Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budget?

[lovelyowl]

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for all of your help in picking out the ring for my fiancee last year!  This time, I'm writing on behalf of my fiancee's father, who is looking for an engagement ring for her mother for their 30th anniversary (as he never gave her one).  He is looking at this James Allen ring in rose gold: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/vintage/14k-rose-gold-diamond-filigree-engagement-ring-item-52710 as they like the vintage look and her mum loves pink.  We are just wondering if you might please be able to help identify a good diamond for this ring.

I think we would be looking for an AGS ideal, eye clean, and reasonably white (I am guessing with this ring and with rose gold they could probably go down to a J or so?).  His budget would be $3000 for the diamond.  James Allen would likely be best, so that it can all come from one place. Thank you very much in advance for any help you may be able to provide.

Thanks, everyone!

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

Hi There,

Does the stone have to come from JA? I didn't see many stones on JA as their inventory is pretty slim it seems. I had found this stone for a friend while I was checking out BN & if your future father in law could stretch his budget a bit more, it might be a winner. Just confirm with the person at BN it's eye clean. The links for BN suck but type in this stock number & you'll find it. It's a .83, VS-2, G, $3459. The HCA is 1.3. If you like the BN stone (or JA stone), put it on hold for 48hrs till you can look around. Also, have your father in law sign up on the website & he will probably get a promotion of some sort. Any little bit helps.

LD06997259

I had been looking on BN for a friend who wanted to buy a stone with a budget of $3500 & so this is why I have all these to list. LOL Thankfully I hadn't deleted my email to her. I like the .84 G the best of all of them. They are all VS-2 or better. With BN I would be a bit nervous buying anything lower.

LD06903634 J
LD06855073 J
LD06909903 I
LD06855089 I
LD06860048 I
LD06921804 I
LD06869390 J..., .91

LD06981673 H
LD06999669 H
LD06803310 H
LD06909951 H

All the best,
Judy

 

[kt9b]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

Relatively new member here but I just bought my diamond on JA and as such have a decent bit of experience searching through their database and what prices to expect. With a $3k budget, you should be able to sneak into the .8ct range with I-J color and trying to find eyeclean VS2-SI1 stones. All of these should have HCA scores <2 and are GIA ex/ex/ex

These are potential candidates:
$3230 (good proportions but a little deeper)
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.82-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1107459
$3320 -(my favorite)
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.83-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1104660
$3050 (would need to verify with JA gemologist if this is eye clean
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.80-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1088364
$2010 (right in budget, but with CA angle at 36 would definitely need ideal scope image to confirm light return)
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.80-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1053125

As always, ask if these stones are in the NY warehouse, and if so, ask for the ideal scopes (up to 3 stones). They wont do this for stones held out of country (usually india or china).

Also ask for the james allen advantage aka pricescope member discount for an additional $100-200ish off the stone. This will help with the budget some.

I've learned so much on this forum so this is my way of giving back to the community Hopefully some members with more experience can chime in too

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.71-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1108008


If you are requiring AGS0, then this is the best choice.

 

[lovelyowl]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

Wow!  Thank you all for your help and quick replies!

ccuheartnurse - the BN stones are beautiful, and thanks so much for sending so many options.  Unfortunately, I think that ordering the stone from BN and setting from JA would be a bit tricky for him to figure out, and he'd really prefer to order everything from one place.  Thanks again though - I really appreciate it!

kt9b - thanks for these options and for the tip about the discount!  We will make sure to mention it.  I've put the one that was your favorite on hold - it looks great.  I think that his budget should be a bit flexible for the right stone, especially with the possibility of a bit extra discount.

Gypsy - thank you!  This stone looks beautiful and I've put it on hold as well.  AGS0 isn't an absolute necessity (I had to explain to him what it was, so I don't think he minds!), but I had originally thought of sticking to it in order to ensure excellent light return and sparkle.  Would you recommend going with GIA Excellent for this budget point instead?

I also just wanted to check whether anyone saw any big potential issues with this setting, or had heard of quality issues with JA filigree pieces?  He seems to really like this ring, but I just want to make sure that it will be a reasonable quality piece (I realize it's quite inexpensive).

Thanks, again!

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

Yes, I personally would want an 80 point GIA 3X if I were you. I think kt9b picked very nice stones. I'd ask for an idealscope on them.

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

The workmanship on that particular setting looks above average. If it is to your personal taste, then I think it's a nice option, especially at the current price point.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

You're very welcome. I had already done the leg work so cutting & pasting was easy this time around.

I just checked out the ring, it's very pretty but I do have one comment on it, its the orientation of the melee. I love the shape because it's unique but if your mother in law has never had an engagement ring, do you think she would want a more rounded shape?

I would see if the old cut gals might know of some vintage style settings available at some of the vintage shops? Try Grace & she if she might have any that she hasn't listed. She can order from other companies as well so I would give her a try & her bench can set the stone.
There's Ebay too but I'm not that familiar with a lot of shops on Ebay. Maybe ask Grace how much it would cost her bench to set the stone if you send both ring & stone to her. Maybe David Klass? See if he has any similar settings or can get one possibly hand engrave it for you too. He has done some great looking hand engraved rings.

I know you wanted to buy a rose gold setting but since I still have all the settings I suggested to my friend on my email, I'll list them here. You might like one of them even if not rose gold. I don't know the sellers & some have a "make an offer" offer. Then I can delete my emails. LOL In this case, I would ask a PS vendor or a vendor a lot use to have both ring & stone shipped to them to set. Yes, you run in to an issue with a 3rd party setting the stone but if I were to ask Grace, or some of the PS vendors to have their bench set the stone, I wouldn't worry about it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201563174639?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121958899660?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201563179004?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231759661956?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390945274395?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/381385283483?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/272194518952?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201533615073?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141571203887?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

As simple as this one is, I like this one from JA, maybe a bit more traditional looking for your future father in laws tastes though..
The engraving looks like daisies. I like the basket on it too. There are so many lovely styles on JA but a lot of them are not available in rose gold.

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/vintage/14k-rose-gold-hand-engraved-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-49339

You'll be busy this weekend digging up stones & settings. lOL Have fun & again, all the best.

 

[lovelyowl]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

Hi everyone!

Thanks very much again for your help with this. JA has now sent the IdealScopes for two of the stones (the third, which was kt9b’s favourite, was not in NY so they couldn’t get an IdealScope on it). I have attached the IdealScopes on the other two stones. JA said:

We are so happy to confirm that both diamonds are gorgeous in person! Diamond 1107459, the 0.82 ct I/VS2 ($3230) really stood out with its excellent light performance and overall balance. The sparkle is gorgeous and so is the fire! Diamond 1108008, the 0.71 ct I/VS2 True Hearts ($2970) is also stunning! It faces up a little whiter than the first stone with excellent performance. It too is very bright and lovely to admire.

The links and IdealScopes for the two diamonds are here:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.82-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1107459


http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.71-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1108008



Do you think that 1107459 looks like a good bet, or would it be better to order the third (which we wouldn’t be able to get the Idealscope on, http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.83-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1104660)? Is there too much table leakage in the 1107459 (particularly at the ~11:00 position of the table of, or is this an artefact of the imaging process)? Apologies for my novice abilities at reading IdealScopes.

ccuheartnurse - thanks very much for your setting suggestions! You are very right to ask about the orientation of the melee. I really like the engraved solitaire that you posted and will definitely share that with my fiancee’s father to get his thoughts on this as well.

 

[lovelyowl]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

Sorry to update the post, but it looks like my fiancée's father wants to order tonight with the original setting! Just wanted to double-check whether anyone has any thoughts on the idealscope of the 0.82 or if we should instead order the 0.83 blind? Thanks very much in advance for any input you might have .

 

[mcosme]

Re: Best James Allen round brilliant diamond for $3000 budge

Hi there
I'll let the experts chime in, but I'd choose the 0.82 because it is bigger and the idealscope looks decent. Also the gemologist seems to prefer that one!