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9 years together - need help choosing a diamond

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Dayvid

Rough_Rock
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Nov 6, 2008
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We''ve been dating through high school and were friends long before. Now that only one of us is in school, I have been able to set aside money for our engagement. I have the plan for how to propose all done, but I need help on the diamond part :P

We both love this Ritani ring. It was very hard to find in stock at a store.
See the link here: http://www.ritani.com/products/view/483

Our local jeweler here will sell the setting (with their stone or ours) for about $2500, leaving about 2000-2500 for the diamond. I would love to spend less however as any excess will be put towards the engagement itself (and tax could break the 5000 max budget).

The jeweler has been very helpful and he showed me some diamonds they had that would fit my budget. I was very surprised as when my girlfriend and first looked at the ring with a 1 carat center, it was priced at over $12,000. From that jeweler, the best stone I would be able to get from my own preference would be a .71 carat at 2500. It was an E S2. My girlfriend and I don''t care too much for high florescence. I would not want to go lower than G on color. I would love to increase the size closer to 1 carat, but wasn''t sure if that is possible. I looked on Blue Nile and other sites, but wasn''t able to find a stone of similar quality larger than .80 for $2200.

I would appreciate any help or guidance, also I can be flexible (just not on price :P).

Thanks again.
 
Date: 11/7/2008 1:15:23 AM
Author:Dayvid
We've been dating through high school and were friends long before. Now that only one of us is in school, I have been able to set aside money for our engagement. I have the plan for how to propose all done, but I need help on the diamond part :P

We both love this Ritani ring. It was very hard to find in stock at a store.
See the link here: http://www.ritani.com/products/view/483

Our local jeweler here will sell the setting (with their stone or ours) for about $2500, leaving about 2000-2500 for the diamond. I would love to spend less however as any excess will be put towards the engagement itself (and tax could break the 5000 max budget).

The jeweler has been very helpful and he showed me some diamonds they had that would fit my budget. I was very surprised as when my girlfriend and first looked at the ring with a 1 carat center, it was priced at over $12,000. From that jeweler, the best stone I would be able to get from my own preference would be a .71 carat at 2500. It was an E S2. My girlfriend and I don't care too much for high florescence. I would not want to go lower than G on color. I would love to increase the size closer to 1 carat, but wasn't sure if that is possible. I looked on Blue Nile and other sites, but wasn't able to find a stone of similar quality larger than .80 for $2200.

I would appreciate any help or guidance, also I can be flexible (just not on price :P).

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Welcome!

I doubt you will be able to get almost a carat for the budget ( a well cut GIA or AGS graded stone) unfortunately, but bear in mind carat is a weight and a well cut stone which weighs less can look almost as large and far more attractive than its poorly cut counterpart! What you could do if hitting the carat mark is important to you both, go with a vendor who offers a lifetime upgrade policy so you can get a larger diamond as circumstances allow. If you buy from an online vendor the terms of their various upgrade policies can vary, so make sure you read them carefully and factor that into your decision if applicable.

Here are some diamonds I found, also would you consider H colour? This would broaden the options and you would still have a very white diamond in AGS or GIA graded stones. Just a suggestion.


Also make sure with any SI clarities that you check carefully with the vendor that a particular diamond is eyeclean to your standards, and make sure the vendor understands your expectations concerning this.

Some of the prices listed may actually be a little less and fall within your budget if you paid by bank wire.


http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1467039.htm

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-866290.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1047604.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
 
I appreciate both of you taking the time to actually conduct some searches of your own!

I looked at all of them, and I''m kinding of thinking that the price difference isn''t too big online between the .72 carat and .81. So that''s some good news.

One thing did kind of confuse me, which was that to my eye, the lower quality diamond looked much more appealing to me than the higher quality. When I was looking at the store, I couldn''t tell much of a difference between the E and G colors. In fact, I thought the E looked more yellow (very slightly). The H and lower diamonds I immediately eliminated, however. She used a bright white light she said was for examining diamonds, and also brought out a microscope to examine them. I actually thought the G was clearer (less yellow) than the E. I don''t know if that was a function of the color or the light reflecting because of the cut.

So I went into it thinking the E was less ideal of a color, but something about the stone seemed to make it much more appealing to me. They were both the same cut style, but the E was actually of a lower cut quality. In the following, I wasn''t sure how to describe the look, so I will try to clarify some things first. When I speak of darkness, I don''t mean that the stone had a defect causing it to be dark in some areas; when I would turn the stone, the light would reflect differently off the diamond. The light reflected from the E stone seemed to have contrast within it; there were areas of light next to dark, which made it seem like a much deeper stone. At the same time, the darkness made the bright areas seem all-the-more brilliant. This was especially noticable from the top.

By comparison, the G diamond was a very clear white light (to me), which almost made it boring to the eye. It was still very reflective, but the uniformity of it made it seem less... appealing.

Basically, I end up sitting here feeling hesitant to buy a diamond online because I cannot see them for myself and decide. Any idea what the difference might have been? The associate at the store confirmed that the E was actually a lower quality cut, but was unsure why (besides something about cut) the one stone looked better to me than the other

Right now, I''m thinking I should return to the store and have her pull more diamonds towards the G spectrum to see if I can find one that has the same look I liked from the other at lower cost. Which would put me under budget and more money for the proposal plans!
 
Sounds like you have great ability to identify and describe different optical characteristics.
 
Based on what you said about the optical characteristics, it sounds like you might prefer the chunky faceted look of an Old European cut diamond as opposed to a modern round brilliant. Here''s an 0.7 G/SI2 that looks like a beauty. There are a ton more on that site, so take a look!
 
Were the stones all certed by the same lab? Different labs may grade color differently, so that could account for the perceived color. It can also be the cut.

As one poster said, an antique cut would look lovely in the Tacori setting, and you may get more diamond for the money, however it is an unconventional choice and one you both have to be on board with. But old cuts do have quite a large following, but it''s a really personal choice :)

It also sounds like you prefer a firey cut. There are certain cut parameters you can target that will provide more of the colored flashes you''re after - PS is a great place to research this!
 
Hi Lorelei,

I think angara does not provide too much info when it comes to the angles. However, I did play around with the pictures and comes out the following numbers:
The first diamond''s table is 56.0% and depth is 62.8%
The second diamond''s table is 57% and depth is 61.7%

The rest of the info has not provide by angara unfortunately.











 
Date: 11/8/2008 5:37:57 AM
Author: kaori

Hi Lorelei,

I think angara does not provide too much info when it comes to the angles. However, I did play around with the pictures and comes out the following numbers:

The first diamond''s table is 56.0% and depth is 62.8%
The second diamond''s table is 57% and depth is 61.7%

The rest of the info has not provide by angara unfortunately.











Click to expand...
It is a shame as the second diamond with the depth and table appear to be worth further investigation, but without the angles we can''t tell - however maybe Angara might provide the report on request...
 
Welcome!

I just wanted to comment that you generally never buy a designer setting "in stock" at a jewelry store. You first buy a stone, and then the setting is ordered with the size head to fit your stone and in the correct finger size. You certainly don''t want a sample setting that has to be altered to the correct sizes. You might consider checking prices with Pearlman''s Jewelers (they have a website) because they offer discounts on many designers. You just have to send them the diamond or buy a diamond from them. Call for current prices.
 
Thanks for the help. I looked at the old european style cuts and those are exactly it. I know you said the european style cut is something I should run by her, but i think I would like it to be a surprise. Does anyone else think that is a bad idea because of the style?

She is very particular about the setting, so she pretty much expects the ritani one there.

Also, to the Diamondseeker, you are right, I misspoke. I have to choose the diamond and they build that setting around it, especially because of that particular design. I meant they had an example of the ring in stock that she could try on (it as very hard to find).

Another question, does the diamond being "conflict free" significantly change cost? How legitimate are those claims?
 
See threads on here about "conflict-free". For the most part, I don''t think you need to worry about it.

Do stick to GIA Excellent or AGS Ideal cut stones and you''ll be pretty safe. You''ll usually pay a little more at a local jeweler than online, but if that makes you more comfortable, that''s fine!
 
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1047604.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

I was actually looking at this one as well earlier this week, but that''s a huge black crystal and it won''t probably be eye-clean to be honest.

out of all you posted in here, I''ll take the WF one. It just has everything you need to know. I personally would''ve taken it but it''s beyond my budget.
 
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