What would you prefer?

[chris-uk04]

Assumming the same price and similar cuts, etc, which would you prefer:

 

[valeria101]

That is a rather taugh trade-off between a shade of color and less than 10% of surface (about 0.4mm of diameter for a diamonds with the same % depth).

 

[fire&ice]

I wouldn't choose a 1.3 stone. It's over the magic price jump mark of 1.25 - not the best of value. I'd go w/ a 1.2 stone or a 1.4 stone.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'd go for the 1.1 simply because size isn't all that important to me and I love my current G colored stone. This really comes down to individual preference and I think it's probably not in the best interest of the girl you're thinking of getting a stone for to ask US what we'd want because it's all about what SHE wants

Michelle

 

[chris-uk04]

Right, I do realize it's her preference, but there are a lot of things girls have in common in how they act and what they prefer. (You would be surprised.)

See, I don't want to ask her. Although we've talked about it and I know the basics of what she wants, I don't want to let her know that I'm really looking.

----------------------------------------------------

If it was up to me, I would get the best stone possible and upgrade the setting at a later date. I know she wants platnum and sidestones, so I have to take to spend money on that instead of the center stone.

The problem with un-diamond-educated girlfriends is that they really don't know what they want. They know they want "a carat", but if you put a 3/4 carat stone in front of them would they be able to estimate the size? So what does "1 carat" mean to someone who really doesn't know what a carat is. You have to hand it to DeBeers in a way.

Is a girl more likely to sit and look at her diamond and think it's too small or too yellow?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 1/19/2004 11:30:06 AM chris00nj wrote:

Right, I
Is a girl more likely to sit and look at her diamond and think it's too small or too yellow?----------------

lol, yeah, I understand

I'd rather have a colorless stone than a bigger stone. . .but, from what I've read, I color H&A diamonds do face up white, but have a bit of color from the side, so an I may not be too low for her. How about compromise, just in case, with an H color, H&A around 1.2? This is a very flattering size on just about every hand.

Michelle

 

[Mara]

Are these H&A stones? That makes a huge difference in my response.

If it was H&A...I would go with the I SI most likely. Try to get an H and go with 1.25c if possible...but if not..I would definitely take the carat weight. I don't think with an excellently cut H&A I colored stone that anyone would sit there and think its too YELLOW....maybe that it looks a tiny bit warm but yellow? Nah!

 

[chris-uk04]

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On 1/19/2004 1:00:45 PM Mara wrote:


Are these H&A stones? That makes a huge difference in my response.

If it was H&A...I would go with the I SI most likely. Try to get an H and go with 1.25c if possible...but if not..I would definitely take the carat weight. I don't think with an excellently cut H&A I colored stone that anyone would sit there and think its too YELLOW....maybe that it looks a tiny bit warm but yellow? Nah!
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Yes they would be both H&A. You don't think a platnum setting might enhance its warmth to a point of looking dingy? I don't have a depth of experience on seeing diamonds and comparing and being confident in what i want.

 

[valeria101]

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On 1/20/2004 4:45:41 AM chris00nj wrote: I don't have a depth of experience on seeing diamonds and comparing and being confident in what i want.----------------

That's not great...

No, I would never say that you can skip all personal interaction with a few diamonds before knowing what color grades are all about. Some PS posters found a visit to a Tiffany store helpful, since a few diamonds of decent quality and precise color grading were available to compare. Not that lighting conditions help alot in whatever store, but it is better than a computer screen, that's for sure. A store selling H&As would be great to visit if you know any.

I color on Plat... looks great to me. But this does not mean much: what each person judges as "white enough" seems to vary quite a bit. Even among recent PS posts, you will find buyers disspointed with the "tint" in their H diamonds and happy wearers of K grades. I have yet to hear complaints about a G color from soemone who did not start looking at Gs first: surely G is colorless by itself and it does seem that extensive comparison between color grades has not been available to many. I guess one should be able to compare diamonds with simmilar cut quality and difference coor grades to leave ~ nothing to the imagination, but thhis is not how things work most of the time.

 

[aljdewey]

I'll chime in from the other side. I'd optimally split the difference down the middle and get an H in the 1.25 range (which is what I did!

).




However, given the choice above as the only options, with all else being equal, I'd take the G stone. The stone is already over the carat mark anyway, and I'd rather get the best color possible. Now, if we were talking about getting a .89 G or a 1.05 I, then my answer might change - that's a HUGE swing.




But, the reality is that the 1.10 ideal cut will look as big as the 1.25 stones that her friends may be wearing from the mall. It's plenty big enough, and at that budget point, I'd rather get the G color.

 

[chris-uk04]

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On 1/20/2004 6:39:48 AM valeria101 wrote:
<BR

No, I would never say that you can skip all personal interaction with a few diamonds before knowing what color grades are all about. Some PS posters found a visit to a Tiffany store helpful, since a few diamonds of decent quality and precise color grading were available to compare. .....----------------

I have looked at different stones in jewellery stores to get a good feel for color. I was all set for the "I" but after seeing a few, I start to wonder whether the faint warmth is less or more important than size.


Some people mentioned to split the difference with a 1.2 H SI1, but that seems to be more expensive. It looks like it would have to be a 1.15 H SI1 to be the same price as the other two. I have no idea why... except probably for supply and demand. Probably a majority of people don't want to go below H color. Perhaps?

 

[Mara]

I saw an old euro cut in platinum that was I color and without knowing a THING about diamonds I didn't even think it looked yellow, dingy or warm at all.




Now that I have seen more diamonds, maybe I'd feel differently...but then when we first started looking, it just looked lovely. So if 99% of the world is like that...you'd be fine.

Many people say that I is where people really even start to notice the color...so with a well cut I...?




I also would keep looking for something like a 1.20c H stone....you never know what may come up. What about an H SI2? I have seen those in H&A around your size for around $5500-$5700 though not sure what your budget is. Also right now alot of the online vendors have low inventory, so not much is coming up in searches. So if you can be a little patient...you may have more options in a few weeks? If that's possible.

 

[winyan]

I chose the I because I like the 'warmer' tones, and since the cut is H&A, it sounds like a good value to me.

win

 

[valeria101]

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On 1/20/2004 8:47:33 AM chris00nj wrote:

I have looked at different stones in jewellery stores to get a good feel for color. [...]

Some people mentioned to split the difference with a 1.2 H SI1, but that seems to be more expensive. It looks like it would have to be a 1.15 H SI1 to be the same price as the other two. I have no idea why...
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#1: Just make sure that what you take for reference are certified stones: alot of shops sell diamonds based on "in store" grading. No comment on what can possibly be called "I" sometimes. Of course, I may be too tined for you, I am just asking twice to make sure....

#2: In this size range, and based on color and carity only, prices can vary as much as 50% across the board. This means that you can actually find two stones within one grade apart at the same price any day. The real limitation is the rather small number and careful pricing of "ideal" or brand cuts. At any given price, 0.05cts is not going to make alot of difference. There are lots of diamonds out there...

Just my 0.2, as usual

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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#1: Just make sure that what you take for reference are certified stones: alot of shops sell diamonds based on 'in store' grading. No comment on what can possibly be called 'I' sometimes. Of course, I may be too tined for you, I am just asking twice to make sure....
Just my 0.2, as usual
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Also, make sure the I color is a H&A stone. When comparing my G color with a H&A I, it was hard to see the difference, but when comparing my G to a poorly cut maul G, it looks MUCH whiter.

Michelle