1st pair of diamond earrings, 4K budget - WWPSD?

[Circe]

It's that time of year, people - so who better to come to for advice? I've never had diamond earrings, and I think I'm stricken by choice paralysis.

My long-term plan for jewelry is to buy earrings now, to buy a match to my pendant stone somewhere down the line so I can use the pair of them as dangles, and to get a larger pendant eventually (we are talking long-term goals here - real long-term). That said ... now that I have cash in my hot little hands, I'm totally stricken as to how to apply it!

My budget including settings is 4K, which as I figure it can get me in the neighborhood of two carats or so if I drop my quality parameters reaaaaally low (which doesn't bug me - I like warmth, and after seeing my first SI1 up close and personal, I'm a convert). Alternately, it can get me a branded pair of earrings around 1.2 or so - GOG has a pair of lovely August Vintage Rounds that really tempt me - I adore old stones, and I've been wanting to see how these super-duper cuts perform, and this gives me the best of both worlds.

.6, J, VS1, SB - http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7727/
.6, I, VS2, no fluor - http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7726/

If they were both strong blues, I think I'd just snap them up and have done with it. But since they're not, I'm wavering. I can't figure out if I should get these babies, bezel them, and figure the pleasure I'll get out of wearing them will amortize the cost if I ever want to upgrade ... or if I should get bigger earrings of some other sort to start with (see poll options) ... or if I should buy the matching pear stone and some simple hoops to wear them on now, and wait for the perfect studs to come along. Help!

 

[LALove]

Have you spoken to GOG about the probability of getting a matching one to the first stone? If it was likely there'd be another with the same specs and SB you could buy the first diamond now and get a SB match when it becomes available. I love those cuts!!

 

[yssie]

I do love the AVRs, but.. they'll be in your ears, and you just won't be able to appreciate the performance nuances that you paid the brand premium for unless you walk around with a mirror in front of you! If you were debating a ring I'd say go for it...

If that budget would get you 2ctw unbranded, that's my pick! Earrings are IMO a species of adornment as much for you as those looking at you, and those looking at you are going to appreciate *size* over perfection of cut

In fact, not only would I recommend skipping branded stones, I'd say actively search for stones w/ shallower proportions than "ideal"-
-dirt on a shallower pavilion has less effect on light return, and dirty diamond earrings are unfortunately inevitable
-face up larger for the ct wt
-obstruction, the biggest issue w/ slightly shallow stones, isn't an issue w/o anything to block direct light
-show less colour, though this isn't an issue for someone who doesn't mind/likes the warmth

 

[antelope1]

If that budget would get you 2ctw unbranded, that's my pick! Earrings are IMO a species of adornment as much for you as those looking at you, and those looking at you are going to appreciate *size* over perfection of cut

2 tcw! Do it! If you can do it for $4k, post how too!

 

[yssie]

If that budget would get you 2ctw unbranded, that's my pick! Earrings are IMO a species of adornment as much for you as those looking at you, and those looking at you are going to appreciate *size* over perfection of cut

2 tcw! Do it! If you can do it for $4k, post how too!

I'm looking at BGD's inventory, I'll bet they could cook up a pair of 0.9ct Ks under budget..

 

[rosetta]

Can I just ditto everything yssie said?

I saw your other thread. I think anyone who is rocking fabulous stones elsewhere on their body needs some real stones for their ears.

I've completely lost the ability to wear fake bling. Sure, it means I will have less variety, but it's the quality that counts. I'm just sitting at home but I have my tiny studs, OEC pendant and three stone ring on. All of it understated (well maybe not the 3 stone) and it makes me feel fabulous just sitting in lounge pants.

I think 2 ctw is very substantial and you can tick studs off your list of must haves. I don't think you'll regret it Circe!

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

I didn't 'vote' because my pick isn't up there.

If i had had the confidence in my diamond selecting abilities I would have gone down the road that yssie has advised you on. Take the time to select some stones on the shallower side and maxx out the size for your budget.

On the other hand though, i am glad that i do have upgradables because although my 1.2ct looks pretty substantial in my small ears i can see myself going larger in the next few years and I am very glad that I have that option without having to start over again.

Rosetta... this comment of yours made me smile..

"it makes me feel fabulous just sitting in lounge pants"

because it is sooo true! I am home in my pj's with my hair in a ponytail and i caught a glimpse of myself with my earrings in the mirror and I just looked so good! Seriously, i could walk outside in a paper bag and still feel fabulous as long as i have my bling on.

 

[tyty333]

I'd do what Yssie said...max the size out with shallower non-branded stones unless...you might want to upgrade them some
day then I would get upgradable stones.

 

[Circe]

Have you spoken to GOG about the probability of getting a matching one to the first stone? If it was likely there'd be another with the same specs and SB you could buy the first diamond now and get a SB match when it becomes available. I love those cuts!!

I did ... Sarah at GOG (awesomely quick correspondence, btw!) said that they'd just cut this batch, and there probably wouldn't be more for a while. I like the upgrade option, but I wouldn't see myself doing it inside of a year (or hopefully, even five) - I'm planning to bezel the stones. So if I go for those, that'll be that for the immediate future. I love the cuts, too, so - torn!

 

[Circe]

I do love the AVRs, but.. they'll be in your ears, and you just won't be able to appreciate the performance nuances that you paid the brand premium for unless you walk around with a mirror in front of you! If you were debating a ring I'd say go for it...

If that budget would get you 2ctw unbranded, that's my pick! Earrings are IMO a species of adornment as much for you as those looking at you, and those looking at you are going to appreciate *size* over perfection of cut

In fact, not only would I recommend skipping branded stones, I'd say actively search for stones w/ shallower proportions than "ideal"-
-dirt on a shallower pavilion has less effect on light return, and dirty diamond earrings are unfortunately inevitable
-face up larger for the ct wt
-obstruction, the biggest issue w/ slightly shallow stones, isn't an issue w/o anything to block direct light
-show less colour, though this isn't an issue for someone who doesn't mind/likes the warmth

The temptation to go straight for 2 carats is strong in this one! The thing is, to get that, I'd have to buy estate/antique, and that means no upgrade policy. On the one hand, do I see myself craving bigger studs after having gone a lifetime without? Well ... no. On the other hand, if I find myself feeling like some of the people in my hangout thread felt, about pricey earrings being wasted, it would be nice to have the option to swap.

I see people talking about the ideal earring proportions, but I've never been able to figure out the exact numbers. By "shallower," are we talking, like 57% depth? Lower yet? If there's a thread you could point me to, or a cheat sheet set of #s, I'd be v. grateful! The new search sorta means you have to know exactly what you're looking for, or, bupkis.

 

[Circe]

If that budget would get you 2ctw unbranded, that's my pick! Earrings are IMO a species of adornment as much for you as those looking at you, and those looking at you are going to appreciate *size* over perfection of cut

2 tcw! Do it! If you can do it for $4k, post how too!

Vintage, vintage, vintage. It's sort of a crapshoot, but I took the GIA diamonds course, so I feel comfortable buying uncerted stones - I can "appraise" them for myself. But the downside of that would be, no upgrade policy ....

 

[Circe]

If that budget would get you 2ctw unbranded, that's my pick! Earrings are IMO a species of adornment as much for you as those looking at you, and those looking at you are going to appreciate *size* over perfection of cut

2 tcw! Do it! If you can do it for $4k, post how too!

I'm looking at BGD's inventory, I'll bet they could cook up a pair of 0.9ct Ks under budget..

Ooo, this is tempting .... I will write to them and ask them what they might have in inventory. But with BGD, aren't they all ideal cut, thus eliminating the possibility of shallower, spreadier, more earring-appropriate stones?

 

[Circe]

Can I just ditto everything yssie said?

I saw your other thread. I think anyone who is rocking fabulous stones elsewhere on their body needs some real stones for their ears.

I've completely lost the ability to wear fake bling. Sure, it means I will have less variety, but it's the quality that counts. I'm just sitting at home but I have my tiny studs, OEC pendant and three stone ring on. All of it understated (well maybe not the 3 stone) and it makes me feel fabulous just sitting in lounge pants.

I think 2 ctw is very substantial and you can tick studs off your list of must haves. I don't think you'll regret it Circe!

Heheheh - I do know exactly what you mean. My pendant makes me feel luxurious, no matter what I'm wearing, and I do like the notion of earrings for the same reason. Now I just have to find the right pair ....

 

[marcy]

I voted for the ideal cut. I would take any of the choices though.

 

[Eva*]

Vintage! I vote vintage!!! Ok, am calm now. But seriously, whether it's the AV rounds or antique, the large facets just look so fantastic bezeled. Of course, much depends on what jewelry you already own, and how well these will play with the rest of those items. If you can't tell already, I'm not very partial since I'm hoping to get a pair of antique cushion-cut studs, bezeled, but I also own ideal cut rounds and love them too.

 

[Circe]

I voted for the ideal cut. I would take any of the choices though.

Heheheh - Marcy, could you say a little about why? Do you just like them more, or do you think they're specifically better for earrings for some reason?

Since it's a Saturday, shopping around in the diamond district was a bust, though one woman whose windows I've always admired said she could easily source a matching pair of OECs with the specs I want - she'll let me know what she's got on Wednesday or so. I really would like to go on a weekday when things are open to browse, though - my problem is that none of my friends like jewelry, and it's no fun going alone. Oh, what I wouldn't give to have a NY GTG in the offing!

I did drop by Tiffany's, just to see how the size would look: surprisingly, 1.2 studs looked plenty big! So I will consider anything beyond that as a bonus.

Thinking about it more, I think having one stone VSB and one with no fluor at all would bug me ... so I'll e-mail GOG to release the AVRs (somebody who's less of a fluor freak than me should totally get them - they're gorgeous!), and I'll continue to hunt for a matching pair. I e-mailed BGD ... any other vendors y'all would recommend? I want somebody who can source matching stones with fluor, and I want somebody with a trade-up policy. The two together appears harder to come by than one would think!

 

[Eva*]

Circe, I went to Tiffany too when I was shopping for studs. Just to warn, their prong settings for earrings are surprisingly bulky, causing the earrings to look considerably larger.

 

[yennyfire]

I guess I'm wondering if you truly "need" 2ctw earrings, based on your comment about the 1.2 pair you tried on. I have studs that are 1.50ctw and honestly, I think they are too big. I say this because I have tiny ear lobes and one of my earring holes is off center (da*n peditrician didn't know what he was doing!), so when I wear my studs, one of them hangs off of my ear and I hate it. I rarely wear them as a result. However, when I do, I couldn't carry off more than .75 per ear based on my earlobes. If you could get 1.50ctw or even 1.75ctw, you could probably get closer to ideal cut (if this is important to you), though I like Yssie's suggestion...I wouldn't know how to look for a shallower stone, but I'm sure she (and others here) could help you.


It's a lovely dilemna to have though. Can't wait to see what you decide.

 

[Circe]

Circe, I went to Tiffany too when I was shopping for studs. Just to warn, their prong settings for earrings are surprisingly bulky, causing the earrings to look considerably larger.

Eva, thanks for the heads up! It was the bezel settings I was looking at - they didn't look like the thinnest of the thin, but I think they were about par for the course.

I'm like you - I love vintage everything, so the idea of old stones really appeals to me! But I think GOG is the only company cutting them now, and they don't have anything in stock that suits. But, who knows ... I will see if I can, a) get a tighter timeline on when the next batch will be cut (and if it might contain anything like what I'm looking for), or, b) start hunting hard on the vintage front ....

 

[yssie]

Decisions, decisions


By shallow I actually mean pavilion angle - I'd happily do an obstructing 32-34crown/40.4-6pav combo for an earring

This is the original thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hca-shallow-proportions-and-the-effects-of-dirt.26140/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hca-shallow-proportions-and-the-effects-of-dirt.26140/[/URL]
But irritatingly enough the comparison photos of the diamonds aren't showing for me!
Garry talks about it a bit on the HCA info page: https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
short article, helps explain why diamond/oil RI favours light return w/ shallow pav http://www.gia.edu/research-resources/cut-microsite-pdfs/optics-of-a-dirty-diamond.pdf

 

[Circe]

I guess I'm wondering if you truly "need" 2ctw earrings, based on your comment about the 1.2 pair you tried on. I have studs that are 1.50ctw and honestly, I think they are too big. I say this because I have tiny ear lobes and one of my earring holes is off center (da*n peditrician didn't know what he was doing!), so when I wear my studs, one of them hangs off of my ear and I hate it. I rarely wear them as a result. However, when I do, I couldn't carry off more than .75 per ear based on my earlobes. If you could get 1.50ctw or even 1.75ctw, you could probably get closer to ideal cut (if this is important to you), though I like Yssie's suggestion...I wouldn't know how to look for a shallower stone, but I'm sure she (and others here) could help you.


It's a lovely dilemna to have though. Can't wait to see what you decide.

Heh - "need" and need. Allow me to attach a picture of my earlobes below - this is me wearing my 5 mm citrine studs. .6 stones are 5.4, roughly, so figuring with bezels they'll be maaaaaaaaaaaybe 5.8, I'm thinking I have plenty of room to play with. (Also, side-note: if I ever get to the point where earrings are too big for studs, I so plan on getting leverbacks! If you don't like how your studs look, is that something worth considering?) So I'm thinking 2 carats, or roughly 7.4 mm per ear including bezel, would be a DREAM if I could swing them - I hadn't realized I could get that close with an upgradable vendor.

But it is a practical consideration - what say y'all? Can I swing some big mommas?

 

[yssie]

But it is a practical consideration - what say y'all? Can I swing some big mommas?

oh, you definitely *need* them

 

[rosetta]

Circe my lobes are runts compared to yours. Seriously my 0.37 ct stud covers quite a bit of it.

You need to go bigger gal. 7.4 mm sounds sweet to me.

 

[Dandi]

I didn't 'vote' because my pick isn't up there.
because it is sooo true! I am home in my pj's with my hair in a ponytail and i caught a glimpse of myself with my earrings in the mirror and I just looked so good! Seriously, i could walk outside in a paper bag and still feel fabulous as long as i have my bling on.

Could also be attributed to the fact that you're drop dead gorgeous!

Circe, I'm in the Yssie camp with this one, IMHO she's spot on re. maxing out the size for the budget! Good luck hun!

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Aww thanks DandiAndi!! He he

 

[Circe]

Decisions, decisions


By shallow I actually mean pavilion angle - I'd happily do an obstructing 32-34crown/40.4-6pav combo for an earring

This is the original thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hca-shallow-proportions-and-the-effects-of-dirt.26140/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hca-shallow-proportions-and-the-effects-of-dirt.26140/[/URL]
But irritatingly enough the comparison photos of the diamonds aren't showing for me!
Garry talks about it a bit on the HCA info page: https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
short article, helps explain why diamond/oil RI favours light return w/ shallow pav http://www.gia.edu/research-resources/cut-microsite-pdfs/optics-of-a-dirty-diamond.pdf

Aha! Okay, now it's all starting to come together ... thanks, Yssie! I'll go over these with a fine toothed comb, and see if I can find a pair that fits the bill. In the meantime, I just have to resist all of the tempting almost-but-not-quite-right things that are out there ... there's an eBay auction with a pair of really pretty OECs ending in, like, an hour, and it's taking all my willpower to resist the instant gratification!

(For the curious ... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350411705538&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)

 

[yssie]

Decisions, decisions


By shallow I actually mean pavilion angle - I'd happily do an obstructing 32-34crown/40.4-6pav combo for an earring

This is the original thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hca-shallow-proportions-and-the-effects-of-dirt.26140/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hca-shallow-proportions-and-the-effects-of-dirt.26140/[/URL]
But irritatingly enough the comparison photos of the diamonds aren't showing for me!
Garry talks about it a bit on the HCA info page: https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
short article, helps explain why diamond/oil RI favours light return w/ shallow pav http://www.gia.edu/research-resources/cut-microsite-pdfs/optics-of-a-dirty-diamond.pdf

Aha! Okay, now it's all starting to come together ... thanks, Yssie! I'll go over these with a fine toothed comb, and see if I can find a pair that fits the bill. In the meantime, I just have to resist all of the tempting almost-but-not-quite-right things that are out there ... there's an eBay auction with a pair of really pretty OECs ending in, like, an hour, and it's taking all my willpower to resist the instant gratification!

(For the curious ... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350411705538&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)

I think I can help with that - they look like pretty stones but if I'm reading the return policy right, in order to get a refund less restocking fee you must somehow obtain a "certified, verifiable" certificate - whatever that means - from a GG to prove misrepresentation, ship, and the seller must *receive* the item within 3 days of getting it..?!

 

[Circe]

Decisions, decisions


By shallow I actually mean pavilion angle - I'd happily do an obstructing 32-34crown/40.4-6pav combo for an earring

This is the original thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hca-shallow-proportions-and-the-effects-of-dirt.26140/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hca-shallow-proportions-and-the-effects-of-dirt.26140/[/URL]
But irritatingly enough the comparison photos of the diamonds aren't showing for me!
Garry talks about it a bit on the HCA info page: https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
short article, helps explain why diamond/oil RI favours light return w/ shallow pav http://www.gia.edu/research-resources/cut-microsite-pdfs/optics-of-a-dirty-diamond.pdf

Aha! Okay, now it's all starting to come together ... thanks, Yssie! I'll go over these with a fine toothed comb, and see if I can find a pair that fits the bill. In the meantime, I just have to resist all of the tempting almost-but-not-quite-right things that are out there ... there's an eBay auction with a pair of really pretty OECs ending in, like, an hour, and it's taking all my willpower to resist the instant gratification!

(For the curious ... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350411705538&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)

I think I can help with that - they look like pretty stones but if I'm reading the return policy right, in order to get a refund less restocking fee you must somehow obtain a "certified, verifiable" certificate - whatever that means - from a GG to prove misrepresentation, ship, and the seller must *receive* the item within 3 days of getting it..?!

Yep, that would be the part where the willpower kicked in! They're pretty, pretty, pretty, but those conditions do not make me comfortable. So I will exercise patience and wait for the perfect pair of great big (strong blue) stones to come along ....

 

[yssie]

lol! But the waiting *is* the worst part

 

[Circe]

Ahahaha! Wiktory!

I contacted a number of vendors for this project, all of whom were lovely and helpful and professional ... but Yekutiel at I.D. Jewelry went above and beyond to find me something I really loved. I'm deeply impressed with his customer service and dedication to making the customer happy. I'm going to be getting a 1.43 tcw pair of H studs with strong blue fluor - H&A! I'm absolutely delighted. I think these will be huge and gorgeous, but it's also nice to know that I can upgrade in the future if the spirit moves me ... and I'm psyched to be getting my first pair of ideal cut stones.

Now, the only question that remains is ... milgrained bezel studs? Or milgrained bezel leverbacks?