Diamond Studs for the GF

[Paxonator]

Alright I'm looking into diamond studs for the girlfriend. Now from what I've gathered I can get something in the I,J color and SI1,S12 category and be happy. Just not sure on the cut. Should the cut stay as Ideal or would a very good cut from a reputable dealer be great as well? Hoping to get some .6-.8 ctw studs in case you're wondering on the size.

I'm also thinking of buying a used set from here or DB. I'm really just looking to get more ctw for my money. The girlfriend said preloved studs would be fine. Any tips for buying used jewellry??

I've read certain types of backs are better than others??

Anyways any tips for picking out studs would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Travis

 

[yssie]

What shape are you looking for?

Reputably graded (GIA/AGSL in the US) I/J, SI1/SI2 in that size will *look* just fine on her ears - as long as they're well cut they'll be white and sparkly. I highlighted "look" b/c some consumers enjoy owning and wearing higher colour/clarity stones even if it means dropping size, but in terms of bang for the buck you're in a good place.

I would definitely stick to well-cut stones - complementary proportions = more light return, more light return = brighter, brighter = bigger and whiter. With earrings you do have a bit more leeway in terms of what sorts of proportions are complementary, since you don't have to worry about things like over-obstruction in slightly shallow stones... what's the budget?

Re. backs - this is personal preference so you'll get lots of opinions. With studs of this size you don't have to worry about them drooping b/c of the weight, so you can pretty much go with whatever you want w/ no extra worries.
1. Definitely poke around in her jewellery box and find out if she likes screwbacks or regular (non-threaded) posts. This is a biggie - I personally find screwbacks very uncomfortable to put in and take out, and once the back got caught in my longer hair and unscrewed itself. If she doesn't seem to have a preference I would not recommend screwbacks as the posts are usually a bit thicker w/ the threading, and they are a total PITA to keep clean.
2. Basket or "martini". The basket head looks like a basket, the marini prongs all come to a single point where head meets post. Again, this is mostly preference, price, what's available for a given shape, etc. Some earrings are very tall, others hold the stones close to the ear, I vastly prefer the latter sort.
2. Head style. With some shapes - princesses, squares, etc. you're pretty much choosing a 4prong basket or martini by default. With RBs you have a ton of choices - check out WF and BGD and see what you think, both have large selections of earrings settings.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I'd buy pre-loved if they were ideal cut stones bought from PS vendors. There aren't any currently for sale on DB, though. The good thing about buying a pair directly from WhiteFlash, though, is that you can later upgrade them to a larger size if you want. Plus, they have stones that are so easily matched for earrings. I do recommend round for studs and push-backs, definitely.

 

[Paxonator]

Thanks for the info YSSIE and DS! I'll have to look to see what kind of backs she uses. That's the one thing I really don't know anything about. Budget is around $800 and I'd rather buy these used as new would be around $1300. I saw a couple pairs which were already sold on DB that looked nice and in my price range. I'll really just have to keep an eye out although I noticed many don't ship to Canada.

 

[madelise]

I'd buy pre-loved if they were ideal cut stones bought from PS vendors. There aren't any currently for sale on DB, though. The good thing about buying a pair directly from WhiteFlash, though, is that you can later upgrade them to a larger size if you want. Plus, they have stones that are so easily matched for earrings. I do recommend round for studs and push-backs, definitely.

EEk! I'm so sorry you weren't searching just a few weeks ago! There were quite a lot of earrings on DB!

 

[Paxonator]

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