I''ve been researching my diamond purchase for the last two months and have yet to make up my mind. As I’ve said before, this forum is invaluable for novices like me who come in not knowing much about diamonds; I am still amazed at how much is in play. My concerns seem to be the same as many others; how to get the most bang for my buck. You mention diamonds that you say others toss out, and that people accuse you of favoring shallower cut diamonds. This is encouraging to me because maybe those diamonds would be excellent cut, larger, and less expensive stones. I’m clear that the price of perfection will cost me in size when trying to stay within a certain price range. Thus my thinking that there has got to be some middle ground for those of us who don’t demand perfection yet still want a beautiful, high quality diamond.
Here is what I''m thinking I should consider and would appreciate your (and anyone else''s) input:
Go with an Excellent versus Ideal cut, H or I, SI1 stone. I think I prefer fire to brilliance (assuming fire is the colored sparkles and brilliance is the white sparkles) and don''t think I''d mind slight fluorescence. Am I headed in the right direction and what budget am I in if I want between 1. and 1.4 carats? What else should I consider?