shape
carat
color
clarity

Accent Stone Color Question

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.

Your Name Here

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
4
First of all reading this forum has been immensely helpful in narrowing down my selection of an engagement ring over the past few months. You all deserve a pat on the back.

This could get kinda long so bear with me.

I plan to buy a diamond off Blue Nile with these approximate characteristics: brilliant, 0.70ct, Ideal cut, E, VS1. That turned out to be the easy part. I''m going to purchase a 14k white gold setting locally and have it set but I''m worried about blowing it on this part. She wants a ring with accent stones on the side; nothing too fancy, just a half carat or so of small diamonds. I''ve seen several settings that I like, generally with a total of 10 or 12 small round channel-set diamonds spread on either side of the center stone. I''ve narrowed my search down to two jewelers. Jeweler #1 has grading information for the accent stones on all their settings (usually G/H in color and SI1 in clarity) while Jeweler #2 did not have grading info for the accents but said he had no problem appraising them. I''m strongly leaning towards Jeweler #2 (much less pushy, very accomodating to my questions/requests, cheaper due to lower overhead and no advertising) and I just about fell in love with a particular setting he had. This setting had a total of 8 brilliants totaling 0.32 ct and 8 baguettes totaling 0.14 ct.

My question is this: should I worry about the accent stones being so different in color from my E center stone that it''ll be noticeable? Should I demand that a certain minimum color of stone be used for the accents at Jeweler #2? Or will this be inconsequential since the stones are so small (all at 0.04 ct or smaller)?

I''m about a month away from pulling the trigger on the ring purchase and I''d appreciate any guidance on this matter. Thanks!
 

starryeyed

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
2,398
Hello Your Name Here and WELCOME to Pricescope!
35.gif


That''s a great question. I think you should stick with stones that are the same color as your center stone - like maybe E/F. I would also stick with a slightly higher clarity grade - like VS. You have an incredible diamond and I think you should get sidestones that are a comparable grade.

Have you ever looked at The Facets Collection? You can specify diamond quality with these guys AND be sure of actually getting it. Just a thought.
 

the other Jake

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 9, 2006
Messages
423
I would get sidestones that are F/G in color. It is difficult to detect the difference between two color grades especially in ones of that size. Also, you would be fine with SI clarity... I don't see the need to pay for the VS in accent stones as long as the SI doesn't have any visible inclusions that would affect the stones performance and the stones are well cut. Why pay for something you won't notice, but if you need peace of mind I guess you could go with the higher color/clarity. No I am not an expert, but that just makes common sense to me.
 

WinkHPD

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
May 3, 2001
Messages
7,516
Date: 12/7/2006 6:33:42 PM
Author:Your Name Here

My question is this: should I worry about the accent stones being so different in color from my E center stone that it''ll be noticeable? Should I demand that a certain minimum color of stone be used for the accents at Jeweler #2? Or will this be inconsequential since the stones are so small (all at 0.04 ct or smaller)?

I''m about a month away from pulling the trigger on the ring purchase and I''d appreciate any guidance on this matter. Thanks!
You went to all of the trouble to find and get an ideal cut center stone. My answer to you is that it is just as important to get well cut diamond mele side stones. The cut will be much more important than either color or clarity at this size, provided of course they are not heavily eye visibly included or dark JKL or worse color. (particularly stay away from brownies!)

If the cut on your mele is good you will get the same sparkle from the small stones that you are getting from your large stone and it will greatly improve the appearance of your ring over even D-IF mele that is poorly cut. Cut RULES.

It can be a real pain for your jeweler to find the better cut mele, but if he is worth getting your business then he can do it.

Wink
 

starryeyed

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
2,398
Excellent point Wink. I would agree that if the ideal cut was a priority, you should carry the same level of quality to the sidestones - I would do it with the color too for sure, but I''m very sensitive.

Do you trust the jeweler?
 

Your Name Here

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
4
Date: 12/7/2006 7:41:41 PM
Author: starryeyed
Do you trust the jeweler?

Based on my dealings with him so far, yes. Do I trust him enough to take whatever he provides for accent stones without investigating? No, and I think you are all making good points about not straying too far from the attributes of the center stone when looking at accents. I think requesting higher quality accent stones sounds like the way to go, even though it will mean more $$. No sense skimping on the tiny stones when I made quality my top concern with the center stone.
 

:)

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
1,864
Given the size melee you are looking at (2 to 4 pointers), truly SI is not going to appear any different than VS, and color is not going to be as noticable either - the larger the stone gets, the easier it is to see color. What will be noticable in that size is the cut - Wink is totally on it when he says to look for high cut quality melee - this is more important than the clarity or color (as long as you do as Wink said and avoid brown or very lower colored stones) as what you are using the melee for is sparkle, and this is what cut will provide. You could probably go down to an I without a problem, although you would be safer with G or H. If the side stones were larger, then I would be more concerned with color or clarity, but not with melee. Cut - absolutely #1.
 

Your Name Here

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
4
As a follow up, how do I ensure that I''m getting a high quality cut for the melee? It doesn''t appear that stones this small are graded the same way when it comes to cut. Is it enough to request that full cut diamonds be used?
 

starryeyed

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
2,398
I''ll defer to the experts, regarding how to ensure these small stones are ideal cut. I suppose that this is where trusting your jeweler comes into play, but I''m not sure if there is another mechanism - requesting a certain source, asking for full-cut, 58-facet stones, etc.

I know some of the folks here will disagree with me, but I think asking for a high color, higher clarity, and ideal-cut stones will convey the type of quality you are looking for in general. Not all jewelers have the same approach as, say WF, where you can get killer cut stones and can therefore sacrifice a litttle on color and clarity. In my experience, jewelers will ballpark it, and so the color and clarity you specify indicates the level of overall quality you are going for. Let''s face it, if 95% of the diamonds out there aren''t ideal cut, how are you going to best ensure that you get the closest thing possible - by letting the jeweler know you are fanatical about quality all around.

That said, I suppose you could ask to see the stones before they are set and take your handy dandy idealscope with you and look at each one. I looked at a pave ring through an idealscope and you could read the stones quite well. You can also look at the ring after it is set I suppose, but that''s a heck of a time to figure it out.

Realistically, what is the price difference between G/H SI and E/F VS on a few 3-4 pointers? I can''t imagine it being huge if the jeweler has easy access to both levels of quality.

I''m not trying to scare you, I''d just hate to see you disappointed.
 

Your Name Here

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
4
Any aforementioned experts want to take a crack at this? How to ensure a quality cut on 2 to 4 point accent stones?

Thanks for the thoughts starryeyed.
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top