advice needed - this stuff ain''t easy!

[foofighter]

I''ve decided to spend $25-30k on an engagement diamond. Yes, it''s a lot so I want to get it right. I''m only looking at round ideal cut F/G color stone with a VS2 or better rating. Size wise, I''d like to get something nice - probably more than 2ct but nothing in the 3ct range since I''m not out to prove anything.

So, I''ve looked around the net a bit (goodoldgold, bluenile) and come up with some possibilities:

rock1 @ goodoldgold

- 2.2ct, VS1, G, Ideal
- concerned about location of inclusion
- should I only consider F color at a 2.2ct size?

I like both of these - it''s a pity BlueNile doesn''t have the detailed reports that goodoldgold has:
rock2 @ bluenile
rock3 @ bluenile

Any comments of the ones I''ve chosen or suggestions of others? Do you think an ideal cut F/G, VS1/VS2, ~2.2 ct is a good balance of specs for my price?

By the way, am I crazy to spend this much without involving my girlfriend? Bluenile does have a 30 day money back guarantee which is great. I really want to make it special and I think picking out the diamond myself is more romantic.

Thanks in advance for the help. My head hurts.

 

[justme]

The diamond on GOG scores a .6 on the HCA, as far as the 'inclusion' it looks like it's maginfied at least 15x in the first pic and even higher on the second. Since the stone is a VS1 stone you wouldn't ever 'see' this with the naked eye.

As for the others - of course not able to get HCA scores. But in general the specs for them look good. Personally if I was spending this kind of money I would want to know that I had an AGS 0 type stone - these both lack EX symmetry and polish.

As far as being crazy - No, your not crazy if you know that your GF wants this large of a stone. For some of us (me) I don't like the look of a stone over 1.50 ctw - it just seems 'supersized' and too flamboyant. My options were wide open but I insisted on a smaller stone to suit my own taste.

So if you know that the GF would want it this large - go for it! And you picking the stone is great. But I would definitely not pick the ring unless you have really, really heard her say that a particular setting is THE one. This is where she comes in. Taste is rings is very hard to predict and harder to live with if wrong.

Good luck!

 

[Kessar]

For the Blue Nile stones, you should call them and request a Sarin report. I have done so in the past and they are very accomodating with that. It usually takes at least a couple of hours, though it has taken longer. They emailed me the Saren reports I requested. I have done with this them for about half a dozen stones over the past week and they have been extremely nice. I don't know t\if they do any of the other tests/reports provided by goodoldgold, but it really can't hurt to ask.

As for which of the stones is better, its hard to tell without the all the numbers for the Blue Nile ones.

As for picking out everything, like you, I am doing that without my girlfriend, though I do know the types of settings she likes because we had discussed it about four months back. I also knew that she didn't want anything over 1 carat and a half.
I'm spending about half of what you're spending but I don't think I'd do things differently if I was spending more.

 

[Lugus]

I am going through a similar search right now, and have narrowed down my search to two candidates.

www.goodoldgold.com

and

www.superbcert.com


Since you didn't mention superbcert, you might want to check them out as well.


Are you crazy not to involve your girlfriend? I'd be crazy not to have involved mine. I totally involved my girlfriend, but I did it without her knowing a ring was coming soon. She is very particular so I wanted to make sure I got the perfect diamond for her. It turns out she did not want quite as big a diamond as I had thought. My finalists are a 1.59ct and a 1.73ct. I also found out that she did NOT want a G stone, but that F or lower would be ok. Since I could tell the difference between E and F, I narrowed my serach to E and D stones only. I also found out she just wanted an eye clean stone, so VS1/2 would be perfect (and much cheaper!).

Personally, I don't think picking out the diamond yourself is more romantic, surprising her is. If you can, figure out a way to do both.

 

[Greg G]

I'm in the same boat as Kessar. I've got some initial information from my girlfriend (she wants a princess cut and a white gold band) but other than that I'm on my own. At this point I've spent endless hours reading about this stuff (thank god for this forum!) and my head is spinning. If I involved my girlfriend I'm sure she'd have lost patience by now and just wanted to buy one from the local jewlery store where the prices are WAY higher than what I'm seeing here. Not only that but they insisted that the quality of a princess cut wasn't mesusurable because it's not a standard cut.

Anyway, at this point I've submitted a request of my perfect stone to goodoldgold's web page (how long does it usually take to hear back - I did it Sunday). I live in NJ so I can shoot over (like 90min drive) if he has some good matches for me to see. I'm also thinking about buying unseen with a good return policy (good idea about asking for the sarin report).

The stone I seek would be:

Princess cut - square
Carat: 1.25 - 1.50
Color: G-E
Clarity: VS1-SL1
Cut: 2A or better (this part seems hardest to figure out to me).
Price: Whatever is reasonable for that

-Greg

 

[andrea]

In my opinion, I'd get the ring without your girlfriends input. I picked out my own diamond, and I actually regretted it. It made the proposal very dull because I knew what I was getting, and pretty much when. Talk about a mood kill.
As far as the size, I think the majority of every woman would love to have a huge diamond, nothing like Elizabeth Taylor, but something nice that has plenty of sparkle. And I personally think that the diamond should stand alone, with the 2nd band carrying a few stones that accent the "main" attraction. That way you can take the larger stone off, and still have something nice to look at. I remove mine for childcare, gardening, etc.
Good luck!

 

[Rhino]

Greetings friends,

Foo there is another I'd tell ya to check out there too but don't want to point ya there via the forum. We promise NO REGRETS with what you are looking at and keep in mind our return policies as well.

Lugus ... I am honored to be among your finalists... win, lose or draw.

Hi Greg. Our store is closed on Sunday's and Monday's. Our online forms are directed to my assistant Marie ([email protected]) and we've already begun the search. If you don't hear back from her by tomorrow you can call me personally and I'll let you know
a. of our progress
b. how we go about finding the best princess cuts for our clients (you're right ... it's not easy but when we find em THEY ARE RIGHTEOUS)

Peace,
Rhino

 

[barry]

foo;

I agree with just, your GF will love the stone
you pick ( who wouldn't love a 2CT Rock?) but partner with
her on the setting; that's a win-win situation.

Greg;

In your Princess Cut search, my advice to you
is to not get hung up on the "numbers". They definitely
don't tell the whole story. "Numbers" crunching for
Fancies in general and Princess Cuts in particular
have taken on a life of their own, recently, due to the
increasing emphasis on the importance of "Cut"
in evaluating diamonds. Indeed, the importance of "Cut"
in the evaluation of Round Brilliant diamonds has come
a long way in these past few years to the point where
we have a good working knowledge on how to maximize light
output for both "ideal" and "non-ideal" models.
Assumptions have been made that the "numbers" and parameters that work for the round shape can be extrapolated and made to work for the Princess.
Absolutely not true. The Princess architecture is totally different from the round and consistently
maximizing its light output more difficult. In my own
cutting and research, I've found the BrillianceScope
to be an excellent tool for the evaluation and
development of a Princess Cut that maximizes on
Fire and Scintillation with minimal light leakage.

As an example of why you should not solely go by the numbers, listen to this: If I were to offer you a Princess
Cut with a depth over 77%, would you even consider it?
Probably not; too deep, you'd say. Not necessarily so, I've cut a Princess with a depth of 80.4% that is an absolute superb light performer as measured by the BrillianceScope.

My advice to you is that in your Princess evaluations
think outside the "BOX".

Barry
www.superbcert.com

 

[Greg G]

Is the depth all about brightness? It seems to me that a less deep princess cut would allow for a larger look when mounted since it wouldn't be long and thin. I guess what I'm asking is that if a deeper diamond is still very bright am I risking it looking the same size as a lesser weight stone but paying for carats I can't see when mounted?

-Greg

PS - Looking forward to hearing from you guys Rhino!