Earring Quality

[ahonamous]

When purchasing diamond stud earrings, should I be looking for diamond "quality" equal to that of an engagement ring, or is it worthwhile to consider lesser quality stones?

Anne

 

[kam]

Definitely feel free to go for lesser quality stones. Studs are typically much smaller and can't be seen as easily in ears as on a finger, so going somewhat lesser in quality is very common. Of course, you should make sure the diamonds are eye-clean and look pretty white and sparkle, but we weren't nearly as picky about the earrings as we're being about the e-ring.

That's my (our) two cents.

 

[Mara]

Apparently the 'norm' is for earrings of around I color and SI clarity..since they are worn on the head, its not as though people get up close and peer at them. It also will depend on the metal that you will place them in (e.g. yellow gold you could probably go J and be okay, white or plat maybe H/I is better).

Just don't spend your $$ on Tiffany earrings. We were quoted $9k for a pair of diamond earrings 1ctw that were G, VVS1. Why would someone want VVS1 earrings anyway?!

What is interesting is that it seems as though for the most part, less desirable stones may be used for earrings. When we had our earrings appraised (1ctw, .50 each), the table and depth were VERY LARGE..table on one was around 63% and the depth was 66%. Pav angle was 46! Those are numbers that not many people would consider for their e-ring. The other stone was similar, but table was more like 61% and depth was 63%. However, the earrings have always been *VERY* sparkly--I always get compliments!! I never would have guessed as a diamond novice that these were poorly cut stones on paper. One was graded a IIIA cut and one was a IVA cut.

We are getting new earrings anyway as when we got them appraised we found that they were N color as opposed to the H that we were sold 2 years ago. We took them back to the jeweler and he did not hesitate to make things right even though he had no REAL obligation to (though we did buy our stone and our setting through him). It's a strange story though as he has been in the biz for 30+ years and is highly reputable, so how did my diamond novice bf get N diamonds 2 years ago? Plus our jeweler says they aren't N's..but maybe I's. We aren't dwelling on it, esp since our guy is making it right. We are having the new earrings appraised as well, so will be interesting to see the cuts on these new ones.

Interestingly enough I NEVER would have guessed these were N color stones. That just goes to show that N earrings on the head don't appear yellow I guess! The only thing that raised a red flag was when we got our G loose diamond, the earrings looked yellow compared to them. Then we got the appraisal and bingo. Odd story anyway.

 

[lacina]

Depending on the look you are after,...
The cut and color is important. Some customers do like less fiery diamonds some want the blinding sparkle! I would say the most common quality would be G-E color and VS2-SI1. Cut should be no worse than 2B. If you can squeeze Ideal cut in your budget, Great! More sparkle! The size and setting style is also important. They can't look too small or too large. Sure you can have a 3ct stone in each year, but that is a lot of rock and weight to carry,...
Most common are .50 - 1ct each round brilliant cuts.
Also Important thing is to check them out for fluorescence. They should respond to the UV light equaly or at least close. This way if you go to the bar where they are often using a black light, your years will not turn different colors.

Best
George