Help Me Pick A Tiffany Classic Solitaire Diamond

coconut32

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Jul 26, 2009
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Hello,

I have posted other threads about engagement rings in the the past. I have kind of been all over the map, but have finally decided that I want a Tiffany Classic Solitaire. The SA did a search and these are the three rings that are most suitable for our budget. Can you please help me with which is best, if any?

0.80 carat I VS1. Excellent/very good/excellent. Total depth percentage 62.7%, table size percentage 55%, crown height precentage 15.7%, crown angle 34.7 degrees, star length percentage 55%, pavilion depth percentage 43.7%, pavilion angle 41.2 degrees, lower half length percentage 75%, medium to slightly thick girdle thickness, bruted girdle finish, cutlet none.

0.86 carat I SI1. Excellent/very good/excellent. Total depth percentage 62.6%, table size percentage 56%, crown height precentage 15.3%, crown angle 34.8 degrees, star length percentage 55%, pavilion depth percentage 43.7%, pavilion angle 41.1 degrees, lower half length percentage 75%, medium to slightly thick girdle thickness, faceted girdle finish, cutlet none.

0.87 carat I SI1. Excellent/excellent/excellent. Total depth percentage 62%, table size percentage 59%, crown height precentage 14.8%, crown angle 35.4 degrees, star length percentage 50%, pavilion depth percentage 43.6%, pavilion angle 41.1 degrees, lower half length percentage 80%, medium to slightly thick girdle thickness, bruted girdle finish, cutlet none.

They are all within a few hundred of each other in price, so price isn't really a factor, but the first one is the most expensive and the middle one is the least expensive.

I did input them into HCA and the scores aren't that great...how important is the HCA score?
 
SI 2 with .87 diamonds should be ok, what's more important for you? size or quality vs or SI? I'd go with SI, but you have to see them in person, HCA is good if you don't get the see the diamond in person.

I love the tiffany solitaire. The top of the diamond looks like it's the queen of diamonds: it has delicate prongs and it looks like the diamond itself is wearing a crown. :queen:
 
Thanks! The .87 sounded the best to me too, especially with the ex/ex/ex cut. However, it has to worst HCA score. We would want to see the ring in person before committing but will have to travel a few hours to the store so want to make sure the ring is promising.

I love this setting too. I have gone back and forth on what setting I want. I wanted diamonds down the side for the longest time and though this setting was too plain but now I appreciate its beauty. I don't really like knockoffs so not sure I'd be happy with this setting from somewhere other than tiffanys but we are exploring all options.
 
Just to clarify, I didn't mean to make my above post sound like I think only Tiffany's rings are the best! I think it may have come across that way. I have actually been looking at a LOT of non-Tiffany options and have found some promising rings. It's just that if I am going to get this EXACT setting then I do prefer that it is actually from Tiffany's, if I can get a ring that I like within my budget. But if I wanted any other setting, I would probably go with non-name brand. I know that Tiffany's diamonds are not necessarily the best (from reading all of your helpful posts!).
 
Of these listed from first look #1 and #2, bec I'm not likin a 59% table.
I also think you're going to prefer a faceted girdle to a bruted one. They just look nicer
 
Thanks Ame! I knew you'd have a helpful answer! Can you explain to me the difference between faceted and bruted and what the appearance difference would be? What would the table difference mean? The SA actually suggested #3 versus #2 because of the ex/ex/ex rating and no fluorescence. What difference does the fluorescence make??

I know I'm not looking at a very big diamond compared to many of you lovely ladies, but this is a huge purchase for us, so I want to get it right!
 
Given the specs, I have a preference for the .87

I'm not an expert tho, just going by the information here... despite the bruted girdle, I don't think it's going to be so obvious to the eye when done by Tiffany's. I think their experts would fashion it with facets and smooth it all around. (I assume all girdles on Tiffany diamonds have a lab number inscribed?)

Personally, I have a non-Tiffany's .71 princess and it was G VS2 and just sparkly -- in hindsight I would have preferred slightly larger size and slightly lesser clarity. It was a Catch-22, it was real bright but it made the small size more obvious, kwim?

good luck!
 
I would go with .87 too! HCA is just a guide if you can't see it real life.

Ditto! These guides are great - and really can help you determine value and performance, especially on larger stones... but what the eye can see is more important to me. Personally I wouldn't get TOO worried about those things. You're getting a gorgeous stone from Tiffany's and with those specs it is going to perform beautifully no matter what!

I would go for the ex/ex/ex .87 myself, and it was the 3 ex's that made me choose that one... I'm no expert though. You certainly won't see a difference of lower than .05 carats with the eye... and if the ladies here say the .86 is a better performer then maybe that's the choice. I'm pretty positive any Tiffany solitaire in SI will be eye clean... I have a 1.5 classic solitaire (I love your choice by the way!! You will love this ring!) that is VS2 (just one above these) and no matter how hard I look I can't see a thing even with a 10x loupe, and the stone is quite exposed in this setting too! I have a certificate but have never thought to look up the scores on my stone - now I'm kind of curious! All I know is it sparkles like crazy and I love it!
 
Thanks Ame! I knew you'd have a helpful answer! Can you explain to me the difference between faceted and bruted and what the appearance difference would be? What would the table difference mean? The SA actually suggested #3 versus #2 because of the ex/ex/ex rating and no fluorescence. What difference does the fluorescence make??
Regarding girdles, see below.

The table being 55/56 on the first two mean that the stones are both cut closer to true ideal cut standards than the last one at 59%. Doesn't mean they'll appeal to your eyes. Just means that they are truer ideal cuts, therefore are more apt to produce the right amount of gorgeous sparkle, fire and scintillation. The size of the table and the angles that make up the crown of the diamond (the top) and the pavilion (bottom) are extremely important in order to get proper light return. The table facet on #1 takes up 55% of the top surface area, and the table facet on #2 takes up 56% of the top surface area, and therefore that plus the other crown angle facets will direct the light into the pavilion facets properly. That means that you will get fire (colored light) and a little less white light returned out of the way the light enters the stone and is reflected back to your eyes. Without proper angles, the stone won't be as beautiful and therefore will be deemed lesser cut quality and inferior product overall. Despite what many think, just because its Tiffany does NOT MAKE IT SUPERIOR. They sell dogs too. That 59% stone means just a little too much surface area from the top and therefore the light doesn't hit the pavilion the "right way" to produce the most sparkle and fire (colored light), but will return more overall white light. BUT--the depth on the .87 is actually ideal, where the other two barely fall outside of that. What were the HCAs on these three? It's not vital, they're a "weeding out tool". Not a final decider.

For ME I think I'd rather have florescence than none, especially if you are in the H-I color range. It will help negate any "warmth" within the stone and give a whiter overall appearance. I also think it's neat, especially in the sun. Obviously the more flor, the better at "negating" it is.

Tiffany's and many other retailers on the higher end tend to not prefer flor stones, they're perceived as lesser "quality" because of the natural flor in the rough therefore they aren't considered "pure color" for their grade. Again, I love it. It also gives a slightly lower price due to that aforementioned "bad rap".

I want to know who graded each of these stones, and who gave them the triple Ex rating. If it's Tiffany's itself? FAIL. If it's not GIA or AGS giving it that grade, then it's not always really a triple EX. It's whatever Tiffany's wants to call it since it's their grade. Their's is not a certificate that I consider reputable. In that case it's just marketing hooey.

Further: Just because it's Triple EX doesn't mean it's ideal, or perfectly cut. I've seen some triple ex that were dogs and some VG VG VG that were actually ideal. And I've also seen both that I thought were both ugly.

The numbers on that .87 are NOT ideal, the table specifically falls just outside of that by 1%, and I would look at it but not probably go with it. I feel she's pushing that stone because its one she wants to move it. Not one she thinks is actually superior.

You have to see these IN PERSON to decide for yourself. You might actually hate all three.

Given the specs, I have a preference for the .87

I'm not an expert tho, just going by the information here... despite the bruted girdle, I don't think it's going to be so obvious to the eye when done by Tiffany's. I think their experts would fashion it with facets and smooth it all around. (I assume all girdles on Tiffany diamonds have a lab number inscribed?)

Personally, I have a non-Tiffany's .71 princess and it was G VS2 and just sparkly -- in hindsight I would have preferred slightly larger size and slightly lesser clarity. It was a Catch-22, it was real bright but it made the small size more obvious, kwim?

good luck!


A bruted girdle will be "rough" and dull. There will be no faceting. It doens't matter if it's tiffany's or not. It's bruted, period. It was cut that way, probably to save weight. If it were faceted it would have actual facets and would be polished. I personally think it's much nicer looking on it's own to have a faceted girdle.

pics to show the difference, if they'll show up. These were the clearest I found on the googles:
faceted:
faceted+girdle.JPG


bruted:
bruted+girdle.JPG


I have owned stones with both faceted and bruted. My current is bruted, and I would have preferred faceted like my last one, but was unable to find a faceted girdle with the rest of the specs I required. The faceting gives a different appearance to the stone, I don't want to say more fire but it almost seems like it gives more points of entry for light than a bruted one. Imagine glass vs frosted glass. It definitely looks better from the side view than a bruted would. It is VASTLY more "finished" looking and to me would be more high end if one was going for that appearance.
 
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Thanks Ame, you are a wealth of information. If I did the scores right, the HCA for #1 is 3.2, #2 is 2.9, and #3 is 4.4. I am trying not to get caught up in all the little details. I know that the average consumer may not even know much about clarity, cut, and colour, let alone all the other things to take into consideration. But I am leaning towards #2 due to the better HCA score and faceted girdle, plus it's a little cheaper (only like $100), and it sounds like the faint fluorescence may not be a bad thing.
 
Given the specs, I have a preference for the .87

I'm not an expert tho, just going by the information here... despite the bruted girdle, I don't think it's going to be so obvious to the eye when done by Tiffany's. I think their experts would fashion it with facets and smooth it all around. (I assume all girdles on Tiffany diamonds have a lab number inscribed?)

Personally, I have a non-Tiffany's .71 princess and it was G VS2 and just sparkly -- in hindsight I would have preferred slightly larger size and slightly lesser clarity. It was a Catch-22, it was real bright but it made the small size more obvious, kwim?

good luck!

The report says no girdle inscription, but has crown inscription...whatever that means! I know what you mean about the trade off between size and other factors - it's a tough decision!

Ditto! These guides are great - and really can help you determine value and performance, especially on larger stones... but what the eye can see is more important to me. Personally I wouldn't get TOO worried about those things. You're getting a gorgeous stone from Tiffany's and with those specs it is going to perform beautifully no matter what!

I would go for the ex/ex/ex .87 myself, and it was the 3 ex's that made me choose that one... I'm no expert though. You certainly won't see a difference of lower than .05 carats with the eye... and if the ladies here say the .86 is a better performer then maybe that's the choice. I'm pretty positive any Tiffany solitaire in SI will be eye clean... I have a 1.5 classic solitaire (I love your choice by the way!! You will love this ring!) that is VS2 (just one above these) and no matter how hard I look I can't see a thing even with a 10x loupe, and the stone is quite exposed in this setting too! I have a certificate but have never thought to look up the scores on my stone - now I'm kind of curious! All I know is it sparkles like crazy and I love it!

Thanks! It's so nice to hear from someone who has this ring :smile: Lucky you to have a 1.5 carat!
 
Given the information from ame, I would go for the faceted .86 too now. I think the faceted would make the diamond quite "perfect" for you.

I'd definitely go by what you really like in person, rather than what the SA is telling you is their preference... preference is of course always a subjective thing :smile: