Diamond Pairs for Studs

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, after taking a little break from looking at matched pairs for studs, I spent a little time yesterday looking to see what was currently available, and I have come up with a few good possibilities. I guess my ideal would be .75 each and H VS2. I really like that size but I've tried on some that were smaller and they looked good as well. I don't think 1 carat looks as good on my earlobes, so I am not aiming for much larger than .75, believe it or not! All of these are from vendors with trade-up policies in the event I found something better later or changed my preferences! I wish I could visibly compare the sizes, because the price difference appears to be more significant than the size difference. But I'm not going to go through ordering two pair this time, so I need to make a decision without that advantage. I'd appreciate it if you could look at the numbers (with no regard to who the vendors are), knowing all are ideal cut, and tell me which ones you like best! Thanks!

ETA: All stones have HCA scores between 1.1 and 1.6. One pair is assembled from 2 different vendors, which would complicate ever trading.

 

[Mara]

haha leave it to me to like the most expensive pair. just based on the #'s. i chose #4.

i think that you'd be happy with any of them really...because earrings look just as great on the ear with a 35 pav angle as it would typically with a 34.8 pav angle. for me i am less picky on earrings than a ring stone...because you just want to see superior light return from the earrings, not tiny tiny nuances in sparkle.

i didn't like #1 because of the size difference, i mean if you are budgeting for .75c then just get that size! it's tempting to spend less but if that is what you really want, for long-term then just get it. i also didn't like..umm i think it was #2 or #3 with the depths above 62 and 35ish angles. BUT again this is just totally splitting hairs!! if spending an extra $700 on the set to get super primo angles doesn't make sense, i think you'd be just as happy with any of the 3 ~.70ish sets. esp if they all score well on HCA and are all ideals.

eta after looking at them all again, definitely #4! the price diff between 2-4 is only $700 and you can get .75c each and have primo numbers on the last one which is kind of a perk. if you were saving $1k by getting the 35 crown angle set or something i'd say get the $1k cheaper and you will love it just as much most likely. but for $700 more? just splurge and get the #4 and the bigger size.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Mara, I can always count on you to examine the numbers for me! Thanks! I do think the number 4 set would make me happy forever and not want to upgrade. But let me tell you two things about those two stones and see if it would change your opinion. That is the pair from 2 different vendors and one is AGS and the other is GIA. Would that make a difference?

 

[Mara]

it wouldn''t matter to me at all. GIA and AGS for me are on par with each other in terms of quality of grading. i would be happy to piecemeal earrings if i thought they were going to be my ''forever'' earrings. and i think if you did the .75c''s then it wouldn''t be as big of a deal to piecemeal it...vs if you got the .61''s and then you knew you would definitely want to upgrade.

 

[kcoursolle]

I agree with Mara that if you want size and primo numbers than #4 is the way to go. However, for myself...the size difference isn''t that large and I would want to save the 2k and get #1. The numbers are still really good on that pair. I guess it really comes down to how important the size difference is and if you want to spend the extra $.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh, GOOD! Even though the .61''s are almost perfectly matched, I''m afraid I''d always be watching for a .75 pair! It would be so nice to get it right the first time! I''ve had my old, bad quality .75 pair for three years, and I still think they are the perfect size..in other words, they haven''t come under the DSS spell like my ring stone did! Lol! Plus, I have two girls, so they''d each get a set the same size, although the older daughter would get the poorer quality pair (when she''s a little older) just because I''ll never wear those again, and the younger one will just have to wait until I''m really old to have the new ones!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 10/8/2006 3:53:55 PM
Author: kcoursolle
I agree with Mara that if you want size and primo numbers than #4 is the way to go. However, for myself...the size difference isn''t that large and I would want to save the 2k and get #1. The numbers are still really good on that pair. I guess it really comes down to how important the size difference is and if you want to spend the extra $.

Thanks! The .61 pair is very, very tempting..great price and numbers! I just wish I could try them on!!!

 

[Mara]

the way i look at it in terms of size is that the #1 pair is an average of 5.47mm each and the #4 pair is an average of 5.83mm each. so that's about a .35mm difference. in stones that size you will see a significant visual difference. my 1.29 was 7.10mm and my 1.60 was 7.6mm so that was about a .50mm difference and it was huge in a stone that much bigger. in stones under 1c i think you see it even more.

if you were saying oh i'm torn between .61 and .70c i would probably say just get the .61. but since you know you want a larger pair and the .75c's are that much larger, i'd just pony up the cash.

i love spending other people's money! HAH.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 10/8/2006 3:54:23 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Oh, GOOD! Even though the .61''s are almost perfectly matched, I''m afraid I''d always be watching for a .75 pair! It would be so nice to get it right the first time! I''ve had my old, bad quality .75 pair for three years, and I still think they are the perfect size..in other words, they haven''t come under the DSS spell like my ring stone did! Lol! Plus, I have two girls, so they''d each get a set the same size, although the older daughter would get the poorer quality pair (when she''s a little older) just because I''ll never wear those again, and the younger one will just have to wait until I''m really old to have the new ones!

I think this really summed up your thinking...you want the .75 pair and you won''t be satisfied unless you have it!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Truthfully, I already wasted some money on the first pair, pre-PS. They were supposedly H SI, but I''ve now been told by two jewelers that they are more like I clarity and who knows what kind of cut! No more uncertified stones for me! So it would make sense to get exactly what I want this time. I''m always tempted by a better deal, but in this case, if the .61 is going to look visibly smaller than the .74, then I may as well go ahead and get the larger pair. I think if I had gone with the smaller e-ring stone, the .61 would have been perfect. But I am thinking that the .75 earring will look fine with the 1.63 diamond. Y''all better tell me if you think .75 is too big! (See I waver back and forth still!)

 

[Ellen]

ds, first, have you actually tried on earrings in the diameters you''re considering? I ask only because the new pair I got was the same ct. weight as what I had, but the new were spreadier. I''m sure the old ones were deep. That made me realize that when I upgrade these, I will not be going as big as I had originally planned (close to the last 3), because the well cuts just cover more area. And me being more concious of size, I just won''t want that big. Just a thought.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Very good point, Ellen. I did try on some when Tacori E-ring and I went shopping, but of course just the carat weight was on the tags. I did ask them to measure a couple of pairs for me just to get perspective, and they did vary because of the depth, I''m sure. Now my current ones don''t have certs, so I cannot say for sure their size. My husband has a caliper that I was able to get a measurement of 5.8 something, but I don''t know if that was really accurate or not. I liked everything I tried on between .5 and .75, but I do remember feeling that the .8 pair looked a little bigger than I wanted. But of course, that was very brief and I wasn''t able to get pictures. This is the hardest part of internet shopping. It wouldn''t even be an issue if I could look at both pair in a store. Believe it or not, I am conscious of size, too, so I do want to make the right decision.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I chose #3 - they''re very alike, they''re VS2 which is my sweet point also, where as I really do think VS1 is overkill for earrings... and the angles etc are vry close and 35* crown and I like steeper crowns an the table size hehehe... they also just seem very alike so if ou ever wanted to use them in a ring you could

 

[Ellen]

Date: 10/8/2006 7:14:21 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Very good point, Ellen. I did try on some when Tacori E-ring and I went shopping, but of course just the carat weight was on the tags. I did ask them to measure a couple of pairs for me just to get perspective, and they did vary because of the depth, I''m sure. Now my current ones don''t have certs, so I cannot say for sure their size. My husband has a caliper that I was able to get a measurement of 5.8 something, but I don''t know if that was really accurate or not. I liked everything I tried on between .5 and .75, but I do remember feeling that the .8 pair looked a little bigger than I wanted. But of course, that was very brief and I wasn''t able to get pictures. This is the hardest part of internet shopping. It wouldn''t even be an issue if I could look at both pair in a store. Believe it or not, I am conscious of size, too, so I do want to make the right decision.

I know you''re size concious, that''s why I brought it up.

What you might do, is take your pair to a jeweler and have them measure them. Just tell them you''re thinking of upgrading and leave it at that.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/8/2006 4:19:38 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Truthfully, I already wasted some money on the first pair, pre-PS. They were supposedly H SI, but I''ve now been told by two jewelers that they are more like I clarity and who knows what kind of cut! No more uncertified stones for me! So it would make sense to get exactly what I want this time. I''m always tempted by a better deal, but in this case, if the .61 is going to look visibly smaller than the .74, then I may as well go ahead and get the larger pair. I think if I had gone with the smaller e-ring stone, the .61 would have been perfect. But I am thinking that the .75 earring will look fine with the 1.63 diamond. Y''all better tell me if you think .75 is too big! (See I waver back and forth still!)

oh ds, I thought you were over the fear of diamonds that might be too big hehehehehe

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 10/8/2006 7:27:40 PM
Author: Cehrabehra

oh ds, I thought you were over the fear of diamonds that might be too big hehehehehe

Haha, Cehra! Well, I did get some momentary DSS with the other diamond, but the reality of wearing them will quickly remind me that they are larger than the norm where I live!

Ellen, I'm pretty sure these will measure 5.8mm, but what I really need is to see how the .61 looks in comparison. That's a little harder photo to manage since there aren't earring holders like there are ring holders!

This vote is nothing like the vote for the ring diamond! I have like one to two votes for each pair of earring stones!

ETA: No, now I see there are 3 votes for the .61's and only one for the others. Very interesting!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 10/8/2006 7:54:00 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Haha, Cehra! Well, I did get some momentary DSS with the other diamond, but the reality of wearing them will quickly remind me that they are larger than the norm where I live!

I''m sure I''ll be guilty of that too but I''m trying to convince myself "oh well!" lol

 

[widget]

Hi...

I usually stay out of these stud threads because I think I''m sort of a weirdo around these parts....I tend to lower my expectations considerably when it comes to studs...

DS, can I ask why you''re looking only at VS stones? It seems to me that as long as you get really well cut stones, you could drop in clarity considerably and no one in the world would know the difference....

I did a quick search (James Allen) and it seems to me you could get a lot more for the money even by dropping to very respectable SI-1s...


widget (SI-2 to I-1 girl

)

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Hi, Widget! I'm so glad you stopped in...and I hope you voted..I need help!!!

Actually, I sincerely did look through many SI1's. It takes a long time to sift through the James Allen stones. There are so many marked Ideal that have problems (like depths over 62 which reduced the diameter; or very shallow crown angles). I had trouble finding many acceptable pairs. (I focused on three or four vendors.) But all in all, it really wasn't that much difference to go with VS2 over SI1 in this size range stone and H color. If we were talking about 1ct+ stones, then I'd have no choice but to look at SI's, but I don't mind paying a little extra for the clarity in these small stones since I can't see the stones in advance to know whether the inclusions would bother me or not. I guess I feel like if I'm spending $5000 or so, I may as well spend a few hundred more to get the "safe" stones. But if I found a perfect pair with SI1, I would consider them. Actually that is what I looked for the first time, H SI1. But I made the error of trusting the jeweler who sold them to me rather than insisting on certified stones, and I ended up with I clarity.

Since you are an SI2/I girl, can I have your asscher ring?

 

[widget]

Hey, DS! Thanks for welcoming me to the thread....I can''t vote. I know NOTHING about looking at RB numbers...

It is weird that even though God knows I''m an insufferable jewelry snob, when it comes to earrings...if they sparkle and are the right size..that''s good enough for me. Maybe it''s because I''ve been into antiques so long...where too much color, odd cuts, and a few flaws are considered "quaint"...LOL.

Good luck on your search...you''re sure to have it with your knowledge and all the PS help...

widget

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Widget, yes, I agree that my criteria would be different, too, if I were looking at antique stones/rings. But let''s ignore all the numbers except size...do you think the size difference from #1 to #4 is worth $2000?

 

[widget]

Date: 10/8/2006 11:34:31 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
...do you think the size difference from #1 to #4 is worth $2000?

Yes. Well, it's certainly worth a lot, anyhow.

To me size is actually THE most important factor....once you've got them home, it's how they L@@K and show up on your earlobes that matters...

JMO

widget

ETA: I guess another way to put it: If I were looking for studs, I'd FIRST decide exactly what size I want, and THEN start to figure out what compromises I'd have to make to make it happen...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Bottom line...you''re precisely right! No one but me will know the color, cut, or clarity. I imagine most people would think I am crazy for replacing the ones I have. But I think part of it is just knowing that the stones were misrepresented. I didn''t overpay, but I didn''t get the good deal I thought I was getting. But size it the most visible factor for sure.