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Engagement ring help!

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il102

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 24, 2008
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15
First off, thanks for the help in advance. It looks like there are a lot of helpful people here and I could use the assistance. Brief background. I''m 21, going into my senior year of college, but I''ve been together with my girlfriend for almost 6 years now. I''m pulling in some halfway decent change from an internship this summer, and thought it was about time to make a ring purchase (which i''m pretty excited about, aside from being a bit nervous)

My budget is obviously going to be in the lower end, since I am sadly still a poor college student. I figure a bigger anniversary ring down the line is always an option. I''ve crunched the numbers and I think $2000-$2500 is the best I can do right now, I don''t want to go in debt over this.

I know my girlfriend wants a solitaire ring with a round or princess cut diamond. I''m leaning towards white gold over platinum, since I''m thinking an upgrade may eventually be in the cards in the future.

Taking the band out of the picture, this leaves me roughly 1700-2300 dollars for a diamond. I''ve been researching the four c''s and whatnot, and I''ve come to a few conclusions. I don''t need to upgrade one diamond over the other, purely for a differnce that is only going to be visible under magnification. I want the biggest diamond I can get that looks great to the naked eye (read: shiny.)

Now that I know that, I''m trying to decide on what that is exactly. Also, I''ve compared bluenile.com to a few stores in my area, both chain and one-off nice places, and while they treated me very well, no one can touch blue niles pricing. I figure I should go with an online purchase and get the most bang for my buck at this pricepoint?

It''d be great if I could get a diamond in the .7-.8 range. Should I be willing to go lower to get better diamong characteristics? Or do you think a very nice-to-the-naked-eye 3/4 carat diamond is feasible in my price range?

Any other random advice/thoughts on my purchase? Thanks!

P.S. this is happening very soon
 
Definitely go with an online purchase as far as value is concerned. I think that you can definitely get something beautiful in your price range.

If you look up above under the resources menu, there are several other diamond vendors listed. The two I''ve seen discussed the most are Whiteflash and Good old Gold.
 
First off, welcome to Pricescope! I actually just bought my gf a ring not too long ago, so everything is still fresh in my head. Here are a few things for you to think about and a few questions.

1) Do you want to go for round or princess? I know you said she likes both, but they are very different in terms of what to look for and pricing. The round stones "perform" the best, so I would suggest going this route. Also, they face up larger than a princess of the same carat weight.

2) What color range are you looking for, or more appropriately, how low can you go? To get the largest stone for your money, try getting an H-J color stone. For this, it would be really helpful for you to go look at stones at your local stores to see how sensitive you are to color. Some people love J's while some only like D-F. But pick a color range you are comfortable with.

3) This should really be number 1, but CUT IS KING!! The cut is by far the most important C of the diamond as this determines how well it will perform. The biggest poorly cut diamond will pale in comparison to a well cut smaller stone. Do not get anything but the absolute best cut.

4) Try to get stones graded by GIA or AGS if you can. These are the two most trusted labs.

5) If you are buying online, I would check out the pricescope vendors GoodOldGoold.com and whiteflash.com for starters. They are fantastic, but so are the other PS vendors. Use the search box at the top of the page and do a cut search as well. You'll get a better idea for a great cut stone that way.

I guess that's good to start. Once you've narrowed those things down a bit, come back and let us know you color and clarity preferences and we can help you from there. A 3/4 is definitely a possibility, you just need to keep a lookout for a good one. Good luck and keep us posted!!
 
Try giving Whiteflash, GOG or James Allen a call.

Whiteflash has simple solitaire settings for $250, so you can actually spend up to about $2200 on the diamond. A diamond in the 0.70-0.75 in a solitaire setting will be beautiful. If you tell them your budget, they should be able to work out a beautiful ring for you.

Remember to ask for the Pricescope discount if dealing with Whiteflash or James Allen! (Not sure if GOG has one).
 
Thanks for the info so far. Is there a reason everyone is saying whiteflash instead of bluenile? Here I thought I had settled on the consensus that the entire internet thought bluenile is the best place to buy an engagemente ring, now you''re throwing me for a loop with this whiteflash business, haha.
 
You may want to check out something along these lines. This is $1940 w/ PS discount. It scored a 2 on the Holloway cut adviser.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1139803.asp

Or this at $2020. It scored a 0.8 on the Holloway cut adviser. You''d have to verify that the diamond is eye-clean though:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1139799.asp

Here''s a link to JA''s solitaire settings:

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/classic-solitaire-settings.asp
 
Here are a few selections close to your price range. Also check out the Lifetime Trade up Policy that they offer. BlueNile doesn't offer as much information about their stones as some of the PS recommended vendors.

Whiteflash 0.701 ct

Good Old Gold 0.705 ct
 
Whiteflash gives you a lot more info re the diamond you are buying, and a great level of customer service for the amount you''re paying.

Generally speaking, Blue Nile is the least competitive of the online retailers.

James Allen is among the most competitive of the online retailers. On tighter budgets, I think it is possible to get a little more value for your money from James Allen, but you may have to do a little more legwork/research.

All are reputable companies w/ good return policies.
 
Great, thanks for the links. These options look very attractive.
 
Date: 7/24/2008 3:10:03 PM
Author: swingirl
Here are a few selections close to your price range. A lot of vendors take vacations around this time so the inventory showing on the websites might be low although most have them have more in stock that are not posted. So a phone call is probably the best but this will get you stated. Also check out the Lifetime Trade up Policy that they offer. BlueNile doesn''t offer as much information about their stones as some of the PS recommended vendors.

Whiteflash 0.701 ct

Good Old Gold 0.705 ctp
Click to expand...
Ditto -- I forgot to mention that. WF''s trade up policy may be the best of all the online vendors. Since you''re contemplating that, WF may be the way to go for you. I don''t think James Allen''s trade-up policy is as good as WF''s, but you should check out the sites to be sure.
 
Best of luck to you. I just recently graduated and am in the same boat(my budget was slightly higher) but she wants a little more going on in the band. But I am getting away from my point. I just reserved a stone on Good Old Gold and had tons of problems with my credit card company but at GOG they were so helpful. I am actually going in a week to view my diamond before I purchase and I can''t wait because it looks like a great diamond plus the customer service so far has been great. I agree with everything said so far going with a top quality cut is key.
 
Thanks again for all the help. I am going with whiteflash.com for sure. I spent about 30-45 minutes on the phone with them Friday talking through stuff, their customer service is fantastic.

Looking at my budget again, I think I really want to cut myself off at about 2100. I am going to go with a solitaire, white gold setting. I'm leaning towards getting 18k gold over 14k white gold, but feel free to correct me on that one if I'm wrong.

I'm going to get a round stone, one of the "a cut above hearts and arrows" selections. So the cut should be excellent. I want this stone to be eye clean for sure, and as big as I can get it being eye clean.

This leave me with a few options.

0.515 G VS2 AGS $1,767.00
0.597 I VS2 AGS $1,549.00
0.575 G SI1 AGS $1,615.00
0.597 I VS2 AGS $1,549.00

So basically I'm cutting myself off at under .6 carats. Its a little smaller than what I had in mind initially, but it sounds like its worth it to get the best cut diamond and then go from there within my budget. My girlfriend will love it either way I'm sure. Will this size diamond still look like a decent engagement ring (bear in mind we are in college)?

Is 4 prong or 6 prong better to go for at this size?

What color/clarity/size should I get?
 
Those look like great stones! Personally, I''d go for the 0.575ct G SI1. I like the whiter stones, and SI1 should still be eye clean, but have WF check that for you. You won''t be able to tell the size difference between 0.575 and 0.597 anyway, so I''d go for a little bit whiter.

The 4 vs 6 prong is more of a personal choice. Some like the look of 4, others like the classic Tiffany style 6 prong.

18kt white gold is just fine.

Either way you go, I don''t think you can go wrong. Good luck and let us know what you ended up getting!
 
I recently bought a 1.527 ct ACA from WF. I haven''t seen it yet as I haven''t been home (on business), but my folks said the ring is breathtaking. One thing I will say...

When I visited WF to view diamonds, I could tell the difference between the ACA and "expert selection" diamonds. However, I viewed an ES diamond that was very near to ACA level of light performance, but didn''t quite "pass" the symmetry requirements. I went w/ the ACA, but I would suggest that you should give the ES diamonds a look. They are probably the best bang for your buck. If you took your time, I think you could find an exceptional stone and be able to get the size you want (.7-.8ct) within your budget, which would out-perform most all other stones on the market (especially the run of the mill B&M store diamonds).
 
Date: 7/26/2008 3:02:32 PM
Author: rcrosier
I recently bought a 1.527 ct ACA from WF. I haven''t seen it yet as I haven''t been home (on business), but my folks said the ring is breathtaking. One thing I will say...


When I visited WF to view diamonds, I could tell the difference between the ACA and ''expert selection'' diamonds. However, I viewed an ES diamond that was very near to ACA level of light performance, but didn''t quite ''pass'' the symmetry requirements. I went w/ the ACA, but I would suggest that you should give the ES diamonds a look. They are probably the best bang for your buck. If you took your time, I think you could find an exceptional stone and be able to get the size you want (.7-.8ct) within your budget, which would out-perform most all other stones on the market (especially the run of the mill B&M store diamonds).
Click to expand...

Good point, I hadn''t really looked at the Expert Selection at all. Checking it out now though. I can''t seem to find much of a price difference between the two, the diamonds still look to be stuck in the .5-.6 range, even with all the other characteristics relaxed as far as they can go. I see what you are saying though, I can see the benefit being much greater for ACA at a bigger size stone.
 
Date: 7/26/2008 2:37:38 PM
Author: il102
Thanks again for all the help. I am going with whiteflash.com for sure. I spent about 30-45 minutes on the phone with them Friday talking through stuff, their customer service is fantastic.

Looking at my budget again, I think I really want to cut myself off at about 2100. I am going to go with a solitaire, white gold setting. I''m leaning towards getting 18k gold over 14k white gold, but feel free to correct me on that one if I''m wrong.

I''m going to get a round stone, one of the ''a cut above hearts and arrows'' selections. So the cut should be excellent. I want this stone to be eye clean for sure, and as big as I can get it being eye clean.

This leave me with a few options.

0.515 G VS2 AGS $1,767.00
0.597 I VS2 AGS $1,549.00
0.575 G SI1 AGS $1,615.00
0.597 I VS2 AGS $1,549.00

So basically I''m cutting myself off at under .6 carats. Its a little smaller than what I had in mind initially, but it sounds like its worth it to get the best cut diamond and then go from there within my budget. My girlfriend will love it either way I''m sure. Will this size diamond still look like a decent engagement ring (bear in mind we are in college)?

Is 4 prong or 6 prong better to go for at this size?

What color/clarity/size should I get?
Click to expand...
Any of these should make for a very pretty ring! How exciting for you two!! Between getting engaged and graduating from college, you have an exciting year ahead of you!
36.gif


Remember to ask WF if they have a PS discount. I think they usually do (approx. 5%?).

As for settings, personally, I think a 4-prong setting would look better with the diamonds you''re thinking of.
 
Y

Date: 7/26/2008 5:12:19 PM
Author: SYC


Date: 7/26/2008 2:37:38 PM
Author: il102
Thanks again for all the help. I am going with whiteflash.com for sure. I spent about 30-45 minutes on the phone with them Friday talking through stuff, their customer service is fantastic.

Looking at my budget again, I think I really want to cut myself off at about 2100. I am going to go with a solitaire, white gold setting. I'm leaning towards getting 18k gold over 14k white gold, but feel free to correct me on that one if I'm wrong.

I'm going to get a round stone, one of the 'a cut above hearts and arrows' selections. So the cut should be excellent. I want this stone to be eye clean for sure, and as big as I can get it being eye clean.

This leave me with a few options.

0.515 G VS2 AGS $1,767.00
0.597 I VS2 AGS $1,549.00
0.575 G SI1 AGS $1,615.00
0.597 I VS2 AGS $1,549.00

So basically I'm cutting myself off at under .6 carats. Its a little smaller than what I had in mind initially, but it sounds like its worth it to get the best cut diamond and then go from there within my budget. My girlfriend will love it either way I'm sure. Will this size diamond still look like a decent engagement ring (bear in mind we are in college)?

Is 4 prong or 6 prong better to go for at this size?

What color/clarity/size should I get?
Click to expand...
Any of these should make for a very pretty ring! How exciting for you two!! Between getting engaged and graduating from college, you have an exciting year ahead of you!
36.gif


Remember to ask WF if they have a PS discount. I think they usually do (approx. 5%?).

As for settings, personally, I think a 4-prong setting would look better with the diamonds you're thinking of.
Click to expand...
Yeah, from my experience and reading what others have posted in the past, they ususally do 5% on the stone and 2% on the setting, so long as you pay via wire transfer.
 
One more quick question. So I''m spending around 1700 on a diamond. Between you guys and the Whiteflash customer service, I got pretty hung up on making sure I got an ideal cut diamond. This put me at a little bit smaller than I would prefer. I''ve been thinking, at this size, maybe I can relax the cut a little bit?

Initially I was thinking this, 0.575 ct G SI1 A Cut Above H&A.
www.whiteflash.com%2fhearts_arrows%2fA-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1148624.htm

Would it really be that bad of an idea to go with something like this, that has a 4 star Whiteflash rating? How is this cut? Will it still look good?

0.7 ct G SI2 Round has a white flash rating of 4 stars
http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-946313.htm

Given that they are roughly same place, I''d rather get the bigger one if its a noticeable size increase and not a noticeable quality decrease?

Thoughts? Thanks!
 
Date: 7/28/2008 10:34:01 AM
Author: il102
One more quick question. So I'm spending around 1700 on a diamond. Between you guys and the Whiteflash customer service, I got pretty hung up on making sure I got an ideal cut diamond. This put me at a little bit smaller than I would prefer. I've been thinking, at this size, maybe I can relax the cut a little bit?

Initially I was thinking this, 0.575 ct G SI1 A Cut Above H&A.
www.whiteflash.com%2fhearts_arrows%2fA-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1148624.htm

Would it really be that bad of an idea to go with something like this, that has a 4 star Whiteflash rating? How is this cut? Will it still look good?

0.7 ct G SI2 Round has a white flash rating of 4 stars
http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-946313.htm

Given that they are roughly same place, I'd rather get the bigger one if its a noticeable size increase and not a noticeable quality decrease?

Thoughts? Thanks!
Click to expand...
The diamond you linked doesn't look as if it is an in house stone, it is also a bit on the deep side. They would have to call this diamond in, to do the cut analysis on it., but chances are you can find better. You could ask WF if they have anything else suitable maybe in the Expert Selection range, that way you would still end up with a well cut diamond, but could possibly go a little larger.
 
thanks. if you could please offer your opinions on this then

0.74 ct F SI2 Round (expert selection)
http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-23765.htm
this is 2,539 dollars.

If I compare this to bluenile, looking for diamonds with the exact same characteristics and a "very good" cut, it seems like bluenile is a lot cheaper. I''m guessing I could get whiteflash to come down a little on the price, but is there any good reason to use whiteflash over bluenile at this point?

0.71 Very Good F SI2 GIA $1,956
from bluenile for example
0.74 Very Good F SI2 GIA $2,161

I think I''m ready to buy today, so please anyone who can help me figure this out asap I''d really appreciate it!
 
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