Help an Aussie out! (.50 ct Round Diamond Help)

[Rison]

Hi,

So I have found the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with and now I am trying to get an engagement ring which I think is harder then finding the girl (well nearly!). I have been researching for a month now trying to learn everything and I have finally picked the ring design and the size and shape of the diamond now I am just getting a little overwhelmed on picking the exact diamond.

I have decided I am getting a ring in 18ct Yellow gold with 6 prongs in white gold and 5 smaller diamonds either side set in a channel. The diamond I am wanting to get is a .50ct round diamond this is mainly to stick in the budget. I have got quotes from local jewelers and most have come in around at $1800 for the band and smaller diamonds and around $2200 for the center diamond. The center diamond are mainly around the .50ct, Color H-G and clarity SI1-SI2. No other information is really known yet.

Does that seem like a fair price? I am just looking around on Jamesallen and believe that I may be able to get something better for the price (I am talking about AUD)? But as I said I get a bit lost when i get down into the finer details. It would be greatly appreciated if you could advise to what I should really be looking for in a diamond of this size and what is going to be least important, what to watch out for and possibly a couple of suggestions of diamonds that would fit in my budget.

Thank you for your help it is most appreciated,

Matt

 

[Monnyjay]

Hi Matt,

I am a fellow Aussie, welcome to Pricescope. I just had a quick look at Whiteflash (they are a PS recommended vendor) and found RB GSI1
0.505ct for $1910 (wire price) and a setting similar to what you want for $1275 - so comes in at about 3K - obviously you need to consider exchange rate also. This stone is an ACA with a AGS cert - you won't find anything in Aus for that price of same quality! Did the conversion on current exchange rate - $3,694.79

I am sure others will chime in - hope that helps in your search.

 

[tkyoung1]

Hi,
I've just gone through this

I found the jewellery stores in the shopping centres in Melbourne to be pretty unhelpful. After reading up a bit about diamonds on pricescope and other sites, I think I knew more about diamonds than most of the retail staff! A few times I asked 'what's the cut grade' and the reply would be 'round brilliant', no mention of GIA excellent/very good etc.

Honestly I think you can get a much better idea of a diamond's quality by browsing online. Many online stores have up close photos so you can look at inclusions/imperfections, and other information such as aset or idealscope pictures. You can look at the GIA/AGS certificate to get a better idea of the cut. You are free to scrutinise all this information without a pushy salesperson breathing down your neck.

Regarding priorities for the 4 c's, for me a diamond shopper should pick a minimum level for colour (around F-H) and clarity (eye clean VS2 - SI1) and it isn't worth spending more above this, though the threshold will vary according to individual preference. Cut is number 1 (keep in mind there is a wide range within GIA 'excellent'), and carat comes in second.

You will generally get a better, cheaper diamond shopping online. If you can't be bothered finding out about the specifics of ideal cut, then just buy the highest quality cut diamonds from whiteflash or brian gavin.

I ended up buying a whiteflash ACA and setting.

 

[arkieb1]

Hi I am an Aussie as well, despite our currently tragic exchange rate, I buy most of my things from the US - the reason for this is most Australian jewellers will sell you an average to below average cut for what they consider a bargain price or a stone with some issue that they will not tell you about that might impact on the brilliance of the diamond, which I will not get into the big list of yet. The price works out less from the US when our dollar is O.K at the moment it will probably be around the same but the stone you will purchase and the setting will probably be better than here.

Cut is the thing that gives a stone the fire and sparkle, it's the thing you should be concentrating on. A stone that has a exceptional cut will have better edge to edge brightness across the whole stone meaning that visually it will appear larger than other similar sized stones that are poorly cut.

I'd probably recommend Whiteflash, James Allen with help from people here, Blue Nile with help from people here and using the HCA as a rejection tool (which you can find up in the toolbar). I am in Brisbane, but if you are in Melbourne, Garry the guy that designed the HCA tool has a shop there;

http://www.hollowaydiamonds.com.au/

 

[Rison]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies! Good to see some other Aussies on here.

I have got a quote from Brian Gavin for the diamond and band and they are coming out more expensive for the band so I am back to thinking about just importing a diamond. The diamond will probly end up been the same price as here but it looks like I will get much better quality!

I will go through tonight and might come up with a few that I like and will post them and see whet you guys think.

I am located in Sydney does anyone have any good recommendations for Sydney jewellers?

Thanks
Matt

 

[treasurehunter]

Most jewellers will charge extra or refuse to set a loose diamond by the way ?

 

[arkieb1]

Matt what type of setting & band do you want on what kind of budget? The settings here are pretty rubbish quality a lot are mass produced in China and are just badly made. I've seen the Brian Gavin ones ( purchase three of them, two for people and helped one person buy one) and they are nicely made, so be careful you are doing an apples for apples comparison. Decent quality settings here are usually more expensive than the US, or that has been my experience. If you read through some old threads by MissKitty or if she sees this thread she has suggested jewellers in Sydney in the past. I'd probably suggest purchasing a whole ring from the US and then if needed getting it resized by a good jeweller here.