Can you help me find a BlueNile diamond?

[krismarch]

I know, I know... buying BlueNile is not ideal. I've done enough research to know that it sucks. Unfortunately, they have a setting I love and they won't sell it to me without a diamond.

Here is what I'm looking for:
0.60-0.75ct (because the setting is being discontinued and that is the only one left in my size)
Around $2000 USD
Eye clean (I know I will have to call them and take their word on it... and how annoying that is)

Colour, cut, symmetry, polish, etc. is your expertise.

Thanks for helping. I feel so overwhelmed

 

[D_]

Not really,

pfunk and mrs-blop have just recently shown that good finds can be had on Blue Nile if one perseveres and does it smartly.

Input your parameters into their search function.
Btw re colour, only you and/or your gf knows what your tolerance/what you like.
It's not a matter of expertise, it's about preference.
Go to local stores and see a few GIA/AGS graded stones of different colours (will suggest G-J) and see which one you like/can still tolerate.

Clarity: VS2 and above would be safer since you are not able to see pictures.

Sift through the diamonds on Blue Nile based on these parameters:
(Yes that means inputting the parameters on their search function and clicking on the reports one by one for the rest of the stats).
GIA Ex Ex Ex (for Cut, Polish, Symmetry)
Depth: 60 – 62%
Table: 53 – 58%
Crown: 34.0 – 35.0 degrees
Pavilion: 40.6 – 41.0 degrees
(Complementary crown and pavilion angles if possible)
Lower Girdle: 75 – 80%
Girdle: Thin to Slightly Thick
Culet: None or Pointed

After finding ones which stats are within the above parameters, put the GIA # on Google and see if the diamonds are also available through other vendors and if have pictures of the diamonds available (e.g. B2C, Enchanted Diamonds). If you can see the pictures you may be able to go down to SI1 in clarity.
Then come back here with some shortlisted ones for feedback (don't post links/GIA # if you can so others don't snatch your selection).

The process is not easy.
But with some willpower and diligence I'm sure you can do it.

Good luck!

 

[MissGotRocks]

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?stockno=LD06003237

Here's a stone that would be a possible contender. It's a bit over budget and you might not care to go lower in color to say an I color or an SI-1 clarity to possibly get a larger stone. I don't know what your personal preferences are.

Go to their website and see what you come up with - you can always post the stone here for comments or suggestions!

You could also show us the setting to see if anyone could recommend another vendor for you to use that would have a setting that would be comparable.

Otherwise, look for these parameters:

Depth 60% - 62.2%

Crown angle 34-35

Pavilion angle 40.6 - 40.9

Table 54% - 58%.

 

[krismarch]

I have been trying to use these parameters and they seem impossible. I don't understand the differences between different suggestions on what percentages to look for. How do I decide which one to follow?

Total depth between 59 – 61.8%
Table diameter between 53 – 58%
Crown angle between 34.3 – 34.9 degrees*
Pavilion angle between 40.6 – 40.9 degrees
Lower girdle facets between 75 – 78%**
Star facets between 45 – 50%***
Girdle thickness between thin and slightly thick
Culet: AGS pointed or GIA none

 

[D_]

There are overlaps between the different suggestions.
You can input the table % & depth % on their "Advanced Filters".
For the rest you'll need to click on the individual diamond info and/or GIA/AGS certificate provided.

 

[mrs-b]

I know, I know... buying BlueNile is not ideal. I've done enough research to know that it sucks. Unfortunately, they have a setting I love and they won't sell it to me without a diamond.

Here is what I'm looking for:
0.60-0.75ct (because the setting is being discontinued and that is the only one left in my size)
Around $2000 USD
Eye clean (I know I will have to call them and take their word on it... and how annoying that is)

Colour, cut, symmetry, polish, etc. is your expertise.

Thanks for helping. I feel so overwhelmed

Hmmmm. Well, firstly, let me just say that Blue Nile is ALWAYS my first port of call because their prices are generally the best and because they have a rock solid return policy - no questions asked - for 30 days. Also, if you ask their opinion - it's actually NOT annoying. I've always found it to be reliable, informative, and correct. And above all, Blue Nile absolutely does NOT 'suck'. They don't do photos and ASETs and Idealscopes etc - but a great deal can be told from the stats they give you and, unless you're looking for something collector grade, you should be absolutely fine.

So - having said that....

.7ct I VS2 medium fluorescence to balance out slight warmth. .9 on the HCA - $2107 wire price

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD06099098

.65ct H VS2 fluorescence none - 1.9 on the HCA - $2188 wire price

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD05141896

.71ct H SI1 fluorescence - none. 2 on the HCA. $2106 wire price

All things on balance, I'd probably go with #3 - it's larger, it's whiter, and I don't think you'll see any inclusions at that size anyway. And it has the best price to boot.

I've bought diamonds from all the major PS vendors. I go to different vendors for different needs. But when I want a reliable stone on a budget and a huge selection in the one place to choose from, Blue Nile is my first port of call. I'm attaching a photo I took some time ago. Each of the blue packets represents a stone I have bought (and still own) from BN. I have more than this and have bought more since this was taken, but these are the ones I could lay my hands on easily at the time.

I hope this helps!

 

[krismarch]

I tried to follow the most lenient of your spec suggestions and cross reference with the Holloway Cut Adviser... just for different perspective. I found 3 diamonds within budget that BlueNile is going to check for me. I forgot to write down the details before they put them on hold for me, but I think one was 0.70 I SI1, one 0.66 G SI1 and one 0.67 I VS2. All excellent polish and symmetry, all excellent on the Holloway Cut Adviser, although I didn't do any research as to how much weight I should give those results. I mostly did it because it was fun.

I really appreciate all the advice. I must say though, those BlueNile signature ideal diamonds have a stupid cost per carat. I can't find any evidence that they are any nicer than the idea cut diamonds, especially when following the spec formulas. I'm fairly certain they're a scam.

I'll let you know if there are any updates! Thanks for the help

*I didn't see the post above before I wrote my update- off to check out those 3 stones now. Thank you!!!

 

[D_]

Holy, mrs-blop!


And OP, to help you stay within your budget, maybe you can apply for Upromise master card to get 5% cash back.
Better than Blue Nile 1.5% off wire price.

 

[arkieb1]

Wow Mrs-Blop if you don't work for Blue Nile then at least, I hope you get some sort of frequent customer discount....

Hi Krismarch do you have a link to the setting or a pic of it - just in case we can find you the same thing cheaper elsewhere?

 

[mrs-b]

Wow Mrs-Blop if you don't work for Blue Nile then at least, I hope you get some sort of frequent customer discount....

Hi Krismarch do you have a link to the setting or a pic of it - just in case we can find you the same thing cheaper elsewhere?

arkieb1 - you should see my GOG paperwork collection! Blows the BN collection out of the water.

 

[mrs-b]

I tried to follow the most lenient of your spec suggestions and cross reference with the Holloway Cut Adviser... just for different perspective. I found 3 diamonds within budget that BlueNile is going to check for me. I forgot to write down the details before they put them on hold for me, but I think one was 0.70 I SI1, one 0.66 G SI1 and one 0.67 I VS2. All excellent polish and symmetry, all excellent on the Holloway Cut Adviser, although I didn't do any research as to how much weight I should give those results. I mostly did it because it was fun.

I really appreciate all the advice. I must say though, those BlueNile signature ideal diamonds have a stupid cost per carat. I can't find any evidence that they are any nicer than the idea cut diamonds, especially when following the spec formulas. I'm fairly certain they're a scam.

I'll let you know if there are any updates! Thanks for the help

*I didn't see the post above before I wrote my update- off to check out those 3 stones now. Thank you!!!

krismarch -

No, they're not a scam. BN diamonds are cheaper than most of the vendors we recommend here because they come with a minimum of information and they're drop-shipped from all around the world. BN Sig cuts are cut in the US and held by Blue Nile. Unlike the other diamonds, they're hand inspected before shipping. They do also come with a little more information about their light performance. They're guaranteed to be eye clean. And yes, they do also exist within certain specs. I have a number of them, and I find them in general to be beautiful stones, and competitive with other PS vendors. In my entire collection - and it's considerable - the most beautiful diamond I own is a small BN diamond. It's .95ct F VS2, and it has mesmerizing light performance. In general, tho, my favorite diamonds come from Good Old Gold, but there's nothing wrong with a BN stone.

 

[D_]

mrs-blop, I never tried buying from BN, scared due to lack of info (relatively) available.
In your opinion, to untrained eyes, how do their non-sig. ideals diamonds stack against the super ideals from top vendors here for smaller ones (>1.25ct)?

 

[mrs-b]

mrs-blop, I never tried buying from BN, scared due to lack of info (relatively) available.
In your opinion, to untrained eyes, how do their non-sig. ideals diamonds stack against the super ideals from top vendors here for smaller ones (>1.25ct)?

Hi D

Blue Nile Sig cuts are, in my opinion, competitive with other PS vendor signature stones. I wouldn't say they were all as meticulous, but I'd say that many are, and that the rest are close enough to satisfy me. Here on PS we often have melt downs over whether a crown angle is 34.5 or 35.5 and will rule a diamond out on the basis of tiny differences and deviations. But my experience is that virtually nobody can tell the difference, all else being equal. We often act as though a GIA triple ex stone is suspect unless it comes with an idealscope and an ASET - yet in my experience, after checking for color, clarity, table %, depth %, crown and pavilion angles, girdle width, culet and lower facet % - all of which can be determined on a GIA report - you're pretty safe to buy off specs alone. There are ALWAYS outliers and stones that don't perform as well in person, but I have only had that experience once with a BN stone - in which instance I returned the stone, problem solved. One thing in favor of BN Sig cuts is that since the Sig cuts are all guaranteed eye clean, an SI1 Sig cut stone is generally a very safe bet and a good deal.

One thing I *have* noticed is that BN Sig stones do favor a 35.5% crown angle. I know a 34.5 is ideal - but truth be told - I can't tell a 35.5 from a 34.5 to save my soul! I remember one woman on PS once telling me, when I once asked about specs, that she preferred a 40.8 pavilion angle over a 41 pavilion angle. I'm sure the person exists who can see that difference, but I'm not it.

Having said that - keep in mind that the regular BN stones are cut by cutters all over the world, and many are just as good as the Sig cuts. Some of those cutters are not as good - some are as good, and some are better. If you're looking for a non-Sig cut, search within the specs parameters and then ask for an opinion from BN. In the past they have said to me, given what I said I was looking for, that they thought a specific stone wasn't what I was looking for and probably wouldn't perform the way I wanted it to, and I've appreciated their honesty. On occasion they've said "this is a fantastic stone!" - and that has regularly proven to be true.

Anyway, all that to say, I love their Sig cuts and I also love many of their stones that aren't. I've found - and bought - stunning stones from BN that weren't Sig cuts, and I've bought a number of stones around the 1 ct mark with which I've been more than happy. Always remember, not being a Sig cut doesn't mean they're not as good - it just means they haven't been cut in NY and haven't been inspected by BN in person. But my thinking has always been - if I don't like it, I'll send it back. So no problem.

I hope all that helps!

ETA - Sorry - just wanted to say that I think it's definitely worth taking the plunge! Watch the specs and stay within the parameters, talk to BN and get them to talk to whoever is holding the stone, then dive right in - I'm guessing you'll be very pleased!

 

[krismarch]

Wow that was helpful. I'm almost sad that my top 3 are not signature ideal. Here are the GIA reports for my top 3. I really wanted to go above 0.65 though. They have all been reported as eye clean, and the one with medium florescence has no negative effects (oily, hazy, etc.). Which should I choose?

http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?pagename=GST%2FDispatcher&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&c=Page&cid=1355954554547&reportno=3205568597

http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?pagename=GST%2FDispatcher&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&c=Page&cid=1355954554547&reportno=2207056617

http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?pagename=GST%2FDispatcher&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&c=Page&cid=1355954554547&reportno=2206206843

I'm so excited now that I've narrowed it down.
Thanks for all the advice

 

[mrs-b]

krismarch -

did you see the three I linked for you?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Wow that was helpful. I'm almost sad that my top 3 are not signature ideal. Here are the GIA reports for my top 3. I really wanted to go above 0.65 though. They have all been reported as eye clean, and the one with medium florescence has no negative effects (oily, hazy, etc.). Which should I choose?

http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?pagename=GST%2FDispatcher&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&c=Page&cid=1355954554547&reportno=2207056617

I love the proportions...

 

[D_]

Well done, Krismarch!
Number-wise the F SI1 seems to be the best, but I'll personally pick the .7 I SI1.
And don't be sad, the sig ideals carry quite a bit of premium anw.
So you may be able to get larger stone if you don't go the sig ideal route.
mrs-blop, do you have the link to the H SI1 (diamond #3 you suggested)?

Hi mrs-blop
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Reading your perspective is very refreshing.
A lot of PS-ers and pros from various "advice sites" seem to not think too highly of BN.
But there are a lot of happy BN customers on Yelp and other forums.
So things don't seem to add up here...

Having bought a signature stone, I find them to be very pretty.
But now I'm wondering how discernible is their super prettiness compared to other well-cut stones within those tight parameters.
The general sentiment from reading many many threads seems to be: avoid Blue Nile (can't see the stone), go with the top vendors.
I even started following the mantra without having personally bought from BN.
The mantra exudes elitism to a certain degree.
Sure, the amt of available information and the level of service (plus no drop ship) may more than justify the (slight?) premium those signature lines command.
And I happily went that route for those reasons.
But the perfect hearts and arrows etc? The size of the pictures provided might have led me to believe that it is important and lends to the beauty of the diamond. Here's a H&A picture from BN's sig ideal:

which makes me think that non sig. ideals must look way worse than that.
But irl, I seem to only be able to see the arrows up close from a certain angle.
Even among close circle of friends, how many of them will look at your ring that closely and for that long?
I agree that people (consumers/prosumers, assume it may be a given among tradespeople) who can see the difference between different pavilion angles, or if if it's perfect H&A from within an arm's length do exist. But somehow I'm skeptical that most people who claim they can do so are really able to do so (like those "foodies" who are not even able to tell the food they were served was from McDonald's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qa6QXBxxWw).

Whenever this topic comes up though, it can easily get polarized.
It's almost as if everyone just doesn't want to feel stupid and tries to justify their choice (e.g. saying that BN is store for the masses etc.) even when they don't need to.
I can understand though, am myself dreading the day I meet a friend who didn't put that much thought into buying a ring, didn't even know/care about what clarity/colour it is since he bought it from a "wholesaler friend".
The price is really hard to beat though (or not, hard to tell w/o knowing the clarity, colour etc.)
If he nonchalantly says that he can't see the damn difference between his diamond and mine I'll try my best to remain calm and civil, bite my tongue, breathe, repeat
The sad thing is, what if he really can't tell the difference? What if most people can't see the difference?
After all, PSers/diamond aficionados only make small % of the population. Perhaps something to do with it being quite an expensive hobby. But even people who never buy diamonds usually know about carat/size...

 

[krismarch]

I was leaning towards the 0.67 in terms of cut as well. I'm curious why you would get the 0.7. Because of size? The person on the phone said my eye probably couldn't tell the difference.

 

[D_]

Well, it's between proportions and size (perhaps colour to a certain extent).
Among those hard to distinguish differences to untrained eyes, which one is the least difficult to notice?
(I'm sure there is difference between F & I, but I'm OK w/ Is for that size range, maybe I'm not that colour sensitive. It depends on your/your gf colour sensitiveness too).

And fluorescence.
Just personal preference for no/faint fluor.