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Which would you pick? Kinda-transitionals for a fun ring purchase.

evergreen

evergreen

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 18, 2012
Messages
849
Hi everyone! I'm trying to take advantage of a sale on settings and looking for a off-parameter diamond. ;) I have a flat-table (~60%), low-crown, shallow (<60%) transitional cut e-ring diamond which I love, and I'd like to try to recapitulate it with a smaller stone.

Here are the 3 I'm deciding among; all are of sufficient clarity and color (including a faint brown, which I love). One has strong fluor, which I also love, though it's a little different/more-OECish in terms of parameters. So, if you are a lover of slightly weird diamonds, which of these 3 would you pick? Is this even enough information? I'll say, A has my favorite cut of the 3, but I am shallow/human and ALSO love size. There are no larger diamonds of this make that are within budget.

1618852300488.png. 1618852325835.png 1618852345634.png

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Intended setting is a semi-bezel, rose gold:
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And, my beloved transitional with @prs -approved specs. ;)
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Of these 3 I also like A best. C is largest, but to me the facet pattern looks the most different from the one you have and are trying to replicate. Do you have any videos?
 
kgizo said:
Of these 3 I also like A best. C is largest, but to me the facet pattern looks the most different from the one you have and are trying to replicate. Do you have any videos?
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I'll see if JA will put 3 diamonds on hold for me... :) Although these aren't exactly "PS-approved" specs, it still took me for-freakin'-ever to find these weirdo stones.
 
I don’t really like C, even though it is the largest. B looks the closest to your inspiration ring to my (inexperienced) eye and it also is middle of the road in terms of spread.
 
Dramatic twist: I tried to put them on hold, and the JA rep said all three have already been sold. Whaaaaaat? So, heck, I'll post them here because apparently they aren't even purchase-able any more -- the JA rep says the inventory updates every 24 hours and, although I have been looking at these stones for days, they have all suddenly sold. Is this a thing that happens? Back to the beginning for me, I guess. Has anyone bumped into a pretty transitional-ish round on JA lately, under about $2500?

A: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs2-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-5628429

B: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vs1-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-11229626

C: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...l-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-9813442

@kgizo What i love about transitional cuts is the "checkerboard" -- I see a checkerboard in diamond C, despite its different proportions... plus I am a TOTAL sucker for fluorescence. I also wonder if some of the lack of clear on/off patterning, compared to the other stones, is just bc the pavilion proportions force diamond C to be at a different angle with respect to JA's photographic setup.
 
I'm back... with more diamonds... ugh, this is hard. Keeping in mind that I have already decided that color and clarity for these diamonds is within my (totally SUPER flexible) acceptable range...

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Links:
(I've already decided no on D, because although its still facet pattern is GORGEOUS, it is meh when rotating: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...arat-i-color-vs1-clarity-good-cut-sku-7254009 )
E: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-d-color-si1-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-225843
F: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...d-color-si2-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-8324391

AND: Diamond B IS available, according to a DIFFERENT rep, so:
www.jamesallen.com

0.70 Carat round diamond

This 0.7 carat round diamond J color vs1 clarity has Very Good proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
 
Glad to see someone else searches out non-ideal cuts. :)

IMHO, E will go dark in the middle.
 
oncrutchesrightnow said:
Glad to see someone else searches out non-ideal cuts. :)

IMHO, E will go dark in the middle.
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:D I have found some fun ones while trying to pick out a cutie to go in this ring! I keep mumbling, "awww!" at the occasional chubby-arrow'd round while staring at my phone scrolling through diamonds which -- to poor DH -- all look identical.

That's super helpful - I'm disinclined to love E anyway because it's practically 50% more expensive than the other two!
 
lovedogs said:
I love the D option and actually like it's movement, but that's just me
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I love its face-on shot, but it didn't show the kind of contrast the others have -- though, do you think I am unfairly penalizing it just because of, perhaps, a difference in JA's photography technique at different contracted sites? My mouth dropped open when I saw the face-on faceting but I didn't "get it" when I saw it in motion.
 
A & C show available again!
 
I actually really like B, but I prefer color in my diamonds.
I also like D as well.
 
lulu_ma said:
A & C show available again!
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They never showed "not available" -- the JA rep just said they weren't (like, seriously, I asked about 3 diamonds, all were said to be not available despite being purchase-able on the website, who knows...). But then B WAS available, and is now on hold for me. I don't know what to believe, haha, but I was not very sad about A or C, so I think that might have been a helpful sign.

@ItsMainelyYou I love the color in B too. D is driving me kinda nuts - I want to love it! @Ceilimom D is only an I color, but I think maybe it has a lot of leakage, so the facets all look kinda greyish-white instead of *ON*-on? No idea. B is actually brown, haha. E does get the checkerboard patterning, but I am having a tough time deciding if it is worth 50% more than the others (~$700)... I want to be like, I don't WANT it to be a D-color, do I have to PAY for it being a D-color? :lol:
 
So, I stared at those videos all afternoon, up close and far away, and decided I can't judge a freakin' thing up close. The far-away performance of E was the nicest, but not $700 nicer than the adorable little brown B, so that's what I'm going with! :D It's going to be gorgeous in rose gold, the girdle can hold up to a semi-bezel setting, and though it doesn't have fluorescence, nobody's perfect. ;)

Now, can someone buy that 0.77 I/VS1 please? ;) Come on, lurkers, scoop it! I bet it is absolutely delightful in person.
 
Waiting, waiting for the set J/VS1 to ship (was supposed to ship yesterday, I even talked with the JA rep and they confirmed it was still planned to ship yesterday, and no shipping info! ;( ) ... BUT, that's not my point.

I thought I'd follow up with y'all because -- dun dun dunnnn -- that first JA rep who said none of the original stones were available was, like, pretty obviously WRONG. They are still most definitely for sale and never showed as "Not Available" because, uh, I follow up on things like this. In a totally normal way.

So, be aware that JA reps may not all be equivalently skilled at establishing availability of stones, and sometimes "not available" might mean "available, actually." :roll:
 
Well, now I'm going to be using your parameters to find some transitional mimics!! I'm so glad you posted this! :)

I'd love to see one (or some) of these under lights :)
 
musicloveranthony said:
Well, now I'm going to be using your parameters to find some transitional mimics!! I'm so glad you posted this! :)

I'd love to see one (or some) of these under lights :)
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Awesome!! I've been using less than or equal to 59% depth as a filter on JA -- it does narrow it down enough for quick scrolling visual inspection. Gotta open it up to VG/G cut, though. I'll definitely post when this J arrives (& compare to my 1.30, which is 58% depth!).
 
This is my first time ordering a full ring from JA (I've used them for loose diamonds before) and I am very freakin' pleased. This J/VS1 is SO VERY WHITE I actually louped it to find the teeny tiny culet because I slightly thought they might have set the wrong diamond. They even set it with the arrows at 12 and 6 o'clock! The setting is heavy and much better made than I'd expect for something in this price range; very clearly customized to the diamond (fits so closely that it is probably going to be a little annoying to clean ;) but I'd rather have that problem than a diamond floating way above my finger!).

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Comparison with a J (yellow) emerald cut which probably needs a scrub. ;)
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Thanks, everyone, for your opinions above -- this ring is going to be a joy to wear. :D
 

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It's a bear to get two diamonds facing exactly the same direction in a single photo, but I got it a couple times! The lower halves are skinnier/more MRB-style on the J/VS1, compared to my engagement ring (EGL doesn't measure lower halves).PXL_20210511_185616925.jpgPXL_20210511_185641521.jpg
 
evergreen said:
This is my first time ordering a full ring from JA (I've used them for loose diamonds before) and I am very freakin' pleased. This J/VS1 is SO VERY WHITE I actually louped it to find the teeny tiny culet because I slightly thought they might have set the wrong diamond. They even set it with the arrows at 12 and 6 o'clock! The setting is heavy and much better made than I'd expect for something in this price range; very clearly customized to the diamond (fits so closely that it is probably going to be a little annoying to clean ;-) but I'd rather have that problem than a diamond floating way above my finger!).

PXL_20210511_174008269.jpgPXL_20210511_174016108.jpg

Comparison with a J (yellow) emerald cut which probably needs a scrub. ;-)
PXL_20210511_184044430.jpgPXL_20210511_183930589.jpg

Thanks, everyone, for your opinions above -- this ring is going to be a joy to wear. :D
Click to expand...

oooh it is gorgeous! I love how buttery smooth the setting looks.
 
distracts said:
oooh it is gorgeous! I love how buttery smooth the setting looks.
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Thank you! It is very elegant and swoopy -- sometimes the "finished rings" on JA look a bit like they just plunked the stone in, but this is low-set and very closely suited to the stone, to the extent that it really feels "full custom" instead of a stock setting. I hadn't really expected that, although of course I'd hoped for it!
 
Beeeuuutiful! Looks like you can see the facets clearly. Happy ending to your JA stone hunting story.
 
That’s beautiful. I think you picked just the right stone and setting for it.
 
AnastasiaBeaverhausen said:
So many pretty rings! How do you ever decide which to wear on a given day??
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Well, it helps that my e-ring no longer fits. :lol: Kids ruin everything, including knuckles! But, can I tell you a (now totally public, by definition, ha) secret? I haven't worn this new ring anywhere yet because... it is gorgeous, but... it looks like a MRB.

A fabulous MRB, but in a 0.7ct size the facets are probably too splintery to be love for me. I can't figure out what to do because I love the setting and I'm not sure that a different stone would *fix* it... :((

I talked to the JA "instant gemologist" about the I/VS1 with the really old-cut faceting and 60% lower halves, above, but she confirmed that it has light return challenges. She couldn't put it in context with typical old-cut "not MRB light return" scaling, though, just basically couldn't recommend it as an improvement over the J I have.

I think I have now looked at all of the JA inventory and I'm deciding between trying the 0.77/I tranny/OEC (like, purchase loose and plan to return for setting if I like the faceting) vs concluding that small old-cuts may never have the chubby flash I'm looking for, and going up to a hrmhrm-lab-grown-hrmhrm MRB around 1.25-1.3ct with the shortest lower halves I can find, so that overall the flashes are gonna be bigger, vs... just not buying a diamond ring right now. And maybe putting the $$ towards resetting my e-ring because COME ON, SELF, isn't it better to wear the diamonds you have than keep buying more?!

(But UGH this setting is gorgeous and JA's bench has REALLY impressed me.)
 
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