2cts for $10,000?

[jayreneepea]

Does anyone think I could get a decent 2 ct. diamond for $10,000? I prefer a diamond without an apparent yellow tint and am perfectly fine with inclusions - obviously not eye visible inclusions, but ones I can see with a loop are fine.

This is an upgrade for my 40th birthday/12 year wedding anniversary. Dh hasn''t given me a budget, he just keeps saying that he wants me to be happy. I''m sure that''s all true, but I know him well enough to know that he would be happier if my current ring was doing the trick. I do appreciate that he is willing to upgrade for me knowing that that is what I really want. That being said, I want to keep the costs down. I would be lying if I said I didn''t want 2cts as I am sure this will be my one and only upgrade. So, I am trying to figure out if I should get my mind off the 2''s and get used to the 1.5 range. I have a 1ct pear right now, so I really want it to be noticeabley larger.

I like, cushion, radiant and round -- in that order. I''m afraid of the cushion looking smaller than the round, although I have heard mixed reviews about this.

Seems like every ring I have seen in person has been EGL certified. Honestly they look fine to me. I just don''t want to pay GIA prices if I''m getting an EGL diamond.

Thanks for any help.
jayrenay

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Cushions have more weight in the bottm, so they'll not face up as large as a round.

No, you cannot get a decent round 2 ct. stone for $10,000. You'll have to go to a lower color/clarity to get a 1.5 round for $10,000. You'd probably need to go to $15,000 or so to get a 2 ct. J color Si1 ideal cut stone...do the price search on this site and you can get a more accurate idea.

If you are not concerned with getting an excellent cut diamond, then you may not need to have a GIA or AGS cert. But other certs can be inaccurate, so you won't know if you're paying a fair price or not. And they certainly will not have the beauty of a better cut diamond.

ETA: I pulled up 4 ideal cut I color SI1's and they ranged from about $16,000 to $20,000.

 

[coda72]

I found a couple of 2 carat radiants that are right around 10,000. They are both SI2''s, so they may or may not be eyeclean. You would have to check with the vendor. Here are the links:

http://www.uniondiamond.com/diamonds/diamonds.php?item_id=AA137685&search_type_id=2&action_type_id=2&network_id=0cf05810a0f83094f6e9972ef21cdd34#

http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=31464937&flag=ps

 

[jayreneepea]

Date: 8/10/2006 1:26:51 PM
Author: coda72
I found a couple of 2 carat radiants that are right around 10,000. They are both SI2''s, so they may or may not be eyeclean. You would have to check with the vendor. Here are the links:

http://www.uniondiamond.com/diamonds/diamonds.php?item_id=AA137685&search_type_id=2&action_type_id=2&network_id=0cf05810a0f83094f6e9972ef21cdd34#

http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=31464937&flag=ps

Do radiants cost less than rounds or is it just harder to tell a good cut from a bad cut looking at the numbers? I''ve heard that to be true with cushions.

Would a radiant also look smaller than a round like the cushion?

 

[jayreneepea]

style="WIDTH: 97.77%; HEIGHT: 193px">Date: 8/10/2006 1:25:48 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Cushions have more weight in the bottm, so they''ll not face up as large as a round.

No, you cannot get a decent round 2 ct. stone for $10,000. You''ll have to go to a lower color/clarity to get a 1.5 round for $10,000. You''d probably need to go to $15,000 or so to get a 2 ct. J color Si1 ideal cut stone...do the price search on this site and you can get a more accurate idea.

If you are not concerned with getting an excellent cut diamond, then you may not need to have a GIA or AGS cert. But other certs can be inaccurate, so you won''t know if you''re paying a fair price or not. And they certainly will not have the beauty of a better cut diamond.

ETA: I pulled up 4 ideal cut I color SI1''s and they ranged from about $16,000 to $20,000.

I can''t possibly ask him to spend 16,000 to $20,000 so as much as it pains me, I will start looking at other sizes. I''ve tried pulling up different rounds and the prices are just all over the place and very overwhelming.

 

[Kaleigh]

Mark Turnowski from www.engagementringsdirect.com has found some gorgeous cushions. Worth taking a look. Good luck!!

 

[jayreneepea]

Date: 8/10/2006 2:03:52 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Mark Turnowski from www.engagementringsdirect.com has found some gorgeous cushions. Worth taking a look. Good luck!!

Thank you Kaleigh, he does have a huge selection. It''s just overwhelming to me because the prices are all over the place. I see so many under $10,000 and a whole bunch well over that amount so I just can''t figure out if any of the lower priced ones are decent. I wish I could see them in person. Whiteflash aslo has a bunch and again the prices are all over the place. At least with rounds you can tell from the number wether it a good diamond or not.

 

[phoenixgirl]

OK, some ideas:

A little over your budget and under 2 carats but a yummy stone (cushion)

OK, this might fit your bill. 2.03 cushion I SI2

2.01 J VS1 radiant

 

[jayreneepea]

I love how GOG has pics of the stone! That cushion does seem like a very nice stone.

Do you know if the magnified picture at James Allen is the acutal picture. If it is then that is a gorgeous radiant!! Sure doesn''t look like a J!

Thanks for doing some research for me, I really appreciate it!

Now if I could just find the perfect setting! LOL

 

[coda72]

Date: 8/10/2006 1:58:54 PM
Author: jayrenay9

Do radiants cost less than rounds or is it just harder to tell a good cut from a bad cut looking at the numbers? I''ve heard that to be true with cushions.

Would a radiant also look smaller than a round like the cushion?

Radiants do tend to cost less than rounds and maybe also cushions. I don''t know much about cushions, so don''t take my word on it. I don''t think radiants look that much smaller than rounds, especially if they are rectangular and if the depth is in the low to mid 60''s. The problem with so many radiants is that they are cut deep, so they do look much smaller than they should.

No offense, phoenixgirl, but I would not really consider the radiant from James Allen as a candidate. It is pretty deep and as a J, it will likely show more color than a round J would. For radiants I would stick to H or higher color, and since I''m a picky person, I would probably go with a G or higher. SI2 might not be a problem clarity wise. I''ve seen some great SI2 radiants. The crushed ice facet pattern tends to hide inclusions. But inclusions can still show in an SI2, so that''s why you have to check with the vendor to make sure that it is eyeclean. I''ll check around to see if there''s any more that look good that are in your price range.

 

[coda72]

I didn''t see any more radiants in your price range. The one from Abazias that I posted the link for looks like it could be a decent possibility if it''s eyeclean. It does have medium blue fluorescence, but that usually isn''t a problem. I have a G colored stone with medium blue fluorescence, and I can''t tell at all. If you aren''t comfortable working with Abazias, Whiteflash can also get that stone in for you. I believe their price is slightly higher, but they are usually very good as far as customer service. I don''t know much about Abazias.

 

[atroop711]

Hi!

Just wanted to tell you that I wanted a 2 ct too but didn''t fit into our 11K (ish) budget so what I did was get a round which was as close to 2 cts as we could afford. I got a 1.77 ct Round and to give it a bigger look I Halo''d it. With the Halo it looks every bigger but within our budget. I also did get an H color and SI2. Whiteflash was able to check the stone for me and assure me that it was eye clean.

Good Luck with your search

 

[JulieN]

1.78 J I1 http://www.infinitydiamonds.be/diamond.php?ID=155 you'll have to get Senor Wink's opinion on the degree of cleanliness, of course, but it's that or a 1.5 ish round.

ok, j/k, you might be able to do like a 1.7 J SI2 or so...

 

[Scintillating]

Date: 8/10/2006 4:20:20 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
OK, some ideas:
A little over your budget and under 2 carats but a yummy stone (cushion)
/QUOTE]

OOOoo - I think that cushion might be a beautiful option.
8 X almost 7, is a very good sized stone.

Have you considered going with a place like GOG or WF that has excellent trade-up policies - and gradually trading up to get where you want to be?

Scintillating...

 

[jayreneepea]

Date: 8/11/2006 8:36:36 AM
Author: JulieN
1.78 J I1 http://www.infinitydiamonds.be/diamond.php?ID=155 you''ll have to get Senor Wink''s opinion on the degree of cleanliness, of course, but it''s that or a 1.5 ish round.

ok, j/k, you might be able to do like a 1.7 J SI2 or so...

Am I blind or are the prices not listed??

 

[jayreneepea]

Date: 8/11/2006 3:37:56 PM
Author: Scintillating

Date: 8/10/2006 4:20:20 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
OK, some ideas:
A little over your budget and under 2 carats but a yummy stone (cushion)
/QUOTE]

OOOoo - I think that cushion might be a beautiful option.
8 X almost 7, is a very good sized stone.

Have you considered going with a place like GOG or WF that has excellent trade-up policies - and gradually trading up to get where you want to be?

Scintillating...

I do really like that stone, I keep going back to look at it. I don''t think I need to worry aobut a trade up policy as I feel very fortunate for this opportunity, but I suppose it''s good insurance just in case. Maybe dh will see how happy this makes me and want to do it again -- wishful thinking I kinow.

I wish I had the measurments of the 1.72 I looked at the other day. I probably mentioned that it looked small for being 1.72. I would love to compare these two.

Dh and I have an appointment scheduled to go look at some diamonds. Maybe after that I will have a better idea of how much he was expecting to spend and how big I am expecting to get. Let''s hope those numbers add up!

Thanks everyone for the great help!

jayrenay

 

[JulieN]

I don''t think they''re listed on Infinity''s site be the price is up to the retailer.

It''s not yet listed on Wink''s site either, so you''ll have to send an email, I suppose. there''s also a 1.5 J VS2 for less than 9K at Wink''s.