A walk in the park with James Allen

[nabwong]

Hi all,

For the past week, learning how to purchase an engagement ring was like studying for a really important final exam. Heck, it probably is more important than that. Finally today, I made up my mind to purchase one.

Not only have I been reading about diamonds, I''ve also been reading up on vendors like Whiteflash, Bluenile, Angara, GOG, etc. There were a lot of factors in choosing the right vendor for me; the right stone, their policies, price and location. Since I will be moving to Philadelphia, it was important for me to be able to visit the retailer in the future in case of any "emergencies".

So after a week, I found this on James Allen.
Click Me

I called them and spoke to Josh. He told me that the diamond was in their safe and would be shipped to me by this friday. PERFECT! He took me along the buying process, explained some policies and it was completed in about 10-15mins. Now I''m really excited to receive this.

I hope you can give me some feedback about my purchase. I checked it with the HCA adviser and it scored a 1.5

Later,
Nab

 

[:)]

Congrats! How exciting to have completed your ''homework'' and graduate to finishing your purchase!

 

[nabwong]

I wonder if this is a better option or both just as good?

http://www.angara.com/diamond-details.do?pID=539180

This one has an hca of 0.7 and the other 1.5 ( both in excellent category ).

 

[JulieN]

first stone is really nice.

 

[Skippy123]

Great, nice stone!

 

[nabwong]

Thanks. I''m just worried that I made the wrong choice. 4 days is too long to wait for a diamond ring. argh!

 

[nabwong]

Does anyone think that I should have gone with a slightly smaller carat but an Hearts & Arrow cut?

 

[JulieN]

is it still there? ask for a hearts picture. it might have some hearts.

i wouldn't second guess it.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/24/2008 1:42:31 PM
Author: nabwong
Does anyone think that I should have gone with a slightly smaller carat but an Hearts & Arrow cut?

The JA diamond looks great, it is superbly cut and you may well see an arrow pattern anyway in some lights, unless you want an undisputed hearts and arrows cut, this diamond could be an excellent choice, it depends on what you value more.

 

[dmus]

That is a beautifully cut diamond. I wouldn''t worry about H&A. You did extremely well. I suspect the fire and scintillation on that diamond might blind you! Congratulations.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I think the JA diamond looks great! It is in the sweet spot for color and clarity, and the cut is great.

As for H & A, I think the only reason to go there is if it is a "mind clean" thing. In real life, even with an H&A you won''t see arrows when you look at your diamond, except for silvery flashes every once and a while. And my diamond shows very clear arrows in pictures without being a true H&A. So you will probably see arrows when you photograph your diamond too, if that is what you want!

In real life, all your will see is sparkle-mania! What more could you want! And BTW, 4 days waiting in NOTHING man! Many wait 2 weeks or so.

What setting did you choose?

 

[nabwong]

Wow...thanks for all the quick replies. I know that finding a diamond is a compromise of many different factors but it's so hard to accept the compromise. lol. I guess i'm the type of person who is always looking for the next best thing.

I can't help but admire this Heart & Arrows Diamond. It's 0.05 carat smaller than the one i chose but the clarity is better and the HCA is lower. It's really difficult to weigh all these attributes. It's like a never ending game of catch-the-tail; as soon as you think you got the right one, something else comes up and sway you in another direction. What do you peeps think?

I chose this setting. I like a simplistic and minimalistic style and I feel she would like that too.

I emailed Josh at JA to request a idealscope but the diamond was already sent for setting. He did assure me that I would be estatic with my selection. Good news is that it's gonna be here friday morning. 2 more nights of restlessness. Haha.

I want to add that this forum is awesome. I would have been completely lost and would have bought a "sale" diamond ring from Kay Jewelers. Thanks for all your feedback. I hope to post some pics when the ring arrives.

 

[nabwong]

By the way, does anyone have an extra ideal scope they wanna get rid of?