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begging for opinions!!

J

joman

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 11, 2013
Messages
52
Hi forum!

Newbie here. Been lurking around to learn as much as I can and do my homework for ~1 month before deciding to post on here. Hope my questions aren’t too silly for you pros!

Just a little background:
Budget: $10-13k for diamond alone
Shape: Round
Cut: Excellent/ideal (H&A wont hurt too. Gf wants to blind the people looking at her ring)
Color: F-H (gf wants it to be as white as possible)
Carat: >1.2 ct (obviously gf want a BIG one and given her 4.5 ring size, >1.2 ct a good size?)
Clarity: VS1-VS2, must be eye-clean (given my budget and the above requirements, clarity is the only thing I can jiggle)

Any thoughts on my criteria? Reasonable? Or, could be higher within the budget?

I’m inclined to buy online due to high taxes in California and so far JA and WF give me the best impression (GOG is good too but doesn’t seem to offer lots of choices for my criteria and BG’s pics look photoshopped that kinda makes me worried)

I haven’t tried putting diamonds on hold but when I do, what question should I ask to help me determine the quality of the stone?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!!!!
 
You can definitely get a clean, well-cut 1.2 ct diamond with your budget.

You might want to add Brian Gavin Design's "Blue" line into the mix. The diamonds that have a slight blue fluorescence will face up a bit whiter than comparably graded non-BF counterparts in many lighting conditions, but they're also priced a bit lower because of the blue fluorescence. http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/search-for-diamonds/round
 
Congrats on starting your search. I would find out what order her priorities are like 1. Cut 2. Size 3. Color 4. Clarity. That way you can start to tweek your search. Like if size is more important than color, then go out and see in person how color sensitive she is by looking at different well cut stones in stores. Maybe check out a Hearts on Fire store. All their stones are incredible, so you can compare an F with an I without worrying that maybe cut is influencing the shade. Same with clarity. If she is not super color/clarity sensitive, but wants size, you could go down to I SI1. Again, it all depends on what is most important to her. I love the diamond video JA provides for each stone. Good luck on your search.
 
thanks for the fast response!

from what i read, strong blue fluor might make low colored stone look milky...is H too low in this case? also, i prefer not to have lots of blue under normal lighting or sunlight, so what would be the highest in term of fluor i should go?

i think her priorities would be: cut = color > size > clarity. with that said, 1.2 ct is the smallest i would go but obviously the bigger the better. cut is the only thing i wouldn't compromise, just excellent or H&A. as for color, as long as it's white, it'd be ok, hence the lowest would be H...and just gotta be eye clean!
 
Fluor only shows up under UV lighting - direct sunlight or a black light. It will not show under fluorescent, incandescent, candle light, etc.

I have a D color w/ SBF and I *love* it - it's just such a cool effect! Don't discount it - it's a beautiful effect.

I also have several G's and a J, and I can see the tint in the J but the G is plenty white, and I think H is perfectly fine.

I highly doubt Brian Gavin's photos are photoshopped - they just do incredible photography there, and their stones are amazing to start with. And they have some of the best stones around - if you see something there just have them look at it for you - they'll be very honest, and all their stones are in house I believe.

Also check out Whiteflash, Good Old Gold, High Performance Diamonds, James Allen, etc. The right one is out there!
 
Oooh no!! please don’t get me wrong – wasn’t accusing BG photoshop their pics coz I just don’t know. Just saying when I look at their pics, their pics just look really “perfect” and smooth...that’s just how I feel. On the other hand, I feel as if JA is showing pics as if you’re seeing it in real person you know…

Could someone show me how blue it will really get under sunlight? A youtube clip or pic will be great!

Thanks raccoon and Heidi for the suggestions! Just wondering…what is the discount for PS member on JA and WF? It’s big enough to get heidi’s suggestion down to my budget which is 13k?
 
haha..thanks for the link! i will take a closer look to that!


in the meanwhile, can someone please share how much discount PS member can get from JA and WF? WF gives me 2% but JA didn't mention anything...trying to save a few bucks here :appl: :appl:
 
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