Diamond size for earrings

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, I am still working on a matched pair of diamonds for earrings. I had posted four pair the other day and the feedback was split between the .61 pair and the .74 pair. I realized today in my daily searching that the .70 pair from GOG is no longer available. So that narrowed my choices a little. So then I decided to ask for pictures of a .61 and .74 to compare the sizes. These two are from WF, but the match I posted to the .74 is at James Allen. I did find a possible match for the .74 at WF, but it is not quite as perfect as the one from JA. Anyway, I thought someone else might like to see the difference between a 5.45 and a 5.84 mm stone. What do you think...is the larger pair worth $2000+ more?

 

[Stone Hunter]

There is an obvious visual difference. But with my small earlobes I definately wouldn''t spend the extra $2,000 dollars. How big/small are your earlobes and how much of them do you want covered by diamond?

Also wasn''t there a thread about how big your earrings should be if your ering was a certain size? Something about proportion. Not that you have to follow some rule PSers made up.

 

[kcoursolle]

The difference is larger than I expected it to be! Since you really want the .74 pair and because they really do look larger, I think it might be wortht the 2k.

 

[Lynn B]

My humble 2 cents:

Yeah, obviously at that huge magnified view, the difference looks rather vast! But I honestly wonder if IRL - on the ears - there would TRULY be a big enough difference to justify 2K? That''s a LOT of money!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 10/11/2006 9:43:49 PM
Author: Lynn B
My humble 2 cents:


Yeah, obviously at that huge magnified view, the difference looks rather vast! But I honestly wonder if IRL - on the ears - there would TRULY be a big enough difference to justify 2K? That''s a LOT of money!

I was thinking the exact same thing Lynn.

 

[Patsmom]

I would save the extra 2K. I have .75 in each ear and have medium sized ears and they look huge. My SIL has .65s and they are not that much different in size from mine. Mine are set in white gold and with 3 prongs and they look huge. I would save the money for the next "Want" project. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Ellen]

Lynn''s got a good point.

I''ll throw in my 2 cents also. To make a lonnnng story short (it involves a man, money and diamonds)

, I''m upgrading my studs I just got 2 months ago. Gosh, I feel like a real pricescope girl now.

Anywho, my diameter on these is 5.0, and I too was wondering how big to go. I put them on tonight and really scrutenized them in the bathroom. ds, you need to remember, these are well cut, and show up WELL, nothing like our so so cuts. I kept backing up, and the sparkle flying off my ears from 8-10 feet away was still very noticable.

I''m "thinking" I might want around 5.30-5.40. Honestly, I don''t think I want anymore (maybe not even that big), but, to be sure, I''m going tomorrow to try on different sizes. It''s the only way I''m truly gonna know. I know you''re somewhat size concious like me, I really think it would make this whole thing easier if you just went and did the same. Just a suggestion.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Hmmm, this is interesting to get so many opinions leaning toward the smaller stones. I really want to choose the .61''s because the price for the two is not much more than the price of one .74 stone! Here is the picture reduced a lot. I do think the size difference would be less noticeable on the ear. My ears are not large. I guess they are medium and the earlobes are not large either. My .75''s look as large as I''d ever want, really.

Ellen, I have tried on earrings a couple of times recently, but it is hard to make them measure diameter of all the stones when you''re "just looking", and we know how much diameters can vary for a particular carat weight! I am sure the .61''s are a very nice size. I am just hoping to avoid having to upgrade! I can''t believe you are already upgrading yours! It sounds like you might want the .61 pair if I don''t get them! But I forget what the specs are on your earrings other than they were just under .5 each.

 

[belle]

i don''t think it''s worth 2k for that little of a size difference. of course we know that diamond buying isn''t just about what you can see, so if your heart really wants the bigger size, then it''s worth it. really, only you can decide.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Stone Hunter, kcoursolle, Lynn, mrssalvo, Patsmom, Ellen, and Belle,

I really, really appreciate your honest opinions! When I was looking for the ring diamond, 99% strongly favored the larger stone, so I was sort of expecting that this time! But really, close to $6000 is a lot of money to put on earlobes, isn''t it??!!! With the ring stone, I sort of knew it was the right one because it really had everything I was looking for. And that is true of the .61''s as well. They are almost perfect matches, and I like that from a mind-clean perspective!

I really have nothing to lose in getting the .61''s. Like Ellen, I can upgrade them at any time if I really decide I need the larger size!

 

[kcoursolle]

Have you made a decision then? How will you set them? They are both beautiful choices, you should feel really good with either decision.

 

[belle]

isn''t your stone 1.6? if so, the .61''s are perfect!

(i feel like people are looking at me funny now)

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh, and guess what I just found? I did make some notes of earring sizes when I went setting shopping with Tacori E-ring. Their 1.5 ctw pair measured only 5.5 mm each...and these .61's measure 5.45-5.47! I did note that the 6.0mm studs were too big for me.

Ellen, please do let me know what you decide on size!

(ETA: Ellen, I wanted to tell you that I saw that GOG now has a perfect G VS1 1.4 carat diamond now. If it had shown up a few months ago, we'd be exact diamond twins, because that stone really was what I was looking for for the longest time!)

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 10/11/2006 10:42:29 PM
Author: belle
isn''t your stone 1.6? if so, the .61''s are perfect!

(i feel like people are looking at me funny now)

Yes, it''s 1.6. I really glad you think they''d be proportional. That''s really one thing I was concerned about.

Do you mean "looking at you funny" because you recommended the smaller stone?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 10/11/2006 10:41:18 PM
Author: kcoursolle
Have you made a decision then? How will you set them? They are both beautiful choices, you should feel really good with either decision.

I am about 99% sure at this point I am going to get the .61''s. Thanks!

I am probably just going with the least expensive settings (wg 4 prong probably) since there is a very slight possibility I could upgrade later. I did ask Jamie today if I did upgrade what expenses I would incur, and she said only the new settings and the difference between the stones (minus the original shipping fee). So I really don''t want to pay $200-300 on settings that might get tossed. But I am betting like Ellen said that these stones will look as big as my old ones because they will be so much better cut.

 

[Kaleigh]

Can I talk you into a martini setting, will make them look even bigger. Less metal and lots of bling!!! Just a thought??

 

[Mara]

i say get the bigger. sometimes upgrading gets tiring!

also depends on your earlobes, are they big? mine are very small, which is kinda funny, greg calls my ears 'elf ears' and so my diamonds look much bigger than they really are.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 10/11/2006 11:06:57 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Can I talk you into a martini setting, will make them look even bigger. Less metal and lots of bling!!! Just a thought??

Hi, Lisa! I know you have 1.5 ctw...do you think I will be okay with .61''s?

I was thinking about the martini settings but they were a good bit more than the 4 prong ones for some reason. I''ll have to look again to see the prices. I didn''t look too closely before now since I wasn''t sure where I was getting the stones. It would help if I could try some of those on, too.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh, darn, Mara...just when I was feeling close to deciding!! I agree that I am not into the hassle of upgrading at all!

ETA: NO, I really don't have big earlobes.

One more thing, those 4 prong basket settings seem to have screw backs, which I don't want. So I might have to get martini settings if they can't get me regular posts.

 

[Mara]

in all seriousness, i know that you like getting opinions from the group, but this has to come from your heart. what do YOU want?? it doesn't really matter what any of us want.

the .61's are a nice size. they won't be small. on my crazy elf ears they'd probably look bigger. but you said you wanted .75ish. and the .74s are in that range. and they are within your range, even though they are $2k more than the .61's. and if you wanted the size and can afford the size, i say don't second guess yourself just for $2k. in the long run if you are more happy with the .74s and it's really what you wanted, then it's worth it right?

but if you think you'll be happy long-term with the .61's then get those. i'm just saying from my own experience, i have smaller earrings and i want to upgrade them and it's just such a pain to not quite be happy with what i have because it could always just be a little bigger. mentally for me .75s are a sweet spot for earrings. hehee. so i'd love to just get a pair of earrings if i could afford it and CALL IT A DAY!!!! and move onto the next project. hee.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Mara, I need to post something about the .74 set if you can hang around another minute, please.

 

[Kaleigh]

Screw backs are a PITA to take on and take off. Spend the extra $$ on the martini setting, ya won'' be sorry!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

OK, here is the first stone I liked and it is at WF, the second stone that I just found today at WF is smaller in weight but the same diameter (just less depth), and the third was my original match from JA, which is perfect, but a pain to do earrings from 2 vendors! Prices are before the discount.

.74 H VS1, 55.5 61.6 34.8 40.8, 5.83-5.85 x 3.60 mm ($3264) WF

.718 H VS2, 55.8 60.5 34.8 40.6, 5.82-5.83 x 3.52 mm ($2985) WF

.74 H VS1, 56 61.4 34.5 40.8, 5.82-5.84 x ? ($2750) JA

I guess my question about the second stone is whether it would have any different appearance since it has less depth and a slightly different pav. angle? I doubt I could tell anything in stones this small, but I guess it can''t hurt to ask!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 10/11/2006 11:29:22 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Screw backs are a PITA to take on and take off. Spend the extra $$ on the martini setting, ya won'' be sorry!!!

If I can make up my mind so that I don''t have to upgrade, I think I will! They are 18k and handmade, which is nice.

You''re sure they don''t droop since they don''t have a flat base?

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 10/11/2006 11:37:49 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 10/11/2006 11:29:22 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Screw backs are a PITA to take on and take off. Spend the extra $$ on the martini setting, ya won'' be sorry!!!

If I can make up my mind so that I don''t have to upgrade, I think I will! They are 18k and handmade, which is nice.

You''re sure they don''t droop since they don''t have a flat base?

No droop I promise. I got a new pair from WF early this summer and went for the hand made martini settings, guess that''s why I have been egging you on so. I haven''t posted them, but love them to pieces. I wear them every day. It also helps if you get what I call the monster backs. They are just like regular backs but bigger. Makes those diamonds sit flat on the ear, and are comfy too.

I don''t have any pics to share with you, sorry...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Lisa, are the new ones the 1.5 set or is this a different set? Thanks for the info!

 

[Mara]

the two stones might look slightly different when scrutinized side by side, if you were going to wear them as ring stones i would say mmmmm maybe not sure...but for earrings you will have your head separating both the stones. you might even like to see two different super ideal kinda stones with diff #''s like that and see if you can see a differen ce, kinda fun anyway. i would imagine they might be a tiny bit different when viewed closely, but for earrings i would think it''d be fine. you could also ask WF to look at the stones and give you their opinion on the two stones suitability for earrings as well..since they have both stones in-house.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 10/11/2006 9:46:53 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 10/11/2006 9:43:49 PM

Author: Lynn B

My humble 2 cents:



Yeah, obviously at that huge magnified view, the difference looks rather vast! But I honestly wonder if IRL - on the ears - there would TRULY be a big enough difference to justify 2K? That''s a LOT of money!

I was thinking the exact same thing Lynn.

Plus you have small ears. I thought the 1 ctw looked great on you so anything over that is just a bonus!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Thanks, Mara, I''ll have them look at both together.

Tacori! I am so glad you found this since you are the one who was there when I tried on earrings! I am going to try to decide today. (I am also HOPING Bill will call and tell me the rings are ready so I can go get them tomorrow..it has been 4 weeks!)

 

[Ellen]

Ha! That GOG stone won''t last long!

As far as getting the bigger ones, the only thing I''d hate to see is that you decide they''re too big. The only way to exchange would to go up in color or clarity to go down in size. Either way you could end up returning...Yeah, it''s kind of a hassle to upgrade but it goes with the territory...The only reason I am now is because hubby decided if this wasn''t the pair for good, no sense waiting to spend more money for the same thing in a few years. I agree.

ds, I LOVE my Martini settings. They sit in my ear perfectly! And what I''ve noticed is, you can push them in tight, or loose, and they still don''t droop.

I will let you know what I decide!