Hi Joe,
How does this one look?
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD09547887
Thanks
Hi John,
This is definitely a nice diamond, but you’re paying a high marketing premium for Astor. You could also potentially save money by going with a lower clarity. For instance, the 1.1 G VS2 would be unbranded, lower clarity (still eye-clean) and would save you $2500. From there you can go up in size, color, or clarity while staying within this diamond’s budget. All of these diamonds also have GIA EX/AGS 0 Ideal proportions.
Shape,Carat,Color,Clarity,Cut,Price (USD),Link
Round,1.1,G,VS2,Excellent,7794,https://www.diamondscreener.com/bn/LD10996450
Round,1.11,G,VS1,Excellent,8446,https://www.diamondscreener.com/bn/LD10797865
Round,1.22,G,IF,Excellent,9848,https://www.diamondscreener.com/bn/LD10685463
Round,1.26,G,VS1,Excellent,10172,https://www.diamondscreener.com/bn/LD10795686
Round,1.2,F,VVS2,Excellent,10260,https://www.diamondscreener.com/bn/LD10268983
I think they’re all equally well-cut. Within AGS 0 Ideal it comes down to optical symmetry and I chose these options because they all do a good job showing the arrows. I don’t think any slight differences at this point would translate into a noticeable visual difference.
Thanks Joe. How does this one look? https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD11053039?refTab=DIAMONDS&track=viewDiamondDetails&action=newTab
This diamond has nice proportions. It has strong fluorescence, which doesn’t appear to be causing any haziness in the picture. It also doesn’t have any other clarity factors (e.g. clouds/graining) that might interact with the fluorescence to cause cloudiness, so that’s good.
Strong fluorescence can sometimes result in overgrading of color, since the GIA grading lights emit some UV. However, it’s hard to tell if that’s the case from Blue Nile’s photography – I have a much harder time telling depth of color compared to James Allen because BN uses a blue background which cancels out the yellow, especially in F vs. G. The color might explain why it’s priced like the 1.26 G VS1. Either that or it’s the strong fluorescence discount.
Since you were looking at a G to start with, I think this would be a nice diamond if you’re OK with strong fluorescence. The sun is the main source of UV light, so you will only likely see it when you’re outside.
Thanks for your help Joe, and for the other options. Which would have the best cut? I know these fall within the GIA/AGS ideal proportions – but within the ideal proportions some are better than others right?