Q&A: The Tricky Business of Buying the Best Oval Cut Diamond

This is a classic case of misplaced priorities. You’re paying a premium for a relatively high color (H is much better value) and a very high clarity, but your cut grade is not so grade and that’s what matters most.

You know what, I have to confess I made a big mistake. YOu never mentioned the shape of the stone, and I didn’t notice the dimensions and L/W ratio at the bottom. My eye caught the depth and table %s which are very much typical of round diamonds (and not really for other shapes), so I assumed it was a round that was a tiny bit too deep!

So I just searched for the stone on BN and discovered it’s an oval. The thing is, 95% of ovals out there are really really ugly. So buying one blindly is a very risky endeavor. If you don’t believe me, scan though the pics on James Allen of the ovals in the market, and you’ll see for yourself. Seeing the diamond before you buy (or at least a picture) is really an imperative with Ovals (and Marquise and Pear). You’ve got bowties, boxiness, and many other issues that can plague an oval. And none of these things can be figured out from the certificate. And this isn’t to mention that a L/W ratio of 1.32 is not long enough for a proper oval.

I looked for you at James Allen, and this is what I found:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1349596.asp

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-VS1-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1373604.asp

There wasn’t anything else that was decent looking. THese two happen to look very nice, though.

It’ll be great in that setting!
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The problem is that there are so few nicely cut ovals out there, you can’t be picky. The VS1 is a bit of overkill since an eye clean SI will look just like a VS. But the color would most definitely be noticeable next to a G/H color.
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Medium blue is a problem in high color stones only extremely rarely. If there were two equivalent options, obviously I’d steer you to the one without Flr. But all things considered, this is most definitely your best option out there.
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I tell people with fancy shapes (ie, not rounds) to just avoid the extremes (ie, “extremely thin” and “extremely thick”)

sounds great! let me know how it goes!