Hi,
First time posting, but I have been reading these forums and doing alot of research the last 3 months. I'm looking for an engagement ring and have a fairly decent budget of under 70k, but of course the lower the better. I've read quite a few threads about the limitations of Blue Nile and how their diamonds are not in house, but I can't seem to find a better priced diamond for the specs I require. I understand the terms eye-clean and difficulty in distinguishing colors, but I do care what's on the cert. So here's my requirements:
Round Brilliant
Carat / > 2.0
Color / D-F
Clarity / F-VVS2
Cut / Ideal or Excellent (Been looking for H&A, but they make me compromise my other specs too much)
HCA / < 2.0
My buying history:
$54.5k with platinum setting
I bought a Blue Nile Signature 2.05 ct, VVS2 (had a cloud on the table that really bugged me on cert), Color D, HCA = .7, and came with a GIA cert Ex/EX/EX. I looked at the diamond mounted and saw the 8 arrows pretty clearly under the Ideal scope. I was also able to see the 8 arrows with the loupe. I could not see the 8 hearts since it was mounted on the Blue Nile Noveau setting, which is similar to the Tiffany setting.
Thought I was done, but I returned it. Wasn't too happy with the setting, in that it covered too much of the diamond. I was hoping to still see the tip of the diamond, but nearly 1/4 of the diamond was covered. Some of the setting images was a little hard to tell exactly how the setting would be like. The other thing was that comparing the diamond to my mother's 2.01 ct round, EGL cert, Color F, and with Very good cut and polish, was a bit disappointing. Her diamond had more fire and was just plain more eye catching when rotating it in house and outdoor lighting. Her diamond did not have 8 arrows, and was more like 5 misaligned arrows. Her diamond also looked significantly bigger on a side to side comparison. (I was hoping my better cut would make my diamond appear larger even with smaller crown dimensions) One positive thing about the diamond was that you can actually see the color difference between D and F. The diamond looked so clear compared to my mothers. You can pretty much see the 8 arrows w/out loupes too. I think the excellent cut had a big part of making it look so clear and colorless. Seemed like you can see from the table straight through the bottom of the diamond, while my mothers appears to have a lot of distortion and white reflections.
New Purchase Option:
Even though disappointed with the first blue nile purchase, it was easily returned...so I don't understand the hoops people talk about returning it. I am looking at another blue nile diamond, so unless you can give me a better option with similar specs...I'll be purchasing this diamond:
Round Brilliant Blue NIle Signature
2.17 ct Color E, VVS1, GIA cert with Triple Ex. HCA is 1.2
Price ~ $60.5k wire price.
I like the images that Blue Nile provides for Signature collection. I can provide the blue nile link if someone wants to see the cert images. They provide both a GIA and a GCAL cert, which I heard GCAL is a small but fairly respected lab in nyc now. The GCAL cert shows the symmetry and brilliance images, which shows H&A.
Added: http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-2-carat-signature-ideal-cut-e-color-vvs1-clarity_LD01718789
I'm still considering going to White Flash store to see the ACA diamonds in person, but I'm starting to think that the difference is so minimal getting a true branded H&A diamond. I've read reviews that people stated that an ACA diamond wasn't as brilliant as some other diamond, and of course vice versa. So the mixed reviews has somewhat leaned me away from getting an ACA or a James allen True Heart diamond. I can't find any other store that will really compete with the Blue Nile diamond I'm looking at and keeping the specs for the value.
Is there any information that I'm overlooking before I make my purchase that I should consider besides the spec requirements? Or is this pretty much as good as I can get from Blue Nile? I'm just a bit surprised when I read other threads and reviews saying that Blue Nile is overpriced compared to other vendors, but that is not what I am seeing for a pretty much near H&A diamond.
Thanks for any input you can provide.
First time posting, but I have been reading these forums and doing alot of research the last 3 months. I'm looking for an engagement ring and have a fairly decent budget of under 70k, but of course the lower the better. I've read quite a few threads about the limitations of Blue Nile and how their diamonds are not in house, but I can't seem to find a better priced diamond for the specs I require. I understand the terms eye-clean and difficulty in distinguishing colors, but I do care what's on the cert. So here's my requirements:
Round Brilliant
Carat / > 2.0
Color / D-F
Clarity / F-VVS2
Cut / Ideal or Excellent (Been looking for H&A, but they make me compromise my other specs too much)
HCA / < 2.0
My buying history:
$54.5k with platinum setting
I bought a Blue Nile Signature 2.05 ct, VVS2 (had a cloud on the table that really bugged me on cert), Color D, HCA = .7, and came with a GIA cert Ex/EX/EX. I looked at the diamond mounted and saw the 8 arrows pretty clearly under the Ideal scope. I was also able to see the 8 arrows with the loupe. I could not see the 8 hearts since it was mounted on the Blue Nile Noveau setting, which is similar to the Tiffany setting.
Thought I was done, but I returned it. Wasn't too happy with the setting, in that it covered too much of the diamond. I was hoping to still see the tip of the diamond, but nearly 1/4 of the diamond was covered. Some of the setting images was a little hard to tell exactly how the setting would be like. The other thing was that comparing the diamond to my mother's 2.01 ct round, EGL cert, Color F, and with Very good cut and polish, was a bit disappointing. Her diamond had more fire and was just plain more eye catching when rotating it in house and outdoor lighting. Her diamond did not have 8 arrows, and was more like 5 misaligned arrows. Her diamond also looked significantly bigger on a side to side comparison. (I was hoping my better cut would make my diamond appear larger even with smaller crown dimensions) One positive thing about the diamond was that you can actually see the color difference between D and F. The diamond looked so clear compared to my mothers. You can pretty much see the 8 arrows w/out loupes too. I think the excellent cut had a big part of making it look so clear and colorless. Seemed like you can see from the table straight through the bottom of the diamond, while my mothers appears to have a lot of distortion and white reflections.
New Purchase Option:
Even though disappointed with the first blue nile purchase, it was easily returned...so I don't understand the hoops people talk about returning it. I am looking at another blue nile diamond, so unless you can give me a better option with similar specs...I'll be purchasing this diamond:
Round Brilliant Blue NIle Signature
2.17 ct Color E, VVS1, GIA cert with Triple Ex. HCA is 1.2
Price ~ $60.5k wire price.
I like the images that Blue Nile provides for Signature collection. I can provide the blue nile link if someone wants to see the cert images. They provide both a GIA and a GCAL cert, which I heard GCAL is a small but fairly respected lab in nyc now. The GCAL cert shows the symmetry and brilliance images, which shows H&A.
Added: http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-2-carat-signature-ideal-cut-e-color-vvs1-clarity_LD01718789
I'm still considering going to White Flash store to see the ACA diamonds in person, but I'm starting to think that the difference is so minimal getting a true branded H&A diamond. I've read reviews that people stated that an ACA diamond wasn't as brilliant as some other diamond, and of course vice versa. So the mixed reviews has somewhat leaned me away from getting an ACA or a James allen True Heart diamond. I can't find any other store that will really compete with the Blue Nile diamond I'm looking at and keeping the specs for the value.
Is there any information that I'm overlooking before I make my purchase that I should consider besides the spec requirements? Or is this pretty much as good as I can get from Blue Nile? I'm just a bit surprised when I read other threads and reviews saying that Blue Nile is overpriced compared to other vendors, but that is not what I am seeing for a pretty much near H&A diamond.
Thanks for any input you can provide.
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