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Engagement ring advice

Q

Queen Pot Roast

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 25, 2018
Messages
3
I'm in way over my head, and the amount of information/resources exceeds my available time!

My special lady is a very humble, down to Earth woman, modest tastes, not flashy or a desire for things over the top. A classic ring/stone (confirmed thru her gfs). She is a small woman, with skinny hands/fingers (if that helps).

I am interested in a single round stone, platinum or white gold setting, with a 12-13k budget.

I have been speaking with two diamond sources, one a local jeweler and the other a wholesaler from a nearby town.

The wholesaler provided this - {2.00 Carat Round Brilliant cut diamond is still available, The diamond is SI-2 in clarity, G in color with Excellent Polish & Symmetry. The diamond is $12,500}

The jeweler provided this - 1.51cts round stone, E, VVS-2- 12,500.00 & 2.03 round, F S1-1 @16,900.

I really would appreciate any advice, suggestions and or options.

(Sweet Pot Roast is our Jack Russell)
 
Are these graded by GIA or AGS? If so post the report or the table, depth, crown angle and pavilion angle. We need that info to comment on the stones.

What diamond specs are you looking for? Are you open to buying from a trusted online vendor? If so we can help you find something. Budget you have is 13k. Will this be in a simple solitaire or with pave?
 
crbl999 said:
Are these graded by GIA or AGS? If so post the report or the table, depth, crown angle and pavilion angle. We need that info to comment on the stones.

What diamond specs are you looking for? Are you open to buying from a trusted online vendor? If so we can help you find something. Budget you have is 13k. Will this be in a simple solitaire or with pave?
Click to expand...

My guess is that the quotes you got are for either non certified stones, or stones from poor labs. Most brick and mortar stores don't offer high quality stones (unfortunately). I hope you are open to purchasing online with one of the many trustes vendors here..you will get a much better stone for your budget!
 
A 'wholesaler' selling to individuals is a red flag to me.

Put your desired specifications into the search bar at the top of the forum, then click on the Advanced settings button half way down the page on the right when it loads.

Search for AGS 000 stones to remove all the dodgy GIA XXX stones with crown and pavilion angles that don't work well together, then drag the HCA score bar to Excellent and Very Good only.

This should give you a reasonable selection to choose from, the majority of which should be excellent in terms of cut and lght performance :)
 
If she’s not flashy, perhaps a two carat stone to start might be a bit much. You could get a superbly cut slightly smaller stone from high performance diamonds or Whiteflash and upgrade for size later ?
 
ringo865 said:
If she’s not flashy, perhaps a two carat stone to start might be a bit much. You could get a superbly cut slightly smaller stone from high performance diamonds or Whiteflash and upgrade for size later ?
Click to expand...
This is an excellent point.

Is there any expectation of a certain size stone in your/her social circle and/or family?

Also, have her GFs confirmed ring style in terms of diamond cut? i.e. Modern Round Brilliant? Old Mine Cut? Old European Cut? Or even round-ish shapes, like a cushion (modern or vintage) or a Peruzzi cut?

Check out www.Gemconcepts.net for a range of different and awesome cuts!
 
The info that both vendors have mentioned to you is insufficient to make an informed choice about which of those two stones you should buy. Ideally, each of those stones would have been graded by GIA or AGS and the vendors should be able to source Idealscope and ASET imagery for both stones.

In this case, like others have said, it’s likely they are selling stones that they have “graded” themselves.
 
Okay! I really appreciate the help and will try to clarify and answer:
Both sources are GIA. The wholesaler is a former college roommate (80's) of a colleague. The local jeweler is moving and having a sale starting on Dec. 4th.

Cut - I thought "round" was an option LOL - dang. I'm out of my league here, we're just looking for a classic look, something that will pass the test of time.
Does not have to be 2.0ct. This was more of a starting place I suppose. We just want a beautiful diamond within my budget, quality>carat. I won't be terribly upset if I can save some budget here:loopy:
 
Don’t pay too much when you can do much better here. Cut has lots of elememts too it and they haven’t give you any of them. Get a copy of the GIA report or tell them you want AGS 000.
 
Queen Pot Roast said:
Okay! I really appreciate the help and will try to clarify and answer:
Both sources are GIA. The wholesaler is a former college roommate (80's) of a colleague. The local jeweler is moving and having a sale starting on Dec. 4th.

Cut - I thought "round" was an option LOL - dang. I'm out of my league here, we're just looking for a classic look, something that will pass the test of time.
Does not have to be 2.0ct. This was more of a starting place I suppose. We just want a beautiful diamond within my budget, quality>carat. I won't be terribly upset if I can save some budget here:loopy:
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, there's a lot more to cut than size and GIA grading. You need to know table, depth, crown, and pavilion angles. I would ask for a copy of the GIA report. Or just start by telling the vendors you only want to consider AGS 000 stones (which are essentially guaranteed to have a good cut).

Or let us find you something better :)
 
ringo865 said:
If she’s not flashy, perhaps a two carat stone to start might be a bit much. You could get a superbly cut slightly smaller stone from high performance diamonds or Whiteflash and upgrade for size later ?
Click to expand...

This was my first thought too. I have small fingers (size 4) and similar attitude/taste as OP's gf (humble, down to Earth woman, modest tastes, not flashy or a desire for things over the top. A classic ring/stone).

I wouldn't want any bigger than a 1 carat round diamond on my size finger. Smaller if it was anything other than solitaire setting. I went with 0.5 carat 6 prong solitaire with a thin plain shank (no diamonds on the shank). I don't have pictures yet but this is what I think of as the classic, timeless engagement ring. Similar to the classic 6 prong Tiffany setting, but with a thinner shank and a few other differences.

I would definitely talk to your gf so she can have some input on size and style. If you really want it to be a surprise, try to get her friends to get that info. It's amazing how little I knew before I started looking at rings, and how quickly I developed very strong opinions about what I liked and didn't like.
 
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