Looking for opinions from the experts, first time buyer

[firsttimer]

first off, I want to thank you all for the forum that you have going here in addition to the site. I''ve read and hopefully absorbed enough to make my decision

I wanted to make a post and see what you all thought and get some opinions if possible. I realize you see a million of these types of posts and I thank you for the time you take.

My budget runs $3000 for the rock with plans for a simple tiffany style white gold setting for now, i know she prefers platinum but i figure i can get that later and should focus the money on the rock. I visited the diamond celler and took a look at some diamonds of varying qualities. Conclusion? I''m a guy. I couldnt tell the difference between diamonds unless you tossed them under a scope at 30x. I did come away from there, in addition to reading here that the cut is the thing to watch for, everything else can be tweaked as long as the cut is there to make it shiny.

So here i am, thinking of a rock somewhere between .7 and .75
hca score between 1.0 and 2.0
color between H-I
clarity between VS2-SI1
flourescence of neg or slight blue

so going to the cut quality search i''ve found these two diamonds
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=AGS-6544303# hca 1.3
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=AGS-6544401# Hca 1.0

They are both .731 carat only difference is the top one is SI1 and the bottom is VS2.
Both as far as i can tell seem to be good, from the ideal scope but the second diamond view h&a seems to be lighter gray than the first and less defined.
From my perspective the vs2 is a notch higher but should i be concerned with the last sentence''s statement?
I am also open to other suggestions.


Thanks again!

 

[belle]

you can''t go wrong with an aca. these two are so close, it''s really a toss up. if pressed to split hairs, my eye slightly prefers the is image on the vs stone. but really, you can''t go wrong with either one. they are both very nice.

 

[Kaleigh]

I agree with belle, they are both great. Maybe go with the cheaper one since they are so close. Anyway you can''t go wrong with either of them.

 

[strmrdr]

cheaper one.
You could contact them and have Brian pull them and look them over for you.
He will be honest with you telling you what the difference is in person to his expert eye.

 

[fisiogrl]

I agree with strmrdr,

Let Brian have a look at them for you. In fact, if he knows the type of stone that you are after, he might have something else in the vault that he could suggest. but his eye will be better than trying to guess from the pictures.

I think that you have made some really good decisions about the Cs and have picked some great compromises. Either stone will be great!

 

[firsttimer]

cool, i will shoot them off an email and/or call them there. should i refer to pricescope when i talk to them?

thanks!

 

[Shay37]

Date: 11/4/2005 1:36:43 PM
Author: firsttimer
cool, i will shoot them off an email and/or call them there. should i refer to pricescope when i talk to them?

thanks!

Yes, you should refer to PS. Also, remember that Brian (aka Brian the Cutter), is VP of Whiteflash. So he''s kind of like a diamond off the virtual list, he may not be available immediately. If you give him a little time to get back to you, they can call him in for you.

shay

 

[firsttimer]

I''ve been talking to whiteflash about the diamonds and am getting much closer towards getting the cheaper one since there is little difference. One question that I''ve asked them that i would also like to ask you all is regarding changing the setting later on. I intend on the cheapest/most basic 14k solitaire setting for now but I do know that the significant other likes the silver color. It is my intention to upgrade the setting to her choice at a later date but how difficult is that? are there better places to go to do that? is there a risk to the diamond with so much extra handling? that and how much of the color would show going from a gold setting that would partially hide it to a silver one?

Thanks!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 11/11/2005 3:19:51 PM
Author: firsttimer
I've been talking to whiteflash about the diamonds and am getting much closer towards getting the cheaper one since there is little difference. One question that I've asked them that i would also like to ask you all is regarding changing the setting later on. I intend on the cheapest/most basic 14k solitaire setting for now but I do know that the significant other likes the silver color. It is my intention to upgrade the setting to her choice at a later date but how difficult is that? are there better places to go to do that? is there a risk to the diamond with so much extra handling? that and how much of the color would show going from a gold setting that would partially hide it to a silver one?

Thanks!

Hi firsttimer.

If you purchase the diamond from WF, and then choose to buy a setting from us at a later date we will set the diamond for free if you ship it back to us (at your cost). Once set, we will pay for shipping/insurance on the setting you purchased. You would only be responsible for the cost of the diamond portion of that shipping/insurance. We have all of these services available onsite and when the diamond is purchased here we are happy to assume responsibility.

As for color, there are many people who have well-cut I and J diamonds set in platinum/white gold and are very happy, since the light return in such well-cut diamonds can mask color in the face up position. Here is a thread about J diamonds in platinum.

 

[firsttimer]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the help, i ended up buying the si1 stone and wanted to share the pic i snapped this morning of it.

 

[Kaleigh]

It looks great, congratulations!!!!

 

[mrssalvo]

thanks for sharing the picure. It looks beautiful..

 

[Shay37]

Good heavens, look at those arrows. Great job.

shay

 

[cutes814]

Congrats on the purchase! Isn''t the ACA beautiful?

 

[fisiogrl]

Well done!

I hope that you love it!