final thoughts before dropping 15k?

[zon]

Hi all,

stumbled on to this forum and found you guys are very informative and educated, so I''ve decided to put my trust in your arms. Thanks all.

I am looking to get something around 1.7 carat or bigger, I''ve shopped at Fortuneoff, street jewelers, and various online stores. I''ve finally found that mondera.com to have the most comprehensive searching tool and collection. Their price is also the lowest for the quality I''ve seen. I am deciding between Heart, Pricess, and Brilliant. all are very similiar diamonds, except the heart is bigger at 2.1 carat SI and G~I color, compared to the rest of my choices 1.7 VS and D~F color. now let me back up a little. This is my first purchase on diamond engagement ring, I am 28. Searching diamond has really been a headache for me, as I am very "technical" so I tend to researchh alot and the more I know, the more factors and variables i have to consider/play with/evaluate. I find that some of the bigger online stores carry too wide of a selection, and the search tool isn''t friendly enough to show me all the differences. as far as Mondera, the website is pleasing to the eyes, and their search tool is VERY effective. I''ve basically narrowed down to 4 loose diamonds (1 round 2 pricess and 1 heart). now should i just go with mondera and choose a setting from them and have them put it on or get that seperately (as my gf doesnt'' really like their settings anyway, besides they are very expensive as well) but how can I safeguard myself from any jeweler when setting the stone on to the setting not to do a switch-a-roo and denies everything.

Is there anything thing you guys have to add, suggest or educate? I guess I am being very general, but I just want to open this discussion up and hopefully cover all the bases. basically, if anyone recommends any other sites over mondera, not saying they are the greatest, however, if you have a good reason for me to take my business else where, I will consider it.

jee i can blabber when i am paranoid.

thanks guys.

 

[limey]

Any idea what shape the GF likes best? Round is a safe bet, but many (like my wife) love square cuts. Heart shapes and other symbol shapes do not appear popular on this forum. If you are technical then learning about cuts and angles is actually cool as hell.

Have you gone into any stores and looked at A LOT of stones to discern your personal cut-offs/compromises for color and clarity?? Also have you read up on this board about the importance of cut, not polish/symmetry but the angles and measurements that can make a diamond look like fire and ice!

To get real good advice post the stats of the diamonds you like, without necessarily posting the source so that someone else does not jump on your find, and you will get lots of great feedback.

I got my wife an anniv diamond from GoodOldGold, amazingly happy with the experience and the end-result, a Jubilee (square brilliant) that lights up the room. Other well recommended sites are niceice, whiteflash and dirtcheapdiamonds.

 

[Magnum]

Well, seeing that you're "technical", and like information to play with, I think you've come to the right place. As far as Mondera, it is a big site and pretty well known, but they actually do not provide as much information as other vendors (if that's what you're looking for) and they actually tend to be a little more expensive than some other internet vendors. it sounds like you're doing your research and want to make an educated purchase, which is awesome. The tutorial on this site is a good place for information, and if you still want to learn more, the tutorial on goodoldgold.com is the best on the internet and highly recommended, in my personal opinion. The tutorials on niceice and whiteflash are really good, too, if you want more points of view.

As far as the diamond you're looking for, do you know what shape your girlfriend prefers? A round brilliant, princess, and heart shape are about as different as you can get, and it's kind of like comparing apples to oranges. Narrowing down your search to a certain shape may be a good first step.

Anyway, let me say welcome

and I hope we can help in your searh. As far as which vendors I'd recommend over Mondera, there are definitely a few, but if you look back at some previous threads, it'll become pretty apparent who's trusted, respected, and highly recommended here. For a quick comprehensive search (for rounds only, unfortunately) you can do a "cut quality search" on pricescopes homepage, and you'll see several different diamonds from different websites that are among the best cut around. Best of luck in your search.

 

[limey]

One honest recommendation is not to get too hung up on hitting a magical carat size. 1.7 ct is your magic number but if weight is left in the wrong places it can look smaller and perform awfully but over here in the US we are hung up on size. Think about the girdle of a diamond, the widest part of the stone, if the cutter leaves that a bit bigger it adds weight, ditto if they make a larger table etc etc.


Also, a 1.6 ct may only be a hair smaller yet if ideal cut will look so vibrant from across the room that people think its HU-HUGE!

(Oh Magnum, I love the setting you put together! I too went with split prongs, but my jeweler made them cross and put an accent diamond at the base of the head)

 

[valeria101]

I am not a strong believe in the mantra that the more tests a diamond passes the better the stone, but if you really like to ding into the issues of diamond quality... you might want to read the tutorial on "cut" at GOG (LINK).

The good part about it? It gives you a low-down on diamond craftmanship applicable anywhere, not just on their stock. The bad part? It's soooo much! Definitely technical

You might guess that I have already run these kind of tutorials twice over. So how does Mondera sound to me? Great! Their "signature collection" seems to abide by the rules of "ideal cut" and most stones are AGS0 anyway. The rather unpleasant part about this would be that the AGS0 grade does not necesarily guarantee great brilliance although it comes very close. It's easy to say that 80% of AGS0 are among the most brilliant stones possible - all you need is to find one of the 'other' 20%.

 

[zon]

this is all the info i can gather. turns out my gf doesn't really care about the nitty gritty. she just wants something big and nice (going to slowly educate her i guess...) but in the mean time, I like em all, I think heart would look cut on her. please let me know which would you choose. thanks.

Shape: Princess
Weight: 1.80 CARATS
Cut Grade: Premium
Color Grade: F
Clarity Grade: VVS2
Laboratory: GIA
Measurements: 6.84x6.84x4.74mm
Depth: 69.30%
Table: 68%
Girdle: Medium
Culet: NONE
Polish: EXCELLENT
Symmetry: EXCELLENT
Fluorescence: NONE

Shape: Princess
Weight: 1.71 CARATS
Cut Grade: Premium
Color Grade: F
Clarity Grade: VS2
Laboratory: GIA
Measurements: 6.48x6.40x4.89mm
Depth: 76.40%
Table: 63%
Girdle: Slightly thick
Culet: NONE
Polish: VERY GOOD
Symmetry: VERY GOOD
Fluorescence: NONE

Shape: Round
Weight: 1.70 CARATS
Cut Grade: Premium
Color Grade: F
Clarity Grade: VS2
Laboratory: GIA
Measurements: 7.63-7.68x4.72mm
Depth: 61.70%
Table: 60%
Girdle: Medium to Slightly thick
Culet: NONE
Polish: VERY GOOD
Symmetry: VERY GOOD
Fluorescence: NONE

Shape: Heart
Weight: 2.01 CARATS
Cut Grade: Premium
Color Grade: F
Clarity Grade: SI1
Laboratory: GIA
Measurements: 7.91x8.96x5.03mm
Depth: 56.10%
Table: 58%
Girdle: Medium to Slightly thick
Culet: NONE
Polish: VERY GOOD
Symmetry: VERY GOOD
Fluorescence: NONE

 

[JennaJ]

Hi,
Just thought I'd comment as a woman in my mid 20s, if you're not sure what shape then I'd go for round or princess - just my opinion but at the carat size you're looking at heart shape might look a bit...over the top (this is just my opinion though, so please don't be offended!) I think round and princess are more classic shapes, and will still look fantastic 50 years from now. I guess that heart shapes can be quite sweet, especially if they are smaller, say 0.5 carat or less but I can't imagine a large heart shape looking very elegant. Of course it all depends on your GFs style and taste, if she's really outgoing and fun and girly then it may be perfect for her...

 

[Magnum]

It's tough to pick between those four different stones, because they are three totally different shapes. It's like comparing apples and oranges and bananas. If you're asking which shape I prefer, I like well cut round stones the best, because to me they tend to have the best optical properties, along with the fact that it seems to me to be a timeless shape. I know your girlfriend said she isn't concerned about the nitty gritty, and if that means she doesn't care to know all the detailed specs, that's definitely not uncommon, but do you mean she doesn't even have a preference on the shape of the diamond? As far as the round stone, with the limited information provided, it has the protential to be a decently cut stone, but it would help to have sarin data, and at a minimum crown and pavilion angles, to get a better idea of the cut and light performance of the diamond. As far as the two princess stones, if I had to pick one with the info you provided, I'd go with the F VVS2, since it appears to have a little better potential to be a good cut. If you could get crown height percentage for both princess cut stones, you could plug all the numbers into the cut grading chart at www.gemappraisers.com and get a better idea of the cut of the princess cut stones. As far as the heart shaped diamond, I'm not too familiar with what to look for to determine the cut quality. With fancy shapes in general (to include princess and heart shapes) it's very hard to determine cut quality with just the numbers. If you figure out which shape you want and pick out a stone in that shape, then I would have Mondera send the stone to a trusted local independent appraiser so that you and he can personally examine the stone and determine if it's beautiful to you and if it's a fair price for what you're getting. Best of luck in your search.

 

[pearcrazy]

I'm going to have to agree with Jenna on the shape. I think a princess or round would be a better choice. I'm a woman in her late thirties and while a heart shaped diamond is a sweet choice for a young bride, I'm wondering how she'll feel about it when she's my age and older. Who knows she may love it still. I'm a big fan of fancy shaped diamonds, especially pear shapes but not so much the heart shaped ones. They make lovely pendants though. For a diamond that she'll wear every day for the rest of her life, you may be safer with round or princess. I love princess stones, they always catch my eye when someone is wearing one. It sounds like you have a large diamond budget, I think that you can find a beautiful round or princess that will be breathtaking. I wouldn't be intimidated by the large databases at some of the vendors listed here. I think they may be able to help you find something that's just perfect. I dealt with DCD with my recent diamond upgrade and the experience was great. The other names that come up over and over with satisfied customers is Whiteflash and GOG.

Just my two cents, and hopefully I haven't stepped on any toes with my opinion about hearts. It's just my opinion, but since you asked.... Best of luck to you and your fiancee.

 

[moremoremore]

Hi there! As the princess freak here, I just wanted to add my 2 cents about princess #2....it is just too deep...see the numbers....it's smaller than the first...that depth is too large for my taste...the stone MAY be dark in the center and certainly holding a lot of weight underneath....#1 actually looks like it might be a nice stone...you'd have to get the crown and pavillion angles....but it's got very good potential....I don't know much about rounds...but I know that if I got a heart, I would not wear it...I'm not too picky...I would have taken any shape...but no way on the heart..so I'd just double check with her about the heart....She very well might love it....but then it might not even have crossed her mind that it was one of the potential stones....

 

[heart prongs]

As you can see from my name, I do have hearts in my ring, but they're on the prongs. That may be a good way to put a little extra "love" into her e-ring w/o actually buying a heart-shaped diamond. Take a look at what I'm talking about. This is what my ring looks like, but I think this one is about 2 carats:

http://www.mwmjewelry.com/Leo-cp-a-sm.jpg

I hope I'm not offending you when I say I don't think you should choose a heart-shaped diamond. It's just that the one's that I've seen don't look "real" to me. I'm sure you'll find the perfect ring for her though. Have fun in your search!!! kl

 

[moremoremore]

Also, just wanted to add that I notice the Heart is an si1....I love Si1s...others don't .... but on that first princess, you're paying a very high premium for the vvs2....since your gal wants a nice big stone, I'd look for a similar princess but maybe drp the clarity to a vs2 or si1 if you are ok with an si1... You can def get a 2 carat princess for that money....my F, Si1 2.10 was 14500.....just a thought....

 

[moremoremore]

oops...one more thing...but if you're shopping at fortunoff...forget about the 2 carat for 15000....

 

[fire&ice]

Please, unless you are absolutely certain that your intended *wants* a heart shaped diamond, I would knock that one heart out of the running. I'm with the rest. I am a middle aged women & I am certain that that heart shaped diamond would be in a drawer.

Round is classic, big & sparkley. I'm not a big fan of princess cuts. To me, they don't have the presence of an RB unless you really get one with the correct cut parameters. But, I have to admit. They seem very popular with the young to be's.

Edited to add: If her interest is big & sparkley then a G/VS2 would certainly accomplish this w/o the premium of an F/VVS stone. You could go bigger as she has said.

 

[moremoremore]

you haven't see MY princess fire and ice!

hehehehehehehe

 

[moremoremore]

This diamond is one that I had been looking at...never called it in though....it looked very promising...a teensy bit rectangular...but I love that..makes it look bigger!....hope this link works...

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=2237585