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albela

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 20, 2012
Messages
17
i am looking for an engagement ring, solitaire with a simple setting. First time buying a ring, and am super confused. Can someone help me pick something? I hear James Allen is good, but i am open to other suggestions. A friend suggested costco, but selection seems limited.

Can someone help a brother out?

Thanks in advance.
 
How does she feel about fancies? Pear shapes marquise shapes emerald cuts things like that. A fancy will be cheaper than a round. We a little more to go on than just a solitaire ring. We can certainly find you something great though if we just get some info. Also, does ehat color metal does she like. Is she adventurous is her style unique or classic? Did she give you any hints?
 
The hints are round or princess cut and on the classic side, also her friend told her that the cut is very important.

Here is something she liked at costco, as we were just trying stuff last month:
http://www.costco.com/1.00-ct-Round-VS2-Clarity%2c-I-Color-Platinum-Diamond-Solitaire-Ring.product.11671951.html

As an example what would you think about getting the basic white gold setting from James Allen and this diamond:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1544577.asp
 
How important is the 1 ct mark? in a princess, that is easy. In a round, you have to go to J color (which is not the end of the world).
 
I think the 1ct mark is important.

Is round better than princess universally, or is it something that is matter of personal taste?
 
Both? Round is objectively better, but some people prefer princess for reasons of taste.
 
 
These look great, i notice the last one has the highest rating combination, is that to be blindly followed?

any suggestions for settings, the most basic white gold is 180, and the platinum one is 650 - is it worth difference in price?
 
What does highest rating mean? You'll want to ask JA for their analysis, with Ideal Scopes for the top 3.

Unless she has an allergy, white gold is fine. They are different metals and have somewhat different properties, though. Six prongs is safer than 4.
 
 
If she likes both round and princess cut, a four-prong setting may work well for her -- it has the illusion of squaring off a round diamond a little bit. I really like that look.
 
If you were going to go for the cheapest setting i would go WG. i wouldnt spend the money on platinum for that setting. Its usually used as a temporary setting. If youre able to spend around 600 on the setting there are nicer ones available
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions and putting up with my newbie situation.

Looks like the diamond recommended by Julie and endorsed is already unavailable on James Allen. Didnt realize they go that fast :(

Is there a review comparing James Allen to White Flash available, or should i think of them as roughly the same?

here are the top ones based on recommendations and my looking around, any opinions? Do you recommend if I can just order, or must I use the service from James Allen to have them inspected by the gemologist first?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1544223.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1524001.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1516362.asp

Also if i get someething for James Allen, and it doesnt work with her, is it pain free to return/exchange?
 
albela|1356107855|3337363 said:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions and putting up with my newbie situation.

Looks like the diamond recommended by Julie and endorsed is already unavailable on James Allen. Didnt realize they go that fast :(

Is there a review comparing James Allen to White Flash available, or should i think of them as roughly the same?

here are the top ones based on recommendations and my looking around, any opinions? Do you recommend if I can just order, or must I use the service from James Allen to have them inspected by the gemologist first?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1544223.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1524001.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1516362.asp

Also if i get someething for James Allen, and it doesnt work with her, is it pain free to return/exchange?
Click to expand...

They do go fast. I'm sorry you lost out on that one. That's why you need to put something on hold if you like it. JA will allow up to 3 on hold so I suggest doing it NOW. Personally, out of the three, the first I VS2 is my favorite! SO PUT IT ON HOLD. The J vvs2 is a bit too deep and the second I vs2 is more yellow than the first. JA has a 30 day full refund policy, so I wouldn't worry about that.
 
You want to run then through the hca calculator on this site. Its under tools. You want them both under 2. Also hes have thrm review them get light performance images and see which they recommend
 
albela|1356110016|3337395 said:
Amongst these two

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1544223.asp

is there a clear winner?


if i get one of these would the basic white gold setting work with it? Do people recommend using the gemologist inspection service before ordering?
Click to expand...

Yes, and that one's it! It will look gorgeous in a white gold setting!! The gemologist can help...but from what I've been hearing, they just say "they both are a great option", it's up to you. This one, in my opinion is the better option. again PUT IT ON HOLD NOW. or put BOTH on hold. You've seen how fast they go.
 
The 1.02 I VS2 is a disaster. Release that one, you don't want it.

The 1.01 I VS2 is better, but needs to be checked. Pick at least one more from my list for it to be compared to. JA has 60 day returns, free shipping I believe.

The Whiteflash one farmer gal picked is also very nice.
 
Thanks folks, i put a hold on http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1544223.asp..

The lady at James Allen was asking what would we check it for, do you have any insight into what i should tell her.

The other one like (from Julie's suggestion) is http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1513631.asp,, should i hold this as well?

A last one (since they let you pick three) I found via search is http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1535762.asp,, pushing a bit higher in price though.

Shall i ask these three to be inspected?
 
albela|1356127364|3337631 said:
Thanks folks, i put a hold on http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1544223.asp...

The lady at James Allen was asking what would we check it for, do you have any insight into what i should tell her.

The other one like (from Julie's suggestion) is http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1513631.asp,,, should i hold this as well?

A last one (since they let you pick three) I found via search is http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1535762.asp,,, pushing a bit higher in price though.

Shall i ask these three to be inspected?
Click to expand...

I think these two look better than the first one, based on the images.
 
albela|1356127364|3337631 said:
Thanks folks, i put a hold on http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1544223.asp....

The lady at James Allen was asking what would we check it for, do you have any insight into what i should tell her.

The other one like (from Julie's suggestion) is http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1513631.asp,,,, should i hold this as well?

A last one (since they let you pick three) I found via search is http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1535762.asp,,,, pushing a bit higher in price though.

Shall i ask these three to be inspected?
Click to expand...


Here is another J you might consider.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1421578.asp

Idealscope image already included in it because its a H/A stone.


I agree with Julie that you should remove that 1.02 I vs2 if you haven't already. The HCA score was something like 5.6. The other one (the 1.01) may worth checking out, but I worry that the slightly shallow crown angle and slightly shallow overall depth might be an issue. I have the same reservations on your 3rd choice. The table is larger than the overall depth (61 table, 60 depth) and I just wonder if that will cause any problems with obstruction. It squeaks in at 2.0 on the HCA tool (see the tools tabs up top if you want to run some numbers on stones yourself) but I bet you'd need an idealscope and a gemologists review to find out more about it. Someone with a lot more experience in how the cut angles interact might be able to tell you more before you use up your 3 choices.

Mostly, once you've got your 3, you're probably going to want to ask about eye clean (from top or top/sides and what distance that makes a difference to you). And you'll also want the gemologists recommendation on which stone performs the best.
 
I was pondering the carat or over question for $5K and found this one also. It's an I SI2, so you'd definitely have to ask about the inclusions and whether they may affect the performance of the stone, and the 59% table is a bit of a question mark also but it did score a 1.5 on the HCA just based on the numbers. It has a diamond quality report and not a platinum report and that makes me wonder a little about it as well but thought I'd throw it out there. I don't know if anyone else out there thinks it would be a better choice to examine than any of the others posted here that are somewhere in the 60/60 range.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1483095.asp
 
albela|1356127364|3337631 said:
Thanks folks, i put a hold on http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1544223.asp...

The lady at James Allen was asking what would we check it for, do you have any insight into what i should tell her.

The other one like (from Julie's suggestion) is http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1513631.asp,,, should i hold this as well?

A last one (since they let you pick three) I found via search is http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1535762.asp,,, pushing a bit higher in price though.

Shall i ask these three to be inspected?
Click to expand...

I still think the first I VS2 that you have on hold is better than the others that were recommended. Everything else just looks more tinted than this one. Any news on an idealscope?
 
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