Q&A: Thoughts on a 1.25-1.5 Princess Cut Diamond

I’m in the process of buying my first ever diamond to propose to my wonderful girlfriend. She wants a princess cut 1.25 -1.5 on a white gold/platinum pave setting. I reviewed your site and loved the advice. Based on your recommendations on color and clarity I saw the attached on James Allen. The inclusions look to be pretty invisible to the naked eye. Thoughts? It looks to be a pretty good deal to me. I appreciate any comments you might have.

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-I1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1389611.asp

Thanks, Ira. I was hoping against hope that the vertical mark would be hidden by the facets, but I trust your opinion. The two you sent are interesting alternatives, and I appreciate your thoughts. I worry on the first that the inclusions on the table would be visible to the naked eye, and the second is a tad on the smaller side. What about the following:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1350175.asp

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1376096.asp

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1370672.asp

Thoughts on which of these would be the best value in your opinion?

Any thoughts are appreciated!

Ira- thanks for putting up with no-nothings like myself. My takeaway is that I should be more concerned with cut, and importantly, with thin girdles. Last one and I’ll stop bugging you for today. I can’t begin to tell you how helpful your site is!

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1333885.asp

Am I putting too much emphasis on the distinction between I color and H color?

Thanks, Ira. It was a great stone, but sadly someone snatched it before I could. I’ll keep hunting, and besides looking for the depth and table dimensions you recommend I’ll try to avoid extremely thin girdles. I assume thin and above is OK, but if I’m wrong please let me know.

Thanks again for all your help!

Hey Ira- still searching.

I found this at abazias. I know it has an EGL International cert, which you are not a fan of, but I tried to accommodate for some slide in the color and clarity. Thoughts?

http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=95581297

The cut seems pretty good, and the cert looks clean.

Thanks!

Thanks, Ira. They keep getting snatched up. I’ll keep pushing on….

How about this one: http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=91964767

Thoughts?

Thanks, Ira. I know I’m a pain, but I really appreciate your thoughts.

How about this below? I really like the way it looks in the virtual loupe, but my only fear is that its an I color and I plan on putting it in the James Allen white gold pave setting, which has F-G side diamonds. Do you think the color discrepancy be a problem?

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1389585.asp

Thanks for all your input.

Cool. H or better it is…Getting close… Thanks again for your thoughts.

…….

One other thought- the kind folks at James Allen said they could use I color side stones in the pave setting if I requested it. Would that alleviate your color fears, or do you still think H or better regardless of the color of the side stones?

Awesome. OK, one last comparison and I’ll pull the trigger. You’ve been an immense help, Ira. Once I’ve received the ring I’ll be sure to send you pictures and let you know how it went.

Compared to the I color I sent you earlier

1. https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1389585.asp),

how about:

2. https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1376050.asp

My only reason that I’d switch to # 2 is because the dimensions are slightly larger at 6.12 mm vs. 5.82. Thoughts on which would give the most bang for the buck? Which would you go with?

Thank you Ira!!!

Hi Ira- I hope you are well! Thank you for helping through the diamond purchasing process. I ended up buying the stone at the first link, and it looks great!

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1376050.asp

However, I still have nagging doubts about the color (which I know is inevitable in an I color princess).

I’m Curious if you think that this I color princess would appear “whiter”.

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1405718.asp

I know I’d be giving up some face size (5.78 vs. 6.13), but I’m willing to do so if the stone will look whiter.

Thanks for your thoughts!