Choosing an engagement ring

[jonah345]

Hi everyone,

I'm struggling to find a good diamond that fits within my budget, and I was hoping to receive some help from the wonderful people on this forum.
For the setting I'm going with something like this I found on blue Nile

http://www.bluenile.com/au/build-your-own-ring/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-18k-white-gold_3073?elem=img&track=product


I have a budget of $2000-$2500 AUD (diamond only) and looking for a roughly 0.6 carats diamond. I have tried searching on blue Nile but I can't tell if the diamond is in good shape as it seems like they don't offer the original Pics!

How can I tell if the diamond has good sparkle without the original pics?

Can anyone help? Would be much appreciated !

Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I'd never buy a diamond without pictures. You can go to vendors such as Good Old Gold, Whiteflash, and James Allen and find great pictures and even videos on some stones. The first two offer light return images for every diamond (idealscope and ASET).

On GOG and WF, they have already separated the best cut stones for you. GOG has Ascendancy and Platinum Select as their top diamonds and Whiteflash has A Cut Above (ACA) and Expert Selection. With James Allen, you have to do the sorting yourself, and then you can select up to three stones to ask for idealscope images and they may or may not be able to provide them.

Here are some parameters to help you when sorting through GIA Excellent cut stones that are not already identified for you:

Table: 54-58

Depth: 60-62.3

Crown angle: 34-35.0

Pavilion angle: 40.6-41.0

 

[jonah345]

Thanks for your help!

I have come up with the following, can anyone give some insights to which is the best option and why in this list?

Here is what is found on JA:

1. http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.62-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-519578
2. http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.62-carat-i-color-si2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-550689

This is from WF:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/compare.aspx?idnos=3502504,3198019,3483178

Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks,

Jo

 

[tyty333]

I dont know what the prices are on the JA stones but that AGS000 stone looks great. Make sure it is eye-clean. Make sure the
feather doesnt pose any kind of structural issue (probably not).

Of course all the WF stones are nice.

What are your priorities? Size, color, clarity??? What place has a setting that you like?

 

[JDDN]

I'm liking the first JA stone you posted. Says it's not available however. By chance did you put it on hold?

The second JA stone worries me due to the inclusions.

I think if you can get closest to 0.6 carats with ideal proportions, it will be lovely.

 

[KobiD]

Heres another one from JA that may check the boxes.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.61-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-354476

 

[jonah345]

Wow guys thanks so much for the help so I've put it down to this two! Can anyone help me decide which is best and why?
It is important that I can get as close to 0.6 carat as possible, but brilliance, fire, shininess is also very important! Also the diamond would be settled on a simple six claw solitaire 18k white gold ring

Heres one from JA that was posted above
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.61-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-354476


And this is one from whiteflash:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3502504.htm

Which one would be best? and why? and help is appreciated!

Thanks,

Jo

 

[MissGotRocks]

Both very nice stones - I would only caution you about upgrade policies should you ever want to upgrade the stone. Just read both vendors policies.

 

[jonah345]

Thanks for your reply,

Do you either one is better value than the other?

 

[JDDN]

Both are nice stones. If this will be her forever diamond then I'd go with the JA diamond because it's larger. If she might upgrade in some years, I would choose the WF diamond.

Some people upgrade their e-ring but keep their original diamond for sentimental reasons in which case the upgrade policies of the original diamond don't matter.

 

[Sphene]

Why .6 can you go much smaller or larger

 

[KobiD]

At this point it will come down to what your preferences are.

Price wise, they both come in slightly over budget. The WF being a bee's bit more.
Performance wise they are both very close, both are AGS0, both have great images, but you'd give WF the edge for a bit more optical symmetry.
Clarity and size both go to the JA stone, and colour is the same.

Personally, I'd look at which vendor has the policy which makes you feel good. I'm one for fine workmanship, and something about the precision in which WF stones are cut makes me want one! But in saying that, in the size range you're working with I would think that the difference in size will be much more noticeable to the naked eye than the difference in symmetry.

Picking at finer details, I do prefer a steeper crown and smaller table so that would favour WF as well, but still probably not enough to drop the size. With the James Allen stone I prefer the thicker arrows (smaller lower girdle percentage).