A: I’m happy to help.

In order for a stone to get the bluish effect from fluorescence, the stone would need to be strong or very strong blue. I would never recommend getting a Very Strong blue because those are usually milky/dull looking diamonds. Strong blue is kind of borderline. It’s almost always fine on an I or J color stone, but you must be careful on stones with a higher color.

But, to be honest, I don’t think any of that is relevant. The amount of blue that’s given off by the fluorescence is extremely faint. Barely perceptible. And anyway, I think the whole beauty of the white diamond and blue sapphire together is to show the contrast. Getting a white diamond with a slight amount of blue is like matching a white diamond with a weak blue sapphire. I would think the goal is to increase the contrast, not diminish it.

As far as triple Ex vs. non triple Ex goes, I don’t remember the exact post would you mind sending me a link?

Q: Sorry for the slow reply. I was on vacation with my girlfriend when I received this so there was very little time to comb through your archives to find the post to which I referred. I managed to track it down: www.truthaboutdiamonds.com/2009/09/08/

I found a .72 carat diamond on James Allen with strong fluorescence and a very cheap price tag. The photo was not posted yet, but the clarity was VVS1 so, I assume it should be eye clean. I contacted James Allen, they confirmed that the diamond was eye clean; I asked if the fluorescence made it milky or dull, and they said that it did not. (It seems they have posted pictures in the intervening time).

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1306965.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

I’m a student so my budget is pretty tight. I’m hoping to spend at most $3800, and about $830 of that will be tied up in the setting (after accounting for the TAD0611 discount).

Any direction or guidance you can give me would be greatly appreciated!!

A: I’m glad you sent me that link, now it puts things in the proper perspective.

What I said to that reader was that Ex/Ex on Pol/Sym for a PRINCESS cut is quite rare and so when it happens it usually correlates with a finer cut. There are plenty of mass producers of rounds who get 3xEx consistently. it’s a lot easier to get it on a round. But it’s really really hard to get Ex/Ex on a princess. It’s not necessarily the sign of a fine cut, and it certainly doesn’t mean the Ex/Ex is something that you will even notice, it just means that it usually correlates with a finely cut princess cut.

As far as that stone goes, I actually recommended it to another reader last night! So I most definitely think it’s a great choice.

This one is really great too, but it’s a lot more money:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1306974.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

That should get you just within your budget.

Q: Thanks for your input; that clarifies triple-excellent a good bit more.

I had a question about the fluorescent stone I linked. I noticed it had a 64% table, isn’t that a little low? Wouldn’t it make the stone appear smaller than its weight?

Thanks.

A: Small tables in princess cuts are an aesthetic matter. I personally love them. It usually correlates with a nice high crown which on a princess cut usually means more brilliance. A small table can correlate with a smaller looking stone, but that’s only if the depth is too deep. But this stone has a perfect depth % of 69.something.

………

I just wanted to follow up with you. DId you manage to make a purchase yet? If so, i”d love to hear what you went with and what you think of it!

Q: Thanks for touching base. Something came up and I’m rebuilding my savings. Once I’m ready to buy again, ill be back in touch.

A: Sounds great. Best of luck!

Q: I’m back in the hunt for the perfect princess cut diamond! Just as a reminder, I’m looking to spend $3100 or less on the stone.

I found this:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1326772.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

What do you think?

A: I don’t like J colors in princess cuts. Too yellow. There’s no picture yet, but on paper, this is a much better stone:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1326775.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

Q: Do you think it is possible to get a diamond closer to 1carat with a color grade higher than J for 3100 or less?

I believe I have seen diamonds that fit all these criteria, but I don’t see any of them on james allen at the moment.

A: It might be possible, but I don’t see anything out there now. This is the closest I found that’s nice:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1305145.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

Q: How often do they update their listings? I’d prefer to be choosing between several good diamonds than buying the only one that is close to what I want.

A: All the time! wait a few days and check again.

Q: After following www.jamesallen.com for several days, I’ve revised my diamond budget upward to 4,000 in order to have more options.

Also, I was wondering how significant the difference is between “premium” and “ideal” cut when it comes to princess diamonds. What criteria are used to grade cut other than table% and depth%? I noticed that by setting the sliders for both of these and not bothering to select between the cut grades, I got a number of premium diamonds in addition to the ideal that I had previously been specifically selecting. Would there be a noticeable difference if I were to go with a “premium” rather than “ideal” cut?

I look forward to hearing from you!

A: As far as I know, princesses are chosen for Ideal and Premium based on the table and depth alone.

I wouldn’t close off the possibility of taking a Premium cut stone, but just make sure the numbers aren’t too far from where they should be. Take a look at my article about princess cuts to get the low down.

Q: Thanks for the advice. I’d set them both at between 65-75, which (if I recall correctly) were the specifications on your Princess Cut page. Using those criteria and the larger dollar amount opens up a much larger stone pool.

What do you think of these:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1311384.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1324354.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VVS2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1310070.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1316160.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

I know the final one doesn’t have a picture up yet (I’ve requested one), but the certificate looks like it will be eye clean with just a cloud on the table.

Let me know what you think!

A: All nice choices. If the H SI1 is eye clean, then that’s your best choice, otherwise, I like this one next:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1311384.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

Q: I was leaning hard towards the I-VS1 1.12 carat stone, so I went ahead and pulled the trigger. I’ve received it and it is beautiful. Thank you for developing your website into such a helpful resource, and thank you for providing additional guidance via email. Buying an engagement ring is such a stressful process, it was wonderful to have such a knowledgeable guide.

Here is what I found so far based on what I read from your site:

(biggest one, but worried about color, flor, and IGI vs GIA)

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1239819.asp?a_ aid=dmnd1357

(good clarity, but higher depth)

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VVS2-Good-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1324363.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

Thank You so much, love your site, been recommending it to everyone.

A: Thanks for being such a loyal reader!

I’m not crazy about either of your three selections. THe IGI stone will be too yellow and the cut on the GIA stone from JA is awful.

I found this, though, which is a perfect find for you, I believe:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1323352.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

It’s got an unusually nice cut and a great color. The SI2 looks eye clean as well.

Let me know what you think!

Q: Thanks Ira, after discussing with GF I had to bring down the budget considering all the crazy wedding costs that will come up.

We wanted something in the 2k range now, and were looking at this one:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1328077.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

A: That’s a really beautiful stone with a fantastic cut. If it fits your budget, it’s definitely a fantastic choice!

Q: I ordered it, thanks for all your help, used TAD0611 for 10% on ring, thanks!

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1261007.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1274235.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

Those are two stones I’m looking at for an engagement ring, and it is quite obvious that one has visible (feathering?) on the table. I can’t imagine how this wouldn’t be totally visible to the naked eye, and how it could justify an SI1 ranking? Just as a counter-reference, the second link is much harder to find flaws. Thanks, and your site has been a Great help!

A: Here’s my take on those two stones:

First of all, both of them have inclusions dead center. Photographs have to focus on a fixed level of depth. In the pic of the first stone, the camera focused on the very surface of the stone, so the inclusions are very clear. In the 2nd stone’s pic, the focus depth is deeper into the stone. So there is an inclusion there, it’s just fuzzy because the camera’s not focused on it. Take another look and you’ll see what I mean.

Because that’s the case, it’s really not possible to compare them fairly.

But lets talk about the first stone that is in focus. You say that you’re sure it will be “totally visible” to the naked eye, but I’m not so sure. I think that since you know it’s there already, you would probably hold it up to a lamp and be able to find it if you looked really closely, but I don’t think it would be visible at a casual glance. You have to remember that the diamond is only 5.5 millimeters across! That’s about half a centimeter! So just imagine how tiny that patch of inclusions is in real life.

I took a look to see if I could find something better for you. Here’s one suggestion:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1276170.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – it’s a tiny bit more expensive than the H SI1, but cleaner, and larger.

Let me know what you think!

Q: Thank you very much for your QUICK response!  I can’t believe how I could have missed that diamond you linked to – I felt like I had exhausted my options and I had found two decent stones at a decent price… but thankfully I had some outside perspective!  I really appreciate the work you do pro-bono, and your site is outstanding for people like me.

A: My pleasure!  Please let me know if you need any more assistance.

……

Hey XXXXX. I was just curious – which ring were you planning on mounting your stone in?

Did you order yet? Did everything go OK?

Q: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/open-prong-Side-Stones-ring.html

I actually ordered it about half an hour ago because I need it before we fly to the UK on mar 7 … been planning to propose on her birthday at Edinburgh castle at one oclock

Thanks again ! My only concern was the settings ten stones being of a higher color grading and taking away visually from the center stone.

A: Wow.  That’s a beautiful setting.  It’s going to look great!  Congrats!

Q: Thanks again for the huge help, feels like I got a huge steal when I mentally compare to what my colleagues retail bricks & mortar diamonds set them back, and your site was a wealth of information laid out so a layman like me could take from it.  Thanks again!

A: It was my pleasure!