Thanks all in advance for your help.
I am looking to purchase a diamond for a setting I have already found similar to this one: http://sunjewelry.com/er2270.html
The setting I found is at Christian Bernard and looks very similar to this one except its total weight is smaller. It is .16 carat tw and costs $899 in 14k white gold. The lady at the jewelry store said that this setting needs at least a 3/4th carat diamond. The best she could offer me was .5 carat non-certified for $1200 or .75 non-certified for $2000 (those are prices of the diamond alone - would be plus $900 including the setting). Those didn’t sound like very good deals to me so I am venturing out to find a diamond on my own. What are the opinions on the setting? Is the price decent at $899 for 14k white gold?
I would actually like to find something around 1 carat in a princess cut. BUT I would really like to stay under $2000 for the diamond. From the research I have been doing this is what I understand:
1. Cut - should be the most important factor (but I have no idea how to judge it with the measurements I find, unless it is certified and listed specifically)
2. Color - should be no lower than an I (but I see that J is also colorless; bottom line I don’t want to be able to see ANY yellow at all in the diamond)
3. Clarity - should be at SI1 (I have seen advise showing how its not really worth it to get anything higher than that because even at that level, you cannot see blemishes with the naked eye)
So with all that in mind, I have found a few diamonds on http://www.drostes.com that I think might be pretty good deals: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~msheik1/diamonds.JPG (screen shot from the Drostes page with all the information on the 5 diamonds).
Any advice on the above would be greatly appreciated. Which diamond do you guys think would be the best from the 5? All the diamonds have good color and clarity levels but no idea on how good the cuts are; anyone have any suggestions on that?
Any other places anyone knows either online or around Washington DC, MD, Northern VA area I can go for similar deals on diamonds? Is Drostes pretty reliable?
I am looking to purchase a diamond for a setting I have already found similar to this one: http://sunjewelry.com/er2270.html
The setting I found is at Christian Bernard and looks very similar to this one except its total weight is smaller. It is .16 carat tw and costs $899 in 14k white gold. The lady at the jewelry store said that this setting needs at least a 3/4th carat diamond. The best she could offer me was .5 carat non-certified for $1200 or .75 non-certified for $2000 (those are prices of the diamond alone - would be plus $900 including the setting). Those didn’t sound like very good deals to me so I am venturing out to find a diamond on my own. What are the opinions on the setting? Is the price decent at $899 for 14k white gold?
I would actually like to find something around 1 carat in a princess cut. BUT I would really like to stay under $2000 for the diamond. From the research I have been doing this is what I understand:
1. Cut - should be the most important factor (but I have no idea how to judge it with the measurements I find, unless it is certified and listed specifically)
2. Color - should be no lower than an I (but I see that J is also colorless; bottom line I don’t want to be able to see ANY yellow at all in the diamond)
3. Clarity - should be at SI1 (I have seen advise showing how its not really worth it to get anything higher than that because even at that level, you cannot see blemishes with the naked eye)
So with all that in mind, I have found a few diamonds on http://www.drostes.com that I think might be pretty good deals: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~msheik1/diamonds.JPG (screen shot from the Drostes page with all the information on the 5 diamonds).
Any advice on the above would be greatly appreciated. Which diamond do you guys think would be the best from the 5? All the diamonds have good color and clarity levels but no idea on how good the cuts are; anyone have any suggestions on that?
Any other places anyone knows either online or around Washington DC, MD, Northern VA area I can go for similar deals on diamonds? Is Drostes pretty reliable?