Which of these diamonds is the best value - help requested!

[waltonma]

Can the Pricescope community please assist in telling me which of these diamonds is the best value? I've researched, comparison shopped, etc. for nearly two weeks and due to chronic indecisiveness am now at a stalemate where I can't seem to make the final decision even though the differences are likely negligible. If it matters, these will be set in a blue sapphire pear setting.

.57 ct D - SI1, Ideal Princess Cut
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1512331.asp

.59 ct G - VVS2, Ideal Princess Cut
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1531845.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Very-Good-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1535468.asp
.59 ct H - VS1, Very good Princess Cut

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1542651.asp
.66 ct E - SI1, Ideal Princess Cut

Thoughts? I've always read "cut cut cut" but is there that significant of a difference given the prices between very good and excellent?

Tthank you in advance!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Which of these diamonds is the best value - help request

Can you post a picture of the setting? I am trying to visualize it. Usually a round is used with pear sides. So I just want to see the proportions of the stones and style of the ring.

 

[04diamond<3]

Re: Which of these diamonds is the best value - help request

Personally, I like the faceting of the .57 better than the others.

 

[YoungPapa]

Re: Which of these diamonds is the best value - help request

Hi waltonma,

While I can't provide you any specific advise regarding these diamonds, I thought it would be helpful to let you know that we have decided to abandon trying to grade fancy shape diamonds based solely on a few basic proportions. The new diamond videos made apparent to us something that has been apparent to others for a very long time - depth and table percentages are practically worthless when it comes to predicting light performance in princess cuts or any other fancy shape. That being the case, you'll see that the ability to search by cut grade for fancies has been disabled on the beta website and the labels 'ideal', 'very good' etc have been removed.

All the best,

 

[John P]

Re: Which of these diamonds is the best value - help request

Hi waltonma,

While I can't provide you any specific advise regarding these diamonds, I thought it would be helpful to let you know that we have decided to abandon trying to grade fancy shape diamonds based solely on a few basic proportions. The new diamond videos made apparent to us something that has been apparent to others for a very long time - depth and table percentages are practically worthless when it comes to predicting light performance in princess cuts or any other fancy shape. That being the case, you'll see that the ability to search by cut grade for fancies has been disabled on the beta website and the labels 'ideal', 'very good' etc have been removed.

All the best,

Jim is not kidding. Fancy shape cut-descriptions are difficult. Guidelines have been published over the years but 2D data is not decisive. Only one lab offers a princess performance grade and that report is not practical for all markets or applications. The result is that many stores - both showroom and internet - assign their own in-house "cut ratings" to fancy shapes. These vary dramatically, but typically include buzzwords like "Ideal," "Signature," etc.

By removing such labels JA is sacrificing some ground in the interest of objective reporting. To me this is a good-faith move - and I hope it will be appreciated by people comparing their descriptions with others.

Thank you for the clarification Jim, and the position.

Cheers,

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Which of these diamonds is the best value - help request

Hi waltonma,

While I can't provide you any specific advise regarding these diamonds, I thought it would be helpful to let you know that we have decided to abandon trying to grade fancy shape diamonds based solely on a few basic proportions. The new diamond videos made apparent to us something that has been apparent to others for a very long time - depth and table percentages are practically worthless when it comes to predicting light performance in princess cuts or any other fancy shape. That being the case, you'll see that the ability to search by cut grade for fancies has been disabled on the beta website and the labels 'ideal', 'very good' etc have been removed.

All the best,

I think this is a good decision! Do you offer ASET images for fancy shape stones? I know you do idealscope images for rounds.

 

[04diamond<3]

Re: Which of these diamonds is the best value - help request

Hi waltonma,

While I can't provide you any specific advise regarding these diamonds, I thought it would be helpful to let you know that we have decided to abandon trying to grade fancy shape diamonds based solely on a few basic proportions. The new diamond videos made apparent to us something that has been apparent to others for a very long time - depth and table percentages are practically worthless when it comes to predicting light performance in princess cuts or any other fancy shape. That being the case, you'll see that the ability to search by cut grade for fancies has been disabled on the beta website and the labels 'ideal', 'very good' etc have been removed.

All the best,

I'm so glad you guys did that! I noticed and it made me happy. It's SOO hard to distinguish the true cut with just numbers on paper. I am beyond impressed with the new beta site and I truly think it'll help people buy better! It really bothers me when people come on here and tell us to pick a fancy cut stone based on whatever pdf they have that has no picture or videos. There are some amazing "good cut" pears and princesses that are just gorgeous and some "ideal" ones that are just boring...