Hello,
I have noticed that the pics on James Allen website seem to look nicer than those on Blue Nile. After running the cut estimator on stones from Blue Nile and finding them to be mathematically great cuts, they still don’t show those nice black arrows that lesser James Allen stones have. Is this just the difference in photography or will these James Allen stones look better in person as well?
thanks in advance,
John
Hi John,
It’s the difference in photography. Blue Nile isn’t as consistent in their setup, both in their angles and their background. The arrows won’t always be as clear for a well-cut diamond like they are for JA.
However, the same proportions that you find from my computer-vision based approach for JA can also be used to supplement the cut estimator proportions for BN. The higher pavilion angles for AGS 0 Ideals won’t show the arrows as well in both photographic setups.
Best,
Joe
Hi John,
It’s down to the individual proportions. The 2.16 G VS1 and the 2.05 G VS1 look similar. This is because they have the same proportions (table, crown angle, pavilion angle).
The 2.51 G VS1 is also AGS Ideal, but it looks different because it doesn’t have quite as clean optical symmetry. This diamond has a 41.2 degree pavilion angle compared to the 40.8 degree pavilion angles of the other two diamonds. Not as many 41.2’s show clean arrows as compared to the lower 40.6-41 degree pavilion angles. That’s been my experience, corroborated by my computer vision analysis (https://www.diamondscreener.com/education/evaluating-round-diamond-cut-quality-using-computer-vision/).
So in these cases, it’s not so much the difference between JA and BN photography as the difference in proportions (although all 3 should be nice).
Best,
Joe
Well I’m back at it again. I still find that using the cut estimator that even though a Blue Nile stone is AGS ideal and GIA excellent, the pictures don’t show the nice arrows. I have found…
SKU LD12592956 – BN (per cut estimator should be superior to the following)
SKU 7461967 – JA
SKU 7071740 – JA
But for some reason all the JA look a lot nicer.
So I guess I narrowed it down to 2 and would like your help.
SKU LD12592956 – BN
vs
SKU 7514577 – JA
Thanks!
Between the last two, I’d go with LD12592956. 7514577 has some slight graining.
I think you could save some money with lower clarity. In the F SI1, the black crystal is 0.09mm in real size terms, less than the width of a human hair and off towards the edge. There’s another 2ct G VS1 that’s a bit cheaper as well.
Shape,Carat,Color,Clarity,Cut,Price (USD),Affiliate Link
Round,2.01,F,SI1,Excellent,20770,https://www.diamondscreener.com/ja/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.01-carat-f-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-7423235
Round,2,G,VS1,Excellent,21900,https://www.diamondscreener.com/ja/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.00-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-7113361
Thanks so much for the quick reply Joe!
I guess that I’m not clearly understanding how the cut estimator works. Is the green dot supposed to be in the center of the 2 masses or on the intersecting lines of both masses? Also how much of a difference does it make to be on the edges vs center mass?
Basically, I’m looking for the best stone as far as cut (shiny) in the 2-2.2 carat range, with a color of G or Better, VS1 (or like the one that you sent where it could be hidden under a prong). Which of stones from JA or BN would be the best? How do I make sure that when I check out that you get your commission?
Thanks!
1st off, Thanks so much for your quick response.
2nd, I have been finding couple BN diamonds on the Efficient Frontier and dropped them into the cut estimator and found them to be superior to those at JA, but they don’t look as good as the JA pics. Is there more to it than just the cut estimator?
SKU LD12364268 – BN
vs
SKU LD11647377 – BN
vs
SKU 6924141 – JA
1.