Confused Diamond Rookie Proposing! Decisions, decisions.

[uproar]

Hey everyone newbie here! This looks like a great community full of many experts.
I thought i had my diamond all picked out and was ready to go, but meanwhile the stone i wanted was sold. The good news is that i’ve done further reading I know about the 4C's and that the depth should be about 60.5%-62.5% and the table should be 55%-58% beyond that i'm fairly limited in my knowledge.
I realized that i’m perfectly willing to step down to color “I” and SI1 and MAYBE just maybe SI2 if it is without a doubt eye clean, in order to get to 2 Ct. or more weight which i am aiming for. My ideal diamond would have an excellent/ideal cut or better. I know many are huge fans of hearts and arrows diamonds. My budget is preferably 17k but i’m willing to move up to 18k if there is a can’t miss deal or highly superior quality. Here are a couple diamonds i’ve searched out myself. I’m very open to your suggestions as well!

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/Round-cut/2.05-carat-I-color-SI1-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-156800
How do you you feel about the inclusions?

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.000-i-si1-round-diamond-gia-35399986
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/2.010-i-si1-round-diamond-gia-34215992
How does Brian Gavin Select compare to Hearts and Arrows or True hearts or regular inventory?

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.710-h-si2-round-diamond-ags-104062571033
Here is the stone the sales rep is pushing hard on. Is SI2 a factor to be concerned about? I really like the value as it seems Hearts and Arrows is the absolute top of the line and this is a great price, how likely am i to find this type of deal again close anywhere close to my desired 2.0ct i’d even go as low as 1.8 for a Hearts and Arrows!

PS i know in one thread you mentioned to the poster that Brian Gavin was going to be getting new stock in Sept 2012, do you know when they might replenish stock again?

Thanks for your help I know i’m asking for a lot of info!

 

[rubybeth]

You can run the numbers in the HCA, under 2 is good. The JA stone looks nice. I do like the BGD H SI2, as well. I can't find the inclusions with the virtual loupe thing, and while some would prefer higher clarity for mind-clean reasons, my attitude is that if you can't see it and it's not surface-reaching, it doesn't matter. That seems like a good price on a higher color lower clarity stone while also being eye-clean. One thing I'd recommend is placing the top contenders on hold so that nobody else can snatch them out from under you, which happens esp. when posting on Pricescope.

 

[SMC]

BG hasn't gotten new stock since Dec 11th so I would think that they should be getting new diamonds soon. Why don't you call and ask them? If you're not in a rush, there's no need to jump on the 1.710 signature right now. It seems like there is a "less bright" patch at 7:00 on the diamond image which I don't think I would like as much.

I believe the the BG Select stones aren't eligible for future upgrades, so if you think you want to upgrade in the future, you should stick to BG Signature or Blue if you're going to buy from BG.

The JA stone has an HCA above 2.0 so my first instinct would be to eliminate it. If there are other diamonds that you are interested in from JA, you can put them on hold get get IS images and a gemologist to look at them. JA does limit you to 3 images so choose wisely!

 

[Fly Girl]

Here is a link that explains Brian Gavin Select.

http://niceice.com/brian-gavin-select-vs-signature-diamonds/