0.5 ct E ring buying tips

[C981]

First of all I want to say a big thank you to everyone on this board. I have gone from not knowing what the 4Cs were a couple of days ago, to having a pretty strong understanding of my priorities there but also the importance of different factors of the cut, often "overlooked" or hidden on various sellers sites.

I am currently looking to buy an engagement ring for my significant other. I know she wants a six prong solitaire in platinum paired with a diamond around the 0.5ct mark.

Now she has not mentioned any specifics about the diamond itself and I doubt she has given it much thought at all. I, however, want it to be a nice one. If I am going to be spending money on it I might as well put some extra and get something that looks great.

Where I am located there are not any large brick-and-mortar stores or such where I could browse many diamonds, so it will have to be an online purchase (with a reputable vendor here). So this is where I highly appreciate any help I could get on this forum.

I had spent hours and hours to pick a diamond and placed an order, but a few days later the vendor called me and said that this one appeared milky in person. And now I am back on square one.

So far I have narrowed down the search to these 4 rocks. Please let me know what you think. There is some price variance between these but nothing I can't stomach, so just going by which one seems to be the "best" one for now.

GIA
0.55ct VS1 F HCA: 0.9 GIA James Allen
0.50ct VS2 F HCA: 0.9 GIA James Allen
0.50ct VS2 D HCA: 0.7 GIA
0.50ct VS1 F HCA: 0.9 GIA

The two first ones I saw that James Allen have on their website (this is not the vendor I am using). The VS2 here looks like it has a lot of inclusions though. Would this be more than what could be considered "eye clean"? (I know GIA does not grade by "eye clean" but my rationale for looking at VS2 and up was that since its an online purchase it would be hard for me to check if an IS2 is eye clean or not, while VS2 would most often be considered such, at least for diamonds of this size). My only concern is "eye clean" and not "mind clean", so I rather purchase a VS2 than a VS1 as long as the inclusions in the VS2 are not too apparent. Baring in mind this is a quite "small" diamond.

I don't care about fluorescence as long as it does not induce milkiness or oiliness.

Naturally there is a return policy but trying to minimise my risk fo error here.


A huge thank you to everyone/anyone who gets through my wall of text and guides me here.

 

[lovedogs]

I wouldn't buy a stone without being able to see a video/pics. I dont like the VS2 from the james allen video. On paper the specs look good, but I don't like it in the videos. I do like the VS1 a lot more. FWIW for a .5 stone you could easily drop to G color without any issues.

 

[lovedogs]

Ps. What is your budget? We could help you!

 

[C981]

Hi, thanks for your reply!

I agree, the VS2 sounded really good on paper but the video is not too promising. Was thinking maybe I am "overreacting" due to the magnification but it does seem to carry more inclusions than other VS2s at the same vendor.

I will look at some G colours too per your recommendation! I understand that there should be no issues but was a bit worried since its a platinum setting.

It is a bit tricky to specify a budget exactly because I am in the EU and the stones I see at some American sites seem to be quite a bit more expensive on the EU counterparts, partially due to VAT and customs I assume. Except for Blue Niles site (they have EU sites) which seem to be very close to what my vendor is charging. But the stones at James Allen there were around 1300-1550 USD and in Blue Niles EU site (VAT and customs accounted for) the prices seem to be around 1600-1800 EUR (quite a difference..). I am fine within this range.

I am currently trying to get ahold of pics/videos for the other diamonds on the list.

Thank you!

 

[wifelife]

Just to throw this out there, I have a vs2 with a carbon spot on the table. On magnification online, clearly visible. In person, completely eye clean from the top and sides at all distances. Obviously if there are other things you don’t like about that stone other than clarity, fair enough!

 

[C981]

Just to throw this out there, I have a vs2 with a carbon spot on the table. On magnification online, clearly visible. In person, completely eye clean from the top and sides at all distances. Obviously if there are other things you don’t like about that stone other than clarity, fair enough!

This is the tricky part. My understanding is that most VS2s would be like this for the average consumer (well, most likely even SI) and I really only care about eye clean. Though at this size of a diamond the price difference is not too big between the VS2s and VS1s so between the two JA stones in my original post I'd shell out the difference and call it a peace of mind insurance (not as in mind clean but as in not having to deal with returns etc if deemed not good enough in person).