Gonna get married - if I can find a ring!

[Bologna]

First, i''d like to say that this site is extremely helpful for those of us looking for an engagement ring. It seems that the more research I do, though, the more I get confused.

I am planning on popping the question in two months. Only problem is I don''t have a ring. It seems like everyone on this site knows way more than I do, so hopefully you can provide me with some assistance.

I want do get a princess cut diamond in the range of 1.5 to 1.7 carats. I''m confused as to what level of diamond I need. I want to spend 10k - tops, but I also want something she can be wowed by...she''s definately worth it.

I have been in correspondence with whiteflash (on 1.5 expert selection diamonds) and done the blue nile thing, but it seems like I may be going after something I may not need.

Any help would be well appreciated.

 

[Sundial]

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking in this thread, but I think you should be looking for a diamond with an excellent cut if you want to wow your girlfriend. This is true of princess cuts just as much as it is of round cuts. There is information on this site about ideal parameters and vendors can assist you in this as well. You can make some compromises on color and clarity (and if necessary carat weight) to help you stay within your budget. Different people have different tolerances on the color issue and I would suggest you go see different princess cuts at local jewelers to see what you are comfortable with. As far as clarity goes as long as it is an eye clean stone why pay more to get a higher clarity grade? Ultimately cut is what will determine the beauty of the diamond.

By the way, love your dog!!!

 

[february2003bride]

Hm, are you asking for princess ring suggestions? If so, I''ll post some of my favorite (and a 1.5-2.0 is a beautiful size!).
#1

 

[kenny]

Here are three AGS 0s (the easiest way to be sure to get a well-cut princess) :


1.52 carat H SI1 AGS 0 for $9408 http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1967/

1.501 carat H VS1 AGS 0 for $1001http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=AGS-7033606

1.505 carat F VS2 AGS 0 for $11698http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=AGS-6849608

All prices with Pricescope discount

 

[february2003bride]

Mine

Also, look for Researcher; she knows her stuff when it comes to princess cut stones!

ETA: Mine's a 1.06, F, VS2 from Bluenile.com

 

[february2003bride]

Kaleidoscopic''s princess (2 carat''s I think!).

 

[Bologna]

I have seen 3 Whiteflash expert selection diamonds from 1.5 to 1.6 carats and they run about 10k...sidenote: Brian with Whiteflash should get an award for excellent customer servivce, they guy really is great.

I guess my question is IF I need to spend 10k for a 1.5 carat ring...I still would like to get as big a rock as possible with my money and not sacrifice quality (real easy to pin down!). Is their some cut off point or range where your starting to go overboard with quality at the sacrifice of size?

Sorry to be so vague, but I am confused as to what she would ideally want if SHE could spend the 10k.

Oh, and we''ve been living together long enough to where I know that size does matter!

of the diamond, of course

 

[mrssalvo]

I don''t know a lot about princess cuts but I do know they show color more than a round, same goes for clarity. I would think you''d want to stay above H and keep it a VS. Of course they always are those needle in a haystack eyeclean SI stones out there if you have a little time to do some searching or wait for one to pop up. I know Bill at Icemine sells AGS0 princess stones, you might give him a call or send him an email. His website is www.icemine.com

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/28/2006 1:55:39 PM
Author: Bologna


I guess my question is IF I need to spend 10k for a 1.5 carat ring...

Well, thinking of the 1.5 cts princess, I would imagine that most come around 6.2mm.. and that could also be the size of a 1.3 - 1.4 cts that comes about 2k lower. No compromise on size or cut or quality required - only some search and patience.

There''s a reason why diamonds right under 1.5cts are not so numerous - there''s a bit of a price jump around 1.5cts and most folks would go around asking for ''one carat and a half'' not 1.3 cts, just like you do.


E.G. a princess cut relatively large for the weight and still with mainstream proportions (i.e. not overly shallow or anything). ''Wish it were Si1 - VS1 doesn''t quite amount to ''savings'' IMO. Sure I would prefer seeing this and prefer the level of detail WF provides. Only wanted an example about the ''size issue'' and there weren''t too many to choose from even disregarding intricate details about cut!

 

[february2003bride]

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2363481.htm 1.55

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00923256&filter_id=0&sec=&query=21&page=&sortby=size-d 1.54

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00437107&filter_id=0 1.64

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00414307&filter_id=0 1.76

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00956080&filter_id=0 1.63 (I''d go for this one! Ideal cut, AGS certed)

 

[february2003bride]

I agree with V. When we were looking at diamonds, the "best value" for a one carat wasn''t a 1.0 carat, it was a .98 or .99. range. Look for just under a 1.50 (seriously, unless your GF is particular about numbers, will be really care if its a 1.3-1.45 range?).

Also, keep in mind the cost of the setting.

Good luck!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 3/28/2006 1:55:39 PM
Author: Bologna
I guess my question is IF I need to spend 10k for a 1.5 carat ring...

MMMM. Short answer: Yes. And it''s almost "pushing it" to get a very nicely cut/nice color 1.5 ct for 10K.

 

[squarediamondlove]

Thank you february2003bride for posting my ring up

You should probably define what you mean by quality. From what I understood you meant, If you want it to be a good quality diamond all the way around (cut, clarity, cut) but still get as much size for the money, I would stick with a G color, VS2 stone.

For clarity VS2 is all you need to ensure that you will not see any inclusion with your eyes. There are also some, but only some, Si1-si2 that you will not notice any inclusions with the naked eye. (Remember that Si means "eye clean" but it actually means eye clean form 12 inches away, thus if you are inspecting a diamond form 3 inches away, the inclusion may be noticable.) You really don''t need to go up to the VVS range b/c you will be paying for a difference that you just don''t see with the naked eye.

For color, you should really hit a local store in your area and see which color you are comfortable with. Just make sue that when you are looking at an H or G color stone, its GIA or AGS certified b/c otherwise the grading can be off and the diamond you will be looking at may be an I or J. Also remember that an "ideal cut" princess will hide color better than a "average cut" princess. So an H or G color stone in the local store may look slightly more tinted than a H or G ideal cut princess. If your girlfriend is concerned with the diamond looking tinted and wants the diamond to be "white" or colorless, G in my opinion is a great balance between color and size. F is a great also, but you will pay more for it. Some people will also recomend H and I color stones, especially if you are going for an ideal cut, however you girlfriend may or may not pick up the tint in the H or I color stones. Princess diamonds show color more apparently than round, and in my opinion look nicer colorless b/c of their sharp lines - colorless princess create that "ice look." Also, if she has paler hands, you will probably see the color in the H or I stone more apparently than if she had tanner hands or darker color skin.

See if she would mind the I color princess b/c you can get a lot of size for the money, especially if you combine I color with Si clarity.

 

[squarediamondlove]

I think I saw this one when I visited Goodoldgold and the cut was absolutely stunning in person, my favorite out of all the princess stones they had! Here is the Light Scope image of it

1.56ct. I color Si1 - $8,701

 

[researcher]

Here''s my opinion, for what it''s worth.

Figure out what is most important to your girlfriend. No matter what, cut should ALWAYS come first. I know some people here say you have to go AGS, but I disagree. I have seen some GIA graded stones that look much better to me. Now, that''s not saying that there aren''t great AGS graded stones. What I''m saying is you need to determine for yourself whether a stone is well cut and performs to the highest standards.

After that, try to find out if she feels strongly about the color or clarity of the stone. I had originally thought I would never go below a G in color or VS in clarity, but I found an I colored stone that faces up like a G (in fact, most people guess my stone is an F when they see it) and is a 100% eye clean SI1 from all angles. However, there are definitely people with strong opinions about color and clarity, and they will not go lower. You therefore want to find out if you can whether your girl is one of these people as it limits your choices (I would not buy a G-I colored stone for someone who needs a colorless stone, or even a VS stone for someone who feels the impurities take away from the meaning of their stone).

Now, if color and/or clarity are really important to your girl I too would look at getting a stone that''s slightly under the 1.5ct mark. If they are not as important to her as size, you can definitely get a 1.5-1.7ct stone in the $7000-$9000 range (remember, you get a PS discount of about $250-300 off on these stones).

Here are a few stones I''d consider in the near colorless range:

1.43 G VS2
1.3 G VS1
1.51 G VS2
1.65 I VS1
1.6 I VS1
1.44 G VS1

All of these look good by the numbers, but without the ideal scope images I can''t tell you which are best. I would therefore figure out what your girl wants (e.g., size vs. color) and what you want to spend. If you talk with Lesley at WF she can help you to narrow them down further after that.

Good luck!

 

[researcher]

Oh, and because people say you can see the color best through the side of the stone, here's a photo of my 3 1/4 ct princess taken when my spacer band was being made (note that it's wax on my diamond, not inclusions

). Because this photo was taken in standard office light (as opposed to sunlight) you can see the bit of warmth to my stone. Fortunately it's barely noticeable even under this sort of scrutiny because it's an extremely well cut I colored stone:

 

[kevinyonker]

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1776/


1.448 H VS1 for 7,600

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 3/29/2006 12:40:23 PM
Author: kevinyonker
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1776/



1.448 H VS1 for 7,600

I''ve already said I don''t know a lot about princess cuts but that looks like it is one amazing stone..

 

[ssteigs]

As someone who just bought the exact thing you looking for I would tell you that H color(GIA) is perfectly fine for color unless your GF is extremely sensitive to color. I also bought an SI1 which has about 12 inlcusions on the plot. That may sound bad but they are all very small and none of them are eye visible. Even with a loupe its very dificult to find them. Most experts that I have seen say that you are better of having 10 small inclusions in an SI1 than 3 big ones that may be visible. And as Researcher said cut is extremely important. My GF has gotten about 6 compliments from strangers since she got it and its only been 5 days. I actually prefer a stone that is slightly off square 1.05 because it makes the diamond look a little bigger once mounted yet still looks very square....but others may disagree. Bottom line is you need to look and see what strikes you. You will probably find that you cant even tell the differences in clarity/color once you get to a certain level (above H color, si1/vs2)

Good luck!