Bought an Emerald Cut engagement ring, thoughts?

[taxman1995]

Hi all!

I am excited as I have just bought a 2.18ct natural emerald cut engagement ring (USD $26,500 all in) for my girlfriend. I did a ton of searching online and saw a few stones (loose) in person, but this stone won out. I would appreciate your thoughts and help with the below questions!
1) Can I set this stone in a prong setting only with no horizontal basket. I really want tiny prongs (either button style or baby claws), that are somewhat thin and want to be able to see as much of the stone as possible. Sort of like the ones in these links, but I think they look a bit too thick!
- https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...olitaire-engagement-ring-flush-fit-item-63932
- https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...mfort-fit-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-8994
- https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...white-gold-contour-engagement-ring-item-58993
2) Is platinum going to contrast with the colour of the stone (H) too much? I want to ask the jeweler to take the stone out and then compare what it looks like when i switch between platinum and yellow gold.
3) Is 18k or 14k gold a nicer colour? I understand 14k is more durable, but 18k is more pure...
4) Did I get a decent deal here? They have included any changes I make to the ring with the cost before I pick it up.

Some additional context:
- My girlfriend is a size 4-4.25 ring finger (baby hands...)
- She has a bronze skin tone
- It's supposed to be a surprise so I haven't asked her for many comments other than her ring size.
- She sent me this picture of this stone and ring that she saw on Instagram a year or two ago that she liked which is here:


This is the stone and ring I bought:



GIA report for the stone I bought:


Here are some prong and bands that I like and that my girlfriend would like:

 

[lulu_ma]

Congratulations! My engagement stone was also an emerald cut. Such an elegant cut!

In terms of prongs, I might recommend double prongs on the corners. I had single prongs and chipped one corner of my stone. My jeweler was able to buff it out with no ctw lost but I changed to double claws for the extra protection.

 

[taxman1995]

Congratulations! My engagement stone was also an emerald cut. Such an elegant cut!

In terms of prongs, I might recommend double prongs on the corners. I had single prongs and chipped one corner of my stone. My jeweler was able to buff it out with no ctw lost but I changed to double claws for the extra protection.

Appreciate the advice, I was considering the double prong, but I don't think she will like the look of it unfortunately. Do you mind me asking how you chipped the corner?

 

[taxman1995]

Also, this is a better example of the setting I would like (ignoring the pave diamonds). I like how there is no basket but just the 4 prongs.

 

[momofive]

Congratulations! It will be difficult to comment on the actual diamond without videos and ASET scope images. Looks good from the photos, but I’m not an expert. With fancy cuts, your seeing it in person is the best. As long as there are nice flashes and it does not have a dead or dark center, you should be good. EC’s are like a hall of mirrors with thin dark areas. One think to look for are the flashes, as long as they sparkle nicely when you move it side to side and in all different types of lighting (not just jewelry store lighting - even poorly cut diamonds can look good in jewelry store lighting).

I’m in the process of waiting for a 3 stone EC ring. They gave me the option of no rail on the basket, but as the center diamond is over 3.5ct, I felt it was safer to have the rails.

 

[tyty333]

1) Yes, you can set it with no bar. You are going to insure it, correct?
2) IMO, platinum will be fine with an H...but she showed you yellow gold rings so why are you looking at plat?
3) I would not do 18K without a bar. Too soft IMO.
4) The stone looks like it should be about $18k+ comparing with whats available at JA. To be honest, $26 is on the
high end. Just looked at few other sites and low $20s seems like a good price.

2.14 Carat emerald diamond

This emerald cut 2.14 carat H color vvs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

2.12 Carat emerald diamond

This emerald cut 2.12 carat H color vvs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

 

[taxman1995]

1) Yes, you can set it with no bar. You are going to insure it, correct?
2) IMO, platinum will be fine with an H...but she showed you yellow gold rings so why are you looking at plat?
3) I would not do 18K without a bar. Too soft IMO.
4) The stone looks like it should be about $18k+ comparing with whats available at JA. To be honest, $26 is on the
high end. Just looked at few other sites and low $20s seems like a good price.

2.14 Carat emerald diamond

This emerald cut 2.14 carat H color vvs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

2.12 Carat emerald diamond

This emerald cut 2.12 carat H color vvs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

I think she liked platinum pave but i'm not sure if she likes it solitaire...

Can i go with 14k gold without the bar? I might go for this.

Thanks for the input on the stones, I also saw those stones. I ran their GIA numbers through this site called Stone Algo and it appears that mine has the largest visual carat which I was happy to see! Visual carat explained here: https://www.stonealgo.com/blog/what-is-diamond-visual-carat-weight/

The site also ranked them very similar in price. Not sure on the accuracy of this site to be honest, but has anyone else ever tried it?

 

[lovedogs]

I think she liked platinum pave but i'm not sure if she likes it solitaire...

Can i go with 14k gold without the bar? I might go for this.

Thanks for the input on the stones, I also saw those stones. I ran their GIA numbers through this site called Stone Algo and it appears that mine has the largest visual carat which I was happy to see! Visual carat explained here: https://www.stonealgo.com/blog/what-is-diamond-visual-carat-weight/

The site also ranked them very similar in price. Not sure on the accuracy of this site to be honest, but has anyone else ever tried it?

I wouldn't rely on StoneAlgo at all.

 

[lulu_ma]

+1 on what @lovedogs said. Stonealgo might be good for screening Modern Round diamonds but fancy shape diamonds are a whole other animal.

And, I don’t honest know how I chipped the corner of my emerald cut. I had had it for over 5 years when the chip was discovered. I did not baby my ring at all. My guess is that I hit the corner hard somehow. It happens unfortunately.

 

[tyty333]

If she sent you that picture of an emerald cut in a yellow-gold setting, I'm not sure why you are planning on resetting it. Has she
mentioned that she wants something different (plat w/pave).

I think I would give it to her the way it is then let her decide on/pick a new setting instead of being not exactly sure.

You can go without the bar but the more metal the better, obviously. Some people and jewelers would not go without the
bar. Opinions vary.

 

[Lookinagain]

If she sent you that picture of an emerald cut in a yellow-gold setting, I'm not sure why you are planning on resetting it

I was wondering the same thing. If she showed you that setting as something she likes and what you bought seems to be very close, why are you resetting?

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

The only other caution is the basket style looks cool, but isn't very secure long term. The whole basket just sits/floats on top of the band with one small meet point and diamond/basket could snap and pop off, that's usually why a more integrated basket is preferable for everyday wear. She would have to be careful wearing the ring.
The good thing is the James Allen mountings have a little more metal, which is better.
Did she say she wants platinum? I ask because I'm a yellow gold girl, and I'm not a huge fan of white metals. I would not want platinum or rhodium plated white gold.

 

[taxman1995]

I was only considering platinum if I thought it would make the stone look brighter as you can see the yellow gold through the stone which might make it look more yellow than it actually is... but I've heard platinum can actually contrast a bit with a stone in H or lower colour.

But I agree, she likes yellow gold more, so I am fairly certain I will stick with it, but I would like to change the band to be a bit thinner and the prong style I want to change, so I am not sure if 14k or 18k makes more sense.

Perhaps I do a yellow gold band and platinum prongs?

Here is a video of the ring:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Diamonds/comments/13s0jv6

 

[Lookinagain]

Why not give it to her in the existing setting with the option of a new setting for her to choose? It’s now so close to the photo she gave you a few years ago she may like it as it is. Or her tastes may have changed and she’d like something different. No use guessing about that. If you don’t want to get her input now before a new setting I’d wait.

 

[lulu_ma]

Imo, the yellow gold is making the diamond look more tinted.

I think it would be better to have platinum or white gold basket on a gold band.

 

[taxman1995]

Imo, the yellow gold is making the diamond look more tinted.

I think it would be better to have platinum or white gold basket on a gold band.

This is what i was thinking as well! I am going to discuss it with the jeweler. She (the sales lady) actually wears a 4ct emerald cut with yellow gold band and white gold basket.

 

[taxman1995]

Why not give it to her in the existing setting with the option of a new setting for her to choose? It’s now so close to the photo she gave you a few years ago she may like it as it is. Or her tastes may have changed and she’d like something different. No use guessing about that. If you don’t want to get her input now before a new setting I’d wait.

I think the prongs are too big currently. They cover a bit too much of the diamond for my liking.

Colour wise, i think it makes sense to stick with the yellow gold band as she likes. Just trying to improve the color of the stone.

 

[dk168]

Small prongs, and only a single one on each corner, if one of them catches something, goodbye diamond!

I lost the centre stone of a ring given to me by my mother which was an Imperial Jade during one drunken work function when one of the 4 claw prongs caught something.

Since then, I had bezel-set the centre stone for all the rings I had commissioned.

Personal preferences and all that.

Congratulations BTW.

DK

 

[taxman1995]

Small prongs, and only a single one on each corner, if one of them catches something, goodbye diamond!

I lost the centre stone of a ring given to me by my mother which was an Imperial Jade during one drunken work function when one of the 4 claw prongs caught something.

Since then, I had bezel-set the centre stone for all the rings I had commissioned.

Personal preferences and all that.

Congratulations BTW.

DK

That's a good point. I will make sure they're not too small.

Thank you

 

[Lookinagain]

well, if you are going to go ahead and do a reset before you give it to her, then yes, I'd do a white basket and yellow band. I'd also do double claw prongs to protect the corners better. I have an EC ring with that mix of metal with double claw prongs.

 

[taxman1995]

well, if you are going to go ahead and do a reset before you give it to her, then yes, I'd do a white basket and yellow band. I'd also do double claw prongs to protect the corners better. I have an EC ring with that mix of metal with double claw prongs.

Thanks, I think I will do that color set up! I am quite confident she will not like the double prongs as she seems to want something as simple as possible, so may not do those.

 

[taxman1995]

Just finalized the ring. We are doing a slightly thinner band and slightly smaller claw prongs. The gallery/prongs will be in platinum and the band will be in yellow gold.

Excited to see it in a few weeks