QuestionQUESTION: Hi,
I am looking at buying a diamond tennis bracelet and i've been comparing prices and diamond quality among different stores. I am looking at one bracelet that is 3KT, 63 diamonds with I or better color and VS2 or better cut. (Costco guarantees I or better color and VS2 or better cut), versus a 3KT 55 diamonds H color and SI2 cut. Is it better to have the higher quality color or cut?
Also the bracelet with 63 diamonds is .25" longer than the 55 diamond bracelet - is it better to have less diamonds or more? I'm guess I'm trying to figure out if the one with less diamonds would just have more gold filling in the spaces or would the diamonds be bigger? It is hard to tell from on-line pictures. I am comparing bracelets with very similar settings.
Thank you,
Jill
ANSWER: HI JILL,
FIRST OFF LETS IDENTIFY THE COLOR, THE ACTUAL BODY COLOR OF THE STONE, THE CUT, THE SHAPE OF THE STONE AND HOW WELL IS IT CUT, THE CLARITY, HOW CLEAN IS THE STONE AND FINALLY THE CARAT WEIGHT. YOUR DILEMA IS HOW YOUR JUDGING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STONES. NUMBERS DO NOT DIFFERENTIATE THE BEAUTY OF A DIAMOND. YOUR EYE IS A BETTER JUDGE THAN ANY SET OF NUMBERS. DIAMOND DEALERS SEEM TO THINK IF THEY HAVE THE CORRECT NUMBERS ON A STONE THAT THEY WILL ALWAYS GET THE SALE. BUT MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL IS WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? THERE IS REALTIVELY NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE ON PAPER BETWEEN THE TWO BRACELETS. YOU DO NOT HAVE A TRAINED EYE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN H AND AN I COLOR STONE OF THAT SMALL A SIZE. YOU NEED TO SEE WHAT YOU LIKE. WHICH ONE LOOKS BEER ON YOUR WRIST? THESE ARE THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH. I CAN ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY BUT WHY? THE LOOK OF THE PIECE IS WHAT SHOULD MATTER THEN START WORKING ON THE PRICE.
GOOD LUCK
PETER
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Peter,
Thanks for your reply. The reason I'm trying to judge the characteristics is becuase i am looking at both bracelets from on-line dealers so i can't really tell what the diamonds look like from the pictures. Both bracelets are round brillant cut diamonds and very similar settings so I'm trying to figure out if one has much better overall quality for the price. On the charts VS2 seems quite a bit better than SI2 but i am wondering if this difference will matter on a bracelet of 3KTs? The bracelet with less diamonds has the lower clarity versus the one with more diamonds (slightly longer bracelet) which will be smaller but better cut...any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jill
AnswerHI AGAIN JILL,I WOULD SUGGEST CONTACTING EACH DEALER AND ASK THEM TO SEND THE BRACELET ON CONSIGNMENT TO YOU SO YOU CAN DECIDE AFTER SEEING THEM IN PERSON. OF COURSE YOU WILL HAVE TO GAURANTEE THE PRICE OF THE BRACELET WITH A CREDIT CARD OR SOMETHING LIKE CASH. THEY COULD ALSO DO THIS THROUGH A THIRD PARTY JEWELER AND THEN YOU WOULDN'T NEED TO PUT UP ANY FUNDS. MY PERSONAL OPINION IS TO GO FOR BETTER COLOR THAN CLARITY. HIGHER COLOR USUALLY ALWAYS LOOKS BETTER.PETER
