FLAWLESS DIAMOND COMPARISON

COMPARE AN ALMOST PERFECT DIAMOND... IS IT REALLY BETTER?

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Richard Scott

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Jeweler’s harp on the 4C’s. I do!

It’s something everyone should know and learn. After all, Diamonds are graded and sold by the quality of the 4C’s, it just makes sense to understand them all.

But, as you will see, there are many MORE things you should consider. The 4C’s is just small part of it…

So I’ve gone to James Allen to compare some Diamonds (they have 27,452 Diamonds in stock at the time of this post and you can view them all at 10x magnification).

I plugged in the BEST 4C’s GRADES possible into their Diamond Search, and came up with a beautiful top-rated Diamond that will knock your socks off. You really can’t get much better than this…

Check it out…

Clarity – IF (Internally Flawless)
Color – D (The BEST Color there is)
Cut – Excellent (The highest Cut Rating there is)
Carat Weight – 1.28 (Nice BIG Diamond)
Certification – Certified by IGI
Price – $25,820

That price is not bad when you consider that you’re getting about the highest possible 4C’s ratings of any Diamond ever!

Take a look at this beautiful Diamond…

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.28-carat-d-color-if-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-21365

It’s true…

To get the BEST, you’ll spend a lot of Dough!

People buying this Diamond would think that they have the most perfect stone available. A stone that would look so much better than all the other lower-quality Diamonds on the market.

It certainly would seem that way…

But is this true?

NO, NO, NO, and NO!

What if I could tell you that I could get you a BETTER looking Diamond for a third of the price!

Interested?

I’m sure you are.

So Let’s Compare…

This next Diamond I’m going to show you has a much lower Clarity… We’re going all the way down to SI1. And it’s also lower in Color; a D to an F. Here are the specs:

Clarity – SI1 (Slightly Included)
Color – F (Pure White Diamond)
Cut – Excellent (The highest GIA Cut Rating there is)
Carat Weight – 1.28 (Big Carat Weight)
Certification – Certified by GIA
Price – $10,480

See this Diamond below…

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.28-carat-f-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-265503

Now, you may ask, how does a Diamond with a lower Clarity AND lower Color look BETTER than a Diamond rated almost perfect?

Well, there’s more than meets the eye!

To really compare, we’ll need to expand our Diamond Info about these 2 particular Diamonds and look at the big picture.

Take a look again at the first Diamond with more info including Polish and Symmetry…

IF, D, Excellent Cut, 1.28 CT
Polish – Very Good
Symmetry – Very Good

The highest GIA Grades for Polish and Symmetry is “Excellent”. This Diamond is graded a little bit lower. It’s graded “Very Good” in both categories, where as the other Diamond looks like this:

SI1, F, Excellent Cut, 1.28 CT
Polish – Excellent
Symmetry – Excellent

Those 2 “Excellent” grades (as shown below on the Diamond Report) for the SI1 make that Diamond a “Super Ideal Cut” Diamond. That’s 3 Excellent Grades: Cut, Polish & Symmetry! Or, as most folks will call it in the industry; Hearts & Arrows!

These Super Ideal Cuts (sometimes also called Ture Hearts or Signature Ideal Cuts) are the BEST CUTS on the planet! There is nothing better! And, as we should all know, Cut is the #1 priority when it comes to Diamonds. Cut is what determines how much a Diamond Sparkles. The better the Cut, Polish & Symmetry, the MORE Sparkle, Brilliance and Fire will come from that Diamond. That Sparkle is the “life” of the Diamond. That’s what everyone wants.

A Diamond that Sparkles more, will outshine and out perform any of the other Diamonds in the showcases, regardless of what the actual Clarity or Color is.

It’s that important!

This is where the SI1 Diamond takes a huge leap forward over the IF Diamond. And not only will the SI1 Diamond then sparkle more, but because of this sparkle, it will also make that Diamond Brighter, Whiter and appear BIGGER in Size! Cut is Everything!

Okay, so the SI1 Diamond sparkles more, but will an SI1 Clarity really LOOK better than a Flawless Diamond?

Compare them side by side…

Here’s the reason why the SI1 WILL still look better:

The Small Inclusions are all Microscopic!

Any Clarity Rating SI1 or Higher (VS, VVS, IF, FL) will look IDENTICAL to the human eye (using no aid, like a Microscope, Loupe, or Magnification). The Inclusions and Flaws in these better Clarity Diamonds (which are called Eye-Clean Diamonds) are so small and so minute that you’ll have to use 10x magnification to tell them apart.

Otherwise, you’d never be able to tell which Clarity is which.

So when you place that SI1 Clarity Diamond next to the IF Diamond, you won’t be able to tell which is better or worse.. Unless you grabbed a 10x Jewelers Loupe or a Microscope they’ll all look the same.

That’s awesome!

And… IT SAVES YOU A LOT OF MONEY!

But what about Color?

Both of these 2 Diamonds are in the best Color Range there is: Colorless! One is D, the other F… As shown below in the Color Chart…

D, E & F are Pure White Diamonds and have NO Color in them whatsoever. They will appear very White and very Bright.

Side by side you wouldn’t be able to tell a D from F.

And let me tell you this… I LOVE PURE WHITE DIAMONDS! I highly recommend them. They will blow you away!

But, there’s more…

Fluorescence!

This is a topic that many people don’t know about, they don’t ask about, they don’t look at the grade, they don’t realize how important this could be.

You should be concerned!

Fluorescence can, in some cases, kill the beauty of a Diamond. It could make a Diamond look Milky, Cloudy or Foggy inside. Even if it’s a Flawless Diamond with the BEST Color in the world. Fluorescence Could (and I repeat “Could“) make it look bad and face up hazy.

See for yourself…

Not cool!

The IF, D Diamond HAS “Faint Fluorescence“, while the SI1 Diamond has “None“!

Now, I’m not saying that the IF Diamond will look bad, the Fluorescence may or may not affect it’s true appearance. I’m just saying that you really won’t know until you physically look at the Diamond in natural daylight and compare it with other stones of the same quality (without Fluorescence) to see if it looks foggy or not.

That’s the only way to truly know.

Which is why I say, it’s better not to take that chance (especially when ordering online).

So look for "NO Fluorescence", which will be listed as “NONE” on the Diamond Reports.

And speaking of Reports…

The Certificate Matters!

The Flawless Diamond is Certified by IGI (International Gemological Institute), while the SI1 Diamond is Certified by GIA (The Gemological Institute of America)…

I ONLY advise buying GIA or AGS (The American Gem Society). These 2 Certificate Diamond Grading Companies are the BEST in the world. In fact, GIA wrote the book on Diamond Grading and devised the 4C’s that every Jeweler uses today.

IGI (as well as EGL – The European Gemological Institute) are NOT the most accurate Grading Reports you can get. Their findings are a little “stretched” at times… Bumped higher than they really are. Which means, if IGI says it’s an “IF” Clarity, it could be that, or it could be a “VVS1” instead. They may also do the same with Color. A “D” Grade may actually be an “E” instead.

Jewelers not only take their so-called Grades with a grain of salt, but they also frown upon them and don’t give them a lot of weight. There’s just too much variance in consistency and grading.

So you may be spending good money for an IF, D, and really end up with a VVS1, E instead.

I know I wouldn’t be happy with that. Plus, there’s a BIG Price Difference too…

And speaking of Price…

You Save A Ton Of Money with the SI1!

By buying the SI1, F, you’ll not only get a Diamond that’s just as clean visually, but you’ll be getting a Diamond that’s GIA Certified (worth more than you realize), has NO Fluorescence, has a Better Polish and Symmetry, and is $18,860 LESS!

That’s a lot of Cash!

Wouldn’t you like to keep that money in the bank?

So I repeat… Don’t always concentrate solely on the 4C’s. You could be spending WAY MORE for a Diamond that’s still not as nice, nor has a better look or sparkle.

Make sure you also check out: Symmetry, Polish, Fluorescence and who Certifies it as well.

It’s an 18 Grand difference, just think of what you could buy…

Take a look at the comparisons once more…

Still Want Higher Clarity???

NOW… If for some reason you’re still bent (as some people are, they just really want top notch everything) about getting something cleaner, as in a BETTER Clarity… Then I would go for this Stunning Diamond: