$6000 budget. Need Advice Please.

[meredith07]

I am looking for an oval diamond with a budget of $6000 (for the diamond alone, not in a setting). I would prefer for the diamond to be at least 1.50 carats.

I want a good clarity and color, but I do not know what the best choices would be so that I could still get a decent carat weight and stay in budget. Would G or H be too low? Should I stay away from SI2 and SI1 or would they look good?

I have been doing lots of research on table and depth, girdle, fluorescence, length to width ration, etc. I want a good quality diamond. So, based on this information I think I want a depth between 62-68%, a table between 50-62%, a girdle medium to slightly thick, none to medium fluorescence, and a length to width ration between 1.3 to 1 and 1.7 to 1.
To you experts out there do these numbers seem right?

I would prefer to purchase it online because I have noticed that in store (i.e. Bailey''s, Jared''s, Fink''s) tend to be slightly more expensive, and I am working with a fixed budget. So, is there one site you would prefer to another? Is Blue Nile a well trusted site with fair prices? That is wear I have been looking mostly.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/31/2009 11:38:15 AM
Author:meredith07
I am looking for an oval diamond with a budget of $6000 (for the diamond alone, not in a setting). I would prefer for the diamond to be at least 1.50 carats.

I want a good clarity and color, but I do not know what the best choices would be so that I could still get a decent carat weight and stay in budget. Would G or H be too low? Should I stay away from SI2 and SI1 or would they look good?

I have been doing lots of research on table and depth, girdle, fluorescence, length to width ration, etc. I want a good quality diamond. So, based on this information I think I want a depth between 62-68%, a table between 50-62%, a girdle medium to slightly thick, none to medium fluorescence, and a length to width ration between 1.3 to 1 and 1.7 to 1.
To you experts out there do these numbers seem right?

I would prefer to purchase it online because I have noticed that in store (i.e. Bailey's, Jared's, Fink's) tend to be slightly more expensive, and I am working with a fixed budget. So, is there one site you would prefer to another? Is Blue Nile a well trusted site with fair prices? That is wear I have been looking mostly.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Meredith,

G or H colour can be fine if GIA graded, SI clarity can also be an excellent choice if verified eyeclean by a trusted vendor with in house diamonds. Really numbers don't tell the whole story and images such as photographs and ASET are essential in order to evaluate fancy shapes rather than going by numerical proportions. Also a Sarin report is very useful in order

I would recommend you check out these websites. BN do not have in house diamonds nor will they supply images of the stones so IMO it is really buying blind - with fancy shapes and expert vendor who can evaluate the diamond is essential.

www.goodoldgold.com

www.whiteflash.com

www.briangavindiamonds.com

www.jamesallen.com

Also an important factor is the bow tie effect, ovals can show this which is literally a dark bow tie shaped area running across the centre of the diamond. A skilled vendor can advise on how much of a bow tie a particular diamond shows as it is possible to minimize them sometimes.

For the budget if 6k is your max then it might be worth lowering the carat weight a bit, regrettably it could be difficult to find such a large diamond which is reliably graded and well cut for 6k.

 

[jet2ks]

In addition to Lorelei's always excellent advice, I would add--look at ovals (or at least pictures) with different l/w ratio to see what you prefer in order to help narrow down the search. An oval with a 1.7 ratio looks VERY different than one with a 1.3.

There is also a tool out there that will allow you to input different ratios and get an idea of what they might look like. I'll see if I can find that for you.

EDT: Here is a link for the shape selector tool

http://www.gemappraisers.com/shapePickerNew.asp

 

[Honey228]

Date: 5/31/2009 11:38:15 AM
Author:meredith07
I am looking for an oval diamond with a budget of $6000 (for the diamond alone, not in a setting). I would prefer for the diamond to be at least 1.50 carats.


I want a good clarity and color, but I do not know what the best choices would be so that I could still get a decent carat weight and stay in budget. Would G or H be too low? Should I stay away from SI2 and SI1 or would they look good?


I have been doing lots of research on table and depth, girdle, fluorescence, length to width ration, etc. I want a good quality diamond. So, based on this information I think I want a depth between 62-68%, a table between 50-62%, a girdle medium to slightly thick, none to medium fluorescence, and a length to width ration between 1.3 to 1 and 1.7 to 1.

To you experts out there do these numbers seem right?


I would prefer to purchase it online because I have noticed that in store (i.e. Bailey's, Jared's, Fink's) tend to be slightly more expensive, and I am working with a fixed budget. So, is there one site you would prefer to another? Is Blue Nile a well trusted site with fair prices? That is wear I have been looking mostly.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, I just bought a 1.52 Oval and I think they're smashing!

I think G or H would be fine. I also included I-J in my search and I ended up with a J. But it's a matter of personal taste. Some people are more color sensitive than others. If you've already been to the stores (I also did a lot of preview shopping at Jared's), I'd ask to see ovals in different color grades to see what you like. I think ovals can show color differently than say, a RB. I think Jared used IGI graded stones though and I noticed that an IGI J looked more tinted than a GIA J. I also included SI2 and SI1 in my search, but I'd have the vendor inspect the stone for me. Some I's look beautiful to me and some would bug me.

Alternatively, you could go down in carat. Are you dead set on a 1.5? I noticed when trying on ovals at the store that ovals with a smaller carat weight still had great dimensions and finger coverage (gotta love that spread). You might be able to save some money by coming down a little in ct without sacrificing too much size.

Do you prefer rounder ovals, long skinny ovals, or just all ovals? You might find yourself skewing to one side of the 1.3-1.7 L:W ratio. I would definitely recommend purchasing online. I found that I could get a better quality stone for a lower price and the people that I dealt with were knowledgeable and helpful. I agree with all of Lorelei's suggestions and comments (she's a doll!) It's hard to buy an oval by numbers, so try to get whatever additional information you can from the vendors when you're narrowing in on a stone.

 

[JoeNewbie11]

Here's one I found on JA. I'm not an oval person, but this one looks nice to me:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1200103.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

$5,570 PS price

 

[Lorelei]

Thats a nice oval Joe!

 

[meredith07]

Thank you all so much for all of your help. It was very informative!

I will keep you posted on what I choose. Again I appreciate all of the help!

 

[Honey228]

Pretty! I loved working with JA!

 

[tyty333]

Date: 5/31/2009 2:49:22 PM
Author: JoeNewbie11
Here''s one I found on JA. I''m not an oval person, but this one looks nice to me:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1200103.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

$5,570 PS price

That looks like a beautiful diamond! The bow-tie is very facated and looks nice and bright (not dead) like you find in a lot of ovals and pears. I would put
that one on hold!

 

[geoffreysnow]

Hard to judge a fancy shape''s light performance from pics, but I agree that it might be good to have it looked at by a representative and talk talk through on the phone to see if it matches what you want.

Date: 5/31/2009 5:46:31 PM
Author: tyty333

Date: 5/31/2009 2:49:22 PM

Author: JoeNewbie11

Here''s one I found on JA. I''m not an oval person, but this one looks nice to me:


http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1200103.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131


$5,570 PS price

That looks like a beautiful diamond! The bow-tie is very facated and looks nice and bright (not dead) like you find in a lot of ovals and pears. I would put

that one on hold!

 

[marcy]

Joe''s oval "find" looks really pretty and lively.

 

[meredith07]

Hello again,

I want to thank everyone again for all of the helpful information. I think I am going to go with James Allen for the diamond. The site is AMAZING! The quality of the diamonds is great and the information is very helpful. Not to mention that the prices are stellar!

Joe thank you for finding that diamond. I cannot stop looking at it online.

Again thanks to everyone for contributing. This site is amazing and you all were so helpful.

 

[marcy]

Woo hoo! I can''t wait to see it when you get it.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/1/2009 10:27:34 PM
Author: meredith07
Hello again,

I want to thank everyone again for all of the helpful information. I think I am going to go with James Allen for the diamond. The site is AMAZING! The quality of the diamonds is great and the information is very helpful. Not to mention that the prices are stellar!

Joe thank you for finding that diamond. I cannot stop looking at it online.

Again thanks to everyone for contributing. This site is amazing and you all were so helpful.

Make sure you put it on hold Meredith, there are a lot of potential lurker poachers out there....