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1 carat engagement ring help needed

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geoffkin

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 22, 2004
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OK, I have been reading and reading here on PS trying to become a semi expert on diamonds for this ONE really important purchase!!! I think i''ve gone partially blind from my monitor now, so I won''t be able to tell if the diamond I finally get is any good or not!
Would you help me find the best deal with your expertise?
I just know I want it to look OK / good when it is put beside her rich friends'' diamond rings!
Looking for right around 1 carat and it''s going into a simple platinum setting. I''m thinking I should be able to get a great looking ring for just under $5,000??
I''ve figured out I probably want an H color (possibly I is ok) and I just know it needs to be EYECLEAN and SPARKLING. So IDEAL CUT I guess...
I want to be able to get it by the end of next week, seems doable??
ANY SUGGESTIONS GREATLY APPRECIATED!
 
A few possibilities for you:

1.15, I, SI1 for $4630 (before PS discount) - http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-586228.htm# - IS image looks great. This would probably be my first choice.

1.01 H, SI1 for $5182 (before PS discount) - http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-756283.htm# - GORGEOUS IS image

1.06, I, VS2 for $5059 - http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=7034715
 
Wow... you really don't have a lot of time on your hand to shop around. I hope you are near an area where there are some good jewelers you can go visit. If you are looking for IDEAL cut you have to get familiarize with all the specs and then you must look at a good handful to determine how they "face up". Compare them side by side is the best way to tell how different they look. Understand your 4Cs, brilliance, fire and scintillation. And after a while, you will go "blind". (I did)
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happy shopping...
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That's more or less exactly what I'm about to buy, but I'm getting an 81 pointer, not a 1ct. My jeweller has found me an ideal cut stone, H colour and VS2 clarity, but it only has one white crescent moon shaped inclusion off to the edge and is totally eyeclean. The stone is beautiful and very sparkly. He's putting it in exactly the setting I wanted (18ct gold and very similar to the pic below) AND the whole thing is costing me $3,500.

It can be done. Good luck.

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A few more options:

1.011 I SI1 -this one is not a "true" H&A, but it's a nice $4567 (there might be a PS discount, you should check)
0.95 G SI2 AGS Ideal
0.99 G SI2 The plot on this looks terrible, but the numbers I can see are nice. Probably not worth considering, since you are really short on time and this one needs a bit of research...Just looked interesting to me.
 
Bagpuss,
Have you posted this anywhere else? I love the design. Sleek, simple yet elegant. A plus for easy cleaning.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!! I like that ring too bagpuss, but she wants Platinum.

I found this one at Blue Nile, even with the $100 discount, they are probably more expensive, eh?

1.02 IDEAL

I think I pretty much HAVE to buy online, I'm in California where the TAX will eat me alive!
 
Where are you in Cal? (not to be too personal here) It's just there are a few good places in Cal for diamonds. For me, I HAVE TO look at each stone in person so I opted out going online. Let me know...maybe I can direct you to somewhere near you.
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I'm in the San Jose area! I'll be up in San Fran at the GIANTS vs. DODGERS game on SUNDAY though!!

I'm thinking if you can't tell a .96 carat diamond from a 1.09 carat diamond by looking at it, I'd lean toward the .96 and get a better color and hopefully a VS2?! Just want to be able to say it's a '1 carat diamond'
 
I would agree with you on the size difference.

If you have time to take off one day and head in to SF, you want to visit The Gift Center in downtown SF, 888 Brannan St (cross street 9th St), 415-436-6040. That is THE place to shop for Gem. The jewelry stores are in the basement level and they have soooo much inventory. The best part is, they are all under one roof (save you driving time), so you can go from store to store and compare prices/sizes/4Cs/B/F/S in 1 location. My brother and some friends all got their diamonds from there. and if you are paying cash that's even better to negociate the price. Most of them do a lot of whole sales, but individuals can go in and shop too. It might be best to make an appointment with 1 of the jeweler and then hit them all. (be prepare to go "blind")
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Give them a call to check with their business hours. I hope this helps...
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Here is their website... http://www.gcjm.com/directions.html

The site will give you more detail info. Sorry if I was wrong on my previous post, I was going by my memory.
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I thought I'd read it all on here! What's a 'sarin'?

I don't see the CUT on ERD?!

Thanks for the SF tip! I'm trying to save myself $$$ and blindness and shop online though. Hopefully get a rep. dealer that I can trust that it's a great looking rock and is eyeclean! CA Tax on $5,000 is $435+ If I buy online and wire the money, think I can get a great ring at a cheaper price perhaps...
 
A sarin will give you all the info that's missing from the GIA cert (i.e., crown/pav angles & %s)
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AH, the Sarin is all the stuff I haven't figured out yet.

Does anyone see anything wrong with the SPECS on this one...

.93

Seems close enough to 1 carat to me and cheaper, but nice!?
 
What do you mean by 'CUT'? Are you looking for 'Ideal'?

Some websites catagorize by cut - and use liberties with what is labeled ideal. Mark doesn't break his website down by cut...

The stones i posted have the potential to be ideals from the info supplied so far, but Mark would have to get you crown/pav angles/%s for you to know for sure
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That particular WF stone would not be my first choice -
you're losing weight in the depth & girdle.
The angles aren't quite right (it scored a 4.6 HCA) & the symmetry's only good...
 
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On 9/22/2004 5:28:00 PM geoffkin wrote:

AH, the Sarin is all the stuff I haven't figured out yet.

Does anyone see anything wrong with the SPECS on this one...

.93

Seems close enough to 1 carat to me and cheaper, but nice!?----------------
Click to expand...


That one will look smaller than it would if it didn't have that thickish girdle. Try to stay in the thin/medium range to maximize on spread (diameter).
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Hmmm, maybe an extra GRAND would be well spent...?

IDEAL H&A

BUT, I think SI1 would be fine as long as it was eyeclean.

With an AGS report, I'm not going to really be able to tell the diff. between H and I color, whith it set in a Platinum ring, will I?

Maybe see if one of these is eyeclean...

2 at the same price
 
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LOL, did the thought of Hearts and Arrows just shoot you through the heart??
 
The idealscope surely did. WOWZA

Get all the numbers for those and run it through that HCA. Take the best score. Ive seen some good Is on here. Id think that if there was slight to medium flour it would really make it brighter.
 
Remember it's a pretty efficient market if you know what you're doing. So figure out what you can give up. You can not get a 1 carat, H & A, AGS 000, D, IF for $5000. So decide what is important and beware of 'great deals'.

When you see a 1.15, I SI 1 for $4630 WF, forget it, or spend your time trying to figure out why it is selling for 4630 instead of $5400. Trust me, a top end 1.15 doesn't run $4630 at WF. I called about a 1.131 which was $5185, I, SI1, and it had a black inclusion, which I don't accept.

Don't think for a second that you can't get a good deal, don't think for a second you can get a great one either!

Some of us pay a premium to deal with vendors who have tons of info and deal only in AGS 000. Some of us like to find a great diamond for several hundred less that meets the same criteria, but isn't marketed at a premium. Some of us don't mind dealing with brokers (who don't actually have any diamonds), while some prefer to deal with vendors who actually own what they sell.

I know you can get a great diamond for that price. PS will save you a lot!

Good Luck.
 
My head is spinning from all the choices. Just want it eyeclean and white, right around 1 carat with the KILLER SPARKLE!!
 
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On 9/22/2004 7:20:59 PM geoffkin wrote:

My head is spinning from all the choices. Just want it eyeclean and white, right around 1 carat with the KILLER SPARKLE!!----------------
Click to expand...


Try not to get discouraged! It CAN be challenging and even frustrating... but you are doing all the right things! KEEP LEARNING all you can here on PS. Read the tutorials, look at lots of stones. Some people even keep spreadsheets to compare stones, I think that's a good idea!

You WILL find the perfect diamond for you. Just be patient and give it a little time. The time you spend here will pay for itself many times over once, I promise!
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Lynn
 
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On 9/22/2004 5:48:19 PM geoffkin wrote:


Maybe see if one of these is eyeclean...

2 at the same price----------------
Click to expand...


I would have sworn that these two were the same stone but then I saw one angle was .1 different and the one stone is 50 cents more. That surely must be taken into consideration.
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Geo,

I have just looked at two dozen diamonds. There are 3 under $5000 that I have weeded out of the pack as good. They are all Super Ideal Cut. In my referenc, this means

D : 60-62
T: 55-57
H & A
less than 2 on HCA (for the stones I have the numbers)

I should have a deal sealed tommorrow. I do not have links for the diamonds, they are on a spreadsheet with vendor, size, diameter, D, T, HCA, price, price per carat, and stock number.

Assuming all goes well with my purchase, I will send you the Xcell spreadsheet if you want. You must have Xcell. If not, i'll just post the size, number, and vendor, but can't post all the other info.

If you want this sheet, email me, [email protected]
 
Thanks Blueman, that would be very helpful! I do have Excel! I'm hoping to make a purchase tomorrow also. I just don't have the time I wish I had to do all the research and searching. Someone could probably make a good living finding the right stones for the right people...

A coworker recommended Blue Nile, so for some reason I keep looking there.
Would someone check out the GIA report on this one and look at the inclusion diagram of it? Looks like there is a big cloud, but it being VS2 means you can only see it under 10X, right?

VS2 IDEAL CUT
 
On the BlueNile diamond, will it be ok? sure, will it be great, no.

Would I buy it? NO. You can do better.

First, notice it is not in the Signature Collection, which are the best cut stones.

Secondly, it has 'graining'. This is something not discussed a lot on this board but it ain't good. I actually had a jeweler discourage me from buying a stone because he said it had 'graining'.

So if you are in a real hurry, I'd say you can NOT use a broker because they can take a few days.

USCERT 1.03 H & A si1 I 61.8 55.0 EX EX $4,556 6.49-6.56 2139462  

Fine rock but it will take a few days.

DO THIS.

Go the the Home page. Where it has the diamond search in upper left hand corner, click 'search by cut quality', then put in .9 to 1.1 carats, click H & A, put in vs1 to SI1, and G to I color. You will see several options. The "0" means really good, the "O H & A" means even better.

If you can pick an I color or better (G,H) and SI1 or better (vs2 or vs1) and get the AGS 0 H & A.

You CAN easily get a .9-1.03 for less than $5000.

If you see a diamond and the specs indicate it's the same as the one a line below it from another vendor, it's a brokered stone. Sometimes you'll see a stone with 4 vendors listing it. Might be great. forget it. if you are looking to close immediately, a brokered diamond takes more time. If Mark, from Engagement Rings Direct gets a junky stone, he'll reject it, as he should, but some vendors will drop ship it to you..never see it..then you could be stuck with a bad rock.

So get a stone the vendor has now, since you want it now. Take it from the list above so you know it's probably good. If you see something really cheaper than the other stones, forget it.......there is something wrong. All kinds of great stones go for less than $5000 a carat, REALLY nice ones. So expect $4400-$4800/carat for top top stones at 1.0 carat range.

Good luck.
 
Actually, I think that Blue Nile diamond has the potential to be great. I have an absolute top notch diamond that came from BN, and was not part of their signature collection. There are plenty of stones in the sig collection that aren't that great, and plenty that are not in the collection that are awesome. The only difference is that their sig collection comes from one specific supplier. They have other stones listed that could make the cut in terms of quality, they just don't come from the right place.

Blue Nile may ultimately run you a little bit more, on the other hand, they can ship things very quickly, and time is of the essence here from what I can tell.

As for your question on the plot, I wouldn't worry about it, graining or otherwise. It's a VS2, I really doubt you'll be able to spot anything without at least 10X magnification. The fact that there are several inclusions is better in a way -to make the VS2 grade with more inclusions means that they will be smaller ones, so even more likely invisible to the naked eye.

Now, having said all that, you should still request a Sarin report on that stone. BN should be able to provide this, but it might take them a few hours. Call them early to get it.

Again, killer stones are out there. The ones recommended by folks in this thread are great. I especially like the possibility alexah posted with the medium blue fluor, but that's just me
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