1.6 CT TDW Earring Recommendations (J Color?, SI2, Exc. Cut?

[c3uo]

All,

I am in the process of buying my wife some new round cut earrings for christmas. I wanted them to be in the 1.5 CT TDW range, with no visible readily inclusions, and very sparkly (technical term). I looked at JA, WF, and BN and feel that BN is probably the best overall "value". I also looked at Costco - but can't see GIA certs at price point.

Looking to be in $5K range.

I spent a lot of time checking numbers in HCA and have had BN confirm diamonds are eye clean. I have ended at these two:
http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-j-color-si2-clarity_LD03888756?keyword_search_value=LD03888756
GIA Excellent Cut
HCA 0.8 TIC

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-j-color-si2-clarity_LD03889547?keyword_search_value=LD03889547
GIA Excellent Cut
HCA 1.1 TIC

Will these be beautiful and sparkly for the money? Is J color to low?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: 1.6 CT TDW Earring Recommendations (J Color?, SI2, Exc.

The problem with BN is that you don't have photos of the stones. Regardless of the measurements, you just cannot safely buy SI2's without seeing the diamonds because they can easily have visible inclusions. It is possible to find good SI2's, but you either have to have pictures or someone verifying whether the stones are eyeclean or not. One of these has a primary inclusion of feather (which means crack) and the other cloud, which could affect the brilliance of the stone. But for earrings, they may be okay. I personally would rather have .7 each I SI1's to bring up color and clarity a bit, and I only buy from vendors who supply pictures and idealscope images. $5k is a lot of money and I'd want to know exactly what I am getting.