Diamond earrings for 200-300$?

[newtodiamonds123]

i want to buy my gf nice diamond studs for her b-day. i dont have a lot of money cause im still in school and am looking to spend 300 at the most. what''s a better bet: .25 ctw round from jamesallen for 285 or .33 ctw princess from whiteflash?

http://www.whiteflash.com/fine-jewelry/diamond_studs/ready-set--to-go-princess-diamond-earrings_1288.htm
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond-studs/earring/item_422-2292.asp

any other website suggestions for relatively inexpensive but high quality earrings?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/17/2010 2:20:53 PM
Author:newtodiamonds123
i want to buy my gf nice diamond studs for her b-day. i dont have a lot of money cause im still in school and am looking to spend 300 at the most. what's a better bet: .25 ctw round from jamesallen for 285 or .33 ctw princess from whiteflash?

http://www.whiteflash.com/fine-jewelry/diamond_studs/ready-set--to-go-princess-diamond-earrings_1288.htm
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond-studs/earring/item_422-2292.asp

any other website suggestions for relatively inexpensive but high quality earrings?

Hi newtodiamonds and welcome!

Lets see what you have there....Thats such a wonderful gift for your GF, I know she will be delighted and treasure the earrings!

Its difficult to advise with your selections as it depends on the shape you think your GF would prefer....Also the WF diamonds wouldn't be as large as the JA rounds but we don't know the cut quality of the JA stones as this isn't provided. What you could do is to ask for one of the gemologists from James Allen to look at the earring sets for you, Idealscope the stones and pick you out the best looking pair if you decide to go that way.

 

[newtodiamonds123]

thanks for your help Lorelei. so princess cut .33 carat earrings appear smaller than .25 round cut? wow i didnt realize the cut made that much difference. i see wf is highly recommended on pricescope, are they always the best cut?

 

[akmiss]

Princess cuts appear smaller next to a round of the same carat weight. I would stick with the rounds

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/17/2010 2:49:54 PM
Author: newtodiamonds123
thanks for your help Lorelei. so princess cut .33 carat earrings appear smaller than .25 round cut? wow i didnt realize the cut made that much difference. i see wf is highly recommended on pricescope, are they always the best cut?

You are most welcome! Cut makes an INCREDIBLE difference to the beauty of the diamonds, far more than colour or clarity ( which is a commonly held belief!) But you have a great advantage in finding this out before purchase so you can get your GF two very beautiful diamonds.

WF are a very popular vendor with an excellent reputation as are James Allen. WF do select diamonds for not only good value but also a good standard of beauty and optical performance with the RSTG earrings, I don't know what criteria JA use to select their stones for their preset earrings, so that is why I would suggest asking for the help of one of their gemologists if you decide to go with those in order to find the best looking pair you can get.

You could also try this vendor to see what they have in your price range

http://www.goodoldgold.com/Hearts_Arrows_Earrings/