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Better deal on a round stone for an engagement ring?

thejester

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
6
Hello,

New member here, but I've been doing quite a bit of reading on here and want to start by saying how astounding the knowledge on this place is. If I hadn't been pointed here, I wouldn't have had the first idea where to look or what to look at when starting on my journey to find the perfect engagement ring for my girlfriend.

What I want to see is if/how badly I am being fleeced by a local store. I'll admit that purchasing something like this sight unseen is a bit intimidating, but I think now that I at least understand the basics of what's important and how each component of the stone/setting impacts the final ring, I feel a little better than I did at the start :)

So here we go.

1) Budget = ~$8,000
2) Round stone
3) Pave cathedral setting, probably platinum (similar to this, I might actually just buy this one since I like it a lot: https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/platinum-petite-pave-cathedral-engagement-ring-item-50083)

Local store (let's just say I'm not 100% sure I 'have a friend in the diamond business') had a combo that I put on layaway...but I think I might able to do a little better with the help of the experts here.

Data:
Platinum pave cathedral setting - $995

GIA-certified round brilliant, Excellent Cut, SI-1, H-Color, 1.04 ct - $6,700
Measurements:
Depth - 62.4 %
Table - 56 %
Crown Angle - 36.0°
Crown Height - 16.0%
Pavilion Angle - 40.8°
Pavilion Depth - 43.0%
Star Length - 50%
Lower Half - 80%
Girdle - Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted, 3.5%
Culet - None

All of this gives me a Holloway score of 3.6, which seems...wanting.

What say you, PriceScopers? Should I go with the local store (upside is 60 day return policy gives me a little more flexibility on when to actually ask her to marry me), or try to get a larger/nicer diamond from an online retailer?
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
2,339
Hi there. That JA stone could be nice, but you need to ask about whether or not the inclusions are eye clean (and at what distance) and about the strong blue fluorescence and whether it makes the stone look hazy. Could be a nice find though.

Also, you need to be discerning about the quality of pave you buy. Mall stores are notorious for having poorly crafted pave and you will risk stones falling out. I personally would not buy a pave ring from JA either. I would go with WF or BGD for a pave setting. They will be a little more than the JA setting, but you get what you pay for.
 

thejester

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
6
JDDN|1466981676|4048626 said:
Hi there. That JA stone could be nice, but you need to ask about whether or not the inclusions are eye clean (and at what distance) and about the strong blue fluorescence and whether it makes the stone look hazy. Could be a nice find though.

Also, you need to be discerning about the quality of pave you buy. Mall stores are notorious for having poorly crafted pave and you will risk stones falling out. I personally would not buy a pave ring from JA either. I would go with WF or BGD for a pave setting. They will be a little more than the JA setting, but you get what you pay for.

Thank you for the input! The rep I spoke with at JA said this was stone was eye-clean (her words "all you'll see with this stone is sparkle"), but I did not ask about the fluorescence. Will an Idealscope help determine this? I haven't requested one yet.

Does JA not have quality pave? I hadn't run into that piece of feedback anywhere in doing my research on them.
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
2,339
No an IS won't tell you if the fluorescence makes it hazy. You have to examine the stone in person and look at it in different lighting and outside. You can ask for an IS of the stone, but JA has not been providing them very often (stones are over seas). Ask for one and if it's over seas the rep can't say the diamond is all sparkles because he/she isn't looking at it! Also ask at how many inches it's eye clean, ie you can start seeing the inclusions at 6 inches or 8 inches, etc.

Type James Allen in the PS search bar and see what you find. You could be fine with a pave ring from JA. With any pave ring you still need to baby it so just keep that in mind.
 

thejester

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
6
JDDN|1466982535|4048631 said:
No an IS won't tell you if the fluorescence makes it hazy. You have to examine the stone in person and look at it in different lighting and outside. You can ask for an IS of the stone, but JA has not been providing them very often (stones are over seas). Ask for one and if it's over seas the rep can't say the diamond is all sparkles because he/she isn't looking at it! Also ask at how many inches it's eye clean, ie you can start seeing the inclusions at 6 inches or 8 inches, etc.

Type James Allen in the PS search bar and see what you find. You could be fine with a pave ring from JA. With any pave ring you still need to baby it so just keep that in mind.

Great, thank you so much JDDN. I spoke with JA again, and the rep said that it was eye clean at 12" away. She also said that the stone was not hazy and can get me an Idealscope in 3-5 business days.
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
2,339
Perfect! Put that baby on hold if you haven't already! Depending on the IS, if you end up ordering it they have a 30 day return policy so you can examine yourself and return if you don't love it. For some seeing the inclusions within 12 inches would be a deal breaker and for others, it would be totally fine. So just consider where the wearer falls in that continuum.
 

thejester

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
6
JDDN|1466983117|4048635 said:
Perfect! Put that baby on hold if you haven't already! Depending on the IS, if you end up ordering it they have a 30 day return policy so you can examine yourself and return if you don't love it. For some seeing the inclusions within 12 inches would be a deal breaker and for others, it would be totally fine. So just consider where the wearer falls in that continuum.

My girlfriend falls firmly into the latter category, luckily :) As long as it's sparkly, she will love it.

Thank you so much for your help! I am going to buy it right now.
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
2,339
Wow, you don't waste any time!! You don't want to see what the IS tells you first?? LOL, I'm sure it'll be beautiful, but if they can get the IS, it's a really nice tool to use for reassurance that the stone is well cut.
 

thejester

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
6
JDDN|1466983720|4048637 said:
Wow, you don't waste any time!! You don't want to see what the IS tells you first?? LOL, I'm sure it'll be beautiful, but if they can get the IS, it's a really nice tool to use for reassurance that the stone is well cut.

Yes, I suppose I'm not a very patient person, ha! I figured I didn't have much to lose with this return policy. `
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
2,339
Well come back and post pictures of the ring when you get it!
 
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