Engagement Ring Help Needed!!

[need_diamond_help]

Hi everyone,

I''m a new member to the site and looking for some advice as I go through the process of buying an engagement ring. So far I know the following. My girlfriend prefers a three-stone ring, white gold or platinum setting.

My preferences are to be between 1.5 and 2.0 ct Total weight.

In talking to various jewelers, some have told me that the Princess Cut don''t shine as bright as the round cut. Any truth to this? They also mentioned that the Princess Cut could possibly be knocked lose because of the way they sit in the settings.

I have browsed the Blue Nile website and found, what look to be good deals but I can''t tell what''s BS and what''s truth when I feel like everyone just wants to make a sale.

So my questions are:
- Are there any truths that the circle cut sparkle more than Princess Cut?
- Is there any truth that the circle cut is more durable because of the way it''s cut and placed in the setting

With your help I''m hoping to decide whether to get the Princess cut or not. Then I''m sure I''ll have more questions about the 4 c''s as well as table, depth, etc. Please help!!

Thanks in advance

 

[chrono]

Yes, and no.

A round has medium sized sparkle.
A princess has smaller pinfire sized sparkle.
Because of this, people's eyes see that the round appears to outsparkle the princess stones.

Rounds are generally easier to set. Due to the pokey corners of the princess, they tend to chip more easily. I would advise v-tip prongs (chevron) over regular prongs for princess cut stones as added protection to the 4 corners. Other than that, if you (and your girlfriend) really like PC, I'd say go for it. If well set, they aren't any more prone to damage than a well set round diamond.

 

[need_diamond_help]

Thanks for the advice. It''s more people''s perceptions than anything else it seems.

My next question has to do with online diamond dealers like Blue Nile or others. One jeweler I spoke with said the stones from places like that are bottom heavy and misleading because of the cut. Any truth to that?

There''s no way the jewelers I have talked to can compete price wise with the online dealers but am I going to suffer in the quality dept?

 

[Gypsy]

I believe that what they were trying to say is that a princess will face up (in terms of millimeter size) smaller than a round of the same carat weight. This is true. BUT IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU WANT A PRINCESS OR YOUR LADY DOES.

No you will honestly get quality as good, if not much better online from a Pricescope Vendor as you will in a store. ''Our'' vendors are ones that people have bought from again and again, and who know that their reputation on here is everything. They are trustworthy and dependable, as they have proved over time. We (pricescope or its members) do not IN ANY WAY profit from recommending these vendors to you... we are just here to help you.

Blue Nile has a good reputation on here. They do not provide some of the services that many people want in a vendor-- but those that have bought from them knowing this have been very happy.

And example of these services are:

Pictures, Ideal Scopes, Sarins etc of the ACTUAL stones.
Upgrade/buy back policies.

 

[need_diamond_help]

Thanks Gypsy. The jeweler I was speaking to said that the Blue Nile Princess Cut Diamonds, even though weighing the same, would have a smaller table (I think that''s the term) mm wise than a Princess Cut they would sell me. I guess implying an inferior cut?? She was saying ideally using some machine it should be 6 mm or so and the blue nile ones were smaller, thus reflecting less light!?!

Any tools or advice I can use when comparing jewelers diamonds? I''d like to find some in the stores and then compare those to online offering to see if there are good deals available. Can someone explain the ideal-scope. Is that something I should purchase while trying to find the right diamonds?

 

[isaku5]

I think your jeweller is mistaken about Blue Nile princess cuts. As the very happy owner of a dazzling 1.77c princess purchased as an upgrade from BN, their cuts are not necessarily inferior to those from any other source.

At the time we purchased the ring, I had no knowledge of Pricescope at all, but this is definitely an invaluable source of great unbiased info. My suggestion would be to research the available info here, then start your actual diamond search. Keep in mind that while BN has a great return policy, they offer no other services other than a GIA report, and provide no upgrade policy.

My original engagement ring was a beautiful .62c round brilliant purchased from a jeweller, but for my upgrade, I wanted something square and I''m loving it.

Good luck with your search, and be sure to ask any questions you have here. Everyone is extremely helpful.

 

[Gypsy]

You are lucky. There are now AGS 0 princesses. Just buy one of those with a nice ideal scope and you can''t go wrong. Many brick and mortar jewlers will try to scare you from buying online because they are frankly under attack by the advantages online retailers have over them (if they aren''t adapting to the new ''world'' as it were)... and will therefore obscure the truth-- if not outright lie.

Some of the vendors on here have ''real stores'' if you are more comfortable with that, let us know where you are located and we''ll let you know if you are near one of them.

 

[jstarfireb]

Have you seen the AGS0 "A Cut Above" princesses on Whiteflash.com? They''re really incredible. I have one and can''t stop staring at it! Good Old Gold also has some great AGS0 princesses. A bunch of other vendors sell them as well, but honestly, I''d go with a vendor that has a great upgrade policy, like WF or GOG.

Another way to safeguard against damage would be to get a stone with the corners clipped, like the WF X-factor or Good Old Gold cut-corner square brilliant. Both are beautiful stones, cut to very exacting standards so they have great light return. However, it might be difficult to find matching stones for a 3-stone ring, since they''re harder to come by than traditional princesses.

Here''s a great setting for a 3-stone princess ring:
WF Trellis

This ring has the sidestones already set:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones.asp?module=setting&cid=58&item=1853

And here''s a nice center stone to get you started...
Center stone

I don''t know your preferences for proportions, but if you go for a 1ct center, I don''t like anything bigger than 0.25 for sidestones.

 

[marcy]

I think if you get either a RB or PC in the ideal cut; you''ll be very happy with it. They sparkle different but I love both of them. I''m sure if you go with the PC; you can get secure prongs that will protect your beautiful treasure.

 

[jstarfireb]

Hopefully she won''t mind me linking to this, but february2003bride has the WF princess trellis setting, and it''s gorgeous! The proportions are just perfect IMHO. Here it is:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-whiteflash-princess-3-stone-trellis-ring.62216/

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Did your girlfriend say that she wanted a princess cut 3 stone ring? If that is what she asked for, then I''d try to get it. But if she did not express that desire, I''d go with rounds. Rounds of the same weight will appear a little larger than princess.

I have bought from both Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash because not only do they carry top quality cut stones (and better than any jewelry store I ever visited), but they also have lifetime upgrade policies. You''ll find many, many recommendations on this site for these two jewelers.

 

[need_diamond_help]

Wow! Thanks for all the helpful advice everyone. I haven''t been here lately because I didn''t get any email notifications telling me people had replied.

My g/f preference is for the Three-Stone princess cut in either a white-gold or platinum setting.

I''d like to get a 1ct center stone and .25 for the side stones.

I''d like to get everyone''s opinion on some options I got from a local jeweler. I have not been able to get to the shop to view the actual stones but doing a comparison online yielded much cheaper prices

1.5 ct TW, D-H Color, Princess Cut, Three-Stone ring in a white gold setting:
For VS quality, .75 ct TW center stone and .75 ct TW for both side stones - $5500-$7000
For SI quality, .75 ct TW center stone and .75 ct TW for both side stones - $4500-$5500

What are your thoughts on these prices? Too high, too low, just about right? I would prefer a 1ct tw center stone and smaller side stones so I''ll see if that''s possible.