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Experts and Well Informed Help

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blingless

Rough_Rock
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Feb 13, 2007
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My lovely wife of 28 years wants an upgrade to the 1/4 ct "perfect" diamond I gave her when I proposed. I''ve already been the auction site route without success and I''m tired of sending back fried marbles and coal mines. I have a $7K US budget and she would like larger than 1.5 cts but ideally something over 2 cts. Enhanced stones are not an option. I don''t need an H&A and g-h color is just fine. But I do need something eye clean, bright and lively. Can I reasonably expect to find something? I''ve been looking for over a year without success. When I have searched the online diamond inventories the links to promising stones in my price range end in dead links. I''ve been reading pricescope forums for a long time but I never regisered or posted before. I''m not totally inexperienced - I''ve been reading and shopping for more than a year but I felt at this point I need expert help. I''ve become very discouraged. Here is what I look for :

round brilliant - color G-H, clarity SI - I1, vg polish/symmetry, width/depth 58%-62% + -

Am I overreaching? Do I need a bigger budget? What is an appropriate budget for something like this?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.
 

Cehrabehra

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
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11,071
Date: 2/14/2007 9:54:30 AM
Author:blingless
My lovely wife of 28 years wants an upgrade to the 1/4 ct ''perfect'' diamond I gave her when I proposed. I''ve already been the auction site route without success and I''m tired of sending back fried marbles and coal mines. I have a $7K US budget and she would like larger than 1.5 cts but ideally something over 2 cts. Enhanced stones are not an option. I don''t need an H&A and g-h color is just fine. But I do need something eye clean, bright and lively. Can I reasonably expect to find something? I''ve been looking for over a year without success. When I have searched the online diamond inventories the links to promising stones in my price range end in dead links. I''ve been reading pricescope forums for a long time but I never regisered or posted before. I''m not totally inexperienced - I''ve been reading and shopping for more than a year but I felt at this point I need expert help. I''ve become very discouraged. Here is what I look for :

round brilliant - color G-H, clarity SI - I1, vg polish/symmetry, width/depth 58%-62% + -

Am I overreaching? Do I need a bigger budget? What is an appropriate budget for something like this?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.
I think you might be overreaching in color - if you drop to a J I1 I saw an idealcut that was 5k the other day at winks - it''s sold... but that''s the guy I would call about a bargain stone in that size. You might need to wait for one to come available... and you might be able to go up a little in color by adding the 2k but I think g/h si is out - if you want a really well cut stone and honestly I wouldn''t sacrifice *that*!!
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
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42,064
You might find a GIA graded I1 in budget, perhaps with a J colour or even a K could work with a great cut. Also if size and budget are non negotiable, you could maybe consider one from another grading lab such as EGL USA, these often carry lower price tags, if you go that route then make sure you get an independant appraisal to make sure it checks out. But you will have to shop carefully and know what to look for, it can be done though. Just be prepared it might take a while for the right one to come up. Wink sometimes has great cut I1's, Good old Gold might be worth a try too.

Also have you considered a fancy shape? These can often look larger for their weight than a round...
 

Ellen

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 13, 2006
Messages
24,433
Date: 2/14/2007 10:00:09 AM
Author: Cehrabehra

I think you might be overreaching in color - if you drop to a J I1 I saw an idealcut that was 5k the other day at winks - it''s sold... but that''s the guy I would call about a bargain stone in that size. You might need to wait for one to come available... and you might be able to go up a little in color by adding the 2k but I think g/h si is out - if you want a really well cut stone and honestly I wouldn''t sacrifice *that*!!
Agreed.

Here''s an example of what you''re looking at in that budget. Personally, I would go for a really good cut, it will outshine a bigger diamond of lesser cut. And, for my upgrade I went from basically the same size stone as your wifes after 24 years, to a 1.4. The stone I''ve picked, visually, will look about the same as mine, and it''s a lovely size.
2.gif



http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2713/
 

kev_800

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Messages
122
Ellen''s choice looks nice. I looked at whiteflash and only found one stone but it sortof looked like a dog, the arrows were all jumbled, but it might be worth a call. You might want to take a look on bluenile, they have a large selection (not all in-house though). Limit your search to ideal/very good cuts, and ask them to pull some of your choices to take a closer look. The top diamond looks like a good lead -- it has only one big inclusion that is a crystal so hopefully it will be whitish.

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?__fun_frm=i&pid=LD00490751&filter_id=0#grading_report

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?__fun_frm=i&pid=LD00311063&filter_id=0

Also you might want to try to get something with a medium blue flouresecece because it might whiten the diamond up a bit considering you''re looking in the I-J range.

I think you should have no problem finding a nice diamond in the 1.5 - 1.6 carat range but I doubt you''ll be able to find anything up to 2 carats unless you start looking at auctions.... and its easy to get burned at an auction unless you really know what you''re doing.
 

canuk-gal

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
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25,646
HI:

Does this have to be a single diamond or a combo for an app. total of 1.5-2 ctw? I just bought two remarkably beautifully cut I1 diamonds from Wink/GOG. Although an I1 clarity sounds ominous; the location and type of inclusions, and of course the ideal cut(s): *Cut by Infinity (via Wink), grade AGS 0, and *Cut by Tolkowsky (via GOG), grade GIA XXX, allow them to be breathtaking. Really.

I am not sure if that F, 1.05, I1, Cut by Infinity is still available on Wink's website, but if you were to pair that up with a couple of ideal cut 25-30 pointers, in a three stone mount, I think that could cover a lot of finger real estate. And possibly within your budget?

I'm just sayin.......................
1.gif


http://www.winkjones.com/specials/sa_diamonds.php

ETA: edited for vendor information

cheers--Sharon
 

hikerchick

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
804
Would she be happy with say a smaller diamond and a halo setting to give it a larger look? Now, I don''t know much about the costs of a halo setting so maybe this isn''t even feasible but it is something to consider. Good Luck.
 

blingless

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 13, 2007
Messages
58
I just want to say thank you to everyone who responded and for all of the helpful information. Wink has been mentioned in two replies to this post and all over the DC board. I think I will contact Wink and GOG and begin working with one of them to try and find what I''m looking for. I''m not comfortable dropping the color. My wife and I are both in that unfortunate 2% of people who can instantly see color differences in diamonds without a reference. My wife has other high color jewelry and I''m afraid that anything below g-h will look noticably off next to the other stones. I don''t have a problem with I1 as long as the inclusion(s) is well placed ( I know that sounds wierd but you know what I mean). I''ll be traveling to NYC in a couple of weeks and plan a visit to the diamond district. I don''t think I''ll buy because I''m told that unless you are an absolute expert you don''t have a prayer of getting a good deal. In any event thank you, thank you, for your great links and informative responses. You have pretty much convinced me of what I already knew and wanted to ignor - I can''t compromise on the cut. If I have an interesting story to tell about my visit to NYC I''ll be sure and post it........
 

Stone Hunter

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 12, 2006
Messages
6,487
Have fun shopping in the diamond district. And good luck with GOG and Wink. It sounds like something with great cut can be found for you.
 
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