big difference between a .5 and a .6 carat?

[justaskinaboutdiamonds]

i''m planning on proposing soon (around december) to my gf so i recently bought a diamond solitaire ring from bluenile.

it''s a round .47 carat, E color, ideal cut, si1. together with the setting, the total came to about $1100

i wasn''t really looking for a large size, i was looking more at the color and quality (sparklyness?). my gf doesn''t like large-stone jewelries anyways


the ring arrived, and i kinda liked what i got, and i''m thinking she''ll like it too.

but for some reason, out of boredom i guess, i went back to bluenile to look at what they have and saw that the same exact setting that i got before is now $100 cheaper, so i went ahead and browsed the "create your own ring" section


now i saw this round .58 carat, E color, ideal cut, si2, with the same setting for just $300 more (including the $100 pricedown on that setting), the total was about $1400


money wise, $300 is kinda a big thing for me, i''m currently a broke college student working only part time and drowning in student loan debts. but i do love her and sacrificing an extra $300, if it''ll make her happier, i guess i can live with


so i guess my question is, is there a big, noticeable difference between a .47 and a .58 and would an extra $300, together with the hassle of shipping it back for returns with shipping insurance and stuff and setting up payments and waiting for the new one to come in the mail, be an all right compromise?


thanks




btw, if anyone has a picture of a .5 or a .6 carat on a finger (i''m really bad at seeing sizes when they''re not on fingers), that''ll be very helpful too, thanks

 

[tonyc2387]

I just saw this today in poking around, hopefully this will help. check out post #6 in this thread...

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/carat-weight-size.26668/

If you're strapped for cash such that the $300 upgrade is hard, and take into consideration you're probably going to eat another $100-$200 on the return (shipping + insurance hurts!)... 10 points probably isn't worth it. It's likely that at either size, she'll still call it a "half-carat", so you probably aren't gaining all that much.

IMHO, throw it into a more romantic evening, a more expensive dinner, or travel somewhere... you'll almost certainly get a bigger bang for your buck that way.

**edit, you're also stepping down in clarity. if your diamond is eye-clean enough for you now, this may be something else to consider. bigger may not be better if the SI2 has a honking black spot in the middle...

 

[Lorelei]

It depends on the cut quality and diameters of both, assuming well cut diamonds there would be a small difference with direct comparison.

 

[stone-cold11]

As previously stated, depends on the cut. But assuming both are well cut, a 0.47c will have a diameter of about 5.00mm and a 0.58c will have a diameter of about 5.38mm.

 

[FB.]

The current stone is SI1, which has a good chance of being eye clean.
The new stone is SI2, which often aren''t eye clean (and that might be why it''s relatively cheap).

The new stone is likely to be about 0.3mm larger in each directrion, but that will depend on the cut to some extent.

Plus there''s possibly different proportions. Not all "ideal" cut diamonds are created equal - better proportions usually cost more money.

 

[Sam82]

I think that technically, if you compared both side by side, you ''d see a slight difference. But not really enough to warrant the extra cost of returning and everything. Keep what you have and good luck with the proposal.

 

[justaskinaboutdiamonds]

sweet, thanks for the help guys, really really helpful info


you guys are right i might be better of spending my extra money for a more romantic night

now my only problem is coming up with a good proposal idea

thanks again for the help

 

[HVVS]

and take into consideration you''re probably going to eat another $100-$200 on the return (shipping + insurance hurts!)...

Huh? Does BN charge a huge restocking fee? I just sent over $7000 worth to a PS vendor via USPS insured registered mail with return receipt, and I think it cost me maybe $30 or $35 or something.

 

[tonyc2387]

HVVS you''re right. turns out i really (!!!) overestimated initial shipping fees for overnight + insurance. total round trip is probably more around the $80 range, which is much less than what I said, but still not insignificant when compared to his budget.

sorry if I misled you, justaskin.

as for ideas... personally, i''m a fan of travel. road trips can be cheap... hit up a beach, national park, big city, something out of the ordinary for a night or two. dinners are easy, have a bunch of different ways to be creative. if she has a bunch of really close friends, maybe a surprise party or night out? hard to give advice knowing *nothing* about you... but if you can pull off something she really likes/daydreams about, you''re on the right track.

 

[outatouch0]

Congrats on the ring. There is an etire forum here on PS dedicated to proposal ideas. Its hard to really give good advice without knowing the two of you and your histories. What is romantic and symbolic to one couple may be way off for another.

 

[freefly]

Date: 11/4/2009 6:35:46 PM
Author: justaskinaboutdiamonds
sweet, thanks for the help guys, really really helpful info



you guys are right i might be better of spending my extra money for a more romantic night

now my only problem is coming up with a good proposal idea

thanks again for the help

Congratulations on getting a beautiful ring. I''m sure the perfect proposal idea will come to you. Good luck!