Quality of Melee vs Quality of Center stone

[LBug75]

Slowly but surely I''ve been trying to gain info and knowledge and get ready for the e-ring I''d like to have put together in March. I''ll be having a custom ring from Whiteflash made and I was told that the melee would be ACA. I''m still trying to determine what my center stone size will be. I know anywhere in the range of .33 to probably .69. My question is how important is it to get the same quality of center stone. If the center stone isn''t ACA will it look dull in the setting compared to the ACA ? Also should you try to match as far as the color of of the center stone with the melee ? Thanks !!

 

[neatfreak]

Color can be a few grades off with no problem. I personally always try to get the best cut stone I can, whether it''s a center or melee. A non-well cut stone will always look a bit duller compared to a well cut. Give me a perfectly cut ACA that''s a tad smaller, or a few color/clarity grades lower than a non-well cut diamond anyday.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

.33 to .69 is a huge size range! It''d be better to get as close to an ACA as possible, even if that means leaning toward the smaller ct. weight. . .have you checked out WF''s Expert Selection stones? They''re a bit less expensive and look just as good as ACAs (I have both types of stones and cannot tell the difference!).

 

[kcoursolle]

I''d put your main money into the center stone and try to get towards the .7 range in your size variation. A .7 stone looks a great deal larger than a .3 stone. That being said, to address your original question, color can easily be a few grades off from the center stone and you probably won''t notice. In addition, I don''t think you''ll notice any cut differences if your center stone is a well-cut EC and your sidestones are ACA''s.

 

[LBug75]

Thanks so much everyone for the input. This has been very nerve wracking for me. I just want to make sure that I get this done right and not question myself afterwords. I''ll definately check out the expert selection as well. I now that it would help a lot of I could decide on the carat size. I was thinking of sacrificing some color and clarity for size and quality of cut as well. I''ve been trying to find all of the J''s and even K''s on this site as I can and they all look awesome. I''m not sure if they will look different in a yg setting though vs white gold or plat. That''s really another big issue I''m having. I''m definately going to continue to do my homework on this !!