Engagement ring help needed - 1.5, G, SI1 Diamond

[Enerchi]

It looks lovely Mike! I think it is very interesting having the round diamond in the square setting. Congratulations on your engagement!

 

[mike899]

It looks lovely Mike! I think it is very interesting having the round diamond in the square setting. Congratulations on your engagement!

Thanks. Well I liked that setting and I wanted a round diamond, the Jeweler told me he had done a round in a square the week before and it came out really nice. So i trusted him and went for it.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Congratulations on your engagement! I've seen many round stones set in cushion shaped settings...very nice combination!

I have read through this thread and either you never posted the diameter of this stone or I missed it. I realize it does not matter to you now, but that was something that should have been posted and then explained as soon as you posted the other info from the lab report. So what is the diameter?

 

[mike899]

diameter is 7.26, the stone is 1.5

i understand that is low for 1.5, everyone told me 200x that i could of got a similar diameter ex cut at 1.3/1.4.. That sounds cute and all and it seems to be the one line to know to be an expert on here. however if you look at the majority of 1.4's, just about all of them, ex cut, they are still not even 7.26. Some manage to get slightly over, however those diamonds cost 2k more than i paid, so what really are we talking about?

I know it could of been more than 7.26 with a 1.5 carat. But I was completely pleased with the size/look and price. so why bust my balls and the jewelers balls.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It is funny you mention that because when I was recently looking at stone close to that size, I did consider one that was 7.2mm and it was 1.35 carats. But I went with a different stone over 1.5. You are right that there are 1.4's that are not at 7.2mm. You just have to understand that many people come here for advice on stones and it would be very, very bad if people were not told what the best performing stones would be. There are millions of diamonds and most people here want to be sure they are spending thousands of dollars on a great stone. There are a few people occasionally who will put other priorities before cut, usually size, and that is their perogative. But they need to understand they won't get the pats on the back that a good buy on an excellent stone will get. Most people out there have no idea what an ideal cut diamond looks like and will think most diamonds are pretty. But we owe it to people who come on here to tell them the truth about which diamonds would fall into the excellent/ideal category. Then you and they make the choice they prefer.

 

[mike899]

It is funny you mention that because when I was recently looking at stone close to that size, I did consider one that was 7.2mm and it was 1.35 carats. But I went with a different stone over 1.5. You are right that there are 1.4's that are not at 7.2mm. You just have to understand that many people come here for advice on stones and it would be very, very bad if people were not told what the best performing stones would be. There are millions of diamonds and most people here want to be sure they are spending thousands of dollars on a great stone. There are a few people occasionally who will put other priorities before cut, usually size, and that is their perogative. But they need to understand they won't get the pats on the back that a good buy on an excellent stone will get. Most people out there have no idea what an ideal cut diamond looks like and will think most diamonds are pretty. But we owe it to people who come on here to tell them the truth about which diamonds would fall into the excellent/ideal category. Then you and they make the choice they prefer.

i agree with what you have said.. but the commone line about "its facing up smaller" which is the #1 reply in every thread on this board just isn't as 'easy' as stated. 7.26 is on the low end for a 1.5 and its on the pretty high end for a 1.4.. the 1.4 over 7.26 cost more than the 1.5 at 7.26 so whats the issue? thats just my point. its wasn't as simple as "oh pay less and get a bigger looking diamond"

thats not to mention the experts that said i could find a 1.2 facing up bigger than 7.26.. thats just crazy.. good luck finding a 1.2 that faces up bigger than 7.

 

[06pvc]

i agree with what you have said.. but the commone line about "its facing up smaller" which is the #1 reply in every thread on this board just isn't as 'easy' as stated. 7.26 is on the low end for a 1.5 and its on the pretty high end for a 1.4.. the 1.4 over 7.26 cost more than the 1.5 at 7.26 so whats the issue? thats just my point. its wasn't as simple as "oh pay less and get a bigger looking diamond"

thats not to mention the experts that said i could find a 1.2 facing up bigger than 7.26.. thats just crazy.. good luck finding a 1.2 that faces up bigger than 7.

I agree its not simple. But a thorough search would yield a 1.3 with same spread that same cost, but that is much better cut. If you value cut over caret weight (for the same given spread) you choose the lighter but better cut stone. If you value caret weight over cut than you choose the heavier stone less well cut stone. To each his own.

I was recently in the same spot with the 2ct barrier and (with the help of the smarties like Diamondseeker ws persued to get smaller size) found that all the 2ct within my budget where deep 2ct stones with 8mm diameters. So I got a 1.86 with an 8mm that was same price. I sacrificed 0.14ctw and 0mm for much better light performance.

 

[mike899]

i agree with what you have said.. but the commone line about "its facing up smaller" which is the #1 reply in every thread on this board just isn't as 'easy' as stated. 7.26 is on the low end for a 1.5 and its on the pretty high end for a 1.4.. the 1.4 over 7.26 cost more than the 1.5 at 7.26 so whats the issue? thats just my point. its wasn't as simple as "oh pay less and get a bigger looking diamond"

thats not to mention the experts that said i could find a 1.2 facing up bigger than 7.26.. thats just crazy.. good luck finding a 1.2 that faces up bigger than 7.

I agree its not simple. But a thorough search would yield a 1.3 with same spread that same cost, but that is much better cut. If you value cut over caret weight (for the same given spread) you choose the lighter but better cut stone. If you value caret weight over cut than you choose the heavier stone less well cut stone. To each his own.

I was recently in the same spot with the 2ct barrier and (with the help of the smarties like Diamondseeker ws persued to get smaller size) found that all the 2ct within my budget where deep 2ct stones with 8mm diameters. So I got a 1.86 with an 8mm that was same price. I sacrificed 0.14ctw and 0mm for much better light performance.

again sounds cute.. lets see a 1.3 at 7.26, the generalizing on here gets to me.. link me to a 1.3 larger than 7.26.. not 1.35 not 1.4, you said 1.3. I'd love to see it same price too of 8.5k.. pleeaaassee.

 

[06pvc]

The 1.3 was based off of what other people said. It is irrelevant.

What I can do is link you a stone that has an identical spread, has an identical price, has lower weight, but is much better cut. Would that make you happy? The point is that what the stone weighs is irrelevant (to me at least, obviously not to you), the size of the stone is the spread not the tcw.

 

[mike899]

The VERY BEST at 1.3.. maybe maybe gets just over 7
AND
still costs more than what i paid..


again a lot of generalizing going on, on this forum. "its facing up smaller, you can get a 1.3 for cheaper and is just as big"..

no you actually can't, the ones over 7 ideal cut are priced at 12, 13k.

 

[mike899]

The 1.3 was based off of what other people said. It is irrelevant.

What I can do is link you a stone that has an identical spread, has an identical price, has lower weight, but is much better cut. Would that make you happy? The point is that what the stone weighs is irrelevant (to me at least, obviously not to you), the size of the stone is the spread not the tcw.

yes actually i would.. i'd like to see what size you can manage to get 8500 at, ideal cut.. i venture to say 1 carat, facing up much smaller.

no more generalizing, its not "irrelevant" that's my point.

 

[06pvc]

Your right, at that price point for G/SI1 you'd have to sacrifice spread. This is all i could find searching briefly.

http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=656218&ref=pricescope

This was a brief search.

 

[mike899]

well exactly, that is my point.. i did tons of searches. my actual expert appraiser in nyc said i did extremely well for the price and size i got.

just saying i could get a bigger diamond for cheaper b/c i have 1.5 at 7.26 sounds good, but its not possible. maybe if i decided to slip down into the JKL colors.. but personally those diamonds look yellow to me, i can see the diff. So no, i don't want a yellow diamond that is cut better.

 

[06pvc]

well exactly, that is my point.. i did tons of searches. my actual expert appraiser in nyc said i did extremely well for the price and size i got.

just saying i could get a bigger diamond for cheaper b/c i have 1.5 at 7.26 sounds good, but its not possible. maybe if i decided to slip down into the JKL colors.. but personally those diamonds look yellow to me, i can see the diff. So no, i don't want a yellow diamond that is cut better.

your right. leaving color and clarity constant you decided size,measured both in weight and spread was more important to you than cut. That is a reasonable thing to do. I personally would have looked for eye clean SI2s for a bigger size, but you gotta prioritize and then optimize based on the preference of your parameters. You did that, so no faulting you there. I think maybe you got some friction because your parameters where different than others. Here cut is king.

 

[mike899]

well exactly, that is my point.. i did tons of searches. my actual expert appraiser in nyc said i did extremely well for the price and size i got.

just saying i could get a bigger diamond for cheaper b/c i have 1.5 at 7.26 sounds good, but its not possible. maybe if i decided to slip down into the JKL colors.. but personally those diamonds look yellow to me, i can see the diff. So no, i don't want a yellow diamond that is cut better.

your right. leaving color and clarity constant you decided size,measured both in weight and spread was more important to you than cut. That is a reasonable thing to do. I personally would have looked for eye clean SI2s for a bigger size, but you gotta prioritize and then optimize based on the preference of your parameters. You did that, so no faulting you there. I think maybe you got some friction because your parameters where different than others. Here cut is king.

yup understand cut is king.. but the over consensus was that i could of gotten a bigger spread, less weight, for less money. which clearly isn't possible. now that being said, i did exactly what you said.. i weighed my options, i got the color and clarity i wanted, i got an above average cut, not the best and i got a good size. this stone was perfect for my budget and my desires.

if i wanted to put cut above everything else. i'd either be looking at a yellow diamond, well cut, same size. OR an excellent cut, realisticly at 1ct, maybe slight over, .5 carat difference, and roughly .4 smaller.

 

[Laila619]

Congrats!! It looks amazing on her hand!

You and she are both thrilled with the ring, and that is all that matters.

 

[Dancing Fire]

..

 

[06pvc]

Mike...you still don't get it do ya??...

buying a well cut diamond is like buying a nice piece of steak with all its excess FAT trimed off.

I am going to defend mike here. I think he gets it, he just didn't want a well cut diamond, he wanted a bigger diamond and was willing to give up cut quality for that.

 

[SweetAsscher]

I too think he gets it. He just doesn't care.
I think it is us that just can't wrap our heads around not wanting a spectacularly cut diamond. But of course he might change his mind once he actually sees one.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Mike...you still don't get it do ya??.. or don't wanna admit that you made a mistake.

buying a well cut diamond is like buying a nice piece of steak with all the excess FAT trimed off. your steak (diamond) may weight 16 oz but with a lot of uneatable fats...

 

[06pvc]

Also mike.

I had some more time and did a more detailed search. Here is a 1.54 G/SI2 from blue nile for 8.4K. I bought a blue nile stone from IDJ that I got for ~300 less than the BN pirce, so I think you'd be looking at 8.1K.
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&builder=BYOR&pid=LD02520882
It gets an HCA 0.8, and has a spread of 7.51x7.42. The flouresence may make it cloudy and it may not be eye clean, but thorough search means you check those things out.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I too think he gets it. He just doesn't care.
I think it is us that just can't wrap our heads around not wanting a spectacularly cut diamond. But of course he might change his mind once he actually sees one.

hey,then why come to PS for advise??..

 

[SweetAsscher]

I too think he gets it. He just doesn't care.
I think it is us that just can't wrap our heads around not wanting a spectacularly cut diamond. But of course he might change his mind once he actually sees one.

hey,then why come to PS for advise??..

yep...

 

[mike899]

Also mike.

I had some more time and did a more detailed search. Here is a 1.54 G/SI2 from blue nile for 8.4K. I bought a blue nile stone from IDJ that I got for ~300 less than the BN pirce, so I think you'd be looking at 8.1K.
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&builder=BYOR&pid=LD02520882
It gets an HCA 0.8, and has a spread of 7.51x7.42. The flouresence may make it cloudy and it may not be eye clean, but thorough search means you check those things out.

Omg are you serious ? This is the advice from the experts ? Do you see the inclusions in that diamond? Yea let me trade in my perfect eye

clean 1.5 that I love for that diamond b.c it rated better on hca. Wow was my appraiser right. That diamond looks like it was in a blender

Full of fluorescent too.. all b.c the all mighty hca is low.. funny

 

[Laila619]

DF, if Mike is happy, then he's happy.

We can't make anyone buy what we'd pick. Besides, he's no longer asking for advice, he has already purchased the ring and proposed!

Congrats again!

 

[06pvc]

Omg are you serious ? This is the advice from the experts ? Do you see the inclusions in that diamond? Yea let me trade in my perfect eye
clean 1.5 that I love for that diamond b.c it rated better on hca. Wow was my appraiser right. That diamond looks like it was in a blender
Full of fluorescent too.. all b.c the all mighty hca is low.. funny

Haha. I see why everyone here treats you with so little respect. Smugness does not evoke respect from others.

1) I have never claimed to be an expert. I have 91 posts and have 3.5 months of pricescope reading. Far from an expert, although far past you in knowledge though.
2) The diamond I posted has twinning wisps which are one of the best inclusions to have. The inclusion chart is not that thorough. Part of a thorough search is asking your vendor if it is eye clean. But you know it all.
3) HCA < 2 + Excellent GIA Grade is a good start. A thorough search includes getting an ideal scope picture.
4) Full of fluorescent too. For a lot of people fluorescence is desired attribute. You know it all though. In <5% of stones this can have a negative affect. A thorough search involves getting this checked out.

Besides, he's no longer asking for advice, he has already purchased the ring and proposed!

Actually, his words...

yes actually i would.. i'd like to see what size you can manage to get 8500 at, ideal cut.. i venture to say 1 carat, facing up much smaller.

no more generalizing, its not "irrelevant" that's my point.

 

[Christina...]

As for the 64% .. personally It's the perfect size . Looking.. I don't want it to look any bigger.

I will try and get a better picture.

Its not a cushion cut. At least I don't think I have to check the certain, that is also in the closet.

You can't see any inclusions with the naked eye no matter how hard you look. I could not see them with the magnifier after he set it, he did a great job.

I guess it could be a lil more sparkling, but the setting does make up for it a bit.

I think it's super funny that you weren't even sure if it was a cushion or RB , but I'm happy that she liked the ring. Congrats!

 

[Gypsy]

Omg are you serious ? This is the advice from the experts ? Do you see the inclusions in that diamond? Yea let me trade in my perfect eye
clean 1.5 that I love for that diamond b.c it rated better on hca. Wow was my appraiser right. That diamond looks like it was in a blender
Full of fluorescent too.. all b.c the all mighty hca is low.. funny

Haha. I see why everyone here treats you with so little respect. Smugness does not evoke respect from others.

1) I have never claimed to be an expert. I have 91 posts and have 3.5 months of pricescope reading. Far from an expert, although far past you in knowledge though.
2) The diamond I posted has twinning wisps which are one of the best inclusions to have. The inclusion chart is not that thorough. Part of a thorough search is asking your vendor if it is eye clean. But you know it all.
3) HCA < 2 + Excellent GIA Grade is a good start. A thorough search includes getting an ideal scope picture.
4) Full of fluorescent too. For a lot of people fluorescence is desired attribute. You know it all though. In <5% of stones this can have a negative affect. A thorough search involves getting this checked out.

06pvc put it much more nicely than I would have. Mike: you clearly have learned nothing. It's disheartening. And sad. But there's a market for every type of consumer and as much as we tried to help you get the best stone for your money, you clearly feel you know best and have already found it. So... enjoy! And congratulations on your engagement.

 

[jrich]

Congrats on your engagement! I'm glad you like your ring. Just a side note-I have a Gia ex/ex/ex 1.43 with the same spread- 7.26 and paid 6k for it. Sure, my color is lower than yours but wanted you to know my diamond is not yellow!

 

[Ella]

Please be kind or this thread will be closed. No personal attacks.