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Choosing a Diamond (and ring) - Help Please!

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Fury

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 5, 2022
Messages
11
Hi there, new here and to the world of diamonds.
Have done a lot of reading and still feel overwhelmed, and want to get the best bang for buck (and not feel ripped off) for a tiny sparkling rock.

Looking for a lab grown diamond, probably 1.5ct or greater.
Budget (for ring and rock) would be USD$6-8.5k, so diamond around USD$5-7.5k?
James Allen appears to be a reputable store so they have been the primary place I've been looking, but certainly not locked into this.
Their True Hearts range makes it (at least to my eyes) easier to choose a more ideal diamond, albeit at an extra cost.

So far I'm looking at this one:
www.jamesallen.com

Lab-Created 1.53 Carat round diamond

This True Hearts TM diamond, 1.53 carat Lab-Created E color vvs2 clarity has ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from IGI
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

Any diamond suggestions much appreciated.


In regards to rings (well more so ring sizes), a few years back she went with a friend to Tiffany's for a browse and her friend advised she was fitted as a size 7 there.
Is ring sizing the same everywhere? This is Tiffany in Australia, so not entirely sure how it would translate to JA or other online stores.
She also sent me a pic of these two rings which my partner liked (which helps make ring selection a lot easier) - would anyone hazard a guess at what size the diamond may be? I was only told between $30-60k (AUD) at Tiffany's inflated pricing that's a very small rock :lol-2:

b8216ec4-0f8c-4dd0-88c2-fff857217410.JPG858909ba-eb1d-4c77-b9c2-b1ff19fc5e70.JPG

Your help is much appreciated!
 
A very nice cut quality and no signs of graining in the video.
 
Sizing mandrels are not standardized, so sizing can vary a bit from jeweler to jeweler.

My best guesstimate is that the diamond in your first picture is around 2ct.

The diamond you posted has blue nuance, so it will appear a steely grey/blue.

Take a look at these options which each have a GCAL 8x report, meaning they've received the most comprehensive cut assessment possible from a lab and scored Excellent in all 8 categories. Adiamor does ship internationally.

1.80 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 313220028 Good Cut - D49143555

1.80 carat, Round, E Color, VS1 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Good Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D49143555
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

1.80 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 313220029 Good Cut - D49143537

1.80 carat, Round, E Color, VS1 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Good Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D49143537
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

1.82 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312790348 Affinity Cut - D48763976

1.82 carat, Round, E Color, VS1 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Affinity Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D48763976
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

And if you're willing to spend closer to the top of your budget, I'd get this gorgeous honker:

2.26 Carat F VS2 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312780983 Affinity Cut - D49723901

2.26 carat, Round, F Color, VS2 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Affinity Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D49723901
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
 
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And if her ring size was a couple of year ago, you ought to get it rechecked. Things change.
 
Kim N said:
Sizing mandrels are not standardized, so sizing can vary a bit from jeweler to jeweler.

My best guesstimate is that the diamond in your first picture is around 2ct.

The diamond you posted has blue nuance, so it will appear a steely grey/blue.

Take a look at these options which each have a GCAL 8x report, meaning they've received the most comprehensive cut assessment possible from a lab and scored Excellent in all 8 categories. Adiamor does ship internationally.

1.82 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312790348 Affinity Cut - D48763976

1.82 carat, Round, E Color, VS1 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Affinity Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D48763976
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

2.26 Carat F VS2 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312780983 Affinity Cut - D49723901

2.26 carat, Round, F Color, VS2 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Affinity Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D49723901
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
Click to expand...

@Kim N knocks it out of the park again!
Either of these two would be amazing choices, in my opinion.
Love the proportions and 16% crown height of the 1.82, love the proportions and bigger spread of the 2.26!

Here the grading report links with all the info one would ever need:

Gem Certification & Assurance Lab

www.gcalusa.com www.gcalusa.com

Gem Certification & Assurance Lab

www.gcalusa.com www.gcalusa.com
 
Thanks for the awesome options. That 2.2 looks incredible!
Unfortunately i didnt take into account that there’s 10% GST and 5% duty to add to the price

Are you able to advise any options that may be closer to 1.5ct and maybe ~1k less than the 1.82ct?

Thanks for the help!
 
Agree with @Kim N that the first one looks 2 carats if not 2.5. Also agree with @ringo865 to double check the ring size. (The first one looks like 2+ carats to me because I owned a 2 carat mrb back when I was a size 7 and a little weight loss made a difference.). The second one does not look bigger than 1.5 and if she’s happy with the second one then you are in good shape. :)

FWIW my Tiffany rings run half a size large.

How lucky to have a friend who can do recon.
 
I would 100% go with one of DejaWiz's GCAL 8x finds if you can.

On the off chance that James Allen makes the exporting process easier than Adiamor, here's another option.

www.jamesallen.com

Lab-Created 1.56 Carat round diamond

This 1.56 carat Lab-Created round diamond E color vs2 clarity has Ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from IGI
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com
 
Hi Guys,

So basically got a but overwhelmed and took some time away to collect my thoughts.
About diamonds and their expense, not about the Mrs ;)2
I guess this would be the 3rd most expensive purchase in my life behind a house and a car...

Ready to choose a rock now!
Either from Adiamor or James Allen.
Looking at ~$5-5.5k USD for the 1.5ct+ rock, a touch more if it's something special.
Looking over the previous suggestions:

1.64 Carat E VS2 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312941755 Affinity Cut - D49726433

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
This seems to have an inclusion near the top that is putting me off in the images.
If possible it'd be great to find a rock without it this visible (in the images).

Your help is much appreciated!
 
 
Thanks Kim,

One thing i note is that the contrast between the blacks and the whites dont seem to be as prominent as those on JA for instance. Is this just down to the photography/lighting situation? The 1.5 looks to have more contrast than the other diamonds...
I'm not sure what this means tbh, my eye just seems to be drawn more to the contrast and cleanliness between light and dark...

The 1.85 looks good however I notice a few blemishes slightly left/up from center in the images... I guess i'm going to pick these on every magnified image but not see them in person?
 
Fury said:
Thanks for the awesome options. That 2.2 looks incredible!
Unfortunately i didnt take into account that there’s 10% GST and 5% duty to add to the price

Are you able to advise any options that may be closer to 1.5ct and maybe ~1k less than the 1.82ct?

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

10% GST will be applicable, but under the AUSFTA (fair trade agreement) you will not have to pay the 5% duty if the item was made in the US.

I’m sure the stores you are looking at will be able to complete the relevant form required.

That being said I’m unsure whether this includes loose stones if you are not having the stone set.
 
Fury said:
Thanks Kim,

One thing i note is that the contrast between the blacks and the whites dont seem to be as prominent as those on JA for instance. Is this just down to the photography/lighting situation? The 1.5 looks to have more contrast than the other diamonds...
I'm not sure what this means tbh, my eye just seems to be drawn more to the contrast and cleanliness between light and dark...

The 1.85 looks good however I notice a few blemishes slightly left/up from center in the images... I guess i'm going to pick these on every magnified image but not see them in person?
Click to expand...

I believe the contrast differences you're seeing are due to different photography set-ups. If you look at the diamond images shown on the GCAL report, GCAL uses a more consistent set-up so the images look more similar from report to report.

The blemishes will most likely not be noticeable at all to the naked eye, but how do the remaining 3 look to you?

I also found this one.

1.79 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312310343 Affinity Cut - D49723920

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
 
Ahh so you bring the diamond up on the GCAL website then?
I'll have a look through them on the GCAL website.

Out of curiosity, if i was to "step up" to the next level, what would you recommend?
 
Fury said:
Ahh so you bring the diamond up on the GCAL website then?
I'll have a look through them on the GCAL website.
Click to expand...

You can look at it on the GCAL website, or you can just click on the GCAL report on the Adiamor webpage. Then you'll see the full report, and you can zoom in on the photos.
 
Last edited:
Thoughts on these two?

1.80 Carat E VVS2 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 313220026 Good Cut - D49143579

1.80 carat, Round, E Color, VVS2 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Good Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D49143579
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

1.80 Carat E VVS2 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 313220027 Good Cut - D49143547

1.80 carat, Round, E Color, VVS2 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Good Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D49143547
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

Maybe i'm paying more for VVS2 however without seeing these in person it's difficult to say if it's worth it...
 
Fury said:
Thoughts on these two?

1.80 Carat E VVS2 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 313220026 Good Cut - D49143579

1.80 carat, Round, E Color, VVS2 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Good Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D49143579
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

1.80 Carat E VVS2 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 313220027 Good Cut - D49143547

1.80 carat, Round, E Color, VVS2 clarity, GCAL Certified Diamond, Good Cut Lab Grown Diamond, D49143547
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

Maybe i'm paying more for VVS2 however without seeing these in person it's difficult to say if it's worth it...
Click to expand...

Between those two, I like the first one better. It looks cleaner.
 
 
Fury said:
I'm going to do my head in with this...
Between the 2.01 and this one, which would you choose and what is your reasoning?
The more I keep looking the more I realise I don't understand enough about diamonds.

2.07 Carat D VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 320090742 Affinity Cut - D50033624

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

I guess i'm struggling to find the value in "beauty".
Click to expand...

I actually really like the one you found. It's a much better deal, given that you get a larger stone with higher color and clarity for several hundred less than the 2.01.

The below is my favorite, though. You get the very clean clarity, a slightly smaller table and fatter arrows (although that's just personal preference), guaranteed no blue nuance (indicated by the Type IIa designation), and almost $2000 less than the 2.07. It's hard to wrap my head around paying so much more per carat just to get over the 2ct mark.

1.79 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312310343 Affinity Cut - D49723920

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
 
Thanks for the input Deja, and added confusion :mrgreen:

Alright so narrowing it down...
The choice to save a bit of coin:
This one the top/bottom images look a lot greyer, does this mean there is more light loss? Will this look less bright than the larger diamonds?

1.79 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312310343 Affinity Cut - D49723920

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

This one is the largest of the bunch but also the cheapest of the 2+

2.07 Carat D VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 320090742 Affinity Cut - D50033624

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

Then there's this 2.01 which I keep on looking back at that Kim suggested:

2.01 Carat E VS2 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 313471242 Affinity Cut - D49725364

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

And out of the ones Deja provided this one looks good to me for various reasons, although is really pushing the budget...

2.03 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 313471246 Affinity Cut - D49671414

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com

Now to narrow it down a touch further... I think i'm leaning toward a 2ct because it can squeeze into the budget, and to my untrained eyes they look like better diamonds?
 
Last edited:
Fury, if you want to see all the pictures and videos taken by GCAL during grading, then tack on the grading report number to the end of this URL. Might be a valuable approach to help you decide.

gcalusa.com/certificate-search.html?certificate_id=LG

Here's a search that I ran so that you can look at a decent variety of diamonds with GCAL reports...just keep in mind that not all of them will have their 8X designation.

Search Lab Grown Diamonds For Sale Online - Adiamor.com

SAVE 30-40% OFF RETAIL buy lab grown diamonds online at Adiamor - Free Shipping, 30-Day Returns and the Lowest Prices - Guaranteed
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
 
Last edited:
Fury said:
Thanks for the input Deja, and added confusion :mrgreen:

Alright so narrowing it down...
The choice to save a bit of coin:
This one the top/bottom images look a lot greyer, does this mean there is more light loss? Will this look less bright than the larger diamonds?

1.79 Carat E VS1 Round Brilliant Lab Grown Diamond GCAL Certified 312310343 Affinity Cut - D49723920

www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
Click to expand...

I don't think there's any light loss in this one.

Fury said:
Now to narrow it down a touch further... I think i'm leaning toward a 2ct because it can squeeze into the budget, and to my untrained eyes they look like better diamonds?
Click to expand...

Out of the 2ct+, the 2.07 you found has the best value for the money by far, with the added bonus of being the largest.
 
DejaWiz said:
Fury, if you want to see all the pictures and videos taken by GCAL during grading, then tack on the grading report number to the end of this URL. Might be a valuable approach to help you decide.

gcalusa.com/certificate-search.html?certificate_id=LG

Here's a search that I ran so that you can look at a decent variety of diamonds with GCAL reports...just keep in mind that not all of them will have their 8X designation.

Search Lab Grown Diamonds For Sale Online - Adiamor.com

SAVE 30-40% OFF RETAIL buy lab grown diamonds online at Adiamor - Free Shipping, 30-Day Returns and the Lowest Prices - Guaranteed
www.adiamor.com www.adiamor.com
Click to expand...

I've been looking at the GCAL website but I guess I don't know enough about "what" I'm looking at that it confuses and overwhelms me.

I think I'm leaning to the 2.07... Just want to make sure it's the "best" (however subjective this is) for my budget.

Appreciate the help through my indecisiveness.
 
Fury said:
I've been looking at the GCAL website but I guess I don't know enough about "what" I'm looking at that it confuses and overwhelms me.

I think I'm leaning to the 2.07... Just want to make sure it's the "best" (however subjective this is) for my budget.

Appreciate the help through my indecisiveness.
Click to expand...

Can you put it on hold while you're deciding? I'd hate to see it get sold to someone else in the meantime. And IMHO, it really is the "best." :))
 
Fury said:
I've been looking at the GCAL website but I guess I don't know enough about "what" I'm looking at that it confuses and overwhelms me.

I think I'm leaning to the 2.07... Just want to make sure it's the "best" (however subjective this is) for my budget.

Appreciate the help through my indecisiveness.
Click to expand...

One thing I will point out about the 2.07 is the shorter 14% crown height may tune it for slightly less fire/colored light flashes.

If fire is what you're after, then take a closer look at either of the 2.03 diamonds that I posted, since both have a taller 15% crown height.
 
The GCAL report is very complex and detailed.
There is way too much info for the average koala or kangaroo, but the only stones that usually undergo this full reporting are top cuts and that is true for this stone.
 
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