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Australian vs overseas sites for engagement ring... help :)

L

lordcurlingwand

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 22, 2017
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Hi, 1st time poster... needing some help for my partner's engagement ring.

The Australian sites vs overseas ones - has anyone had experience with Australian stores here? I'm getting a reasonable vibe from a few of them but the photos are often nowhere near as clear as James Allen.

Does this look any good?

https://www.jogiadiamonds.com.au/diamonds/diamonditem.php?code=SS3067

https://www.jogiadiamonds.com.au/diamonds/diamonditem.php?code=SS3048

As far as I can tell these look great and cut is great...

But what about, say, vs this one?

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-g-color-if-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3364804

background - Partner wants something 'not too bling-y' ... and not 'big'. She is a M size ring.. so i'm looking around .5ct, but happy to push it a little though :)

For white gold or gold, not sure yet. Probably solitaire setting or accompanied by a few smaller ones not sure yet - wanted to start with the main one for scale.

thanks :)
 
I'm also in Australia. I can't comment on Jogia but I did buy a diamond from JA and was happy with the experience. I think JA would have a larger selection and better policies and I note for Jogia for some diamonds there is a non-refundable deposit of $200. As you said as well the photos are not very clear on Jogia although it is nice that they have an IS for each diamond.
Unless you were doing so for a specific reason if i were you I would not be looking at diamonds with such a high colour or clarity.
You could either save money and get a diamond which for all intents and purposes would look the same with a slightly lower colour and clarity, or spend the same and get a bigger diamond.
if you were set on a colourless diamond I would go no higher than F - any higher and you are paying for a feature you cannot see. Likewise there is no need to go to IF when an eye clean VS or even SI would suffice and would look identical to the naked eye. Again, unless there is a specific reason for you to choose such high specs.
Good luck =)2
 
thanks, good points... i've been a little hesitant to go down grades just because of the difficulty seeing the specific inclusions etc online but you're right i'll probably not be able to see the difference - will widen the search to those other grades ... :)
 
Welcome to the forum :)

I can't see the first website on my (old) phone but I think the JA stone will be 'steep/deep' with 36 crown /41.2 pavilion angles.

You should run stones you are considering throught the HCA (Holloway Cut Advisor) tool in the Tools tab at the top of the forum. Scores under 2.0 indicate stones worth a look in more detail.

IF clarity is also overkill - VS1 will have nothing visible with the naked eye, and VS2 / SI1 can also be 'eye clean' if the 'right' inclusions are present. IF and VVS clarities mean you are paying for a difference you cannot see, although some cultures do require/desire such high clarity.

If you are looking for guaranteed light performance, one of the branded cuts may give the most peace-of-mind. If you are looking for a round brilliant specifically, any of the following have stones at the very top of the tree in terms of cut:

High Performance Diamonds (selling Crafted By Infinity stones)
Good Old Gold
Brian Gavin Diamonds
Whiteflash
Victor Canera

and I'm sure there's a couple more I'm drawing a blank on right now! (Sunday, no coffee... lol)

Alternatively, would your partner consider a vintage cuts? Check out www.gemconcepts.net and also the offerings from Good Old Gold / August Vintage Inc, for they have top level light performance but a different 'flavour' of cut.


If you can post your budget in USD and exclusive of any import taxes, we can help you find something great :)


EDIT: I was too slow typing as some of my points have already been covered! lol
 
Last edited:
No worries.
With the prices that you're looking at you can get yourself a superideal top of the line diamond for the same price..
Just as an example. Instead of getting that F IF from Jogia you can get these G VS2 Black by Brian Gavin for cheaper
Brian Gavin makes super ideal diamonds and Black is his top of the line range. Probably overkill (like D colour or IF clarity) but you really can't go wrong with these and just an example of where your money can go instead.

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/.../0.506-g-vs2-round-diamond-bkags-104092974084

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/.../0.506-g-vs2-round-diamond-bkags-104095918018

If you'd be happy to go down to an H SI1 you can get this one for cheaper

https://www.briangavindiamonds.com/.../0.502-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-c-104095881009

Full disclosure, I have a BG H SI1 and I absolutely love it

Anyway, lots of options
 
Hi!

Australian here - haven't bought a diamond locally to give you advice.

Have bought diamond studs through Whiteflash & currently awaiting diamond in pendant from Brian Gavin.

Straightforward- you pay via bank wire (I use OFX) & you have chance of upgrading the stone over time if desired.
 
Thanks all, appreciate the advice :)
I've got a bit of learning to do... will do some browsing [loving those vintage cuts too, big fan of asscher cuts ] and let you know what I narrowed it down to :)
 
The signature and crossfire diamonds seem pretty nice based on a few random IS images, but they really being cut and presented as super-ideal (akin to whiteflash, briangavin signture, high performance diamonds). For that, I'd want to see more reliable documentation of performance directly from AGS and be able to see all the various angles before it was averaged by GIA. I don't put a lot of weight on the FIretrace report as they are not all that useful as they are done on equipment subject to some variation vs. the reports issued by AGS that are highly standardized. If these are so well-cut, I'm a little confused why they would go with GIA who does not produce performance or provide an ASET.

I love asschers and many other shapes, but make sure your girl does too. She may or may not like stepcuts (asscher, emerald cut, etc.). So, have a conversation with her about shape. I also personally feel that its hard to really appreciate step cuts when they are less than ~6 mm. In contrast, I think Old European Cuts and Cushions are quite nice even when on the small side.

Whiteflash has a bunch of options and like BGD, you can go a bit bigger=)2
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3839999.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3059454.htm
 
Another Aussie here. Jogia’s range is tiny compared with the overseas sites. However, I’m not too impressed with their marketed ideal stones as they are nowhere near as well cut compared to stones by Crafted By Infinity, Brian Gavin Diamonds, Whiteflash, Victor Canera, GOG Ascendancy H&A and even some James Allen True Hearts. JMHO.

Paying by wire is a cinch and you will get better quality from overseas than locally.

Full disclosure: I bought a solitaire ring and pair of diamond studs for my wife earlier this year from Brian Gavin Diamonds.
 
bmfang said:
Another Aussie here. Jogia’s range is tiny compared with the overseas sites. However, I’m not too impressed with their marketed ideal stones as they are nowhere near as well cut compared to stones by Crafted By Infinity, Brian Gavin Diamonds, Whiteflash, Victor Canera, GOG Ascendancy H&A and even some James Allen True Hearts. JMHO.

Paying by wire is a cinch and you will get better quality from overseas than locally.

Full disclosure: I bought a solitaire ring and pair of diamond studs for my wife earlier this year from Brian Gavin Diamonds.
Click to expand...

Sorry to ask - am I right in saying that when importing to Australia all I need to take into consideration is the 10% GST and not the 5% duty-free?
 
Not sure about what the 5% duty free is but unfortunately there is an extra 10% to take into account for GST :(
 
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