Diamond newbie looking for an engagement ring way in advance

[meliorquamheri]

Hi, guys!

I'm looking to get an engagement ring to propose to my girlfriend, probably at least a year and a half in the future. Still, she'll have to deal with the rock for (hopefully) at least another fifty years, so I figure I should try to do it right and start early. My budget is around $15,000 (including setting). My girlfriend isn't very knowledgeable about jewelry (neither am I), so I think her tastes will run traditional (i.e., round solitaire). But I also think it might be nice to get her an interesting fancy cut, e.g., an emerald-shaped diamond.

First off, is there any point at all in starting this early? Are diamond prices rising or falling, and if I get a ring and set it, will it eat me up inside to have a $15,000 ring just lying around? (Also, nerd alert, the investing opportunity cost on $15,000 could be a few hundred dollars.)

Second, is there anything big I need to know before I begin educating myself? Given that my girlfriend will probably never scrutinize her ring under a loupe, should I get an SI1-2 diamond as recommended here (https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/what-diamond-to-buy)? Otherwise, I would probably default to a VS1-2.

Finally, here are three diamonds that I liked from an initial search, and I would appreciate any thoughts that you have on them.
http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=113084218
http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=112846810
http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=110459743

All the best,
Jon

 

[distracts]

Re: Diamond newbie looking for an engagement ring way in adv

Diamond prices are nearly always rising. If you search around, you can find estimates of how much they're projected to rise in the next few years - there was just a post on it in this forum last week. eta: this isn't the forum post but is on the blog, and iirc the forum post linked to it: https://www.pricescope.com/blog/pricescopes-garry-holloway-projects-30-rise-diamond-prices

It shouldn't eat you up to have a $15,000 ring lying around if it is properly insured. Whether you will be proposing immediately after you get the ring or a year later, it needs to be insured asap. Most people on this forum use Jeweler's Mutual. They cover against loss and theft, which is something the vendor's warranties won't cover, and most homeowner's insurance riders don't cover loss/theft outside the home, so it's best to have a dedicated policy.

If you do not know her tastes, PLEASE take her to try on rings. What you think you like often changes when you see it on your hand, and $15,000 is too much money to make a mistake, especially if you might not be proposing until after the return period on the ring.

Someone will come along with the percentages you should look for in round brilliants, but those three all fall outside of them. You can input the numbers in the HCA tool on this website - usually we look for diamonds that score under 2. Another way of judging the light return of a diamond (any shape, not just round brilliants) is by an ASET image. Abazias is not one of the vendors that provides them, which is why we usually don't recommend them. Whiteflash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, and Good Old Gold provide them as a matter of course, and James Allen allows you to request up to three. If you are getting a fancy shape, these will be absolutely necessary. Most brick-and-mortar retailers do not provide them (though WF, BGD, and GOG all have retail locations, so are an exception), but imo you can't necessarily judge with just your eyes - unless you have a lot of experience doing so, which most people do not. The one thing you need to know, which I guess I should have said at the start of this paragraph, is that the cut and the amount of light that is reflected back out of the front of the diamond is the number one thing that makes a diamond pretty versus ugly. You want to maximize light return. More light return will make a diamond look whiter, which will give you a little leeway when it comes to color. I think VS2 is a perfectly fine clarity to aim for. I am more flexible on clarity than other attributes, so I think you should have a size and color range in mind and see what clarities you can find in your price range. The bigger you get, the less likely it is that you will encounter an eye-clean SI1/2 diamond though.

Weird question, but if you know you want to marry your g/f and are ready to buy the ring, why wait to propose? I ask this as someone who got engaged after just six months, and didn't get the ring until three months later, so this sort of waiting mentality is weird to me and I'm just curious about it.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Diamond newbie looking for an engagement ring way in adv

Welcome, Jon! First, I would say it is a little early to look if you can't give her the ring for a year and a half. A lot can happen in that time and I think it is a mistake. Secondly, you have so much time that I think you need to get some information about her preferences regarding shape of diamond and setting. A round is usually the safest when you have no idea, but it would be good to know what she likes best. Whatever the shape, I would get the best cut one I could find within my budget. I personally don't go under VS clarity, but there can be some good SI stones if you have a good vendor who can look at them for you. I prefer vendors that have stones in-house which allows them to have pictures and other images showing light performance. I have personally bought from both Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash, and James Allen also offers some pictures. I recommend looking at these first because the first two are definitely not drop shippers and specialize in ideal cut stones.

Unfortunately, diamond prices are only predicted to rise due to the increasing purchasing power in countries such as India and China. So you may see increases during the next 18 months. So either move up the proposal or just deal with the possibility of increases, because I wouldn't buy a ring and hang onto it for 18 months.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Diamond newbie looking for an engagement ring way in adv

distracts, actually Good Old Gold is the only one that you mentioned that has a retail location. You can sometimes make an appointment to go to WF or BG, but they are internet vendors and do not operate jewelry stores.

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Diamond newbie looking for an engagement ring way in adv

Welcome, Jon! First, I would say it is a little early to look if you can't give her the ring for a year and a half. A lot can happen in that time and I think it is a mistake.

I have to back this up 100%.

If you are looking for a round diamond: Start looking 2 months out.
If you are looking for a fancy shape 3-4 months out.
If you are looking for a complicated custom setting with a round: 3-4 months out.
If you are looking for a fancy PLUS a complicated custom setting 5-6 months out.

And once you buy propose within your return window. Even with vendors with upgrade policies I strongly encourage people to propose within the return window.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Re: Diamond newbie looking for an engagement ring way in adv

Hello Jon,

I am catching up on PS, and thus am a little late in reacting here. Sorry.

Whenever a round brilliant is asked about or suggested on PS, I nowadays check how I would value that stone, how much I as a professional would be willing to pay for the stone.

The three stones suggested by you have reports from EGL (Hong Kong and Israel), which usually are avoided on PS. In this case, if grading of colour and clarity on these stones were somewhat close to correct, these would be extreme bargains, even for me as a professional. In other words, if I would buy these, and the reports are just slightly exaggerated, I could re-cut them and make a huge windfall-profit.

This is therefore a 'too-good-to-be-true'-situation. These reports clearly are not worth the paper they are written on. If you are still contemplating any of these stones for purchase, I advise you to run away as fast as you can. The price may be great for what you are getting, but you have no idea what you are getting.

Live long,

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Diamond newbie looking for an engagement ring way in adv

Hello Jon,

I am catching up on PS, and thus am a little late in reacting here. Sorry.

Whenever a round brilliant is asked about or suggested on PS, I nowadays check how I would value that stone, how much I as a professional would be willing to pay for the stone.

The three stones suggested by you have reports from EGL (Hong Kong and Israel), which usually are avoided on PS. In this case, if grading of colour and clarity on these stones were somewhat close to correct, these would be extreme bargains, even for me as a professional. In other words, if I would buy these, and the reports are just slightly exaggerated, I could re-cut them and make a huge windfall-profit.

This is therefore a 'too-good-to-be-true'-situation. These reports clearly are not worth the paper they are written on. If you are still contemplating any of these stones for purchase, I advise you to run away as fast as you can. The price may be great for what you are getting, but you have no idea what you are getting.

Live long,

I TOTALLY missed the EGL report. RUN, don't walk away. Paul is very right.