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0.80 ct. signature diamond vs. 1.00 ct other diamond

0.80 ct signature diamond vs 1 ct other diamond

“Could you explain to me how it is possible that an 0.80 carat Brian Gavin Signature round diamond can look the same size as a 1 ct diamond from somebody else? This really doesn’t make sense to me. I was looking at this 1.00 carat diamond online, and asked an expert what they thought about it. They said that it faced-up about the same size as a 0.80 ct diamond from Brian Gavin. How can that possibly be? It weighs a whole fifth of a carat more? I’m not a diamond expert, I just want to buy my girlfriend the best diamond possible for my budget of 5K. Do you have any recommendations?”

This “diamond comparison”

Is Like Dogs vs Cats… Zebra’s vs Lions… Dark vs Light.

The only thing “comparable” about these two diamonds is that they’re both, well, diamonds.

Let’s LOOK at what we’ve got here:

I looked up the diamond grading report for the 1.00 carat “other diamond” that you referenced. One look at the diamond grading report, and I knew exactly what is wrong with this diamond. It’s simply cut too deep. I don’t know whether whoever cut it was just trying to retain as much carat weight as possible, while still hitting the “magic mark” of one carat. Or whether they were trying to do the best they could possibly do with a leftover piece of rough. Or perhaps they’re just cutting their teeth on the diamond wheel and don’t know better.

The problem here is, well, pretty much everything.

SGM Image

The total depth measurement of 65.7% is WAY too deep! At least by our standards… It should be much lower than that, more in the range of 59 – 62%. We found this clarity photograph of the diamond. In a moment, I’ll demonstrate the dramatic difference that diamond cut quality makes. Now according to the diamond grading report, this diamond measures 5.88 – 6.05 x 3.92 millimeters. The first two measurements represent the diameter of the diamond, as taken from north to south, and east to west. The last measurement is the depth of the diamond, as measured from the top of the table facet, down to the culet of the diamond.

In the diamond business, we tend to talk about the “average outside diameter” of diamonds, because this dictates the size of the “head” or prongs that will be used to set the diamond. To determine the outside diameter of a diamond, simply add the two outside diameter measurements together, then divide them by two. Like this:

5.88 + 6.05 = 11.93 / 2 = 5.965 is the average outside diameter for this 1.00 carat round diamond. Now let’s take a look at the measurements for this 0.806 carat, G-color, VS-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond. According to the diamond grading report, it measures 5.96 X 6.00 X 3.68 millimeters. Do the calculation provided above: 5.96 + 6.00 = 11.96 / 2 = 5.98 millimeters. Thus the 0.80 carat, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond, really does face-up around the same size as the 1.00 carat diamond which you were considering.

Isn’t that a trip? Smaller Diamond. Same Size.

Now, you’re probably aware that larger diamonds cost more than smaller diamonds. There is a price per carat increase that occurs between the 0.89 – 0.90 carat, and 0.99 – 1.00 carat marks. which is the reason why 1.00 carat diamonds are supposed to cost more than 0.80 carat diamonds. But there is another little known factor that contributes to the price of a diamond.

Did you know this little known fact?

80ct-brian-gavin-vs-1ct-other-diamond-104082148048Diamond cut quality can affect the value of a diamond by as much as sixty percent. The value of the 0.806 carat, G-color, VS-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round hearts and arrows diamond is worth more than the 1.00 carat diamond that you’re looking at, simply because it has better proportions, better polish, better symmetry, and incredibly better light performance! And that difference clearly affects how the diamond looks. Look how crisp and clear the Brian Gavin diamond looks, in comparison to that other one. The difference is like Night & Day. Do you see how evenly the reflections of light are distributed throughout this diamond?

Imagine how incredible this diamond will look on her finger… This 0.80 carat diamond might be the same relative size as the 1.00 carat diamond that you were thinking about buying, but the two diamonds aren’t even in the same universe when it comes to light performance. In fact, just about the only thing these two diamonds have in common, is that they have virtually the same average outside diameter.

Want to know a secret?

These two diamonds were probably cut from a piece of diamond rough that was around the same size. The difference in the resulting carat weight, is because Brian Gavin cuts diamonds for light performance, not retention of carat weight.

We carefully plan the cutting of every single Brian Gavin Signature round diamond, so that it delivers the highest volume of light return possible. We optimize the proportions of the diamond, to ensure that our diamonds exhibit a virtual balance of brilliance and dispersion. They’re cut to sparkle, that’s our focus. And now you know why, a 0.80 ct Brian Gavin diamond can face-up larger than a 1 ct. diamond cut by somebody else – and that’s just crazy. Isn’t it?

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