trade clarity for carat?

[b0bbyD]

Hello everyone!

After a long search (guided by the wonderful advice on this forum), I have narrowed my search down to the following three stones (all priced about the same and sold by the same high quality jeweler) and would appreciate any opinions you might have:

diamond A:
1.51 ct
G
vvs1
cut/polish/sym: vg/vg/vg
table: 56
depth: 61.1
crown: 34
pavilion: 40.6
hca: .6 (excellent)

diamond B:
1.75 ct
G
vs1
cut/polish/sym: vg/ex/ex
table: 57
depth: 61.6
crown: 35
pavilion: 43
hca: won''t allow: says girdle would be too thin (though the vendor says the diamond report says the diamond has a medium girdle). If I change pavilion to 42.5, gives: 5 (good)

diamond C:
1.71 ct
G
vs2
cut/polish/sym: vg/vg/vg
table: 63
depth: 59.7
crown: 33
pavilion: 41.2
hca: 3.5 (vg)

My priorities are cut and carat, and am fine with color/clarity through G/vs2.

I have seen diamond A and like it a lot, but would rather not pay the premium for vvs1 clarity (vs2 is fine for me). I have not seen diamond B, but if the cut is OK, then I would prefer it since it has the lower clarity and therefore, higher carat, for the same price. But HCA seems to indicate the pavilion is too large, which may result in nail heads/dangerously thin diamond? I have also not seen diamond C, but am worried the table may be too large?

Should I pull the trigger on diamond A, even though it is a bit smaller and I am paying a premium for unnecessary clarity? Should I wait to see diamonds B and C before making a decision (I am under a time deadline of Friday!)? Or should I compromise for a (possible) worse cut but larger carat and go for B or C?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

 

[yssie]

Date: 2/10/2010 2:40:35 PM
Author:b0bbyD
Hello everyone!

After a long search (guided by the wonderful advice on this forum), I have narrowed my search down to the following three stones (all priced about the same and sold by the same high quality jeweler) and would appreciate any opinions you might have:

diamond A:
1.51 ct
G
vvs1
cut/polish/sym: vg/vg/vg
table: 56
depth: 61.1
crown: 34
pavilion: 40.6
hca: .6 (excellent)

diamond B:
1.75 ct
G
vs1
cut/polish/sym: vg/ex/ex
table: 57
depth: 61.6
crown: 35
pavilion: 43
hca: won''t allow: says girdle would be too thin (though the vendor says the diamond report says the diamond has a medium girdle). If I change pavilion to 42.5, gives: 5 (good)

diamond C:
1.71 ct
G
vs2
cut/polish/sym: vg/vg/vg
table: 63
depth: 59.7
crown: 33
pavilion: 41.2
hca: 3.5 (vg)

My priorities are cut and carat, and am fine with color/clarity through G/vs2.

I have seen diamond A and like it a lot, but would rather not pay the premium for vvs1 clarity (vs2 is fine for me). I have not seen diamond B, but if the cut is OK, then I would prefer it since it has the lower clarity and therefore, higher carat, for the same price. But HCA seems to indicate the pavilion is too large, which may result in nail heads/dangerously thin diamond? I have also not seen diamond C, but am worried the table may be too large?

Should I pull the trigger on diamond A, even though it is a bit smaller and I am paying a premium for unnecessary clarity? Should I wait to see diamonds B and C before making a decision (I am under a time deadline of Friday!)? Or should I compromise for a (possible) worse cut but larger carat and go for B or C?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

Numbers on diamond 1 are nice, #2 pavilion is very steep, don''t like that huge table on #3.

So to answer your q, yes, unless knowing that you have a VVS diamond is important to you, VVS is absolutely overkill - a VS2 will be just as eyeclean and will cost a whole lot less. Just not those VSs

 

[stone-cold11]

Can you get the GIA report number from the vendor for each stone?

 

[JulieN]

The PA on Diamond B is suspect... it must be 43% or something, as a 43 angle would probably not yield that total depth.

 

[b0bbyD]

Thank you, you were all right -- it seems I was confusing pavilion angle with %. Here is the GIA report for diamond B:

http://www2.gia.edu/reportcheck/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showReportVerification&reportno=15212930&weight=1.75

given these new stats (40.6 pavilion angle == 43 % pavilion, almost same cut as diamond A, which I liked), diamond B now gets hca of .9, and seems like the clear choice, given my clarity preference. Does that sound right?

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[stone-cold11]

yap, #2 is the best.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/10/2010 3:44:11 PM
Author: b0bbyD
Thank you, you were all right -- it seems I was confusing pavilion angle with %. Here is the GIA report for diamond B:

http://www2.gia.edu/reportcheck/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showReportVerification&reportno=15212930&weight=1.75

given these new stats (40.6 pavilion angle == 43 % pavilion, almost same cut as diamond A, which I liked), diamond B now gets hca of .9, and seems like the clear choice, given my clarity preference. Does that sound right?

Thank you so much for your help!

This diamond looks good, it has quite long lower girdle facets which will give any arrows a ' splintery' look with sharp bursts of light - I particularly like this effect in a diamond so take a look at it and compare with some others to see how it looks to you.

 

[yssie]

Thritto!

 

[tyty333]

Date: 2/10/2010 3:03:37 PM
Author: JulieN
The PA on Diamond B is suspect... it must be 43% or something, as a 43 angle would probably not yield that total depth.

Good catch JulieN!

 

[Todd Gray]

Assuming that the proportions, polish and symmetry of the diamonds are equal, I would definitely consider a diamond of lower clarity, such as an eye clean SI-1 or VS-2 instead of a higher clarity such as VVS, in favor of a larger carat weight assuming that the diamonds being considered all offer comparable brilliance, dispersion and scintillation.

On that note, there is nothing wrong with a diamond with a clarity rating of I-1 or SI-2 with inclusions which are visible without magnification providing that the person wearing the ring doesn''t object to being able to see the inclusions without magnification... One of my favorite diamonds was a 2.25 carat, SI-2 clarity, I color which had a small feather within the table facet that could be seen sometimes and not others - depending on the lighting in the room.

 

[b0bbyD]

Thank you, everyone, for your help! I decided on stone B and purchased it today. I will post pics once I pick it up.

Thanks again!