Diamond Earrings vs. Engagement Ring Stones

[zomby woof]

[repost from wrong area, sorry]

I will be buying my wife diamond studs for our 1 year anniversary. For the engagement, I bought the stone & setting with the advice and resources from this forum and I couldn't be happier with my decision!! (2ct, VS1, G, setting by Mark Morell) What advice could you give me regarding diamond selection for her earrings? I want to go at least 1.5 ct (it shouldn't be as big as her ring, right?) What should I be looking for this time around as opposed to last time, when clarity and cut perfection were my priorities? And what about custom setting vs. something off the shelf? I want these to be special. Any and all comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Dancing Fire]

i love the martini style setting.

 

[stci]

Do you think your lady will wear it every day?

I asked cause Martini are the most confortable but you have antique style diamond setting who are incredible!

 

[cemrn]

What a lovely anniversary gift! I do think it is important to consider her earlobe size. I can only tell you what I did with my stud choice. I chose to stick with ideal cut to give the earrings great sparkle and to be able to upgrade later per my vendor's policy. I was advised on the boards that you can really drop in clarity. I went with SI2 eyeclean stones. Not a problem for me as I am an eyeclean vs mindclean kind of gal. I also dropped a color lower than my e-ring. I've been really happy with my choice. I hope someday to be able to upgrade to 1.5 ctw

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

I think that 1.5cwt is a great size! And what a lovely 1st anniversary present. I am currently in the market for studs as well and i am going with 1.2cwt and i am trying to hit the 5.5mm mark as i have small lobes. I am also going with a 3 prong martini setting.

Now as far as what to look for with stones for earrings, yes, you can definately go down in colour and clairty as these stones will be viewed from a different angle and distance than an e ring would. Now how far you can go? Well that will have to be your presonal preferance but as a rule you can go with SI1/ SI2 or even I1 in some cases if the stone is right for you. For me I am looking at SI1 stones, as long as it is eyeclean face up I don't care about the rest.

Colour, some people go down to J or K as long as they are ideal cut. I think because your e ring is a G i would look around the H/I range to be safe. As long as it faces up white (remember colour is graded from the side). But again this will be your preference. I have purchased a stone that is I colour and will be willing to go with a 'high J' for the next stone if the colour looks the same face up.

Ideal cut diamonds will sparkle the most and they do have the advantages of upgrade policies with some vendors, (that is what i am doing) but if you wanted to think outside the box and save a bit of money you can look for stones that are still excellent cut but are more on the shallow side (depths under 60%) as shallower stones make great studs because of how they are viewed (looking face on not down at). Shallower stones also sparkle more when they are dirty and being so close to hair etc they will get dirty. You also have the added advantage that you get more spread for your money

I did start out in that search but i found it hard to find 2 stones that were similar enough in my price range for studs so i have chosen to make it easier on myself and go down the BGD H&A road.

Good luck! Can't wait to see what you end up with!