2 Options for Rounds - are these any good? newbie help needed :)

[laney]

Hello All -

I''ve been lurking around for a while on your site, and guys give such good info! Now I think we are at a time that we may need your help! It''s hard to spend so much..

I know right now is probably not the best time to buy (before x-mas) but I saw two stones that may be worthwhile. But I am a reeaal newbie and need your advice.

2 Options for ROUNDS Which would you buy? Or not at all....

Option 1
1.56
VS2
J
GIA
Ideal
7.51-7.53-4.57
Depth : 60.8
Table : 55
Girdle: Thin to Med
Cutlet: None
Crown Angle : 34.3
Pavillion Angle: 41
Cutlet: None
Rating on the Cut Advisor : 1.5
Price :$7834
("super b" ideal)


Option 2

1.61
ideal
VS1
I
GIA
11673075
7.54 7.59 4.65
Depth : 61.5
Table : 53
Girdle: T to M
Cutlet: 0.6
Crown Angle : 34.8
Pavillion Angle: 40.5
Rating on the Cut Advisor : 0.6
Price : $8,824.00



We have time - and a teensy bit more room in the budget if necessary. I like size

He wants quality for $$. We both don''t want to get swindled!

Any opinions? THANK YOU for any comments or advice in advance!!!!!!!

-laney

 

[Giangi]

On the paper, I'd choose #2, if the price difference is not a concern... The color is better, the cut is nicer even though the spread is very slightly worse, but still great!!!!

So, if I had to choose between the 1.56 J/VS 2and the 1.61 I/VS 1, I'd get the I VS one... But I would go for a G-H color SI 1 clarity stone... It will be whiter and if you take the time to pick a good SI 1 you won't see anything with your naked eye...

 

[laney]

Thanks Giangi

Here's the hypothetical million dollar question...do you think that a G-H stone at an "eye clean" SI1 is as nice "looking" as the say VS1/Vs2 stones?

I think I agree w/you. My soon to be fiance is "scared" by the definition on some sites about "slightly included". I've seen 'em in person and I can't see a darn thing - especially if inclusions are near the crown...

I think we'll save some $$ or get a "nicer looking" to stone if we go down to SI1.

I also think however, we should visually see the SI1 stone before buying it. Ok- that's dumb - yes, we should look at ANY stone... but I'd feel more comfy getting a VS(X) stone and aprasing it vs a SI1

Is that a crazy way to think?

-laney

 

[canadiangrrl]

Ditto everything Al just said. She's the smart one, I'm just the goofy mutt.

If you haven't seen any I's or J's in person, I'd suggest checking them out before purchase at a B&M store. They can appear slightly yellow and they're not everyone's cup of tea.

Also, some of the sites that show simulated clarity inclusions (I'm looking at you, Blue Nile) are kind of frightening. The cynic in me thinks this is a wise marketing gambit on the part of BN, due to the fact that if you get the already-uneasy consumer to increase his clarity parameters, you also get them to pay more for the stone - lots more - because, in short, clarity costs.

Bear in mind that the inclusions you see in photographs are generally shown at a level of magnification that far supercedes that of the naked eye. When magnified (10x), my stone has feathers and twinning wisps - when not magnified, it's clean as a whistle.

 

[laney]

Thanks guys!

I think I've seen what you've seen canadiangrrl... some of the (Blue Nile) GIA certs.. well,.. you can't "zoom" in on them to even look at the location of the inclusions. Funny how on the "cleaner" ones you can zoom all you want.

I agree we feel that we need to pay more for a "better" rated stone because of it. On the other hand, some of the of the other stones (SI1 - GH) can be just as $$$. Ughhhggh. I started using the cut advisor - and that opened my eyes too.

Ok will keep looking!

BTW - do you have one of those goofy big dogs? We do! She's a merle great dane, 4yrs and super sweet.

-laney

 

[aljdewey]

Laney....the stones you posted were $7800 and $8800 respectively. Is that the range you're looking to stay in? What's your ultimate comfort level in price?

 

[canadiangrrl]

Hi Laney,

I wasn't referring to the GIA certs. Specifically, I was referring to their page on clarity. You can click a model of a diamond and see the variances between clarity grades. Some of them look absolutely horrible, and if the consumer doesn't know any better, it could frighten him away from a perfectly good SI1/2, or even the odd I1 (not that BN carries I1's, I'm just sayin'.)

And Laney, there is a rule here at Pricescope that I feel compelled to inform you of forthwith. If you have a Great Dane, or any other four-legged minion of Satan, for that matter, you must *immediately* post pictures of said beast. See Jax's Great Dane, aptly named Scooby, in her autobiographical post.

 

[Mara]

Definitely #2. I love the size for the price point (EXCELLENT) and also the color/clarity will be fine. The angles are really nice and the smaller table means the diamond should be pretty fiery. Sounds charming. Do you have any pictures?

 

[laney]

----------------
On 12/18/2003 5:32:28 PM canadiangrrl wrote:

Hi Laney,

I wasn't referring to the GIA certs. Specifically, I was referring to their page on clarity. You can click a model of a diamond and see the variances between clarity grades. Some of them look absolutely horrible, and if the consumer doesn't know any better, it could frighten him away from a perfectly good SI1/2, or even the odd I1 (not that BN carries I1's, I'm just sayin'.)

And Laney, there is a rule here at Pricescope that I feel compelled to inform you of forthwith. If you have a Great Dane, or any other four-legged minion of Satan, for that matter, you must *immediately* post pictures of said beast. See Jax's Great Dane, aptly named Scooby, in her autobiographical post.

----------------

Canadiangrrl -

Oh - yea you ARE right. That scale where you can click the radio buttons. It's about as good as the color scale. BUT - my favorite is the size scale - where you can see the diamond getting bigger on the "hand". Ok. yeah. that helps! lol.

AND... you can't ask a dane owner for pics 'cause we like to brag. I did find Jax's post and her Scooby dog is just the cutest!!!

Here's a pic of my Proxy dog. I am working on the computer and she wants to play. Notice how she is EYE LEVEL with me. This works to her advantage most of the time!

Probably get in trouble posting this here! - but here she is! (tried to attach pix)

 

[aljdewey]

----------------
On 12/18/2003 7:40:20 PM laney wrote:









Whew! We bought a house this year, and I hope this is not as hard as that was!! (maybe it's the money part!!

)

----------------




Ha! Take heart, Laney....you're doing all the right things in learning before you spend, and that effort/angst will be well rewarded! It feels hard when you're going through it (I compared stones for 10 days!), but when you find the right fit, you KNOW it.




Regarding the color v. clarity thing.....I have a 1.24 and it's an EYECLEAN SI2. So you'll be a bit larger in size, but you can still afford to look for an eyeclean SI2 or SI1. The bigger savings comes from clarity - the premium between clarity grades is more than the premium between color grades, so clarity is where you'll get more savings.




Also, for most people (not all, but most) clarity is less noticeable than color under casual viewing conditions. Canadiangrl got a fairly clean I1 stone - and most of the visible inclusion was put under a prong. But when she's wearing it daily, and most people see her ring viewing from a distance of 12-24 inches, they aren't going to see the clarity. It's much more likely they'll see the color, esp in larger stones.




If I had to trade off between getting an I, VS or an H, SI......I'd take the H if at all possible. There are some gorgeous I stones floating around, but that's just my preference. One of the appraisers here once said "get the best cut you can afford with the highest color you can afford and the lowest clarity you can tolerate." I found that to be sound advice.

 

[canadiangrrl]

She's gorgeous, Laney.

Glad you left her ears alone.

If you're within spittin' distance of GOG, it will likely be well worth the trip to see Jonathan. By all accounts, he & his staff do an amazing presentation and are terrific at giving their clients personalized service.

I would drop the clarity and up the colour, if I were you. I wanted a very well cut 1.15-1.25 stone in the D/E/F range and dropped the clarity to an AGS graded eyecleanish I1 to get it, and I don't regret it at all. H/SI2 is also a great combination. People's eyes perceive colour differently - but in a larger stone, a yellowish tinge can be evident from the sides in the I/J range. This might bother you, it might not - it all depends on your personal taste, and what your eyes are able to discern.

Edited for spelling.

 

[laney]

Thanks for the addy. composing e-mail now.

What's a GSD? German Shepard? Danes are actually known for being great apartment dogs. It's because they sleep 23 hours a day.

 

[canadiangrrl]

A GSD is indeed the fabulous German Shepherd Dog.

The size issue vis-a-vis Danes has put off my fiance, but in truth, we also want a dog we can run six to eight miles with, and having been once owned by a wonderful GSD/running buddy, that's what we've decided.

There's a Harlequin Dane in my neighbourhood who's among the most docile, calm dogs I've ever met. The owners have three little ones, and he's great with them.

 

[canadiangrrl]

That's a Harlequin, PQ.

They're awesome.

We considered getting a rescued Greyhound, because they do love to run, but they're pretty sensitive and not especially immune to the prodding of future small hands & fingers.

 

[pqcollectibles]

----------------
On 12/19/2003 1:03:03 AM canadiangrrl wrote:

That's a Harlequin, PQ.

They're awesome.

We considered getting a rescued Greyhound, because they do love to run, but they're pretty sensitive and not especially immune to the prodding of future small hands & fingers.

----------------

Thanks for the name, CG! He is awesome and gorgeous. I didn't know what he was and the kids affectionately dubbed him "The Cow". LOL Greyhounds are beautiful, but very sensitive. Our neighbors take retired racers in and stabilize them before the dogs are allowed to be adopted. Some take only a few weeks, while others they have much longer. Life in a family/home setting is a big adjustment for retired racers.

My cat would echo your sentiment on future little hands and feet,.... and screaming too. He did not appreciate his little brother and sisters until they got much, much older. Now that they are big people, he loves them too. But, most definitely not when they were little people.

 

[diamondsman]

I would go with the i color if i was mounting it in white gold or platinum.
If you are planning to set it in yellow gold, then the j color would have a great face up and you don't need to spend the extra$$ on an I color,
I personally like bigger tables then 53 ,(but the measur. of ideal makes are 53%-57% tables).
both stones are very nice.good luck

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 12/18/2003 10:13:22 PM canadiangrrl wrote:

She's gorgeous, Laney.

Glad you left her ears alone.

-----

Yes, she is! OT, but I have to chime in about the ears. This dog will probably not have any problems as the ears don't completely flip. I have one Standard Schnauzer with natural ears. I have one that came with cropped ears. For humane reasons, I never believed in cropping. That said, I have changed my tune. My poor girl with the natural ears has had nothing but trouble with hematoma's & some infections. My cropped ears guy - once past teething had no problems whatsoever.

 

[laney]

----------------
Yes, she is! OT, but I have to chime in about the ears. This dog will probably not have any problems as the ears don't completely flip. I have one Standard Schnauzer with natural ears. I have one that came with cropped ears. For humane reasons, I never believed in cropping. That said, I have changed my tune. My poor girl with the natural ears has had nothing but trouble with hematoma's & some infections. My cropped ears guy - once past teething had no problems whatsoever. ----------------

More doggie stuff.

Acutally - her ears have been completely fine. Must be because they are so floppy. They do get "stuck" alot. Then she looks like she's wearing pink curlers. I didn't know that they cropped for medical reasons. I guess that makes sense!

She's a MERLE - which is like a harliquin as mentioned above. She is the "dominant" and the Black and White is the rescessive - and more prized color. We like her though!

 

[laney]

----------------
On 12/19/2003 8:54:26 AM diamondsman wrote:

I would go with the i color if i was mounting it in white gold or platinum.
If you are planning to set it in yellow gold, then the j color would have a great face up and you don't need to spend the extra$$ on an I color,
I personally like bigger tables then 53 ,(but the measur. of ideal makes are 53%-57% tables).
both stones are very nice.good luck----------------

I am mounting in Platinum.

I just found out that the "VS1 I" was BOUGHT!!!!!!

Darn it. Tring again. Thanks for your advice diamondsman! I did think that the 53% table was small - maybe that's why people didn't originally go for this stone and $$ was lower (due to everthing else in that range (VS1) was way higher. But from what I read it would be more firery. That is okey dokey for me.

Back to the drawing board!

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 12/19/2003 1:38:27 PM laney wrote:

----------------
Acutally - her ears have been completely fine. Must be because they are so floppy. They do get 'stuck' alot. Then she looks like she's wearing pink curlers. I didn't know that they cropped for medical reasons. I guess that makes sense!

Well, the pro cropping camp says it's for medical reasons. I used to think that was a load of bunk - IOW - an excuse. But, with my experience, they have a point. My girl's ears flop at the very top of the her head; so, she has more "ear" to flop. Your pups ears are in a much better position. Don't know if positioning of the ears is breed related or individual dog related. Also, some dog people think that cropping interferes with the natural posturing that dogs do with one another. I'm not a dog; so, I wouldn't know. Makes some sense though.

I love Danes. They are truly gentle giants. One was on my pup's agility team. It was quite the site to see. Big & lumbering - but graceful! The dog would do anything for a hotdog.

Oh, back to the diamond - don't force it. Something will come up that's exactly what you are looking for. Is there a time constraint?

 

[laney]

Fire&Ice

Nope, no time constraint really. Someone mentioned that it might be better to wait out the holidays - and work in between Valentine's day.

That is an option.

(now that my rational self has finished speaking)


Of course I'd like it NOW! are you kidding???!!!!

Ok. back to reality. I thought we were spending a good amount of money - but geesh. Anything I look for seems to be out of range!!!!

Yikes. I just prefer a solitare look. So I wanted to spend money on that - but multiple smaller stones are looking more attractive now.

Oh well.

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 12/19/2003 2:09:06 PM laney wrote:

Fire&Ice

Of course I'd like it NOW! are you kidding???!!!!

Ok. back to reality. I thought we were spending a good amount of money - but geesh. Anything I look for seems to be out of range!!!!

Yikes. I just prefer a solitare look. So I wanted to spend money on that - but multiple smaller stones are looking more attractive now.

Oh well.----------------

Hah! I've been where you are. I know the feeling all too well. At times, I became impatient. I'm glad my prudent nature took over. The wait was worth the final product.

At this point, the good nicely priced stone disappear quickly. It may be prudent to wait until the dust has settled from all the Holiday proposals.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Noooooo, Laney! Don't go smaller diamonds. As a jeweler/diamond broker explained to me, you'll have "lots of little pieces" going that way instead of "one big piece" going with the solitaire. And, the sum of the little diamonds does not equal the one big diamond if you ever need (Heaven forbid!) to resell or want to (hopefully!) upgrade.

 

[laney]

pq -

yea, I read that too. Although I do think the "3" stone setting is nice.... I want a solitare. I just have to wear my armor and plough through all of this searching around. You guys here are such a great help.

I'm looking...loooking.....

 

[Jennifer5973]

What a cute dog! There is only one thing I love more than my diamonds...My doggies!

Oh, and I am a big believer in the value an eye-clean SI stone can present...

 

[laney]

They are cute! They like posing for pictures huh! My boyfriend wants another puppy to keep our current puppy "company" Two great danes... well, I just won't have a seat on the couch anymore (hard enough as it is!)

I just had some SI stones pics sent to me so that I can "see" them instead of just the certificates. They DO look fine.

We are in NY - so we do have some places to go look - however -- the attractiveness of internet pricing and the possible NO TAX option looks like it will take almost 1K off of our purchase. That's a lot.

The more I learn... the more I keep looking! Neverending!