3ct oval diamond recommendations/guidance

[qerat88]

My sister-in-law is going to get proposed to next month and I got looped in to help find her a diamond/ring. She is interested in:

Basic specs: 3.00 Carat Oval Lab Grown Diamond; Super Ideal cut • D color • IF clarity

Setting: 18K Yellow Gold Freesia Hidden Halo Lab Diamond Engagement Ring

Priorities are size near 3 carat and shiny.

The soon to be finance was considering purchasing the ring and diamond from Brilliant Earth but it seems way overpriced to me ($15k): https://www.brilliantearth.com/ring...nd-to-friend&utm_campaign=send-to-friend-form

We are quite lost, especially in the lab grown diamond world. Can someone help me find better for cheaper? Open to any thoughts or suggestions.

 

[Lynniiee]

I’d definitely avoid brilliant earth, the markup is insane. For best prices I’d do Ruby Harper Jewelry, she also does awesome custom settings. I’m also working with Calavera New York right now and their prices are right about the same. And then you can have set by a favorite online or local jeweler or buy a setting anywhere online and have someone set it.

I’ve just bought 6 (yes I know…) 3ct oval diamonds from both of these vendors to compare trying to find the one with best light return and bow tie and will be making a comparison post with some videos and homemade ASET. I think if you end up picking from one of the ones I return in my batch you probably won’t be disappointed - I have 2/6 and will be getting the last ones on Saturday so I’ll update here when I can and ping you in case you’re interested. I bought just before the tariffs as well so my prices ended up being a bit cheaper than what’s currently listed.

Just a heads up there’s a huge customs backlog from all the tariff and new rules in place so it took me about 3-4 weeks to finally get everything…

 

[Lynniiee]

Post in thread 'Help me narrow down this list of lab ovals?'

Apr 6, 2025

Alright, call me absolutely crazy but I’ve ordered 6 diamonds. 3 from each of the vendors, so I suppose stay tuned for the final oval battle where I compare them in person.

The final list is here:

Ruby Harper
3.08 E VVS2 $857
https://rubyharperfinejewelry.mysho...e4b4-48d8-9cb3-95da01030fd0&stoneType=diamond

https://loupe360.com/diamond/ LG646480963/video/1000/1000

3.06 G VS1 $971
https://rubyharperfinejewelry.mysho...4bb9-4cbc-be9c-2ff5b67deb88&stoneType=diamond...

• Lynniiee

• 

Here’s my post with the ones I ended up purchasing and the pricing if you’re curious. Will have some videos up after they all arrive this weekend. (I’m 39 weeks pregnant so hoping they all arrive before baby does lol) You should be looking at 600-1500 for the center stone cost imo, though the tariffs might have made this more expensive lately.

 

[MackPUK]

By all accounts avoid Brilliant Earth (and big box stores) as they massively overprice everything. Paying anything close to 15k is crazy - superb 3ct ovals will start under $1k as the previous poster indicates.

D, IF is wonderful on paper but in real life will look identical to a E/F VVS/VS1 stone that will save $$$.

A better cut E VS1 would be far preferable to a less well cut D, IF and cut grades on lab reports are not what they seem - ‘excellent or ideal’ sounds great but is a wide scope