4-5 carat engagement ring

[jonnydanger]

Hello everyone at Pricescope,

My girlfriend of fourteen months is the most special thing in my life, and i''m planning on proposing to her in the next 3 to 4 months. I have a budget of about $80,000 to $110,000 to spend on an engagement ring.

I need some advice PS! For an engagement ring of this size and to stay within my budget, what sort of factors are the most important for people to go nuts every time my soon to be fiance moves her hand.

Is the most important thing clarity? cut? color? I''ve made up my mind that I want the diamond to be GIA cert. What about setting? My girlfriends fingers are fairly long / big, so I think the rock will not look big on her hand at all. I''ve I''ve spent a lot of time on bluenile and whiteflash. Who would be the best online retailer to make this purchase?

Thanks in advance for the help, and I must say this is the best site I''ve come across on the internet for diamond research / help.

PS: I prefer to buy from jamesallen

 

[slg47]

hi and welcome! are you looking for a round brilliant or other shape?

cut is the most important factor in determining how sparkly the diamond is.

since you have a sizeable budget and are looking for something that many vendors will not have stocked in their normal inventory I would call some vendors and see what they can bring in for you in your budget/specs. Good Old Gold has sourced larger stones and can make videos for you as well as run optical tests.


also, before you spend that kind of $$, I would make sure that you know what she wants! 4-5 carat is very large and you want to make sure that this is something she is comfortable wearing every day, and also that you take her shape/setting preferences into account. good luck

 

[yssie]

Many vendors won't have too many (if any) stones of the sort you're looking for on hand or listed on their website inventories - they're expensive to stock and slow to move. No doubt they can acquire something suitable, however - I would recommend calling a few to find out what they can do for you

www.whiteflash.com
www.goodoldgold.com
www.briangavindiamonds.com
www.jamesallen.com
you can check out the Crafted by infinity inventory too - can be bought online from www.highperformancediamonds.com & www.niceice.com
for RBs and princesses

www.goodoldgold.com
www.engagementringsdirect.com
for cushions

www.goodoldgold.com
for other fancy shapes - step cuts, modern antique types

www.jewelsbyericagrace.com
www.singlestone.com
www.oldworlddiamonds.com
for antiques

 

[kenny]

Cut is the most important C to how well a diamond performs with light.
All diamonds are little boxes of mirrors and windows.
If all the facets are placed at the right angles maximum light will be sent to your eyes instead of leaking out the bottom.

You'd think all diamond would be cut to do that, but they are not.
They are usually cut to extract the heaviest diamond possible from each rough rock.
This is because everyone understands weight but few understand cut.

Given the same piece of rough sellers know they can get more money for a poorly cut 5.01 ct than they can for a well-cut 4.4 ct.
Well-cut means they have to grind away (waste) more rough diamond material to get the facets to be at optimum angles.

Determining good cut can be tricky.
Round is the easiest shape when it comes to determining good cut, because we have two clever tools:

HCA https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca
Reject rounds that score over 2.0.
For those under 2.0 get Idealscope pics https://www.pricescope.com/tools/ideal-scope
Compare them to this reference chart:


If you decide on any other cut (not round) get ASET pics. http://www.ideal-scope.com/1.using_ASET_scope.asp

Only consider diamonds graded by GIA or AGS.
Other labs lie about color and clarity grades and people who don't know any better believe the grades and think stones graded by other labs are a better deal.
They are not; they just have grades that are lies.
Further evidence is how sellers price, say, an EGL F VS1 MUCH cheaper than a GIA F VS1.
Shocking but true.

Determine your own personal color and clarity comfort zone by viewing stones in person, preferably loose and only look at stones graded by GIA or AGS.
My comfort zone may not match yours.
Even the comfort zones of the majority of people may not match yours.

 

[AnneinGA]

Well, Cut to me is the most important, and I didn't see an answer to the shape question, but if it were me, and I had that kind of $$ to spend, I would buy this:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8475/
or a cushion like it

and put it in this:

http://www.artofplatinum.com/vault/...&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
simple double-claw prong setting.

I wouldn't muck up a stone of that size with an elaborate setting or any sort of halo. I'd just bling away everyone with a simple solitaire.

Now that I've dreamed a little, can you give us more specifics of what you're looking for shape and color-wise?

edit: I know that you wanted jamesallen - I just went off the reservation a little.

 

[JaymeC]

Any idea what shape of diamond you'd like to purchase?

 

[jonnydanger]

She's interested in a round shaped diamond

 

[marcy]

I agree cut is the most important, then color then clarity (my humble opinion anyway). You should be able to find a real beauty with your budget.

 

[kenny]

She's interested in a round shaped diamond

Lucky you.
Rounds are easiest to pick for good cut.
Just use HCA and Idealscope.

 

[AnneinGA]

So I looked for RB on JA, BGD, GOG - nothing in there in your carat range ; you'll have to call some in with some specific requirements. I would love to see what you come up with.

 

[vintagelover229]

I would also check out http://www.langantiques.com/products/category/diamond-rings


But out of all of the ones that I've seen on their site this is the one that makes my heart stop I bet they'd come down a bit on the price too because there aren't to many people with a budget like yours who comes along.


http://www.langantiques.com/products/item/10-1-2428

This is a close second but 200K (although again I think they would come down a bit on this)
http://www.langantiques.com/products/item/10-91-168

 

[smokey99]

also, before you spend that kind of $$, I would make sure that you know what she wants! 4-5 carat is very large and you want to make sure that this is something she is comfortable wearing every day, and also that you take her shape/setting preferences into account. good luck

This is excellent, sound advice. Even if I had the money, Id be very uncomfortable with my lady wearing a diamond that large every day for safety reasons, not to mention what she might think as far as comfort/size, etc. Obviously, peoples day to day situations are very different so safety may not be any concern for you and your lady. But as SLG said, you may want to inquire about whether shes comfortable with a rock of that size.

Either way, with your budget you can get a knock-out stunner of a stone. Congratulations on finding the 'right one'

 

[CharmyPoo]

With a budget of that size, it will really work best if you call up the vendors. I suggest WF, BGD or GOG for a round diamond. Then I would recommend going to Leon Mege, Steven Kirsch or Victor Canera for the setting. Or if you are looking for something unique ... the auction house always has nice stuff too.

 

[Phoenix]

With a budget of that size, it will really work best if you call up the vendors. I suggest WF, BGD or GOG for a round diamond. Then I would recommend going to Leon Mege, Steven Kirsch or Victor Canera for the setting. Or if you are looking for something unique ... the auction house always has nice stuff too.

Well, the OP should still call them up for sure, but I've been searching for a super-ideal cut 4-5ct RB in that budget for a few years now and BGD has not been able to help me (despite wanting to); there doesn't seem to be any ACA's or ES's listed on WF or any super-ideal's on GOG; though I'd be happy to be corrected. Jonathan at GOG is known for being able to look for stones of ppl's specs that are not in his inventory.

Johnny, what colour and clarity are you/ is she looking for? I've found this one on JA, pls call them to ask if it's eyeclean. Then if it is, ask for IS and ASET images.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1396772.asp

This one might be worth considering, if somewhat a tiny bit over yr budget. Again, ask about eye-cleanes, IS & ASET images.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1246633.asp

ETA: don't worry so much abt this super-ideal thing (that's "cut nuts' speak" on PS). As long as the stone's HCA score is under 2 and of course if you and an IA like it, that's what matters.

 

[kenny]

I'll bring something up that you may not have considered.

People raised the concern about a woman being a crime target with a large white diamond.
If you want a diamond at that budget that would be more discrete and less recognized as a crime target, you could consider a naturally colored diamond.
Colors vary a great deal in price and the best pure red, green or blue diamond for $110,000 would not even weigh half a carat.

This Fancy Vivid Blue Green is 0.29 ct., but is over $58,000. http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/3318.htm



Then again If you can accept the presence of certain secondary hue modifiers you can get a much larger stone.

With a hint of brown you can get a 2.4 ct pink. http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/3802.htm



Yellows is a more affordable color; here's a pure yellow 4.13 ct for $87K. http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/5017.htm



I'm a collector of them (though at much smaller sizes and prices) and have bought 20 of them from a reliable online vendor in Israel, Leibish & Co. pics: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fancy-colored-diamond-collection.159746/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fancy-colored-diamond-collection.159746/[/URL]

www.fancydiamonds.net

 

[minmin001]

I also wouldn't just look at only GIA diamonds but would consider AGS as well since they are just as good as GIA if not better on cut grade

 

[CharmyPoo]

Phoenix - You would know better because honestly ... I have never shopped for a diamond in that size range and probably won't ever.

 

[Gypsy]

I would triple check that a diamond that big, especially since rounds are large when it comes to spread, is what she wants. And I'd check by taking her someplace to try on big diamonds (Las Vegas? New York?).

It's a VERY individual thing, diamond size.

 

[sonnyjane]

I would triple check that a diamond that big, especially since rounds are large when it comes to spread, is what she wants. And I'd check by taking her someplace to try on big diamonds (Las Vegas? New York?).

It's a VERY individual thing, diamond size.

I agree. While it's an entertaining notion, personally I would find a 5 carat ring to be quite cumbersome for my everyday wear. With the budget you proposed, I'd prefer my husband bought be a great quality stone of 1.5-2 carats and a car!!!

 

[canuk-gal]

She's interested in a round shaped diamond

HI:

Please have her try on various size of rounds before buying. For what its worth, I wear a 6.55 (5 carat center) ctw ring everyday. It is not a round shape and feel my radiant while large by weight does not look "large" like a round of similar size would. IMHO a round of 3- 3.5ctw is sufficiently large (in appearance and everything else!).

cheers--Sharon

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would also agree that a round in the 3 carat range is the most tasteful to me personally in a round. You can go larger in cushions and emerald cuts without them looking so overdone. But if I were looking for a stone of that value, I for SURE would deal only with Good Old Gold, WhiteFlash, and Brian Gavin because they can help you find a well cut stone.

 

[Gypsy]

I would also agree that a round in the 3 carat range is the most tasteful to me personally in a round. You can go larger in cushions and emerald cuts without them looking so overdone. But if I were looking for a stone of that value, I for SURE would deal only with Good Old Gold, WhiteFlash, and Brian Gavin because they can help you find a well cut stone.

Totally Agree. In any square or rectangular shape 5 carats would be fine. But in a round (or an oval, pear or marquise) 5 carats is quite well....

I too love rounds at 3 carats and find them to be gorgeous and SUPER eyecatching but still tasteful and elegant. Even 3 plus carats.... But 5 carats in a round might be overkill.

 

[slg47]

WF has a 3 carat G VS ACA that is only slightly over your budget

 

[LittleRiver]

Ditto the suggestion to make sure your GF wants a round in the size you are considering. I love rounds and chose one for my ring, but I would not want a round larger than 2-3 ct. If I were looking at 4-5 ct stones I would choose an emerald (or other rectangular cut).

 

[atp223]

This is interesting: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/4-5-carat-engagement-ring.140531/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/4-5-carat-engagement-ring.140531/[/URL]

Apparently this exact situation (same OP, same exact original post) also came up in April of 2010...

 

[AnneinGA]

That is odd; the only thing that was added was now the OP wants to buy from jamesallen... strange, maybe his circumstances just pushed out a little bit.

EDIT: What's even weirder is the stone originally posted as a solution is still available.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/...1184358.asp?gid=GAN&pid=k244266&pname=VigLink

 

[0-0-0]

Extremely odd.

 

[slg47]

That is odd; the only thing that was added was now the OP wants to buy from jamesallen... strange, maybe his circumstances just pushed out a little bit.

EDIT: What's even weirder is the stone originally posted as a solution is still available.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1184358.asp?

weird...although I'm not surprised to see the stone still there, I don't think a lot of people are shopping for a 10(!!!) mm RB

 

[jonnydanger]

yes that is a post of mine. I've been in the market for quite some time. Funny that diamond is re listed. I called them to purchase it and they told me it was already sold! What do you guys think of: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1184358.asp??

I've placed the diamond on hold and have a personal appraiser who's going to look at it. Do you guys think it's a good deal? Can you advise some good settings for it? Is there any coupon or ways I can decent discount on it?

Thanks

 

[farmer gal]

I don't know what the price is, but it looks like a great diamond. Ask JA for the pricescope discount, you could call them to see what the price would be with that.

for a setting are you looking to get one from JA or are you getting set locally?