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Diamond necklace - how important is performance? Can I buy virtual diamond?

fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
Hey

I'm trying to buy a diamond solitaire necklace for my wife. Size is her priority, but budget is only about $US 2k (which is about $AU 3k after import taxes etc). Looks like I can get something between 0.6 to 0.8 carat maybe. The problem is that I think the lower range will be too small and the upper range means virtual selection.

How important is the specs for a pendant, is it less important than a ring? I've been looking at color I, excellent cut, si1.

As I live in australia I can't view these things in person. I looked at whiteflash and their in house diamonds look great with lots of pictures and they have a note about being eye clean. However, they are way expensive.

Looking at virtual selections from my preferred vendors (bluenile and James allen) I just don't know how to determine if it's a good buy or not. Whether the cut is good and sparkly and whether it's eye clean.

Am I overthinking this for such a relatively small stone?

I'm thinking about just buying the pre-set necklace from bluenile despite very vague specifications just because I'm so overwhelmed. Please help :)

Edit: forgot to mention that I would be happy to buy second hand if it means I can get a much better price (ie bigger stone), but that seems almost impossible both in terms of finding something and in terms of being confident that I'm not getting scammed.

Although I'm looking at round brilliants, I don't think she would mind antique cuts. But again, doesn't help and is really just even harder to find.
 
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munchee

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 12, 2011
Messages
617
Hey

I'm trying to buy a diamond solitaire necklace for my wife. Size is her priority, but budget is only about $US 2k (which is about $AU 3k after import taxes etc). Looks like I can get something between 0.6 to 0.8 carat maybe. The problem is that I think the lower range will be too small and the upper range means virtual selection.

How important is the specs for a pendant, is it less important than a ring? I've been looking at color I, excellent cut, si1.

As I live in australia I can't view these things in person. I looked at whiteflash and their in house diamonds look great with lots of pictures and they have a note about being eye clean. However, they are way expensive.

Looking at virtual selections from my preferred vendors (bluenile and James allen) I just don't know how to determine if it's a good buy or not. Whether the cut is good and sparkly and whether it's eye clean.

Am I overthinking this for such a relatively small stone?

I'm thinking about just buying the pre-set necklace from bluenile because I'm so overwhelmed. Please help :)

Ask WF if they still can do a 0.75ct preset martini necklace, that should still be within your budget. Few years ago DH got me 0.75ct preset (not certified diamond) and they’re extremely beautiful!!!!
 

fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
Ask WF if they still can do a 0.75ct preset martini necklace, that should still be within your budget. Few years ago DH got me 0.75ct preset (not certified diamond) and they’re extremely beautiful!!!!
Didn't know wf did pre-set necklaces. I would definitely prefer to have a gia/ags certification and I haven't really consider getting an uncertified diamond.

Is that the way to go perhaps for best value, as long a it's with a reputable vendor? I never considered that.

Do they give aset and/or idealscope for uncertified diamonds? I feel like I might always second guess the specs/performance and worry that I bought a bad diamond.
 

Lookinagain

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 15, 2014
Messages
4,411
For me, I color, SI clarity would be find for that size, assuming eye clean. If you can ask for the certificates for the virtual selections you are interested in, people on here can look at all of the dimensions and give you a good idea if the diamond is well cut and will perform well. I know you are probably a bit nervous, being in Australia, and don't want to deal with returning something, but the folks on here are pretty darn good at looking at specs and knowing if the diamond will perform well.
 

fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
Before I contact a reseller, I just remembered that my wife almost went for cushion cut for her engagement ring many years ago.

What are your thoughts on a cushion cut necklace to match with her round diamond earrings (0.4 carat each, whiteflash cut above)? Would that work?

I could probably get a bigger size that way and it's a bit less generic than a standard round. I'd have to check the dimensions though, maybe the higher carat weight doesn't actually translate to bigger surface area. Or maybe it won't match with the earrings. But just an idea I had that I thought worth investigating :)

Edit: she has a pear engagement ring with a halo and a pair of round earrings. To complete the set she wants a necklace. She has been looking at a round to match, but I reckon a cushion cut would work since they are all different then. But I obviously have no idea, and my wife is bad at visualising things so it's almost pointless to ask her :p And that's supposed to be the ONLY big diamonds she'll ever get is the plan.
 
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fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
After looking at photos, maybe I should just abandon the cushion cut and focus on the round as initially planned. Unless it has a halo, all photos seems to have the claws in a square shape making it look like a princess cut (which we don't like)
 
Joined
Apr 22, 2020
Messages
2,909
A cushion cut faces up a bit smaller than a round, so if size is the priority I would stick with either the MRB or get an elongated shape, like a pear.
 

fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
A cushion cut faces up a bit smaller than a round, so if size is the priority I would stick with either the MRB or get an elongated shape, like a pear.

Yeah ignore my rambling. It was a thought bubble, but I think I might leave it after looking at actual pictures and settings. If the budget was significantly higher, then a big cushion with a nice diamond halo would be great. But it my price point, it just doesn't look like I expected. So yeah, let's focus on how I can get a good value round at a decent size instead :)
 

fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
I was looking at Brian Gavin because they had a setting I liked. All the virtual diamonds I've looked at hasn't even had a photo. Yet they've all had a note saying that they are were I clean. How would they know? Is it just calculated automatically based on size and clarity etc?
 

fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
I feel like I'm just talking to myself haha, I probably need to post some actual diamonds to get some interest.

Anyway, we are looking at local stores this weekend to get an idea on sizes and whether a plain 0.7 is big enough or if she needs a halo or something after all (she is second guessing herself now). Afterwards, I will probably contact whiteflash to hear if they are able to do a good value pre-set pendant as suggested.

Is there any other retailers worth contacting?

Also, did anyone buy a pre-set pendant from bluenile? The price is very good but I have no idea how bad the diamond is. Maybe it's not so bad, maybe it's just a good value ungraded diamond which is why price is good? I emailed them to ask if they are certified (I'm guessing not) and if they are at least eye clean.
 

munchee

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 12, 2011
Messages
617
I’m sorry you haven’t got much reply... you come here at the wrong time, if you ask last month I believe you’ll get more reply..
I have a 0.75ct necklace for your size comparison.
6E3625AF-7210-4C1B-AE21-D572035681F7.jpeg

I don’t know how big is your wife’s image it to be but this is tiny...
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
27,196
I think a .7 for a pendant is a nice size. Sure a halo would up the size on it but I'm pretty sure your budget is not going to cover
a halo.

How do you feel about an SI2? No one looks up close at a pendant like they do with a ring (they would be getting in her space).

Here is a .7 you can ask about. Shrink it down to more normal size (instead of being so blown up).



I would call ID Jewelry and ask what they have that will work. Tell them you want eye-clean, PS quality .75+ carat and "I"+ color
in your budget. Hopefully, they can find something cleaner and bigger!
 

fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
I think a .7 for a pendant is a nice size. Sure a halo would up the size on it but I'm pretty sure your budget is not going to cover
a halo.

How do you feel about an SI2? No one looks up close at a pendant like they do with a ring (they would be getting in her space).

Here is a .7 you can ask about. Shrink it down to more normal size (instead of being so blown up).

If I added a halo, the budget would have to increase. I understand that.

The only reason I've been looking at si1 is because I wanted it eye clean and that seemed to be the clarity where most of them becomes eye clean. I could definitely consider an eye clean si2.

That diamond you linked looks pretty good me, but it's medium florescence. I'm hesitant to buy a flour diamond as I'm not sure how my wife would feel about it (and I'm sure she wouldn't be able to tell if it bothered her until she's had it for a few weeks at least, at which point it's too late)
 

fruxo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
126
I don’t know how big is your wife’s image it to be but this is tiny...

Thanks for the photo, that's very useful. I like the way it sits too, I've been looking at the standard dangling basket setting, but that actually looks really nice.

As for my wife, she would probably pick something like 2 carat if she could. We will try some on at the store (again) this weekend to make sure she is happy with the sizes in our budget.
 
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