My experience thus far

[Reisen]

I thought I''d take a second to write down my thoughts, both as a way of focusing my search experience, and looking for critical evaluation from people who have "been there, done that" with regards to the "Diamond search (tm)".

As a 25 year old male making approx $50k per year, I was initially thinking about $8K on the ring. It is yet to be seen how close this will turn out. So far, in just a couple of days, I have visited:

Tiffany''s
Mervis Diamond Importers
Movado (where I''ve previously bought jewelry)
Baily, Banks, Biddle
Blue Nile
This website

I found both Tiffany''s and Movado way overpriced, but a fun experience and nice places to look at diamonds. Mervis probably had the best selection of stones in stock. BBB had the HoF diamonds, so I could see H&A. Blue Nile was a good introduction to internet purchasing.

This site, however, seems to have it all. Strong search engine, lots of good, very detailed articles, and a forum. Far and away my best resource so far.

So where I''m leaning so far:

-Round Brilliant
-between 1 and 1.5 carats
-plat setting
-either princess cut or baguett sidestones (smallish, countersunk in a channel setting, maybe three on each side)
-Good color, between F and H
-Probably VS 1 or 2 clarity, maybe SI1 if I''m convinced you won''t be able to see inclusions without a loupe

The real question seems to be the cut. Truth be told, all the diamonds look great to me. The only real difference I can tell is the size and color, but everyone, from the forum, to every jeweler I''ve talked to has stressed cut. Some have said H&A is a gimmick in that you only see it through the scope, and it won''t look any better than an AGS 0.

So really, it seems I need to decide what cut I want (H&A, AGS 0, or just ideal), then compromise between size and price. I also need to decide where I want to buy it, although I tend to be someone that values a great price, so it will likely either be online, or through USAA jewelry sales.

Anything else I need to consider?

 

[Mara]

well you are on your way to making a smart diamond purchase!!

my comments...

since you have your $8k budget, then figure out what you want to spend on diamond vs setting, that will help keep you grounded as you shop for the diamond.

another comment is that assuming about $7k for the diamond and $1k for the setting (just an estimate)...you will be able to get something like an excellently cut 1.30 H SI1 stone for around $6500-7000...I'm not sure what you have seen in terms of color and clarity but I personally love an H SI combo, it's very white to me and if you get a well-cut clean SI1 you will not see any inclusions. My previous stone was H SI1 and before that I had G VS2 and the H SI looked the same to me but was much better cut which does make the overall stone look 100000% better IMO!

in terms of H&A...my sweet spot for stones is to find an unbranded H&A style stone, aka like WF's Expert Selection or one of GOG's nonbranded H&A's or DCD signature stones all of which show a pattern but are not 'branded' H&A so you save a bit of $$ and can get a better deal. I am not into paying for the brand name unless it's an inventory issue where I can't find the stone anywhere else and can only find it branded...and then if that is the case, I would not pay more than 10% more for branded, but ideally would not pay the markup at all!

oh and one other comment re: AGS0 vs H&A. not all AGS0 stones will be good looking and well-cut. AGS0 is just a set of numbers that mean an 'ideal' stone on paper but it may not always look the best..or better than another stone. There have been exceptional AGS1 stones posted on here before as well. So do not just use AGS0 to find a well-cut stone. Use the numbers themselves, the HCA, any IdealScope/BrillianceScope/Sarin reports to corroborate light return, numbers etc. If you like the arrows then great...find an unbranded H&A with exceptional numbers. But don't fall into the 'looks just as good as AGS0' trap..as not all AGS0's will look good.

 

[Reisen]

When I''m searching but cut, and then see carat size, should I really be judging by measurements instead? In other words, if you know the cut is under a 2 on the HCA, doesn''t the larger radius matter more than the carat size?

 

[Mara]

well using diameter measurements is a way to corroborate with other #''s that the stone is well cut. aka if it''s deep with depth around 62.5% then the upper diameter of the stone will normally be smaller than a similar carat weight stone with a depth of 60.5%...assuming tables are the same aka around 56%.

So yes do use diameter measurements, but not solely, they should be one other piece of the big puzzle. I prefer stones with depth under 61.7% and even more stringently sometimes under 61%. But I wouldn''t throw a great stone out of bed with a 61.5% depth...it will just look a tiny bit smaller up above.

 

[Reisen]

Mara (and others)

What do you think of this diamond?

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=7265266&ref=PS622

 

[Jimbo34]

http://www.diamondsonweb.com/shopping_dd/ddetail.pl?shape=RB;p_min=50;ct_min=1.2;p_max=10000;origin=side_form;search.x=50;search.y=19;clar=VS1;clar=VS2;clar=SI1;color=F;color=G&sortby=&sorto=&id=Z0054809&start=0


Ask for the AGS Report on this one........might be like the one you listed but less $$$

Jimbo34

 

[Mara]

Reisen, that DCD stone looks very nice!

Look at this one too:
http://www.pricescope.com/origin.asp?sh=88&id=1325&prc=7204

and this one:
http://www.pricescope.com/origin.asp?sh=88&id=1326&prc=7210

and one more--I really like this one because it's biggest AND it's got med blue fluor with an H color which should be just phenomenal!!!

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1182545.htm

oh and one other comment, if you are looking at G's..then please consider H's also...for me there was no color change and it's a better price point aka bigger stone. I LOVE that last H I posted. I want it for a pendant!

 

[rainwood]

I was going to wait to make my first post but saw your message and couldn''t resist. I went through a similar progression in looking for my first diamond and ultimately ended up at Pricescope. I''m very glad I did. There''s great advice to be found here. I also had a comparable budget to yours. So we''re pretty similar up to that point. Now for the differences. I''m twice your age, been married almost 27 years, and my DH , wise man that he is, wanted me to pick the ring myself. So take my suggestions from the perspective of someone who is in your position as a diamond newbie, but an old hand at the marriage part.

Budget. First, your budget looks pretty close to the 2-month salary ''"rule." Keep in mind that it isn''t a rule. It''s marketing. It''s no different than if GM said you should spend 6 months salary on a car or if Gallo said you should have three glasses of wine at dinner. How much you spend should be based on your personal finances (salary, debt, etc.) and your mutual goals (house, travel, kids, etc.). Money spent on the ring is money not spent elsewhere. If that''s $8000 without the rule, great. If not, spend what you''re comfortable spending. I got along for many years without a diamond and lots of people here have done upgrades. Upgrades seem like fun.

Stone. Like you, I ultimately went with an RB. After lurking here for months, I became comfortable with the notion of "eye clean", fluorescence and some of the lower color grades. Cut was the one area I insisted be great. I looked at the stats, particularly pavilion & crown angles, then the depth %, how thick the girdle was, and the diameter to see if the diamond had good spread for its carat weight. I compared Ideal Scope photos and re-read the thread on New Line vs. Classic ACA''s at least 3 times. I liked the notion of H&A, but like Mara, didn''t want to pay for a branded one so went with a Whiteflash Expert Selection diamond. If it''s good enough for her, it''s good enough for me. I also couldn''t find an appraiser I was comfortable with locally so I knew I would be buying it sight unseen. Had to swallow hard on that one. Everyone talks about how personaility can only be observed in person and because I wasn''t going to be able to do that, I made sure all the stats would be within the best cut parameters and let the personaility fall where it may.

The one thing I can vouch for is that at some point, you have as much information as you''re ever going to have, all the info starts to make you crazy and you just have to take the leap. Just like marriage. If it looks like a keeper, you''ve just got to trust it will be fine. My trust is in a Whiteflash ES 1.53 I SI with medium blue fluorescence. Haven''t seen it yet but everyone who has says it looks fabulous. It''s an HCA 1.7, AGS 0 and an AGA 1A.

Setting. You seem to be very specific about the setting. Is that based on what your GF specifically says she wants? If not, ask yourself one question. Does she let you pick out her clothes? If she doesn''t, you might want to consider a temporary setting for the proposal and let her be involved for the real one. It''s excellent practice for the joint decisions you will be making when married, plus she''s the one who will be wearing it everyday. The ring is from you but it''s for her.

Besides, settings are tricky. I know what I want now but it took awhile to get there. Ask any of the women on here. Sometimes you know what you want, and you''re right. Sometimes you know what you want and you change your mind. Sometimes you know what you want but can''t find it or can''t describe it. Sometimes what you want doesn''t look good on your finger. And sometimes you don''t know what you want. It can be an evolutionary process. Are you comfortable navigating those waters alone?

So my advice is to pick a budget that''s comfortable for you, insist on a great cut, compromise on the other C''s if you need to, find the best one you can for your budget within those parameters, take the leap, have it appraised then buy it. And let her help pick out the setting.

Best of luck to you. I''m sure both your diamond and your future fiancee will be keepers.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 4/7/2005 6:25:28 PM
Author: Reisen
Mara (and others)

What do you think of this diamond?

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=7265266&ref=PS622

*Very* nice selection!

 

[aljdewey]

ooooooooooooooo - this H that Mara posted is DREAMY!

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1182545.htm

As she said, the blue flour will make the stone pop and look "plugged in" in some lighting conditions......and enhances the already nice H color.

Plus, the PRICE! Nice price for this size, and the IS image looks fabulous. Love it.

Ok, now I WANT this one.....but I''m not in the market for it!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 4/8/2005 8

7:52 AM
Author: aljdewey
ooooooooooooooo - this H that Mara posted is DREAMY!


http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1182545.htm


As she said, the blue flour will make the stone pop and look ''plugged in'' in some lighting conditions......and enhances the already nice H color.


Plus, the PRICE! Nice price for this size, and the IS image looks fabulous. Love it.


Ok, now I WANT this one.....but I''m not in the market for it!

Hey, that''s MY diamond

I have been looking at that stone for a few weeks. even emailed Bob at Whiteflash about it. It looks AMAZING and what a great price

 

[Kaleigh]

Hurry up Mrssalvo, that stone is dreamy!!!

 

[hoorray]

Date: 4/7/2005 11:39

7 PM
Author: rainwood
I was going to wait to make my first post but saw your message and couldn''t resist. I went through a similar progression in looking for my first diamond and ultimately ended up at Pricescope. I''m very glad I did. There''s great advice to be found here. I also had a comparable budget to yours. So we''re pretty similar up to that point. Now for the differences. I''m twice your age, been married almost 27 years, and my DH , wise man that he is, wanted me to pick the ring myself. So take my suggestions from the perspective of someone who is in your position as a diamond newbie, but an old hand at the marriage part.

Budget. First, your budget looks pretty close to the 2-month salary ''''rule.'' Keep in mind that it isn''t a rule. It''s marketing. It''s no different than if GM said you should spend 6 months salary on a car or if Gallo said you should have three glasses of wine at dinner. How much you spend should be based on your personal finances (salary, debt, etc.) and your mutual goals (house, travel, kids, etc.). Money spent on the ring is money not spent elsewhere. If that''s $8000 without the rule, great. If not, spend what you''re comfortable spending. I got along for many years without a diamond and lots of people here have done upgrades. Upgrades seem like fun.

Stone. Like you, I ultimately went with an RB. After lurking here for months, I became comfortable with the notion of ''eye clean'', fluorescence and some of the lower color grades. Cut was the one area I insisted be great. I looked at the stats, particularly pavilion & crown angles, then the depth %, how thick the girdle was, and the diameter to see if the diamond had good spread for its carat weight. I compared Ideal Scope photos and re-read the thread on New Line vs. Classic ACA''s at least 3 times. I liked the notion of H&A, but like Mara, didn''t want to pay for a branded one so went with a Whiteflash Expert Selection diamond. If it''s good enough for her, it''s good enough for me. I also couldn''t find an appraiser I was comfortable with locally so I knew I would be buying it sight unseen. Had to swallow hard on that one. Everyone talks about how personaility can only be observed in person and because I wasn''t going to be able to do that, I made sure all the stats would be within the best cut parameters and let the personaility fall where it may.

The one thing I can vouch for is that at some point, you have as much information as you''re ever going to have, all the info starts to make you crazy and you just have to take the leap. Just like marriage. If it looks like a keeper, you''ve just got to trust it will be fine. My trust is in a Whiteflash ES 1.53 I SI with medium blue fluorescence. Haven''t seen it yet but everyone who has says it looks fabulous. It''s an HCA 1.7, AGS 0 and an AGA 1A.

Setting. You seem to be very specific about the setting. Is that based on what your GF specifically says she wants? If not, ask yourself one question. Does she let you pick out her clothes? If she doesn''t, you might want to consider a temporary setting for the proposal and let her be involved for the real one. It''s excellent practice for the joint decisions you will be making when married, plus she''s the one who will be wearing it everyday. The ring is from you but it''s for her.

Besides, settings are tricky. I know what I want now but it took awhile to get there. Ask any of the women on here. Sometimes you know what you want, and you''re right. Sometimes you know what you want and you change your mind. Sometimes you know what you want but can''t find it or can''t describe it. Sometimes what you want doesn''t look good on your finger. And sometimes you don''t know what you want. It can be an evolutionary process. Are you comfortable navigating those waters alone?

So my advice is to pick a budget that''s comfortable for you, insist on a great cut, compromise on the other C''s if you need to, find the best one you can for your budget within those parameters, take the leap, have it appraised then buy it. And let her help pick out the setting.

Best of luck to you. I''m sure both your diamond and your future fiancee will be keepers.

Good advice on all fronts. I would just like to further the idea of letting the "experts" be your first set of eyes for you. They have seem many more stonesthan you have, and while they can''t decide for you what your preferences are, they can guide you by looking at the stones you are interested in in person and giving you their opinion. IT makes buying a stone sight unseen a little easier.

 

[Reisen]

This is what I''m thinking for the setting, let''s see if I can figure out how to attach a picture (shamelessly stolen from another post on this forum):

 

[Reisen]

Hmm, didn't like the fact that it had the same name as the other picture.

Edit: Oh yeah, she has looked at setting, and saw one at Tiffany's like this that she liked. Of course, the ring with a 1 carat diamond was something like $18k...

 

[valeria101]

Is it one of these you are talking about or another Tiffany ring not present on their website ?

 

[Reisen]

It's the one on the right, good find! I'm still not sure whether I want the ring and sidestones to curve up to the diamond, or just be a simple circle, if that makes any sense. I know I want the princess cut sidestones to be small and channel set, sort of counter-sunk into the platinum, if that makes sense.

Any idea of other places to look for what I have in mind?

Also, I tend to like 6 prong settings over 4. They are more secure, and seem to make the stone look more round. However, jewelers I have talked to have cautioned that 6 isn't really necessary for diamonds under 1.5 carats, and will cover up too much of the stone/make it smaller. What do you all think?

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Reisen...

I agree with you...the channel set princess cuts really accent the center stone!! I found these for you as possible ideas as well...this is the first or 2:

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Here''s the second....

 

[fire&ice]

I know the trend tends to have the side stones down flush in the band; but, I like the cresenda like appearance of the tapering up to the stone. It''s more eye natural - kinda like da da da da Tada to the center stone.

Just my 3 cents.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/8/2005 1:581 PM
Author: AChiOAlumna
Here's the second....

This is the closest to the Tiffany model of the bunch. Allot closer than the clunky cathedral set... IMO at least. The sidestones in the Tiffany ring are not princess cut, but square baguettes - one more detail that matches better.

Perhaps a custom setting would work best here.
Or this...

What do you think ?

 

[Mara]

I personally like 4 prong heads for anything under 2c but it''s a preference usually..I also think 4 shows off more of the stone.

 

[Reisen]

You''re right, I remember them saying they were square baguette. Can someone explain the difference between princess and square baguette? Same shape, just different cut on the stones themselves? Any difference in price? I think maybe princess reflect more light, and baguette have more of a matte look?

 

[Reisen]

While all of these pictures are beautiful and exactly what I had in mind, I think I might like the picture I posted best!

I happened across it in this thread: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/need-the-perfect-setting-for-a-3-carat-princess.15644/=

Does anyone know where to find/buy it? Is it a vatche?

 

[NoonersMom]

MrsSalvo, JL, Mara.....I was looking at all of those stones as well. LOL. Hopefully they find a home with us PSers! Although I was curious about the last ES from WF. The picture doesn''t look eye clean. Generally, what magnification is used to take the picture? MrsSalvo, do you know if it''s eye clean (strictly as a learning experience here). If so, they I need to rethink a few that I looked at online, but didn''t think they were eye clean due to the posted pictures. Thanks in advance for the info.

 

[NoonersMom]

PS...Reisen.....you''ve found Pricescope! You''re already ahead of the game! Good luck!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 4/8/2005 3:30:15 PM
Author: NoonersMom
MrsSalvo, JL, Mara.....I was looking at all of those stones as well. LOL. Hopefully they find a home with us PSers! Although I was curious about the last ES from WF. The picture doesn''t look eye clean. Generally, what magnification is used to take the picture? MrsSalvo, do you know if it''s eye clean (strictly as a learning experience here). If so, they I need to rethink a few that I looked at online, but didn''t think they were eye clean due to the posted pictures. Thanks in advance for the info.

When i talked to WF, Bob said it wasn''t quite ready to be purchased and sent me another stone for a little bit more $$ that he felt looked a little better. I didn''t pursue it any further b/c hubby is making the final stone selection for my upgrade and i know have to "butt out."

 

[belle]

Does anyone know where to find/buy it? Is it a vatche?

reisen, i don't think it's vatche......try this one.

 

[belle]

Generally, what magnification is used to take the picture?

i believe it''s 10x, which under this magnification would show inclusions that could be undetectable to the naked eye. you certainly don''t want to rule any out because of these magnified inclusions!

 

[NoonersMom]

Belle - Thanks for the response. While calling WF (There''s a 90% chance that I have to go to Texas again for biz next week) their "on hold" recording mentioned that the pictures were taken at a 40x magnification. That definitely sheds a little light on the inclusions (pun intended).