Another diamond stud earrings question

[Venomboy]

First of all, thanks everyone for the wealth of information here. I''m learning a ton about diamonds and quality.

I want to get my wife diamond stud earrings in a 4 prong screw back platinum setting (expensive setting, I know, but it''s what she likes and she deserves it). I''m prepared to spend up to about $1500 or so, from .50 to .75 total weight.

Whiteflash has their Ready Set Go earrings which I can afford. It seems like the stones are nice.

Not that I''m buying from Blue Nile, but they let you choose your own stones for the earrings if you like. I imagine I could do the same thing with Whiteflash. Whiteflash has more of a selection of smaller diamonds than James Allen is showing.

James Allen has some fairly nice .25 diamonds but the girdles are medium to slightly thick. Does this matter for earrings?

I know these stones are in the smaller range but I''m wondering if it''s worth picking my own stones with a higher rating (in all aspects)?

I feel it will be a little more personalized and to get some bragging rights if I pick the stones myself and the price difference doesn''t seem to be too different

 

[Sundial]

Well it sounds like you've done the research so why not have bragging rights for picking out the stones yourself? I understand too, that with some vendors like Whiteflash, you can select your own diamonds that fall within certain criteria and they would be eligible for upgrading later on if you wanted to go bigger at some point. I do not believe that Blue Nile does this. Personally I am not a fan of screwbacks for earrings because I have heard that they are time consuming to take on and off and that the threads can wear out causing the earring to fall off. Just make sure that she really wants this type of back for her earrings. White gold is fine for earrings in my opinion, but if she wants platinum the cost is not that usually that much greater for earrings.

 

[aljdewey]

I''d pick them yourself - you can upgrade later then.

I found several fantastic options......39, F, SI2 ACA stones for $1,401 (these would be my first pick).

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1422.htmhttp://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1422.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1500.htm

Another option- both .38 I, VS2 for $1,416

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1275.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1391.htm

Another: - total $1,038

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-140.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-114977.htm

 

[jaz464]

I would choose my own diamonds as well from WF so I could upgrade to larger diamonds later. I too do not like screwbacks because I don''t think they are quite as safe. Also, I don''t like platinum because of the weight. I don''t like droopy earrings. Just wanted to let you know there are other options as well.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

My preference is for individual stones, and I also would not get screw backs. I also would not get platinum settings for two reasons...first, the earrings might be upgraded later and you''d likely have to replace the settings, and also, platinum is heavier than wg, and the ear is one place where you''d want the lighter weight setting.

 

[lehcarm]

I just thought I would chime in too.

I have a pair of 1 ctw studs in white gold with screw backs. They were purchased from a chain store. The first set of screw backs were made really cheaply, probably because they weren''t that expensive to begin with. After wearing them for about a year, the thread had worn off. I took them to a local jeweler who simply cut off the old post (kept the diamonds in their 4 prong settings), and put on new thicker/stronger posts with new backs to go along with it. I had this done over two years ago, and the thread is still in great shape. Granted, I wear them every day and take them out less than once every two months or so.

I personally do not have a problem with my earrings being droopy at all. I hope this helps.

 

[Venomboy]

Thanks everyone for the advice and the diamond searches. Now I need to find a way to get my wife''s opinion on white gold without spoiling anything. White gold sounds like it would be the practical thing to do but I''m not sure she likes white gold.

I''m pretty sure she woulnd''t upgrade (we''ve talked about this in the past) but it''s still nice to know that''s an option.

 

[lisaC]

Does your wife already have a pair of white gold earrings? Platinum ones though substantial in one''s hand will not feel heavy in the ears. Plus some are allergic to the nickel in white gold.
Does she wear screwbacks? They can be quite uncomfortable to put in if one has never worn them before.

 

[Venomboy]

She has yellow gold earrings with a screwback...I''ll double check tonight to make sure.

 

[6.5]

For what it''s worth on the screwback thing - I have a pair of diamond screwbacks. I specifically wanted screwbacks because I felt that they would be more secure in the ear. I haven''t had any problems with the thread, although my jeweller did tell me that the backs sometimes have to be replaced because of wear with the thread. I''m happy to do that if it gives me the piece of mind of not losing the diamond.

I also initially wanted a platinum setting, but after reading about the effect that the heavier weight can have with earrings, I opted for the white gold and I''m really happy with them.

 

[asscherisme]

I am going to disagree about going with white gold instead of platinum. Find out if she has any white gold earrings.

I can''t wear white gold at all, esp in earrings. I am allergic to it and once I tried white gold earrings and got horrible infections!

Pllatinum is hypoallergenic.

Also, I would consider lapousette type backs instead of screwbacks. They offer the confort of regular non screwbacks with the security of screwbacks. Much easier to put on and take off.

I think studs are a great gift. I love my diamond studs and wear them daily!

 

[eks6426]

I got my diamond stud earrings through Whiteflash. I picked the stones and the setting. My stones were very similar to the first set that Adl posted:

I found several fantastic options......39, F, SI2 ACA stones for $1,401 (these would be my first pick).

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1422.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1500.htm

I have the 3 prong martni setting which really maximizes the diamonds in my opinion. You might want to check those out if you aren't really set on the 4 prong setting. I did white gold, although when the earrings are in my ears you really can't tell the color...I like the white gold because the prongs blend with the diamond instead of standing out. Platinum will basically look like white gold and is a good option is she has allergies.

I have friends who have higher carat weight earrings than mine from mall stores and one with some from Blue Nile. Mine look so much bigger, brighter and sparkley. You won't go wrong with the Whiteflash ACA diamonds!

Here's a picture of my earrings.

 

[Venomboy]

Thanks again everyone. I might consider going up in size a bit, possibly up to 1ct total weight. I know that will increase my price and probably push each diamond to possibly $1200 each.

I went to Joe Escobar diamonds today and looked at 2 matched sets. They were all GIA and were .48 to .49 in size each and they were matched as closely as possible. They were F color, S1 to S2. The tables were 58% to 59% I think. I thought that was a hair large but was wondering if it mattered at a diamond at that size. The prices were from $888, $949, $1002 (I forgot the last stone''s price).

I did a brief search on Whiteflash and it seems like most of the diamonds overall have smaller tables (more like 55-56%).

I''m going to another local jeweler next week and hopefully I can sneak away my wife''s current earrings so I can nail the size I want.

 

[JulieN]

58 and 59 is not really that big. run it through HCA-that is more important.