Newbie with $6.5k budget needs advice.

[itsame]

I've been reading this site and obviously cut is king. I'm fine with a GIA EX cut if the HCA is good or a AGS 0. Hearts and arrows isn't that important though I do like a good arrow pattern.

My GF wants the most finger coverage as possible and also wants a "very shiny" diamond.

My budget is $6.5k so I've been looking at 1ct G SI1 diamonds that are ideal or nearly ideal cut. I'd like mount it in a halo to achieve more finger coverage as she liked stones that were over 7mm in diameter. But some of the SI1 inclusion maps are scary and seeing the stone at 20x magnification doesn't help.

I can't really see any in person as the jewelry shops around here are chains with poorly cut diamonds so I have to buy online.


Well, I was looking through various threads here and saw some people looking at J color stones. The price seems to drop quite a bit at this color range and yet you can get a VS1 1.5ct J diamond for the same price range as the 1ct G SI1 that I'm looking at. These J stones seem to face up very white and some even seem very white when viewed from the side.

I'm thinking of a simple mounting like this but in all platinum. Maybe that will help hide the color?


So, now I'm torn. Do I go with a 1ct G SI1 or a 1.4-1.5ct J VS1-SI1? I'll buy the ring later when I can save up some more money. The bigger size is really appealing to me and I personally don't like halos that much as I feel they are quite common. I like the mounting in the pic above because it's somewhat unique and it wraps around the diamond which can hopefully hide some color.

Here's some ones I was looking at that fits my $6500 budget even though I might buy it from a different vendor.
https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/Round/GIA-Certified-1-42-Carat-J-Color-VS2-Clarity-Diamond-KAK8EY
https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/Round/GIA-Certified-1-4-Carat-J-Color-VS1-Clarity-Diamond-A37XVN
https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/Round/GIA-Certified-1-42-Carat-J-Color-VS2-Clarity-Diamond-KAK8EY


Maybe there's better examples that you all can find me? Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Touti]

I wouldn't go below G and VS2. I would optimize the cut, clarity and color and see for my budget what carat i get.

check this post, if you haven't seen it before

https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/what-diamond-to-buy

 

[JDDN]

The good news is that a "shiny" diamond will come from the cut not the color. So stick with a GIA 3X or an AGS 0 diamond. As far as sacrificing color for size, is your GF color sensitive? A J will likely show some tint in certain lighting. Going from a G to a J is a big jump. An H or even an I will probably be a better compromise. If you do go with a halo, just remember that a warmer colored diamond may be more noticeable against whiter melee (the small diamond in the halo). And yes, a setting that has detail around the pavilion like the photo you posted will help hide the color from the side view but not the top.

 

[Gypsy]

I wouldn't go below G and VS2. I would optimize the cut, clarity and color and see for my budget what carat i get.

This is not good advice.
An I Si1 that is eyeclean could be the best for his budget. Or an H.

And they will face up white.

There is no reason to stick with G and above. As for VS2. No reason for that either.

 

[ricky5779]

I agree with Gypsy, not many can notice the difference between G and H color, Probably J color would be too low but I color should be good.

 

[ecf8503]

I have several diamonds of various colors. From the top they all look white, just varying degrees of it. It's like white paint - some have a cool undertone (akin to higher colors of diamonds), and some are warmer (like a J for instance). I can see the tint in my J from an angle, but it isn't bothersome to me at all - I rather like it. It's harder to see tint in an I, and I can still see a difference between my G and my D, but again - none of it is bothersome. It's just "character". If I were you I'd go to a Hearts on Fire dealer if you have one near you (but don't buy anything!) and see if the various color differences are obvious to you and if you like / dislike them (make sure to look at them away from the sparkly jewelers lights, like by a window).

If you are trying to maximize size an H/I color eye-clean SI clarity should be good.

 

[pfunk]

J's are not as yellow as they are made out to sound at times. Having said that, they can and will show some tint in certain lighting and when tilted. It is subtle, but it is there, especially if you are looking for it and trying to see it. I never understand why people always place the cutoff at I color when tint is talked about. Both I and J are a range, fairly broad at that, and there are lots of I's and J's that are darn close in color. I bought both an I and a J and inspected them side by side and I couldn't appreciate a difference, even against a white background. The I was AGS and the J was GIA, but they looked the same. Needless to say, the I went back because it was more expensive despite the fact it was 1.79c vs 2.01c for the J. I recommend going and looking at GIA graded stones in person. Compare stones of similar carat weight and cut quality. My fiancee and I did this and it is how we decided she wasn't color sensitive. She couldnt consistently, accurately determine H vs I vs J. I could consistently tell which was the H, but would mix up I and J sometimes. That was when viewing table down against white background. When viewed face up, neither of us could pick which color was which with any sort of consistency.

 

[itsame]

I have several diamonds of various colors. From the top they all look white, just varying degrees of it. It's like white paint - some have a cool undertone (akin to higher colors of diamonds), and some are warmer (like a J for instance). I can see the tint in my J from an angle, but it isn't bothersome to me at all - I rather like it. It's harder to see tint in an I, and I can still see a difference between my G and my D, but again - none of it is bothersome. It's just "character". If I were you I'd go to a Hearts on Fire dealer if you have one near you (but don't buy anything!) and see if the various color differences are obvious to you and if you like / dislike them (make sure to look at them away from the sparkly jewelers lights, like by a window).

If you are trying to maximize size an H/I color eye-clean SI clarity should be good.

It's funny you mention HoF as that's where I saw some J color stones that were also remarkably white. The salesperson said that ideal cuts like theirs help to hide color and clarity hence why they sell these lower grade stones. Though their prices are still insane. They wouldn't let me look at them in normal indoor or outdoor lighting though so I wasn't sure if they were just being tricky.

I have looked at various colors side by side and G was where I could discern no/very little tint. I did consider H/I but there isn't that much price savings. Yet if I drop to J, I can move up in size quite a bit while also getting a clarity bump so I don't have to concern myself with whether the stone is eye clean.

My GF also can notice the color differences but again this is when comparing stones side by side. Whether wearing a J will bother her is unknown as she doesn't wear jewelry often and has no experience wearing any sort of diamond. She'll be more captivated by the size and sparkliness of a well cut diamond so color likely won't matter as much.

Maybe I should be asking for help finding J diamonds to see what's out there as I'm already familiar with the G SI1 1ct diamonds out there.