in explaining it all to me.

also, is it absolutely crucial that i get the stone appraised? if so, i assume it has to be done before the stone is set. any light you can shed on this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jom]

i asked for platinum. mark quoted me ~$600 for the blue nile one, but said it may vary by $50 depending on the price of platinum. he''s sending me an "invoice" tomorrow. i was just wondering if there are any variations to simplicity that i may have overlooked.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 2/17/2010 12:38:31 AM
Author: jom

Date: 2/16/2010 11:58:41 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Not sure what you are asking about JA truehearts... That line at JA is an H&A line, which means top optical symmetry. You pay a premium for H&A diamonds, some people like it and others don''t care. Many other retailers sell H&A diamonds.

wrt JA truehearts, all of their truehearts line of stones are AGS as opposed to GIA. my question, i think, is whether or not there are GIA stones on JA that would qualify as truehearts if they were examined by AGS?

btw, do you think viewing the idealscope image is that crucial? i think i''ve asked mark all the right questions and he''s been very helpful in explaining it all to me.

also, is it absolutely crucial that i get the stone appraised? if so, i assume it has to be done before the stone is set. any light you can shed on this would be greatly appreciated!

With JA I think all their H&A diamonds are from AGS. Other vendors have GIA H&As, Good Old Gold comes to my mind. but most H&As that I know if are sent to AGS. The lab commands the highest premium on the market so vendors use them for their top stones it seems.

I do like seeing an ideal scope, it is the only way to assess light performance online, unless you have a vendor whom you trust. I also like seeing a magnified photo of the diamond I am considering, and I like seeing pictures of the settings I will consider as well. These are aspects of the diamond buying process that I personally like. But the reality is that most GIA EX diamonds will be fine as long as they also score well on the HCA... to the untrained eye they will be sparkly! But I like knowing I have the best of the best and for me that involves seeing images. Most die-hard cut nuts on PS like to see these images before buying. But it is not absolutely required. ERD is not *known* for rounds, and indeed does not have diamond in house that they have purchased, to my knowledge. As you know, the diamond you are considering is a virtual diamond and so any vendor can call it in.

You will need the appraisal for insurance purposes. They can verify that the diamond is the one represented in the cert when it is set. So there is no reason to get it appraised before it is set unless you want a 3rd party opinion about the optics of the diamond, in my opinion.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 2/17/2010 12:40:29 AM
Author: jom
i asked for platinum. mark quoted me ~$600 for the blue nile one, but said it may vary by $50 depending on the price of platinum. he''s sending me an ''invoice'' tomorrow. i was just wondering if there are any variations to simplicity that i may have overlooked.

That seems about right for Plat. There are variations in the heads of rings. I don''t really like the stock head that comes with the type of setting you are looking at, but you will pay about double to get a more lovely head.

for example, this is a stock head: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5342

And these are more lovely, and pricey:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5336
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5366

 

[jom]

i do like that second setting, but man, that''s a hefty premium! is it simply for craftsmanship, b/c there doesn''t seem to be more metal there! and don''t you think that''s better spent on size? i''m pretty sure my gf will be plenty satisfied with a stock head, for now at least. thanks for your input, even tho now you''ve cast some doubt in my mind...haha!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 2/17/2010 1:33:50 AM
Author: jom
i do like that second setting, but man, that''s a hefty premium! is it simply for craftsmanship, b/c there doesn''t seem to be more metal there! and don''t you think that''s better spent on size? i''m pretty sure my gf will be plenty satisfied with a stock head, for now at least. thanks for your input, even tho now you''ve cast some doubt in my mind...haha!

Don''t worry! I agree that it is better to devote the budget to the rock. And the stock settings look great with a lovely diamond!

Has Mark called in the diamond you are interested in? I mean, has be laid eyes on it? His opinion will be trustworthy I am sure.

 

[jom]

yes, mark has the stone already. mark mentioned the diamond to me around 11am after performing a very narrow search on his system for triple ex and specific angles. it was the one stone that jumped out at him. he called it in and was in possession of the diamond by 4pm. he inspected it and called it a "beauty", and said that he "highly recommends" this diamond. i asked him a few questions, particularly about the smattering of needle inclusions - he assured me that the stone is eyeclean. i also asked if he inspected it under and idealscope - he did, and said the stone looked excellent. i guess all is good, except for not having an idealscope image to share with you guys.
have i left any stones unturned? (no pun intended) or can i go to sleep in peace tonight?