Advice on stone for setting

[pete777]

Hi Everyone,
I have done quite a bit of research on here and have looked at a few stones in stores, but I''m looking to purchase online.
I have chosen a setting at Bluenile. It is .37 Ct total weight, white gold with 4 round stones(2 either side of center), avg color H and clarity SI2. It costs $950 and should be easy to find on the site if anyone wants to see it....
My total budget is about $3k. I am trying to work out where to focus to get the best look for this setting. I want a round cut. I was advised bu Bluenile to go for an ideal cut and VS2 or above, I color.
Being a total novice on a fairly low budget, I am concerned I will pick a stone that is too small or too big for the setting, or the wrong color, etc. I want it to look balanced. At the risk of making all the experts on here cringe... in layman''s terms I am just looking for the maximum sparkle, I want the ring to shine!
I can of course provide any other details you may need, but with a budget of just over $2k for the stone, I am seeing examples like these:
.73 Carat, Ideal cut, I color, VS2, Depth 62, Table 57, Symmetry and Polish Excellent, No florescence or Culet.
.82 Carat, Ideal Cut, I color, SI2, Depth 61.7, Table 56, Symmetry Excellent, Polish VG, No florescence or Culet.
I''m just wondering if I should focus more on the color and reduce the size a little, or if the ideal cut and VS clarity is necessary on a stone this size?
Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks very much,
Pete

 

[stone-cold11]

The setting is something like this?

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-1908_design.asp?pos=1&cid=58&module=setting&item=1908

This is the stone I would get.
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-1908_design.asp?cid=58&module=diamond&item=1241712

Color is dependent on personal preference. Any idea what is your gf's preference? Ideal cut round should face up white.

Clarity, I would go SI if check out eye-clean by a trusted vendor. BN is iffy as they are a drop-shipper, meaning they do not have the stone with them so if you want to check if it is eye-clean, they call up the vendor who has the stone to take a look, but the outcome is dependent on how reliable that vendor is, some do not measure up.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/7/2009 4:27:21 PM
Author:pete777
Hi Everyone,
I have done quite a bit of research on here and have looked at a few stones in stores, but I'm looking to purchase online.
I have chosen a setting at Bluenile. It is .37 Ct total weight, white gold with 4 round stones(2 either side of center), avg color H and clarity SI2. It costs $950 and should be easy to find on the site if anyone wants to see it....
My total budget is about $3k. I am trying to work out where to focus to get the best look for this setting. I want a round cut. I was advised bu Bluenile to go for an ideal cut and VS2 or above, I color.
Being a total novice on a fairly low budget, I am concerned I will pick a stone that is too small or too big for the setting, or the wrong color, etc. I want it to look balanced. At the risk of making all the experts on here cringe... in layman's terms I am just looking for the maximum sparkle, I want the ring to shine!
I can of course provide any other details you may need, but with a budget of just over $2k for the stone, I am seeing examples like these:
.73 Carat, Ideal cut, I color, VS2, Depth 62, Table 57, Symmetry and Polish Excellent, No florescence or Culet.
.82 Carat, Ideal Cut, I color, SI2, Depth 61.7, Table 56, Symmetry Excellent, Polish VG, No florescence or Culet.
I'm just wondering if I should focus more on the color and reduce the size a little, or if the ideal cut and VS clarity is necessary on a stone this size?
Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks very much,
Pete

Hi Pete

Can you also post the crown and pavilion angles please, the diameter measurements and girdle thicknesses? Also the star and lower girdle facet percentages would be very useful too.

I colour is fine and will still look very white, you could broaden the options and look at SI1 clarity also, some are eyeclean.

 

[pete777]

Thanks for the quick replies!
Yes, Stone-Cold11, that is very similar to the setting other than the fact that the one I had picked has 4 stones, not 6. I actually chose a different one in store, with a total Carat of .28, but online they did not have that. the stone I chose in store was .72 too, so I was worried that now the 4 stones are slightly bigger the center might need to be bigger.
The only reason I chose BN was that they seemed to be more well-known. I can see though that people on here who know what they are talking about see them as more of a home-depot of diamonds(I think I read in another post).
As long as people have had good experiences, I am willing to buy from anywhere that anybody suggests on here. I need the ring by Friday July 17th.

Lorelei, I had just picked a couple of stones at random on BN in my range. here is everything I know about them:

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-i-color-vs2-clarity_LD01057269?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=1

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-i-color-si2-clarity_LD01488103?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0

And this is the setting:

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-ring-white-gold_5390?filter_id=1&collection_id=239

Thanks again!!

 

[stone-cold11]

The dimensions of both stones looks good, prefer #2 for the numbers but with SI2, very iffy from BN.

 

[pete777]

Sorry. Forgot to say... no idea on gf''s preference for color. It''s a surprise.
I''m guessing that at this price level there won''t be too much of a difference between vendors for similar stones. I''d like to have 6 months to pay, be able to receive the ring before next Friday(17th) and based on the comments here, deal with a vendor who will be able to inspect the diamond for me. Any suggestions on vendors?
The stone you suggested in your first post did look very nice Stone-Cold11.
Thanks.

 

[stone-cold11]

I don''t think any other vendors other than BN offers interest free loans.

JA is the best priced and they are accurate in eye-clean verification.

Without knowing your gf preference, I would stick with H/I range.

Some more for your consideration, but call JA for Idealscope image of the H SI1, and ask them to check if eye-clean if you are interested.

I SI1
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-1908_design.asp?module=diamond&item=1241745

H SI1
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-1908_design.asp?module=diamond&item=1245427

 

[pete777]

So should I ask if both of the SI1''s you mentioned are eye clean? Can I assume that the VS2 is? The crystal in the centre of the I SI1 is visible on the actual diamond image without the loupe, but the image without the loop is already enlarged significantly, right? Does a crystal in the centre affect the stone more than one on the edge?
I like the look of all 3 stones and they are all in my price range with that setting.
Would your personal preference be the VS2 based on all the info available, or would you go for a slightly larger stone if JA confirmed it was eye clean? I was reading earlier what somebody had said about ''mind clean'' and knowing that one is VS2 and I think that might affect my decision!
I really appreciate your help so much. I was set on that BN setting, but the JA one does look so much nicer and I would never have found it.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 7/8/2009 12:40:42 AM
Author: pete777
So should I ask if both of the SI1''s you mentioned are eye clean? Can I assume that the VS2 is? The crystal in the centre of the I SI1 is visible on the actual diamond image without the loupe, but the image without the loop is already enlarged significantly, right? Does a crystal in the centre affect the stone more than one on the edge?

I like the look of all 3 stones and they are all in my price range with that setting.

Would your personal preference be the VS2 based on all the info available, or would you go for a slightly larger stone if JA confirmed it was eye clean? I was reading earlier what somebody had said about ''mind clean'' and knowing that one is VS2 and I think that might affect my decision!

I really appreciate your help so much. I was set on that BN setting, but the JA one does look so much nicer and I would never have found it.

Yap, ask if eye-clean for both SI1. VS2 mostly are eye-clean though a very small number is not, especially to some eagle-eye individuals. Ya, the actual diamond pic is taken with magnification and back lighting to make it easier to spot inclusions. crystal in the centre does not automatically make it more visible, in well cut stone, it is possible to cut it to hide the inclusions in the center.

Personal preference on the mind clean/eye clean matter. From technical perspective, clarity level is arbitrarily set as graded at 10X magnification, so VS2 is mostly eye-clean and thus mind clean to most, but if that is set to 0X, eye-clean SI1 could be mind clean too. I am an eye-clean person... So it really depends on your comfort level.

 

[pete777]

I have called and they are checking on them as you suggested and calling me back.
Assuming they are all eye clean, is there anything else that stands out on the 3 stones as far as dimension, size, etc? Anything that would make you suggest one over the other 2?
They were very helpful on the phone too btw...
Thanks again!

 

[pete777]

The first two were not eye-clean, so I didn''t even wait on the image. The original one you mentioned, the VS2, was eye clean. They also told me that if you were to lay all 3 out on the table there was no visible size difference, which I would have expected, but I asked anyway! (I saw a couple in a store that were close in carat size but one just looked bigger for some reason).
So I have ordered the setting and stone you suggested. It ships next Tuesday.
I can''t thank you enough!
Pete

 

[phoenixgirl]

Wow, how exciting! Congratulations! Post pictures when you have them!

 

[pete777]

Yes!
I can''t believe how excited I am, considering I have never been interested in jewelry before. I''ve enjoyed the whole process and learned a lot too.
Let''s hope that excitement continues after the credit card statement arrives!
I''ll post pictures.