2 carat round diamond help

[FourthInt]

Hi,

I'm pretty new to this and am looking for an engagement ring with 2+ carat center diamond. My budget for the diamond is in the 23-28K range. From what I've read up, I've narrowed my criteria to be a 2+ carat diamond with excellent/ideal cut (BN - signature ideal, GOG - Hearts & Arrows, AGS Ideal, etc.; VS1 or VS2.

I think the biggest dilemma is what color grade to pick for something this size. G was my initial requirement since she would like a diamond that's white, but then from what I've read, H or I would be OK as well, especially from a top view. The range from G to I as you know plays has a big effect on the price of the diamond.

I'm hoping to get some insight on the following (or any other insight would also be greatly appreciated):

1. http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-...tep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD02637652 This one is an I, so it allows me to get a little larger diamond. I've also read that the medium fluorescence may help make it look whiter than the same diamond with no or little blue fluorescence

2. http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-...tep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD03342442

3. http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-...r=BYOR&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&pid=LD03202027

4. http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-...r=BYOR&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&pid=LD02454930

I'm slightly all over the map, but, at least from the HCA results, these all return results of excellent. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

I'd prefer to keep it bluenile since thats where I've chosen the setting from though I would be open to any other suggestions.

Thanks

 

[pomellina]

I'm afraid I'm not qualified to be able to advise which one to go for but I've just bought (a smaller) Signature Ideal diamond from Blue Nile too. Just thought I'd say that I was advised by a sales rep that with the Signature Ideal range all of the diamonds are eye-clean. This means you could consider SI1 options but I think you've got to factor in that the larger the stone, the more visible they might be.

Personally, with such a large budget, I think you might want to consider working with one of the vendors that can give you precise information about the diamonds (James Allen, GOG, BGD, etc.) you're considering because it is such a significant purchase.

I know that GOG has a reputation for excellent customer service and can provide videos of the ones you're considering. This one looks promising. Fire off an email to them and see what they say. Here's the page to contact them: http://www.goodoldgold.com/FindMeADiamond/

Otherwise, buy in confidence from Blue Nile and know that if you're unhappy for any reason you can return the diamond and try again. It all depends on whether you're in a rush and have time to return a diamond if it doesn't live up to your standards.

I don't know much but I really like the look of the 2.45 ct in the photomicrograph. Something about it just really appeals to me. It's hard to say much more as the information is quite limited.

Just to say as well - you do know you can get a 2 ct diamond for closer to $16k than $26k, don't you? Thought I'd point it out because $10k is a pretty significant saving.

 

[Smith1942]

Hi there! Longtime Blue Nile customer here and I've always been happy with them. I have BN Signature diamonds and they're amazing. However, they come with a hefty premium. If you search the BN inventory carefully, you can find one in the Ideal category with just as much sparkle for much less money. You'll need to use the HCA tool in "Tools" at the top to input the diamonds' numbers, and ask the experts here their opinion of those numbers. HCA is just a weeding-out tool and can't tell you everything about the diamond, but I have bought diamonds using HCA and expert PS opinions, and it's worked out brilliantly.

On the other hand, you can use one of the PS vendors here such as Good Old Gold, Whiteflash, James Allen, or Brian Gavin Diamonds. I've bought multiple pieces from each except GOG, and their diamonds are also amazing. They are specialists at what they do, much smaller and more personal than Blue Nile, and they really know what they're doing when it comes to diamonds. In addition, they supply multiple images of each diamond which can be posted here and the people who seriously know what they're talking about will chime in with their opinions of the diamonds' light performances, light return, etc. It takes all risk out of the purchase.

The downside of this personal service and multiple images is that, generally speaking, the diamonds from these vendors tend to be more expensive than an equivalent from BN. An exception is possibly James Allen, who has some amazing prices but there have been complaints on here about the service and the settings quality. I got the most stunning diamond from JA at a price you wouldn't believe, but the setting went awry. Not to worry, the diamond is so great! Brian Gavin's signature diamonds are to die for. They are incredibly beautiful, but his prices are, in my opinion, eye-watering. WF is a great vendor; I'm not sure what their prices are like in comparison to Brian's, but they are still more expensive, generally speaking, than BN.

BN also has over-priced diamonds, but the point is that their inventory is so huge you can usually find a well-priced equivalent. BN does not supply images and they are a massive drop-shipper, meaning that their diamonds are placed all over the world and their supplier's gemologist assesses the diamond at the location. If it's not the Signature range, which is in-house, then BN never sees the diamond. But the supplier will tell BN if it's eyeclean or not, and they have been truthful about this with me in the recent past. They told me that the more expensive diamond was not eyeclean, so I bought the cheaper one on their advice. I can only speak from my own experience, but with me they were truthful.

So, with BN you don't get all the images, but there are cost savings - big ones in the size category you're looking at. With a PS vendor you get ultimate reassurance with the personal service and images, but you will pay for that. It really depends how price-sensitive you are and how comfortable you are with risk. However, a BN purchase without images isn't that risky as it's fully returnable and the return process is smooth. I've used it loads!

Here's an example of what I mean re. price. I looked for diamonds in your size range at the Whiteflash inventory a couple of days ago, and at the BN inventory. I looked at BN Signature and WF A Cut Above (ACA). These two lines are equivalent: both Hearts and Arrows (the info is on BN's site) both with diamonds which score around 1 on the HCA, a number that master cutter Brian Gavin once said was his preferred score. I know this isn't in your budget, I was looking at D/E stones but this is just an example. Here's the price difference between two diamonds the same:

Whiteflash: ACA diamond, 2.03 carats, E, VS2. $39,802
Blue Nile: Signature diamond, 2.02 carats, E, VS2, $36,844

That is a difference of three THOUSAND dollars! And that's why I like Blue Nile the best.

 

[Smith1942]

I just wanted to add a note about colour. My ring is a super-ideal-cut I-colour. It's an amazing cut because it's a Hearts on Fire diamond, and faces up very white in daylight.

However....I would not recommend an I-colour diamond. Mine DOES have tint, even with that super-ideal cut. Once you've seen it, you can't un-see it, and next to my D, E, F, G diamonds it just looks lemony. It also just looks darker than my high-colour diamonds. Someone on here this week said that I-colour is where you start to see tint.

I think that H would be absolutely fine, though. I think there isn't the lemoniness to an H and it represents great value. More money to put towards size!

 

[denverappraiser]

Start by visiting some real jewelers and looking at real diamonds. Do this even if you plan on shopping online when you finally buy. The difference between an G and an I (or an F) is huge in terms of price and it's tiny in terms of look. You need to decide what you're sensitive to and what you're not. This game is always a matter of tradeoffs. She deserves a 2 carat D/IF but you're not getting one because of the price. That's a fine reason but it then starts a negotiation. Drop one item and you can either raise something else or drop the price. Repeat this as many times as necessary until you end up where you want to be. You have no way of knowing if G is acceptable until you see one. Are you willing to pay the extra for an F or take an H with a lower price? The same issue applies to clarity, fluorescence and even size. A 1.9x ct. is significantly cheaper than an otherwise similar 2.0x for example. Whether or not that's better depends on YOU, not the stone.

 

[Smith1942]

What about this one? It scores 1.6 on the HCA and has "Excellent" in every category except spread, which is "very good". I've never seen a diamond with four "excellents" on the HCA. Someone here this week said that the Scintillation category was especially important, and this diamond has an "Excellent" for that. My diamonds usually come out this way on the HCA and they're SUPER sparkly - not that my diamonds should be YOUR benchmark, of course!

It's H, VS2, 2.10 carats, and the bank wire price is $26,177.


http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?pt=setform&track=NavDiaSeaRD#diamonds_pid=LD02714114

 

[constantinos]

Hey FourthInt!

I too am a new posting member, but I feel like I can really offer a viable option for you here

I was looking at modern round cut diamonds for months and I OBSESSED over every detail, every measurement, for hundreds of them. I was looking at very similar specifications to what you required, and had decided that what I wanted was:

2-3 carats
I color (seriously, it's good advice to go and SEE some diamonds in person...if you can tell the difference between an I and something like a G, then I owe you a Coke )
It HAD to be internally flawless (personal reasons) and excellent to ideal cut. I pored over hundreds and hundreds of diamonds, GIA certifications, HCA calculations...I mean, I had it down to the damn tenth of a percentage as to what I "wanted" re things like table size, pavilion angle, etc...you know, OCD kind of picture

More or less I narrowed it down to about 7 and picked these two as the finalists:

https://www.pricescope.com/diamond/9d170278530d23a71c53e404ca9c483e

https://www.pricescope.com/diamond/3be0c1c094601d1adefbf3d65794af55

I have since decided to go with a different kind of cut, so I will not be pursuing either one of these. However, I feel they are exceptional and might be what you are looking for!
I have photos from the vendor of both, and would be happy to email you if you give me an address to which I can send them

Hope this is of some help!

 

[diamond-enthusiast]

You will see excellent on HCA for spread if you get diamonds with depths of around 60%.