Diamond Ring as Anniversary Gift

[Double E]

Hi everyone,

Being new in Pricescope, I am now looking for a diamond ring as an anniversary gift to my wife. I had an original ering to my girl, but only knew little about diamond when I purchased it. It's not bad, and is white enough being an 0.75 c / F / VS2, but may not be anything close to an really ideally cut stone which I think my girl deserves to owning one.

I am now being in contact with BGD for a slightly bigger Black by Brian Gavin while similar to many of your experiences, I am also keeping an eye on other reputable vendors for potential stones. Below are what I am offered / found til now, and would appreciate you guys could give me some advice and insight on that:

BGD: Custom cut diamond / 0.80 to 0.85 c / F or G / VS / around $5800 for the highest combination
Whiteflash: ACA / 0.937 c / J / VS2 / $4894
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3994063.htm

My goal is to have a new diamond which is at least bigger than the original one, and my original budget is around $5000, but would be happy to raise a bit if it is really worthwhile.

Do you guys have any thoughts on the 2 stones, Size difference? Color difference (would a J be too low for a ering?) etc.

Appreciate your help~

 

[TreeScientist]

I think that, coming from an F color, you may see a bit of tint in the J color diamond. The BGD option sounds great, but if you wanted to get closer to .9 carats and stay in the colorless range and closer to your $5000 budget, here are a few other well-cut options to consider:

.9 carat E/VS2. Angles are complementary, but it doesn't have any images available. Contact B2C and ask for a video of it as well as IdealScope and ASET images:
https://www.b2cjewels.com/diamond-search/dd/11558153/Round-Diamond-E-Color-VS2-Clarity

Two more good options from IDJ. IDJ has them listed as H&A, but it's impossible to verify this without images. Again, need videos, IdealScope, and ASET images for both:
https://idjewelry.com/round-ebs42102.html
https://idjewelry.com/round-sdm4186.html

 

[tyty333]

What a lovely gift! Is her current .75 F/VS2 certified by GIA or AGS?

 

[soxfan]

I would reach out to IDJ so you can get the most bang for your buck. The stone will be an idea cut and they will be the lowest price.

 

[Double E]

I think that, coming from an F color, you may see a bit of tint in the J color diamond. The BGD option sounds great, but if you wanted to get closer to .9 carats and stay in the colorless range and closer to your $5000 budget, here are a few other well-cut options to consider:

.9 carat E/VS2. Angles are complementary, but it doesn't have any images available. Contact B2C and ask for a video of it as well as IdealScope and ASET images:
https://www.b2cjewels.com/diamond-search/dd/11558153/Round-Diamond-E-Color-VS2-Clarity

Two more good options from IDJ. IDJ has them listed as H&A, but it's impossible to verify this without images. Again, need videos, IdealScope, and ASET images for both:
https://idjewelry.com/round-ebs42102.html
https://idjewelry.com/round-sdm4186.html

Thanks for the kind suggestions & attended to every detail of my scenario! Despite knowing not that much for the 2 recommended vendors, I am confident that they must have very good word of mouth here in PS. However, while with highest respect to them, since what i am after is really best ideal cut stone possible, would the BGD, WF and HPD still be slightly more suitable for my stone hunt?

 

[Double E]

What a lovely gift! Is her current .75 F/VS2 certified by GIA or AGS?

Thanks. It's certified by GIA, but with a rather large table of 60%, and on the shallow end of the crown height, can't recall exactly if it is 13.5% or 14%~

 

[TreeScientist]

Thanks for the kind suggestions & attended to every detail of my scenario! Despite knowing not that much for the 2 recommended vendors, I am confident that they must have very good word of mouth here in PS. However, while with highest respect to them, since what i am after is really best ideal cut stone possible, would the BGD, WF and HPD still be slightly more suitable for my stone hunt?

A well-cut diamond is a well-cut diamond. The nice thing about the SuperIdeal vendors is that they take the grunt-work out of finding such a diamond. You go into their inventory, pick one that matches your desired color and clarity, and boom, you have your diamond.

Now, does a diamond with the same cut quality look better because it is branded as a SuperIdeal diamond? That's a point of debate on these boards. Perhaps from a mind-clean perspective it does.

If you really want to be mind-clean about having the very best cut, then there is certainly nothing wrong with selecting from a SuperIdeal vendor. But if you are willing to do a bit of searching and analyzing ASET and IS images, then you can save a bit of money by going with a non-branded stone that is well-cut. Depends on how much you want to stick to your budget or if you have any hard-set criteria regarding what carat weight, color, etc. you want.

 

[soxfan]

Thanks. It's certified by GIA, but with a rather large table of 60%, and on the shallow end of the crown height, can't recall exactly if it is 13.5% or 14%~

Ok, so it's probably not the greatest cut? My two cents: If I were receiving an upgrade, I'd want a bigger stone. Yes, you can go super ideal branded at close to the same size, but that's just replacing a sub-par cut with the best cut you can get in the same size.

I would want to go up in size. I'd at least inquire at IDJ because their "PS quality stones" are going to be ideal cut and you might even get up to a carat or a little over. It never hurts to ask, and honestly your wife will probably not be able to tell the difference between an ideal cut from IDJ and a branded ideal cut.

 

[TreeScientist]

Thanks. It's certified by GIA, but with a rather large table of 60%, and on the shallow end of the crown height, can't recall exactly if it is 13.5% or 14%~

If your current diamond is a GIA-certified F color (meaning a true F color) then I would definitely not drop to a J color if you are at all color sensitive. You'll notice a difference, particularly if you're sticking with a prong setting where the side profile will be visible like the setting in your profile.

 

[Double E]

If your current diamond is a GIA-certified F color (meaning a true F color) then I would definitely not drop to a J color if you are at all color sensitive. You'll notice a difference, particularly if you're sticking with a prong setting where the side profile will be visible like the setting in your profile.

That's the dilemma that I was facing when I first started my search honestly, I even looked at the possibility of lower color with larger size.

 

[AprilBaby]

The BG stone looks great!

 

[Queenie60]

Ok, so it's probably not the greatest cut? My two cents: If I were receiving an upgrade, I'd want a bigger stone. Yes, you can go super ideal branded at close to the same size, but that's just replacing a sub-par cut with the best cut you can get in the same size.

I would want to go up in size. I'd at least inquire at IDJ because their "PS quality stones" are going to be ideal cut and you might even get up to a carat or a little over. It never hurts to ask, and honestly your wife will probably not be able to tell the difference between an ideal cut from IDJ and a branded ideal cut.

Agreed - I purchased my stud earrings from IDJ a few years ago and my stones are ideal cut. Just not branded so I saved a significant amount of money.

 

[TreeScientist]

Ok, so it's probably not the greatest cut? My two cents: If I were receiving an upgrade, I'd want a bigger stone. Yes, you can go super ideal branded at close to the same size, but that's just replacing a sub-par cut with the best cut you can get in the same size.

I would want to go up in size. I'd at least inquire at IDJ because their "PS quality stones" are going to be ideal cut and you might even get up to a carat or a little over. It never hurts to ask, and honestly your wife will probably not be able to tell the difference between an ideal cut from IDJ and a branded ideal cut.

Agreed - I purchased my stud earrings from IDJ a few years ago and my stones are ideal cut. Just not branded so I saved a significant amount of money.

Both excellent pieces of advice. Especially @soxfan's point about wanting a bigger diamond. If it were me personally, I would want to go up enough in size with an upgrade to get a noticeable size difference. Most people can begin to notice size differences of about .3mm or larger, which is why I think it would be a good idea to get at least a .9 carat diamond. This would give you a .3-.4mm size increase over your .75 carat (depending on the dimensions of your .75) which should be noticeable.

It may be difficult to hit the 1 carat mark at $5000 unless you significantly drop the color (which, as I said above, does not seem like a good idea in your situation) but it you raise the budget a bit more it may be possible. Contacting IDJ would be a good idea. Tell them you want a eye-clean G color or higher with "PriceScope Quality" cut and see what they can come up with that fits your budget. They may have further recommendations other than the two I posted above.

IDJ is a great company. Really strives to get the best possible for their clients while working within their budget. While I myself didn't purchase from them, there have been plenty of PS'ers who have loved working with IDJ. I actually don't think I've seen a bad review for them here on PS.

Here are just two ideas of how it could be possible to hit 1 carat if you raise your budget just a bit (you already said you were considering $5800 for the BGD stone, so I assumed it would be OK to hit around $6k):
https://www.b2cjewels.com/diamond-search/dd/11631432/Round-Diamond-G-Color-VS2-Clarity
https://www.b2cjewels.com/diamond-search/dd/10860632/Round-Diamond-G-Color-VS2-Clarity

Both have complementary angles and are G color. It's hard to tell the difference in +/- 1 color grade, so a G would probably look about the same to the naked eye as your current F.

 

[TreeScientist]

One more point for tonight. Have you spoken to your wife about this upgrade at all? Do you know if she would want a larger diamond? (I know I know, what kind of stupid question is that? But it's still worth checking).

Do you know if she is color sensitive? (Has she ever commented that she loves how white her current diamond is, and is she the type to notice colors in her everyday surroundings?)

These are important points to consider before making the decision on an upgrade. However, unless your wife is really averse to the idea of a larger diamond, I can almost guarantee that if you presented her with two choices: a .8 carat branded diamond or a 1 carat equally well-cut non branded diamond, she would choose the larger well-cut non branded diamond. This is just my hunch.

 

[Miki Moto]

Hi! @TreeScientist has a really good point. I have a friend who could afford any diamond, but she only wants her 0.30ct her husband gave her when they were first married. She would never trade it as it is so sentimental to her. Maybe probe your wife.

Anther idea is a pair of earring studs. She might like that as a gift as well or an eternity ring.

Whatever you decide, you are a wonderful husband to do this!

Congratulations to the both of you!

 

[Double E]

Thanks so much guys! You did gave me some really good food for thought, even after I've had my research for a period of time already. Just my hand and finders are not fast enough to reply you lovely guys one by one, but Really appreciate~

I'll spend this weekend for more research and thinking.

Especially for TreeScientist's input, thanks. It's very true for you guys' point on the size upgrade, which I did look into. My girl's current stone is 5.82-5.85mm as I remember, that's why I seriously considered settling on 0.8x new rock, which could offer generally 0.2 mm difference and a mild size difference visually combined with a really better cut.

Besides, 0.9c with high color Gd cut may not be an easy combination to find. And one thing which I think important is that we are not having Anniversary as big milestone, say 10 yr, 25 yr, like many of the PS members sharing here. Instead this is just our beginning, our 1st anniversary~So I believe we are not in such hurry for a bigger upgrade, like hitting 1c+. But undoubtedly giving her a best quality gem has always been in my mind.

May have written too long, but just something to share~ I will seriously consider the suggestions you guys gave me before making decisions, Big thanks again!

 

[TreeScientist]

Thanks so much guys! You did gave me some really good food for thought, even after I've had my research for a period of time already. Just my hand and finders are not fast enough to reply you lovely guys one by one, but Really appreciate~

I'll spend this weekend for more research and thinking.

Especially for TreeScientist's input, thanks. It's very true for you guys' point on the size upgrade, which I did look into. My girl's current stone is 5.82-5.85mm as I remember, that's why I seriously considered settling on 0.8x new rock, which could offer generally 0.2 mm difference and a mild size difference visually combined with a really better cut.

Besides, 0.9c with high color Gd cut may not be an easy combination to find. And one thing which I think important is that we are not having Anniversary as big milestone, say 10 yr, 25 yr, like many of the PS members sharing here. Instead this is just our beginning, our 1st anniversary~So I believe we are not in such hurry for a bigger upgrade, like hitting 1c+. But undoubtedly giving her a best quality gem has always been in my mind.

May have written too long, but just something to share~ I will seriously consider the suggestions you guys gave me before making decisions, Big thanks again!

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned that this is your 1 year anniversary. First of all, congratulations!

And second, I think that changes things a bit. I was under the impression that this was something like a 10 year anniversary upgrade, and would likely be your final upgrade. That's why I was adamant about getting the largest possible size. When you said, "We are not in such a hurry for a bigger upgrade" I assume that means you would consider upgrading again in the future?

If this is the case, then going with one of the SuperIdeal vendors may be your best option due to their excellent upgrade policies. While most internet vendors require you to spend 2X the amount of the original purchase price, WhiteFlash only requires you to spend $1 more than the original purchase price, and will apply the full original purchase price to the upgrade. So if you wanted to do another small upgrade (say, hitting the 1 carat mark) for a future anniversary, you wouldn't need to spend 2X the original amount on the upgrade.

From WhiteFlash, I would recommend this diamond if $6k is in your budget. WhiteFlash and HPD have the best upgrade policies among the SuperIdeal vendors. Brian Gavin is a little more restrictive, but still good:
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3955169.htm

This would give you about a .4mm size increase and, from the picture and video, this looks like a VERY eye-clean SI1.

Who knows, your wife may be happy with this size for her entire life and not want an upgrade (.9 carat is a very nice size. Looks similar to a 1 carat to the naked eye ) but if she does want to upgrade, you know it would be an easy, seamless process with WhiteFlash.

 

[Double E]

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned that this is your 1 year anniversary. First of all, congratulations!

And second, I think that changes things a bit. I was under the impression that this was something like a 10 year anniversary upgrade, and would likely be your final upgrade. That's why I was adamant about getting the largest possible size. When you said, "We are not in such a hurry for a bigger upgrade" I assume that means you would consider upgrading again in the future?

If this is the case, then going with one of the SuperIdeal vendors may be your best option due to their excellent upgrade policies. While most internet vendors require you to spend 2X the amount of the original purchase price, WhiteFlash only requires you to spend $1 more than the original purchase price, and will apply the full original purchase price to the upgrade. So if you wanted to do another small upgrade (say, hitting the 1 carat mark) for a future anniversary, you wouldn't need to spend 2X the original amount on the upgrade.

From WhiteFlash, I would recommend this diamond if $6k is in your budget. WhiteFlash and HPD have the best upgrade policies among the SuperIdeal vendors. Brian Gavin is a little more restrictive, but still good:
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3955169.htm

This would give you about a .4mm size increase and, from the picture and video, this looks like a VERY eye-clean SI1.

Who knows, your wife may be happy with this size for her entire life and not want an upgrade (.9 carat is a very nice size. Looks similar to a 1 carat to the naked eye ) but if she does want to upgrade, you know it would be an easy, seamless process with WhiteFlash.

Thanks^^ and yes I am looking to further upgrade in future. Sorry for not mentioning this earlier~

I just thought of one question guys. For my understanding, many average jeweller or cutters tends to cut and sell diamonds just pass a bench mark like 0.9c, 1.01c etc with actually excess weight. As a result, it is normal that it'so rare to find stones just under the mark, e.g. 0.85-0.89c, 0.95-0.99c etc. In these markets. But for super ideal market or vendors, shouldn't it be more common to find stones in these carat range which, to many if not all, are sweet spots to them? But it seems this is not the case.

 

[TreeScientist]

Thanks^^ and yes I am looking to further upgrade in future. Sorry for not mentioning this earlier~

I just thought of one question guys. For my understanding, many average jeweller or cutters tends to cut and sell diamonds just pass a bench mark like 0.9c, 1.01c etc with actually excess weight. As a result, it is normal that it'so rare to find stones just under the mark, e.g. 0.85-0.89c, 0.95-0.99c etc. In these markets. But for super ideal market or vendors, shouldn't it be more common to find stones in these carat range which, to many if not all, are sweet spots to them? But it seems this is not the case.

No, it is still uncommon to find stones just below the magic numbers among the SuperIdeal vendors. Just as uncommon as in the normal market.

To illustrate why this is so, let's use a hypothetical scenario with the average piece of diamond rough. When the rough hits the market, cutters will analyze it and determine possible cutting angles for the diamond and what carat weight those angles would produce. If this piece of rough could be used to produce a diamond that carries extra weight in the girdle, crown and pavilion but still could earn GIA excellent (a "steep-deep") that hits the 1 carat mark, or a stone that fits the SuperIdeal parameters at something like .97 carats, in most cases it would make more sense economically to cut the rough to hit 1 carat. So chances are, that piece of rough will be cut to hit 1 carat. It would not make sense for the SuperIdeal vendor to pay more for a piece of rough that could be cut to 1 carat (as the rough will command a price premium on the market) and then have it cut to .9X carat.

If the piece of rough could be cut to SuperIdeal parameters as a .9 carat stone, but there is no way that the rough could be used to hit the next magic number with a price jump (1 carat), then it would make more sense economically to cut it as a SuperIdeal .9 carat rather than a lesser-quality .94 carat. This is when it would make sense for the SuperIdeal vendor to pay for this rough to have it cut to a .9 carat.

It is very rare that a stone could be cut to something close to a magic number (like .88 carat) as a SuperIdeal, but could not be cut to borderline GIA excellent as a .9 carat. That is why borderline magic number SuperIdeals are very rare indeed. Just as rare as borderline magic number stones among the normal vendors.

If you find one, it's good to jump on it right away.

 

[Double E]

No, it is still uncommon to find stones just below the magic numbers among the SuperIdeal vendors. Just as uncommon as in the normal market.

To illustrate why this is so, let's use a hypothetical scenario with the average piece of diamond rough. When the rough hits the market, cutters will analyze it and determine possible cutting angles for the diamond and what carat weight those angles would produce. If this piece of rough could be used to produce a diamond that carries extra weight in the girdle, crown and pavilion but still could earn GIA excellent (a "steep-deep") that hits the 1 carat mark, or a stone that fits the SuperIdeal parameters at something like .97 carats, in most cases it would make more sense economically to cut the rough to hit 1 carat. So chances are, that piece of rough will be cut to hit 1 carat. It would not make sense for the SuperIdeal vendor to pay more for a piece of rough that could be cut to 1 carat (as the rough will command a price premium on the market) and then have it cut to .9X carat.

If the piece of rough could be cut to SuperIdeal parameters as a .9 carat stone, but there is no way that the rough could be used to hit the next magic number with a price jump (1 carat), then it would make more sense economically to cut it as a SuperIdeal .9 carat rather than a lesser-quality .94 carat. This is when it would make sense for the SuperIdeal vendor to pay for this rough to have it cut to a .9 carat.

It is very rare that a stone could be cut to something close to a magic number (like .88 carat) as a SuperIdeal, but could not be cut to borderline GIA excellent as a .9 carat. That is why borderline magic number SuperIdeals are very rare indeed. Just as rare as borderline magic number stones among the normal vendors.

If you find one, it's good to jump on it right away.

Thanks once again for allowing me more insight into the diamond industry~ that's the rough aspect that I was overlooking!

Just a little update, I am now checking with BGD if it's possible to make me a video or photo comparing a F to lower color diamond side by side, so that I can have an idea on the extent of colour difference be, which is a comparison I didn't do IRL during my first purchase. Hopefully I could make my decision after that.