Please help me decide on which type of everyday necklace

zah_zah · Nov 24, 2014

Hi All,

I really want to purchase a diamond necklace which I can wear everyday. Something good quality but nothing too blingy blingy or too big (budget factor aswell!)

I was thinking possibly going down the DBTY type of necklace, which I would want something not too overpowering or a single solitaire.
The dilemma is I always thought I would want the classic solitaire but in my budget I can only get a 0.50 carat and seeing it in person seems a little underwhelming to be totally honest. I still love the look and the sparkle it gives but I feel its a bit...small.

So I thought the DBTY type of necklace would be nice and good for everyday. I was thinking either-
5* 0.15 bezel set diamonds in white gold
or
7*0.15 bezel set diamonds in white gold

Both on a standard 16 inch white gold chain.

The thing is I never knew that the DBTY would be so pricey...I thought because they were small diamonds the overall project wouldn't be that expensive I guess I was wrong and thinking about it I keep going back to the idea of wouldn't my money be better spend on a single solitaire

any advice everyone.....what would you do in my situation

Thanks in advance

liaerfbv · Nov 24, 2014

I would either continue saving for a larger solitaire or buy the .50ct from someplace with a great upgrade policy and save to trade up in a year or so.

endless_summer · Nov 24, 2014

liaerfbv|1416884510|3789994 said:
I would either continue saving for a larger solitaire or buy the .50ct from someplace with a great upgrade policy and save to trade up in a year or so.

+1! A well cut .50ct could look fantastic in a martini pendant or a thin bezel - I'd see what stones are available at Whiteflash if only because they have a very generous trade up policy & have a lot of beautiful pendant setting styles available.

HopeDream · Nov 25, 2014

I think a halo bezel pendant could be a nice alternative for something with presence that isn't too expensive:

WF does one:
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamond-pendants/halo-bezel-diamond-pendant-273.htm

Here's the BGD version:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond-pendants/halo-bezel-pendant-18k-white-gold-5677w18

I'm sure other PS vendors could also make you one.

zah_zah · Nov 25, 2014

Thanks for the advice everyone. A halo pendant was an option aswell so I will contact whiteflash about that.
I know you all recommend whiteflash and brian but what does everyone think about bluenile signature diamonds

SB621 · Nov 25, 2014

I actually prefer the DBTY. I bought one pre-loved years ago and I wear it pretty much every day. With the pendant that I wore previously (.76ctw) it was pretty but I wasn't a fan with how it looked with some of my outfits. The DBTY I find to be more versatile and goes with anything. I can wear it from the gym to a night time cocktail party.

Ally T · Nov 25, 2014

I love the DBTY necklace & worked many years ago with a woman who wore hers (16 inch) every day. It always looked stunning!

I have worn a .40ct solitaire pendant for 8 years, day in day out, with the exception of costume Jewellery occasions. This summer for my Big Birthday my husband bought me a .75ct solitaire. I absolutely adore it & it looks very at home on my broad shoulders. BUT... There has been the odd day where I have put my smaller one on. Sometimes it just 'goes' better than the big one.

apacherose · Nov 25, 2014

I would love this as a haloed solitaire everyday pendant. No idea if they could do it, but why not? I'm a jeans and t-shirt girl and I would wear this every.single.day. I love the look of DBTY but I typically only wear light pendant style necklaces, not long or beaded styles, they are not comfortable for me and my kids pull them.

zah_zah · Nov 25, 2014

Can someone help me pick a nice half carat or 0,47-0.55 diamond preferably on bluenile as a UK customer it's just easy for me and has a decent return policy, please.
I'm looking at not spending morethan £2000 in total (setting and diamond) also would a G colour and an eye clean SI1 be ok for a pendant?

zah_zah · Nov 25, 2014

anyone?

yssie · Nov 25, 2014

For a pendant - like for earrings - I'd be looking for a nice, bright, spready 60/60.

Unfortunately BN doesn't provide information beyond the report on stones outside their Signature line, so I can't tell you anything other than the numbers look promising, but this is the 'flavour' of stone I personally would be looking for:
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05166410
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05054038

zah_zah · Nov 25, 2014

Thanks for the reply. Nice stones. Can you help me with the 0.50-0.55 mark.

yssie · Nov 25, 2014

zah_zah|1416953938|3790442 said:
Thanks for the reply. Nice stones. Can you help me with the 0.50-0.55 mark.

Post some that you're interested in and we'll help you sort them.

zah_zah · Nov 26, 2014

How about something like this although higher price than orginated wanted to spend

http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04466738

http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05146468

Jambalaya · Nov 26, 2014

Hi Zah,

I have also noticed that DBTY can be surprisingly expensive. Maybe its because they have to make all those bezels and they're tricky.

I don't think that half a carat is small for a pendant. A well-cut half carat will stand out very well, I think.

I went to the Blue Nile site and clicked to the British version. I was going to suggest that you put the solitaire in a bezel, but I see that the UK site doesn't offer that option on their pendant settings. Bezels make diamonds look bigger. I wonder if you can just shop on the US site where there is more choice? Paying in dollars might get you a better deal, too, depending on the exchange rate.

If you can't do that and if you would indeed like a bezel setting, I think it's worth calling BN and asking if you can have a bezel setting from their US site. If they can sell a bezel pendant to someone sitting in New York, then I don't see why they can't sell one to a customer sitting in London! (Don't know where you are - just everyone knows of London!)

Anyway, shopping on the British site, you said 2,000 pounds including setting, and the 14k setting on the BN UK site is 160 pounds, so I put in a max of 1850 pounds for the diamond. Then I put in Si1 and above for clarity, and H and above for color, and .50 and above for size.

Next, in Advanced Filters, I put in the parameters that BN says are for their Signature line, but I included Ideal cuts in the search. I checked, and it seems you can get diamonds with Signature angles that are in the Ideal section, so you don't have to pay the Signature premium, which is steep. You can find the parameters here: http://www.bluenile.com/uk/signature-ideal-round-diamonds

Then I sorted by carat weight, so biggest diamonds for the budget at the top of the list. Next I went down the list, starting with the biggest, looking for the crown and pavilion angles favored by the HCA tool on Pricescope.

It wasn't easy to find diamonds with crown and pavilion angles that please the HCA! There are not many of them at all on BN, but these below came out well.

As well as having a good HCA result, these stones are within your 2k budget and your parameters, except the H colors (because you said G). H is well below your budget, if you'd like to save money, and should still be nice and white. (There are numerous threads I've read on Pricescope which say that many people find I is where they start to see some tint.) I expanded the search to include them because there are not many BN diamonds where the angles give a good HCA result.

0.62, E, Si1, 1.3 HCA score: 1,736 pounds:
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05120217

0.64, H, Si1, 1.5 HCA score: 1,423 pounds.
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05030469

0.61, H, Si1, 1.5 HCA score: 1,408 pounds.
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05110538

The 0.58 G VS2 that you chose comes out well on the HCA, too. I think it would be a nice choice.

EDIT: I've just found this, and for me it would be the clear winner: 0.60, F, Si1, HCA score of 1 (somewhere on this site someone mentioned that Brian Gavin himself likes diamonds best with an HCA of 1), and just 1,486 pounds:
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05034706 This diamond is pretty much the same as your first choice, in terms of both specs and angles, with the difference that this one is 3 points smaller but 114 pounds cheaper.

About size, I really do think that 0.60 is a nice, substantial size for a diamond pendant, and you can always halo or bezel it to make it look bigger. Although - It's just my opinion, of course - but for me, a 0.60 in a halo would be too dressy for an everyday necklace like you wanted.

This setting is nice - in my opinion, the other "bunny-ear" settings on the site are a little old-fashioned, but of course it's entirely subjective: http://www.bluenile.com/uk/build-your-own-diamond-pendant/diamond-pendant-setting-white-gold_20494?elem=img&track=product

If you get a diamond in the 1400-1500 range and your budget is 2k, you could buy the diamond loose and get a more elaborate setting in the UK. BN's UK pendant settings are rather limited.

Good luck with your choice!

Edit: Sorry for the long message, I just wanted to show you how I arrived at my choices, and also I'm at a loose end since my "job" has got up and walked off! (I look after three elderly relatives and they've gone to stay with other relatives to give me a break. I don't know what to do with myself!)

Jambalaya · Nov 26, 2014

Zah Zah: I Googled and found this thread on purseforum where someone has posted some very sharp, clear images of their Blue Nile bezel solitaire pendant. I don't know what you have in mind for a setting - or even if you like bezels - but if you do like this one and BN won't sell it to you because it's not on your country's website, a good local jeweler should be able to make one almost the same for you.

Note the metal on the back of this one - i.e. it's not just a circle of metal round the diamond but has a "cup" on the back. My friend has a diamond pendant with no back and when I tried it on, the pointed part of the diamond at the back poked me. It was between half and three quarters of a carat. So you might want to be aware of that issue when choosing a setting!

http://forum.purseblog.com/the-jewelry-box/my-blue-nile-bezel-dbty-like-pendant-arrived-827528.html

Jambalaya · Nov 26, 2014

Just wanted to add: I like Yssie's first stone that she posted because it hits the 5.7mm mark and also comes out under 2 on the HCA. I have no experience with what they call 60/60 stones but I hear they are widely recommended for pendants, and "spready" sounds good to me! I think it's a good choice if you want size and are OK with spending in the 1650 range.

zah_zah · Nov 27, 2014

Jambalaya|1417026896|3790778 said:
Hi Zah,

I have also noticed that DBTY can be surprisingly expensive. Maybe its because they have to make all those bezels and they're tricky.

I don't think that half a carat is small for a pendant. A well-cut half carat will stand out very well, I think.

I went to the Blue Nile site and clicked to the British version. I was going to suggest that you put the solitaire in a bezel, but I see that the UK site doesn't offer that option on their pendant settings. Bezels make diamonds look bigger. I wonder if you can just shop on the US site where there is more choice? Paying in dollars might get you a better deal, too, depending on the exchange rate.

If you can't do that and if you would indeed like a bezel setting, I think it's worth calling BN and asking if you can have a bezel setting from their US site. If they can sell a bezel pendant to someone sitting in New York, then I don't see why they can't sell one to a customer sitting in London! (Don't know where you are - just everyone knows of London!)

Anyway, shopping on the British site, you said 2,000 pounds including setting, and the 14k setting on the BN UK site is 160 pounds, so I put in a max of 1850 pounds for the diamond. Then I put in Si1 and above for clarity, and H and above for color, and .50 and above for size.

Next, in Advanced Filters, I put in the parameters that BN says are for their Signature line, but I included Ideal cuts in the search. I checked, and it seems you can get diamonds with Signature angles that are in the Ideal section, so you don't have to pay the Signature premium, which is steep. You can find the parameters here: http://www.bluenile.com/uk/signature-ideal-round-diamonds

Then I sorted by carat weight, so biggest diamonds for the budget at the top of the list. Next I went down the list, starting with the biggest, looking for the crown and pavilion angles favored by the HCA tool on Pricescope.

It wasn't easy to find diamonds with crown and pavilion angles that please the HCA! There are not many of them at all on BN, but these below came out well.

As well as having a good HCA result, these stones are within your 2k budget and your parameters, except the H colors (because you said G). H is well below your budget, if you'd like to save money, and should still be nice and white. (There are numerous threads I've read on Pricescope which say that many people find I is where they start to see some tint.) I expanded the search to include them because there are not many BN diamonds where the angles give a good HCA result.

0.62, E, Si1, 1.3 HCA score: 1,736 pounds:
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05120217

0.64, H, Si1, 1.5 HCA score: 1,423 pounds.
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05030469

0.61, H, Si1, 1.5 HCA score: 1,408 pounds.
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05110538

The 0.58 G VS2 that you chose comes out well on the HCA, too. I think it would be a nice choice.

EDIT: I've just found this, and for me it would be the clear winner: 0.60, F, Si1, HCA score of 1 (somewhere on this site someone mentioned that Brian Gavin himself likes diamonds best with an HCA of 1), and just 1,486 pounds:
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05034706 This diamond is pretty much the same as your first choice, in terms of both specs and angles, with the difference that this one is 3 points smaller but 114 pounds cheaper.

About size, I really do think that 0.60 is a nice, substantial size for a diamond pendant, and you can always halo or bezel it to make it look bigger. Although - It's just my opinion, of course - but for me, a 0.60 in a halo would be too dressy for an everyday necklace like you wanted.

This setting is nice - in my opinion, the other "bunny-ear" settings on the site are a little old-fashioned, but of course it's entirely subjective: http://www.bluenile.com/uk/build-your-own-diamond-pendant/diamond-pendant-setting-white-gold_20494?elem=img&track=product

If you get a diamond in the 1400-1500 range and your budget is 2k, you could buy the diamond loose and get a more elaborate setting in the UK. BN's UK pendant settings are rather limited.

Good luck with your choice!

Edit: Sorry for the long message, I just wanted to show you how I arrived at my choices, and also I'm at a loose end since my "job" has got up and walked off! (I look after three elderly relatives and they've gone to stay with other relatives to give me a break. I don't know what to do with myself!)

Oh wow! Thank you so much for taking your time and having a look at the diamonds for me. I have emailed bluenile if they can tell me if they are eye clean so I can make my choice.
But really il very greatful for your help and guidance on how you picked those diamonds.

It really helps I will be looking at others aswell to see if I can get the biggest stone in my price range but not compromising cut. I don't want to compromise too much ok colour as I don't want it looking too yellow.

Il get back to you if I see any more diamonds and ask for your advice.
Just a quick question is the holloway calculator the best way to determine cut quality if you can see it in person?

Thanks

zah_zah · Nov 27, 2014

This one looks promising
but a bit more pricey.

http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04543868

zah_zah · Nov 27, 2014

or this one

http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05045969

I think im getting hesitant in buying the diamonds with SI1. I know I can ask bluenile to check if its eye clean im just slightly uneasy about it. What do you all think?

zah_zah · Nov 27, 2014

Yssie|1416956638|3790468 said:
zah_zah|1416953938|3790442 said:

Thanks for the reply. Nice stones. Can you help me with the 0.50-0.55 mark.

Click to expand...

Post some that you're interested in and we'll help you sort them.

http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04834963

Does this one look promising?

ame · Nov 27, 2014

I gave you my input on that--as in pass on that one--over on the other forum.

I also think you'd like a DBTY style but that definitely changes the budget and I'd recommend you do that through one of the PS vendors.

For a solitaire though: All of these would pass my muster, assuming they are eyeclean, and all have great HCA scores.
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04587049
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05090361
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05030294
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05110538
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05115542
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04601919
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05086962

I also shared with you the thought on looking at an H, some of the above are H colored. I know you mentioned your concern about the H being yellow. But if you are looking at a G, there's no reason not to consider an H. There will be little difference face up between the two, if any, to the untrained eye. And really I think side by side, face up, you'd likely not notice. And since it's going in a pendant, and not in a ring, it will be less likely to showcase the body color from any other viewing angle. Diamond color is graded face down, not the viewing angle you will be seeing daily, so you're less likely, if you even notice at all, to detect any inherent warmth.

Many PS posters go down even lower for pendants, to I, J even K colored stones.

msop04 · Nov 27, 2014

I don't have anything to add regarding diamond choice, but I just wanted to say that I have a bezel pendant and wear it almost every day. It goes with everything from the LBD to jeans/tshirt! Also, the bezel keeps it from flipping, adds a little size, and makes the diamond pop! These are crappy cell photos, but you can get an idea. I would really consider I and J colored stones for a pendant -- especially if you decide to bezel. You'll bet more bang for your buck, and it'll look white and bright.

Note: Both photos were taken at work with horrendous lighting and beige walls, hence the yellow tint. The diamond is bright and white IRL.

zah_zah · Nov 27, 2014

ame|1417125613|3791401 said:
I gave you my input on that--as in pass on that one--over on the other forum.

I also think you'd like a DBTY style but that definitely changes the budget and I'd recommend you do that through one of the PS vendors.

For a solitaire though: All of these would pass my muster, assuming they are eyeclean, and all have great HCA scores.
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04587049
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05090361
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05030294
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05110538
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05115542
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04601919
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD05086962

I also shared with you the thought on looking at an H, some of the above are H colored. I know you mentioned your concern about the H being yellow. But if you are looking at a G, there's no reason not to consider an H. There will be little difference face up between the two, if any, to the untrained eye. And really I think side by side, face up, you'd likely not notice. And since it's going in a pendant, and not in a ring, it will be less likely to showcase the body color from any other viewing angle. Diamond color is graded face down, not the viewing angle you will be seeing daily, so you're less likely, if you even notice at all, to detect any inherent warmth.

Many PS posters go down even lower for pendants, to I, J even K colored stones.

Thanks! I'm actually quite interested in some of these stones. I have emailed bluenile to ask about if the SI1 are eye clean but I may go for this one
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04601919

But if I go down to H maybe can get a larger size in my budget

ame · Nov 27, 2014

If you're going to bezel it, I wouldn't go much bigger.

zah_zah · Nov 27, 2014

ame|1417127955|3791414 said:
If you're going to bezel it, I wouldn't go much bigger.

No I think I'm going to stick with a simple claw setting

GearGirly · Nov 27, 2014

I've been looking at the flower cluster pendant from whiteflash for an every day, it's very pretty!

zah_zah · Nov 28, 2014

I'm drawing towards this one

What do you all think
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04601919

Jambalaya · Nov 28, 2014

zah_zah|1417171265|3791631 said:
I'm drawing towards this one

What do you all think
http://www.bluenile.com/uk/diamond-details/LD04601919

Hi zah zah,

I think it looks like a very nice diamond - HCA under 2 - and I think you will be very pleased with it. I know there are no ASETs or other pictures, but if for some reason you don't like it, like you said it's easy to return.

Edit: sorry, I got my diamonds mixed up!

Jambalaya · Nov 28, 2014

Zah zah, hold on - I've reviewed the diamonds in this thread and am typing out another reply to you...

Please help me decide on which type of everyday necklace

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