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Any advice on how to spend 10K?

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sgil09

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 12, 2011
Messages
10
So if you had 10K available to spend on a round solitaire stone, what would you buy? I am struggling to understand what is available out there.

So, what would you go for? At what point does size jeopardize color and clarity to the degree that it just isn’t worth it? I am thinking there is a tipping point for every dollar amount and I am trying to find that point for 10k.

Is it 1.25, H, VS2? or is it at 1.4, I, SI2? etc. I understand there are a lot of other factors, and there is a lot to the details of Symmetry, Depth %, Table %, angles, etc.

Just wondering what you all would do with the money at a high level, before refining on some other details.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!!


Thanks again.
 
Well, we will always advice to get the best cut. So limit your search to AGS0 and GIA Ex cut grades to start.

Next you have to decide how important color, clarity, and carat are *to you*. We cannot tell you what you should value most of those three. Preference among those three parameters is entirely subjective and personal, so it is really up to you.
 
I would probably go biggest I/J eye-clean SI1 (even 2). That Blue that SLG posted is looking pretty nice! I have a small
BGD blue and its really pretty. I would be happy with the 1.5 version of it!
 
slg47|1306514203|2931743 said:
ditto, I would decide what is important to you as far as color/clarity. some people would prefer J color, some would prefer G/H, some want D/E...really just depends.

although if you are not color sensitive this one is a great size
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=BLAGS-104049675017
Click to expand...

This.

Or one of these:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-104051364017
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-104049676013
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-104051364014

In a classic solitaire like this: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5369

But, I am not color sensitive, nor do I really care about what inclusions there are as long as it's eye-clean. You have to decide what parameters are most important. The only one on which to not waver is cut. Clarity and color are personal preferences, and some people don't want the largest diamond possible for their dollar, but the highest clarity or color.
 
I did the exact same thing you did. I had $X to spend and it's just a matter of what's most important to you. Personally, i broke the 4C's in terms of importance by what is most to least noticable to the naked eye.

  • Certificate - Make sure to get a diamond with either GIA ro AGS. They are the most strict. Ex. Other labs may say that a diamond is D color, yet the same diamond would be considered a E or even a F color at GIA or AGS. Same goes for clarity. Other labs may say the diamond is IF yet it may be VVS1


  • Cut - Most important because this determines how brilliant or shiny the ring is. I'd take Dreamer_D advice and stick with AGS triple 0 or GIA Ex/ex/ex
  • Color - Next Important. You can tell the difference between a Colorless and near colorless diamond, but you have to compare them next to each other.
  • Carat -Next Important because all girls want a big diamond. But You don't want a big diamond that is poorly cut and not shiny. You might as well get a CZ
  • Clarity - Least important as long as it's eye clean. The clarity doesn't really affect how brilliant the diamond is given that it's eye clean and not alot of inclusion (VS2 and up should be ok, even SI1,SI2 is ok if eye clean). To most people, they can't tell the differece between a IF and a VS2. So if i can't see it, and it doesn't affect how bright the diamond is, why pay a premium.
 
Some of it is subjective.

My preferences would be:

Cut first-- AGS0
Color
Carat
Clarity-- as long as it is eyeclean I don't care. So SI2 is great with me as long as it is eyeclean. Truly eyeclean SI2's are rare though, so stick with a trusted vendor.

If I were shopping I'd be looking at G/H/I color and SI clarity. H is the best compromise between safe color and price. I know that I personally would be fine with even a J, but if I were buying for someone else I'd stick to I or better unless there was a compelling reason otherwise (like if your lady HAS to have 1.5 carats, then I'd go with J with no issue at all).

I do like the BGD Blue J that was posted. It is a nice stone.
 
My fiance and I had the same starting point. He had a budget and then we needed to determine with of the 4 C's was most important.

To me most important was a GIA report. I didn't want to look at any other diamonds and decided if we were making this type of investment that I needed the highest assurance.

From there I ranked cut, color, clarity and last was carat. To me I wanted quality first.

Again, it is all up to you and what is most important, but I always suggest sacrificing a bit of carat for quality.
 
My personal limit is H VS2, but when I search for others, I will look at I VS2-SI1 if they are concerned about maximizing the size of the diamond. I can see the tint in J color stones, and that is fine if the recipient is familiar with lower color stones and is okay with it. But I wouldn't do J color as a surprise. G-H-I are a good value in that they are below the very expensive colorless range, yet they are still very white face-up when ideal/ex cut. J stones also look good face-up, but you can definitely see more tint from the side.


A few examples (these may be further discounted if you ask for a pricescope/wire discount):

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2631627.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2632202.htm

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-104051364013
 
bridecat|1306524083|2931850 said:
My fiance and I had the same starting point. He had a budget and then we needed to determine with of the 4 C's was most important.

To me most important was a GIA report. I didn't want to look at any other diamonds and decided if we were making this type of investment that I needed the highest assurance.

From there I ranked cut, color, clarity and last was carat. To me I wanted quality first.

Again, it is all up to you and what is most important, but I always suggest sacrificing a bit of carat for quality.
Click to expand...


I've tried catching you in another thread, and I apologize for hijacking this one :nono: , but I've noticed that the 9 post that you have contributed to this forum have all had a recurring theme, and that is buy ONLY GIA. I was wondering what the basis of your argument was?
 
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