Diamond C''s trade off

[romanthony]

Hi everybody,

I have finally decided it is time to propose to my gf, and I am faced with the challange of finding the ideal engagement ring.
I want it to be a surprise, and cannot ask her anything about how she''d like the ring.

After reading many posts in this site, I have realized that when buying a diamond, if your budget is not unlimited, you have to compromise in one of the Cs.

Some people are telling me that size is the most important characteristic, but I am not so sure.

How would you sort Color, Carat, Cut and Clarity in order of importance?

Also, what is the best way to assess cut? It strikes me that cut is quite important, but I am unsure as to how can I make sure I am getting something good, when I am so inexperienced...

Thanks in advance!

 

[kristy_lyn]

For me, my selection was based in this order:

1. cut
2. carat (well, diameter really)
3. color
4. clarity

I wound up with an ideal cut (ACA H&A), .818 carat (around 6.05mm diameter), G color, VS2 clarity diamond. Price was between $3500-$3600. In a simple, 18K yellow gold setting with a 6-prong platinum - total ring price (incl. tax, shipping, etc.) = $4116

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Cut is the most important. You need to stick to GIA Excellent Cut of AGS0 cut and you''ll likely be fine. Look at vendors like Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash who have a large selection of excellent cut stones and it''ll be hard to go wrong.

I also think color, clarity, and size are important as well. You can save money by staying in the near-colorless range (G-J) instead of colorless (D-F). Many people here go for SI1 in clarity to save money.

You''ll learn a lot about the 4C''s by reading the tutorial on the Good Old Gold site. They have really good pictures there.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/

If you could tell us the total amount you have for the diamond, then we could post some stones for you as an example. And as far as the setting goes, if you are surprising her and do not know what she likes, I''d recommend going with a very inexpensive tiffany-style setting and tell her she can pick out her dream setting after the proposal (or whenever it is affordable).

 

[Sundial]

1. CUT - cut is what makes the diamond beautiful so why settle for something less than ideal?

2. CARAT - let''s be serious, size really does matter (to a point).

3. COLOR - this varies from person to person as to how sensitive they are to color.

4. CLARITY - as long as it is eye clean to your satisfaction.

 

[romanthony]

Thank you very much for your replies, extremely useful for me!!!
I agree on that a classic Tiffany setting is most likely to be my choice.

My budget would be $4k to $5k. For that money, what do you think would be best, within ideal cut?

Also, do you know if I could buy from any of those online sites from the UK?

Thanks again, your help is much appreciated

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Ugh! I just lost my post to you! Many of the vendors I like are very low on good diamonds in your price range at the moment. Here's one to look at:

http://www.niceice.com/certcopies/ags0007326206/index.htm

I'm sure these vendors ship out of the country, but you'd have to email them to ask the cost, preocedures, etc.

 

[CatherineMcGr]

Hello, romanthony.

I, too, live in the UK, in Northern Ireland to be precise. Several months ago my husband bought me a diamond solitaire ring from Whiteflash, after I had persuaded him that buying online was the way to go. I''d been lurking on this site since last autumn and I was convinced that the money we had available would buy a much nicer diamond than I could get here. If you type "Can''t commit! ACA or Expert Selection: will I notice the difference?" into the search box you''ll find my thread.

My diamond cost $1478 for a .595 Expert Selection Round Brilliant from Whiteflash but the Wire price was $1404.
The setting, 18carat yellow gold with six platinum prongs, cost $225 (the prices have since gone up.)
Shipping/Insurance cost $65.

The total we paid Whiteflash was $1694, which is about £910. However, our bank charges £24 for a wire transfer.

The ring came by Fedex to London, where it was delayed at customs. This was the only "uncertainty" in the whole situation. We ordered the ring at the end of May and it was posted on the last Thursday in May, just before the May day bank holiday. The Fedex tracking number which we got from Whiteflash tracked it as far as Customs in London by the Saturday. We did not expect it to arrive on the Bank holiday Monday. It did not arrive on the Tuesday. On the Wednesday my husband phoned Fedex only to be told, "Yes, we were waiting for you to call us, to pay the Duty on this package." However, we did not know that that was the required procedure. Anyway, the credit card payment was duly made over the phone and the ring released for final delivery the next day. My husband worked from home that day so as to be sure not to miss the delivery.

Anyway, £910 + £24 + £219 Duty makes a total of £1153. If I remember rightly, the £219 is made up of Import Duty and VAT and you pay both taxes on the whole package: the diamond, the setting, the postage etc

However, I have to say that my stone is absolutely gorgeous and even with the taxes it is worth it. As you know, few people wear really big diamonds in the UK and mine is bigger than average, certainly among my work colleagues and circle of friends. I don''t think it''s considered "vulgar big".........more "beautiful big but not too big" Certainly, when I look in the jewellers, especially the reputable ones like Lunn''s in Belfast, I''d need more like £2700 to £3000 to purchase anything similar.

I will admit to a few nerves when my husband made the wire transfer. But it all went smoothly. Whiteflash were great to work with, but there are other online sellers with an excellent reputation on this site. I suppose it helps if you know exactly what you are looking for, as I did, since I''d gone into jewellers here to get an idea of what I liked and what suited me. What difficulties we might have if we received a ring and then wanted to send it back, I''m not sure. There was no danger of me sending mine back as I just love it.

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Hope this helps,

giotto.

 

[Cehrabehra]

for me cut is by far #1 and color is #4... carat and clarity are kind of even to me in the middle. I''d probably put clarity up before carat, but I don''t need really high clarity either so it''s kind of a tossup there.

 

[ephemery1]

Romanthony, it sounds like you are on the right track for finding the perfect e-ring for your girlfriend... but one other thing to consider is shape. I believe the majority of e-rings purchased (at least in the US) are round brilliants, but some people have strong preferences for other shapes: princess, emerald, oval, cushion, etc. I know you want it to be a surprise for her, but if you''re not 100% sure that she''s a RB girl, you may eliminate some problems down the road if you find out ahead of time which shape she likes best. Any chance you could ask one of her friends or a family member?

Good luck with your search and congrats on the impending proposal!!