earrings or a pendant for $2500??

[pinkflamingo]

I have a small budget of $2K-$2500 to get a pair of earrings or a diamond necklace. DH says I can get it by the end of the year!!

would you choose studs or a pendant with such a pitiful budget?

Which company has the best upgrade policy so I can upgrade over the years? I am worried that the earrings will be too small- 1/2 carat each. I was looking at
THIS to put in a full bezel pendant.

I am looking for J/K for earrings and eyeclean SI2s. Maybe a J for a pendant. My ering is a J and I am not color sensitive.


I am considering whiteflash, but they don''t seem to have many choices within my budget...

I am very excited!!

 

[Sundial]

That''s not a pitiful budget at all. While either a pendant or earrings would be nice I would choose the one you think you will wear most often. That Whiteflash stone looks like a great choice for a pendant. Did you check out their Expert Selection Ready Set to Go earrings? I''m not sure of the upgrade policy on those, but you can get 1.00 ctw I SI martini studs in 18 kt white gold for $2365.00. I think 1/2 carat each is a nice size for studs. I wore 1/3 carat each for years until I finally upgraded last year and passed those along to my daughter.

 

[widget]

PF: How exciting!!

I agree with Sundial...that''s a great budget, not in the least pitiful!

Obviously you should go with what you''d wear most often. For me, it would be a no-brainer...I''d go for the earrings!

I also think 1ctw is a great size..

Have fun!
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[pinkflamingo]

yeah! i did see the expert selection ready to go ones, but that kind of sucks the fun out of choosing them, IMO. yes, I am a diamond nerd!

Does anyone here own a pair of these WF ready 2 go studs? I would want to see their idealscope images and measurements, I love strong arrow patterns as well. Can WF send that info?

are there many sites that have J/K Si2-I1 (eyeclean) superideal cuts? I have looked at james allen, WF, gog, wink and exceldiamonds. James allen seems to have the most of this clarity/color combo. Any other recs? I want to max my budget!!

Oh, and I am allergic to nickel in white gold. I know that wink offers allergy free white gold, do most places also have this, or should I just stick to platinum? It is not that huge of a price difference.

 

[Catmom]

Congratulations, how fun! I agree with Widget and Sundial, go with what you will get the most wear. $2500 is not a "pitiful" budget at all! You can get something great with that amount. As far as 1 ctw being too small for earrings, it''s a personal opinion I guess. I have 1 ctw studs and I think they are the perfect size for me, not too big and not too small. I wear them everyday. Go with what you think is best for you.

 

[coda72]

If you''re looking to upgrade, the Ready Set Go earrings from Whiteflash aren''t upgradeable. I think you can pick out your own Expert Selection stones for earrings and upgrade those. For $2500, I''d probably buy a pendant, that way you can get a bigger stone.

 

[glitterata]

I''m always on the lookout for good I1s, too. I wish the favorite vendors had more of them. (You guys listening?)

I''m about to send a .84 E I1 back to James Allen. It cost about $2000. The color is probably too high for you, but otherwise you might want to consider it. My husband and I found it eye clean with our middle aged eyes. It''s a great cut (HCA 1.7) with pretty arrows; and it''s a bright white color.

I''m sending it back because I was planning to wear it in a ring and stare at it through a loupe endlessly, and the inclusions, though not visible to me with my naked eye, were unattractive to me through the loupe. I was hoping for an eye-visible, colorless crystal, like a baby diamond inside my diamond. Also, it has fluorescence, but not enough for me--I wanted more. But if I were looking for a diamond for a pendant, where I wasn''t going to loupe it constantly, I would definitely keep it. And as a pendant, it should certainly be eye clean. If somebody got close enough to spot the inclusions, they''d be close enough to get slapped.

 

[dani13]

Definitely go with what you will get the most use out of..

For me, it would be a pair of diamond studs hands down-$2500 is a great budget- you can get a pretty pair of sparklers, and 1 ct tw is perfect for everyday wear!!!

 

[4bugzinarug]

What a great plan! I would go for the earrings. That''s mainly because I made a poor choice in diamond stud earrings before we found Pricescope, and now my earrings BUG me every time I look at them, LOL! You all have pushed me to the other side .... I am a diamond nerd too!

 

[widget]

Author: glitterata
I''m always on the lookout for good I1s, too. I wish the favorite vendors had more of them. (You guys listening?)

Amen to that!

I''ve told this story before, but I do think it''s worth repeating: I bought a pair of G, I1s, well cut, non-H&A studs for my niece. And I DEFY anyone...no matter how "diamond geeky

"... not be absolutely wowed by them when seen on someone''s ears. They truly look incredible.

The secret was to inlist the services of a trusted vendor who has access to, and is willing to search out well cut "mutts" whose inclusions are invisible from any distance at all.

I personally think that there iis often too much concern about stats, H&As, etc etc when it comes to earrings. (I realize that I''m probably lonely in this stance..

)

Just thought I''m mention this in case size really is a concern...
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[fountainfairfax]

Date: 3/19/2006 12:14:07 PM
Author: widget

Author: glitterata
I''m always on the lookout for good I1s, too. I wish the favorite vendors had more of them. (You guys listening?)

I personally think that there iis often too much concern about stats, H&As, etc etc when it comes to earrings. (I realize that I''m probably lonely in this stance..

)

Just thought I''m mention this in case size really is a concern...
widget

And AMEN to that sentiment, Widget! I''ve put off my studs purchase for over a year because I couldn''t afford H&A studs and now I wonder what I was thinking???!!!! When I saw those "promotional grade" P studs pruchased from Pearlmans I realized I was really overthinking this whole purchase- save the H&As for my hand and get a size and color that I''ll love and wear everyday.... so now I''m looking for some cool J SI2''s

 

[Mara]

$2500 pitiful in what land girl?!?!

you could get 1ctw studs or a .75c or slightly larger pendant for that!

WF had a .94 K SI1 ES stone that i was in love with, it's in Jelly's ring now, and it was something like $2600 with PS discount. I want them to come up with another one!!

personally i wear a pendant more than i wear earrings...so i'd go with whatever gives you the most bang for the buck and you'd wear the most!! and yes if you can find an I1 that'd be a great option as well!

oh and the ready set go WF earrings are not upgradable and also you cannot get info on them i don't think as they are pre-set...so if you want all the numbers and reports, do a build your own. lastly, i'd call up WF because brian makes trips to belgium all the time to see the new stock so you can find out a bit beforehand sometimes what is coming in to see if there are any possibilities for earrings or a pendant etc. it may take them a while to get certed and onto the site, but at least you know if there are alot of stones coming in in the range you are looking for etc.

 

[pinkflamingo]

*blushes*
I thought it was awfully small, everyone I know has 1 carat on each ear, and at least a carat pendant.

I am so excited to start looking... hopefully we will get our budget worked out soon so I can buy sooner as opposed to later.

thanks for all of the tips!!

 

[Lynn B]

Pitiful, schmitiful!!! I would definitely get the studs... ~1ctw, beautiful!!! I have that size (AGS-0, H&A, one''s a J, one''s a K) and I LOVE them. I am a shameless size girl, but (unlike my e-ring) they don''t appear to be shrinking before my eyes!!! I would get either a martini style setting OR if you are concerned about the size, get them set in a very thin bezel setting, which would make them look a lot bigger.

ENJOY!

 

[E B]

No doubt about it, a pendant! I''m afraid of diamond earrings as I''ve lost so many pairs of cheapos....a necklace has a little more security, IMO. Plus, I''m lusting after a floating solitaire.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi PinkFlamingo ~

I think $2 - 2,500.00 is a very nice buget!

I am in the market for diamonds for earrings as well, and like you ... would like to be able to upgrade in the future. For that reason, I am not going to consider the "ready set go" earrings on WF.

I haven''t done this yet, as I am still in savings mode, however, when I have my money ready to spend ... I will call up one of the trusted vendors and let them know that I am looking for two very pretty & sparklie diamonds for earrings. I will let them know some parameters, like approximate size I would like, have them face up white and of course not be heavily included & must sparkle! ... and then I will let them do their work in finding them. I know from in the past, Jon @ GOG was able to have some diamonds sent to him that fit my parameters so that he could look them over, and one of them happen to just knock our socks off!

Since you are open to either a pendant or earrings ... and you want size ... you could get 1 ctw earrings with your budget, or you could get a 3/4 ct pendant for now, and start saving up again for another 3/4 ct diamond, and then eventually have them make into studs ... you could get closer to 1 ctw in each ear this way. There are so many choices that you have when we have vendors who will upgrade your diamond, or diamonds ... I really like that option in a trusted vendor!

What do you think you will get more wear out of, or perhaps, enjoy more?

Keep us updated and have a great day!

 

[fisiogrl]

I second the advice that you should get what you will wear more.

I bought some WF ready to go diamonds and they are gorgeous! But I know what you mean about wanting to select them yourself - that bit of fun is missing.

I personally never wear a necklace, so for me earrings were the best option.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 3/19/2006 4:24:27 PM
Author: Mrs Darlin Joy
I am in the market for diamonds for earrings as well, and like you ... would like to be able to upgrade in the future. For that reason, I am not going to consider the ''ready set go'' earrings on WF.

Aren''t the RSG studs at WF upgradable?

 

[Mara]

Date: 3/19/2006 9:52:57 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 3/19/2006 4:24:27 PM
Author: Mrs Darlin Joy
I am in the market for diamonds for earrings as well, and like you ... would like to be able to upgrade in the future. For that reason, I am not going to consider the 'ready set go' earrings on WF.

Aren't the RSG studs at WF upgradable?

Nope they aren't! (PS Lynn look above...we already covered that!!...hehee)

 

[asscherisme]

I have diamond studs from white flash and love them. I also have a solitare necklace (not from white flash). I got the pendant first so I would vote if you could get only one, go for pendant. Earrings come come later.

 

[iceprincess]

You have a really nice budget. I bought a 0.733 J Si2 ES pendant in platinum from WF for $2125 last year and I love it.
Here''s the old thread: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-got-my-whiteflash-diamond-pendant.25110/

I got a really lovely stone and a beautiful piece of jewelry I wear everyday.
I have to agree with PinkFlamingo about picking out your own stones for a studs project.
I''m currently working with WF on a studs project of my own. I have waited over a year to find the right ACAs for earrings. It can drive you crazy at times, but I''m obsessed with diamonds! Whatever you decide, have fun in the search and pictures are mandatory!!!