Hey Pricescope. I have 4 questions/topics I could use some help with.
1) Please let me know if I'm being unreasonable to expect the following. I have a very tight budget on my center stone. It needs to be princess cut, and it needs to come in at around $1500-1600 max. At this price, some might say, who cares about all the fine details, just get a stone that you like. Anyhow, here's my thinking: I'm looking to optimize light performance on an eye-clear stone. For color D-H, it seems like I can approach a .5 to .6 ct stone while adhering to Table% < Depth%. Does this sound right? I haven't seen many stones in person so I'm not sure how large a table is going to be appealing to my eye. I've been trying to get close to the AGA cut charts for ideal cuts (1A?) on princesses.
2) Is it alright to expect to see ASETs from local jewelers when buying at this price range? JA provides these and they have some rocks in my range. Blue Nile says they can't make them. Any other vendors that can get me ASET imaging? I've only been able to meet with a handful of my local jewelers thus far but none carry AGS stones. It seems like they wouldn't be able to provide ASET images, at least not from their own equipment. How can a local jeweler get an ASET shot for me? It seems like the solution is to shop online, but with my limited experience, seeing the stone is person seems like it would be beneficial. Should I head into a city where there's just more supply to shop? New York City isn't far. I don't own an idealscope and I'm not sure I trust myself to use one.
3) What is the best way to see some stones in person? It doesn't seem like many jewelers have a large quantity of stones in my price range and characteristics sitting around in their shops.
4) The setting has been challenging. It needs to be yellow gold and accommodate a princess cut. Here are pictures of similar concepts http://imgur.com/a/n68Whto what she is interested in. She wants something with shanks that are somewhat twisted. I think channel or pave set small side stones are nice as well. No halo. Trying to find all this for <1000 that can accommodate a princess cut has been challenging. Any input here is appreciated. All things failing, something with no additional gems in it would be fine.
1) Please let me know if I'm being unreasonable to expect the following. I have a very tight budget on my center stone. It needs to be princess cut, and it needs to come in at around $1500-1600 max. At this price, some might say, who cares about all the fine details, just get a stone that you like. Anyhow, here's my thinking: I'm looking to optimize light performance on an eye-clear stone. For color D-H, it seems like I can approach a .5 to .6 ct stone while adhering to Table% < Depth%. Does this sound right? I haven't seen many stones in person so I'm not sure how large a table is going to be appealing to my eye. I've been trying to get close to the AGA cut charts for ideal cuts (1A?) on princesses.
2) Is it alright to expect to see ASETs from local jewelers when buying at this price range? JA provides these and they have some rocks in my range. Blue Nile says they can't make them. Any other vendors that can get me ASET imaging? I've only been able to meet with a handful of my local jewelers thus far but none carry AGS stones. It seems like they wouldn't be able to provide ASET images, at least not from their own equipment. How can a local jeweler get an ASET shot for me? It seems like the solution is to shop online, but with my limited experience, seeing the stone is person seems like it would be beneficial. Should I head into a city where there's just more supply to shop? New York City isn't far. I don't own an idealscope and I'm not sure I trust myself to use one.
3) What is the best way to see some stones in person? It doesn't seem like many jewelers have a large quantity of stones in my price range and characteristics sitting around in their shops.
4) The setting has been challenging. It needs to be yellow gold and accommodate a princess cut. Here are pictures of similar concepts http://imgur.com/a/n68Whto what she is interested in. She wants something with shanks that are somewhat twisted. I think channel or pave set small side stones are nice as well. No halo. Trying to find all this for <1000 that can accommodate a princess cut has been challenging. Any input here is appreciated. All things failing, something with no additional gems in it would be fine.