Diamond Stud Earrings - Advice sought prior to purchase

[ron-cpa]

I'm looking to buy a pair of earrings for my girlfriend. My budget is under $2,000 so it seems that if I want good quality diamonds, 3/4 ct. total weight is about as big as I'm going to be able to get.

I've found an EGL certified (the quickie certificate)pair that's about .75 ct. total, E color and S-1 clarity. The cut has been represented as good - the stones are 4.5mm x 2.7 mm and 4.5 mm x 2.9 mm respectively.

Can I trust an EGL certificate? I've read where they can be aggressive in rating diamonds.

What about the clarity? Will I be able to see the inclusions with the naked eye?

I am really excited about the great rating on the color - since these are earrings, should I focus on the color and not worry too much about the clarity?

Any feedback is appreciated...maybe I'm making a bigger deal than necessary for such small diamonds but I've never bought jewelery before.

thanks!

r

 

[ron-cpa]

BTW...I'm not sure if this impacts my questions above, but I would be interested in a round cut with platinum 4 pronged settings.

thanks again for any help...

 

[biancigroup]

Hello Ron. In your search for the right pair of diamond stud earrings, there are several items to take into consideration.

1. Clarity: Earrings are more forgiving then engagement rings. For those of us who have to watch the bottom line (and this is most of us ), clarity ratings in the SI2 - SI3 (SI3 is not a recognized clarity rating by GIA, however it is gaining popularity with retailers / diamond dealers who have stones that do not show black, inclusions but are technically classified as I1) are certainly acceptable. We recently spoke with a woman in Toronto, Canada who purchased a pair of 18K white gold diamond stud earrings (SI3 - G) with a total carat weight of 1.17 for $1985.00 USD ($3200.00 CAD). She absolutely loves them.

If the earrings that you are looking at are a true SI1, you should not see any inclusions visible to the naked eye.

2. EGL: As far as we are concerned, the only gemological appraiser that can be taken at face value is GIA. When looking at an EGL cert, we assume that the color & clarity are at least one notch lower than indicated i.e. an EGL cert indicating SI1 means SI2 to us.

3. Cut: This is one of the most important factors in determining the brilliance of a diamond. Keep this in mind when purchasing your earrings.

4. Color: Color is overrated and cut is underrated. We feel that a well cut diamond with a color rating of G or better will provide for a brilliant piece of jewelry.

Keep well.