matchstick
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2010
- Messages
- 14
So in the long and exciting journey that is purchasing an engagement ring... I''ve gone from evaluating rings in a B&M store... thinking of using a "guy" that a "friend" of mine knows... to strongly considering an unseen diamond from Blue Nile (pretty much unaware of any other online diamond sites).
Then I discovered PriceScope.com (I happened upon while trying to find reviews for BlueNile.com).
I had read and heard of the famed "4 c''s" of diamonds. But knowing that those four c''s exist was like reading the cover of a text book... reading all the information on PS was like taking a 101, 201 and 301 class in comparison. Especially when it came to "cut". My concept of a well cut diamond before PS was, "The GIA said the cut was ''Excellent'' what more is there to know?"
All of this wonderful information made me really interested the WhiteFlash ACA diamonds... unfortunately, since I live in Dallas... there''s that nasty 8.25% sales tax to purchase from them, and if I wanted to increase my budget by 8.25%... I''d rather spend it on the diamond. How about Brian Gavin... everyone raves about his work... drats... also in Houston (which made sense since he used to work for White Flash).
So now to find a diamond from one of the many other fine vendors in the country!
I''d like to ask the fine folks of the PS community for their educated and wise opinions on what''s a diamond noob to do. My situation is thus:
I have a budget of around $4000 for the ring. It could go over a smidge... but $4000 is generally where I''d like to keep it. My fiancee-to-be is not a jewelry wearer. The only piece of jewelry she has ever owned in her life was a little onyx ring I got her for our first anniversary of dating. She is extremely easy going and generally hates spending money. I could get her a $500 ring from Zales and she would be very happy. However... I would like to give her a quality ring because I think she''s a quality gal.
My goal with the ring is for it to be as large as possible, but with a fantastic cut so it''s like a little miniature sun on her finger. From a color and clarity perspective, I just don''t want it to look "weird". I''d like it to be "eye clean".
Typically, I''ve been searching for diamonds with an AGS 000 cut, an HCA of less than 2, color from G to J and VS1 to VS2 (because the SI''s scare me a bit). I''ve been mostly look at various site''s version of a H&A cut, but I''m not particularly interested in an H&A cut specifically (although they are rather cool)... just a really fantastic cut.
From a setting perspective, I was planning on something simple in a white gold "Comfort Fit" style around $300 to $400 or so.
Part of my question is... how comfortable would you be with a diamond like this:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1274557.asp
Is J too low? I''m not terribly color sensitive... but if the stone is cut well... do you think J is okay?
Any specific advice that perhaps I haven''t thought of? I haven''t actually called a vendor and talked to anyone yet... should I do that more than just browsing websites?
I''ve really enjoyed using this site and reading many of the threads... thank you in advance for having so much quality info.
Then I discovered PriceScope.com (I happened upon while trying to find reviews for BlueNile.com).
I had read and heard of the famed "4 c''s" of diamonds. But knowing that those four c''s exist was like reading the cover of a text book... reading all the information on PS was like taking a 101, 201 and 301 class in comparison. Especially when it came to "cut". My concept of a well cut diamond before PS was, "The GIA said the cut was ''Excellent'' what more is there to know?"
All of this wonderful information made me really interested the WhiteFlash ACA diamonds... unfortunately, since I live in Dallas... there''s that nasty 8.25% sales tax to purchase from them, and if I wanted to increase my budget by 8.25%... I''d rather spend it on the diamond. How about Brian Gavin... everyone raves about his work... drats... also in Houston (which made sense since he used to work for White Flash).
So now to find a diamond from one of the many other fine vendors in the country!
I''d like to ask the fine folks of the PS community for their educated and wise opinions on what''s a diamond noob to do. My situation is thus:
I have a budget of around $4000 for the ring. It could go over a smidge... but $4000 is generally where I''d like to keep it. My fiancee-to-be is not a jewelry wearer. The only piece of jewelry she has ever owned in her life was a little onyx ring I got her for our first anniversary of dating. She is extremely easy going and generally hates spending money. I could get her a $500 ring from Zales and she would be very happy. However... I would like to give her a quality ring because I think she''s a quality gal.
My goal with the ring is for it to be as large as possible, but with a fantastic cut so it''s like a little miniature sun on her finger. From a color and clarity perspective, I just don''t want it to look "weird". I''d like it to be "eye clean".
Typically, I''ve been searching for diamonds with an AGS 000 cut, an HCA of less than 2, color from G to J and VS1 to VS2 (because the SI''s scare me a bit). I''ve been mostly look at various site''s version of a H&A cut, but I''m not particularly interested in an H&A cut specifically (although they are rather cool)... just a really fantastic cut.
From a setting perspective, I was planning on something simple in a white gold "Comfort Fit" style around $300 to $400 or so.
Part of my question is... how comfortable would you be with a diamond like this:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1274557.asp
Is J too low? I''m not terribly color sensitive... but if the stone is cut well... do you think J is okay?
Any specific advice that perhaps I haven''t thought of? I haven''t actually called a vendor and talked to anyone yet... should I do that more than just browsing websites?
I''ve really enjoyed using this site and reading many of the threads... thank you in advance for having so much quality info.