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Engagement Ring Advice - $2500 Budget

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Paul_81

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 27, 2015
Messages
6
Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum and have virtually no experience or knowledge about diamonds.

I'm looking to get engaged this Spring and was hoping to get some advice on an engagement ring for my girlfriend.

She's not big on wearing big, flashy jewelry. She prefers smaller and simpler pieces.

I'm set on getting a petit solitaire engagement ring in white gold. Likely 14 K.

I've also priced out a 0.45 ct round diamond with D colour, VVS2 clarity, and an Ideal cut at Blue Nile.The ring comes to about $2300, which is within my $2500 (Canadian) budget. Other characteristic of this diamond include:

Length/width ratio - 1.00
Depth % - 61.6%
Table % - 56.0%
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Excellent
Girdle - Medium
Culet - None
Fluorescence - None
Measurements - 4.96 x 4.94 x 3.05 mm

I'd like to get your opinion on this diamond. Does it make sense to compromise a bit with the quality of the diamond to get a bigger diamond? If so, which specifications should I look at changing?

How would a 0.45 ct diamond look on a petit solitaire engagement ring? My girlfriend has small hands (size 6.5 ring size).

With the lower Canadian exchange rate, would it make more sense to buy in Canada? If so, what do you recommend? Alternatively, what online vendors would you recommend buying from aside from Blue Nile?

Any help would be greatly apprecited!

Thanks in advance.
 
Did she express a desire for a diamond under .5 CTS, a D, or with such high clarity?
 
This will give you an idea on size difference between your 0.45 carat and a 0.60 carat cut to the same depth.

http://www.diamdb.com/compare/0.45ct-round-4.96x4.94x3.05-vs-0.6ct-round-5.41x5.44x3.34/

In my opinion you could easily go down in color and clarity to get a larger stone. BUT, if she doesn't like big and flashy you don't have to go bigger if you don't want to. Just want you to know you likely aren't going to see the difference between a D, E, F, or likely even G color in that size of diamond. And you aren't going to see the difference between vvs2, vs1, vs2, likely not si1, maybe not si2 in that size either. But you will definitely see prices drop as you go down in color and clarity. In my opinion, going up to 3/4 carat isn't even going to get you to the area of "big and flashy", but you can play round with the website I posted and let us know your comfort level.
 
^ agreed.

Also, I would not cheap out in the setting just to go overboard with color or clarity.

If she likes simple and classic, I'd probably get a tiffany 6prong repro that is at least moderate quality.
 
One line of thought is to maximize size and cut based on the budget. Compromise slightly on color and clarity.

H or I in color, and an eye-clean SI1 might be the sweet spot.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.72-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-464214

This 0.72 I color SI1 faces up significantly larger than the Blue Nile stone. Fluor, but it doesn't do anything harmful to the look of the stone, might even help it look a little whiter. Mostly eyeclean. Set in a $250 14k setting and you're still under budget.

Size comparison:
http://www.diamdb.com/compare/0.45ct-round-4.96x4.94x3.05-vs-0.72ct-round-5.74x5.71x3.56/

P.S. 6.5 ring size is average, not small. Maybe with very tiny fingers, like a 3.5 ring size, one might prefer a smaller diamond for relative proportions.
 
Niel|1427475631|3853312 said:
^ agreed.

Also, I would not cheap out in the setting just to go overboard with color or clarity.

If she likes simple and classic, I'd probably get a tiffany 6prong repro that is at least moderate quality.
Click to expand...


I agree...a lot of guys think D/IF...the perfect stone for the perfect girl. The sentiment is nice but in reality most*
girls would prefer a bigger stone with lower color/clarity.

*(most, but not all...you know your GF better than us...we just go by mostly what we see/hear on Pricescope)
 
My now husband also confessed to me he only thought I would want a 'perfect' diamond....D color, nearly flawless clarity. I'm glad we looked together as that was not the case. I have size 3.5 finger and my first diamond was 1.07 ct, now I have a 1.66 and could go bigger.

Especially for the average ring size of 6.5 I would try to go bigger and drop the color/clarity some.
 
https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/R62-DAC9AG - my favorite of all listed, especially if you want colorless.

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/R61-3CX67B

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/R60-7JT756

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/R61-1BL2W6

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/R63-3LYK9K

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/R60-QPLEZL

You'll have to look at their settings and see if there are any you like. I think they still have a sale going for 10% off settings and 1% off loose diamonds, but you can ask them. Also, I'm not sure what kind of duties you pay if the stone comes from the US or how these prices translate to Canadian dollars, so if these are over budget I apologize. Just the closest I could get to the 0.6 carat stone I showed you while still keeping color at or below H.
 
I really appreciate all the feedback! I'm going to play around with the various settings and try to get a larger diamond.
Thanks again - I really appreciate the thorough replies!
 
Paul_81|1427492186|3853404 said:
I really appreciate all the feedback! I'm going to play around with the various settings and try to get a larger diamond.
Thanks again - I really appreciate the thorough replies!
Click to expand...
Is 2500 for the setting too? And is that US or CA?
 
Neil,
The $2500 Canadian includes the setting as well. I realize its a tight budget, but that's what I have to work with...
 
Paul_81|1427543483|3853672 said:
Neil,
The $2500 Canadian includes the setting as well. I realize its a tight budget, but that's what I have to work with...
Click to expand...
I didn't mean to imply something is wrong with the budget at all! I just wouldn't want to suggest options to you if I didn't understand the budget :) 2500 is a very nice budget

Has that already factored in any VAT or no? Does blue Nile make you pay a vat? I assume so but I never check being in the US.
 
No worries Niel. Didnt feel like you were imposing that at all. Yes my 2500$ budget includes the VAT as well.
 
Paul_81|1427550532|3853699 said:
No worries Niel. Didnt feel like you were imposing that at all. Yes my 2500$ budget includes the VAT as well.
Click to expand...
Ok ok... Met me look.
 
can you tell me what your budget would be then, in US dollars, when youve already taken out vat? theres a calculator on the JA website to calculate tax, mostly it looks like your budget would be 1700 USD, but it looks like depending on which providence you live in, it might be less of a tax....
 
Thanks Niel. I really appreciate your help!
 
Hello,

The diamond suggested by Niel in this post is no longer available...I took my time with the purchase and now it's gone. I would like to know your opinion on this diamond:

http://www.bluenile.com/ca/diamond-details/LD05723121

Do you have any suggestions for an alternative diamond in the same price range?

Thanks. I appreciate the help.

Paul
 
Paul_81|1431189754|3874525 said:
Hello,

The diamond suggested by Niel in this post is no longer available...I took my time with the purchase and now it's gone. I would like to know your opinion on this diamond:

http://www.bluenile.com/ca/diamond-details/LD05723121

Do you have any suggestions for an alternative diamond in the same price range?

Thanks. I appreciate the help.

Paul
Click to expand...

I'm not crazy about that one, let me see what's out there now :)
 
How about this, about 50$ more

LD05588379
 
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