BN diamond studs

[breadly]

looking to get some diamond studs for my lady as our anniversary is rolling up. Planning to spend ~$750 and am trying to get some bang for my buck.

Have been really interested in the offering at bluenile but had a few questions:

1) Are the pre-set studs certified diamonds? Is the cut any good? (listed as minimum "good")

2) would you go with the platinum VS2/ G-H in a smaller size or the 18k SI/ H-I for a larger diamond? will i see the difference in these stones?

3) How is the quality of these studs overall - am i bettter off buying a lower grade diamond elsewhere in terms of "fire" etc.?

4) Any other thoughts?

your help is really appreciated!

 

[breadly]

I''ve looked at WF briefly (I must admit, their site is a little harder to navigate than BN).

The offerings in my price range were as follows:

WF: 14k, 0.5ctw, G-H / SI ~ 600
BN: Pt950, 0.5ctw, H/VS2 ~700
BN: 18k, 0.5ctw, H-I / SI2 ~550

Which is a better buy?

Oh- forgot to mention, i''m going for a princess cut...

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/14/2008 4:45:17 PM
Author: breadly
I've looked at WF briefly (I must admit, their site is a little harder to navigate than BN).

The offerings in my price range were as follows:

WF: 14k, 0.5ctw, G-H / SI ~ 600
BN: Pt950, 0.5ctw, H/VS2 ~700
BN: 18k, 0.5ctw, H-I / SI2 ~550

Which is a better buy?

Oh- forgot to mention, i'm going for a princess cut...

I assume you are quoting Wf's Ready, Set to Go line. Wf's are the better deal imo. And while I've never seen Princess from either place (in real life), I know WF cut their own branded Princess. It would be my "guess" that their stones would look better. (and you don't need Plat for earrings)

But I do agree with SDL, if you are not aware, rounds will give the best coverage/sparkle.

 

[breadly]

Well, without getting too deep into the pricing and vendor selection, what i''m really trying to decide is if I''ll notice the difference between "VS2/ G-H" and "SI/ H-I " pre set earrings where the cut is listed as "good" for each (princess cut)....

 

[Elmorton]

I bought some .3''s earlier this summer and decided to save about $150 by going with a good cut H-I SI (loupe clean) vs hearts and arrows melee, and honestly, I couldn''t be happier with the decision. The thing to remember about your studs is that they''re going to be .25 each, so I think the difference between the BN and WF will actually pretty minimal - would be much different if this was one .5 diamond. But, for a $50 difference, I think I''d probably go WF and have the higher quality diamonds (agreed that the metal doesn''t mean much). If the difference was more like $100 or more, it would change my answer, though.

 

[Deedaa]

I recently purchased some Blue Nile bezel set studs and I love them. They are screw back though, just in case you don''t like that idea.

My studs are H/SI. I think they look great and have received many compliments on them. To answer your question as to wether or not you will notice the difference, possibly if the studs were side by side. Will it make a significant difference when viewed on the ear from a normal distance? Probably not. I personally would go with the larger ones.

My studs are the excellent cut ones (not ideal) but I''m really happy with them. Unfortunately I can''t comment on the quality of the ones you are looking at but BN does have a great return policy in the event you are not happy. Best of luck, I''m sure your wife will love whatever you choose for her.

 

[breadly]

well, after mulling everyone''s advice and scouring the web for promo codes i''ve decided on the following:

Blue Nile, 0.5ctw H-I/SI 18k WG rounds (gave up on princess cut), with my coupon I''m at ~540 (pretty cheap i think).

This is based very much on the easy return policy at BN - I''ll be staring at these long and hard before i decide if they go back. If i don''t like them, i''ll spend the extra dough on an ''Expert Select'' from WF or a "Build your own" at BN. But after a trip to my B&M jeweler I''m pretty sure that the quality level of these stones is more than sufficient for earrings.

Thanks to all for the advice - i''ll post again when they''re in hand to update on my decision.

 

[february2003bride]

These from Pearlmans are a bit cheaper and princess cut:

http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/jewelry-specials/previously-owned-jewelry/earrings/018PO2/0/

Hope this helps!