finding a stone with a 7k budget

[MikeRato1]

does anyone have any suggestions for the best quality stone in this price range? we decided on a steven kretchmer setting and trying to get a colorless diamond as close to one carat as possible. any help would be appreciated!

 

[Sparkles22]

Have you decided on a shape yet?

popular places on the internet to search include:

www.bluenile.com
www.gog.com
www.whiteflash.com
engagment rings direct (not sure of their address off hand)

You can search by budget, all of those have had good reviews by people on this forum

Welcome to the diamond obsessie club

 

[Sparkalicious]

Mike,

Here is one .... 1.005 F/SI1 A Cut Above, $6,284 bank wire price

It is a Whiteflash, A Cut Above, diamond, which means that it is a branded superideal diamond and this means that you are assured a top notch cut.

There is an inclusion visible in the 40x mag pic right in the centre of the table, however, if you like this diamond, you can certainly contact Whiteflash and ask them if they are able to verify if it is "eyeclean" or not.

If you would like to search for other diamonds within your range you can use the Pricescope Cut Quality search tool located above. Here is a link if you would like to give it a try.

Good luck on your search and I hope that this helps!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/3/2008 2:12:45 AM
Author:MikeRato1
does anyone have any suggestions for the best quality stone in this price range? we decided on a steven kretchmer setting and trying to get a colorless diamond as close to one carat as possible. any help would be appreciated!

Mike, could you give me some more info as to what you prefer for a quality diamond? For example, would you like a D colour IF clarity of 1 carat with a great cut or a mix of E colour and VS clarity, or would you prefer a branded H&A cut diamond with a bit lower for colour and clarity? If I could get an idea of what is important to you for your diamond, then I can offer some appropriate suggestions.

Also we need an idea of your budget for the centre diamond, so we can offer some reasonable suggestions within it.

 

[gwendolyn]

When you say colourless, do you mean a D? F? Would a G do, being close to colourless?

 

[MikeRato1]

sorry i realize after reading more on here that i should have been more detailed...
im looking for a round, either d,e, or f in color, and as close to flawless as possible, i know i dont have alot to spend so maybe like a vvs1?
the kretchmer omega band is nice size so i dont want anything to small, but i would rather have quality over quantity, so maybe like a .90 carat?
i am not sure about the table and depths so i guess thats why im coming to you experts for help
thanks for everyones help!

 

[gwendolyn]

For $7000? Sorry, no F VVS anythings. Closest in price while staying in the D-E-F range is this, not sure how much it would be with the PS discount but it's listed at $8566:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-608078.htm

There's a lot more choice if you go to a G. WF doesn't have any ACAs that are smaller than 1 ct in an F.

 

[gwendolyn]

Even skipping out on the ACAs, there''s not much available:

1.07 F VS1 Ideal cut, depth 60.5%, table 56%, scored a 0.6 on the HCA, exellents for all but a very good for spread, still over budget at $8282:

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-55609.htm

Next smallest than this is an 0.556 F VS1 for under $2K.

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 2/3/2008 11:58:20 AM
Author: gwendolyn
For $7000? Sorry, no F VVS anythings. Closest in price while staying in the D-E-F range is this, not sure how much it would be with the PS discount but it's listed at $8566:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-608078.htm

There's a lot more choice if you go to a G. WF doesn't have any ACAs that are smaller than 1 ct in an F.

MikeRato, selections in that range (D-F, IF-VVS) at the $7K mark puts you into the size range of .80-.90, and that's a very tough size to come by.

Gwendolyn's correct, we have several ACAs in F that are under a carat in stock, but none are in the VVS range; they are all SIs presently.

If clarity is important to you (which it seems it is), many have made a sound suggestion to consider going to G color. The PS cut quality search does show there are options in that range that will fit your stated budget. You could also drop the clarity into the VS range to stay within colorless.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 2/3/2008 12:34:39 PM
Author: Allison D.
Just to clarify, there are ACAs in F that are under a carat in stock, but you're right that they are all SI1 and don't meet the desired VVS threshold.

Yes, very true, thanks for pointing that out, Alj. I haven't lowered the clarity any to show what the prices are when the bar is set that high.

ETA: But if we DO drop in clarity, look what you can get!!

1.083 ACA, F SI1 for $7145

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-584873.htm

 

[alexah]

Hi!

How about THIS ONE from GOG? It's a .82 D VVS2 for $5741 (or $5547 bank wire).

Best of luck to you!!

ETA: pls note it has medium fluor (which i, personally, would LUV).

 

[MikeRato1]

thanks everyone for your help, i really like that last one from gog but why would u want medium florescence? wouldnt none be better?

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 2/3/2008 1:00:00 PM
Author: alexah
Hi!

How about THIS ONE from GOG? It's a .82 D VVS2 for $5741 (or $5547 bank wire).

Best of luck to you!!


ETA: pls note it has medium fluor (which i, personally, would LUV).

Hi, Alexah, can I ask you a newbie question? How do you know, when it lists that it has medium flour, that it's good (blue, I take it)? Does it say somewhere that it's blue?

Seems like a great price, which I guess is because of the flour? I'm confused.

 

[ImpatientOne]

Date: 2/3/2008 1:14:58 PM
Author: gwendolyn

Date: 2/3/2008 1:00:00 PM
Author: alexah
Hi!

How about THIS ONE from GOG? It''s a .82 D VVS2 for $5741 (or $5547 bank wire).

Best of luck to you!!


ETA: pls note it has medium fluor (which i, personally, would LUV).

Hi, Alexah, can I ask you a newbie question? How do you know, when it lists that it has medium flour, that it''s good (blue, I take it)? Does it say somewhere that it''s blue?

Good Old Gold only carries top notch stones. They wouldn''t sell one with "bad" flour...

 

[Ellen]

I''m not sure if you''re wanting the high clarity for personal reasons, or for the fact that it''s going in a tension setting, which I understand an SI1 may not work. But I think you could lower it, VS2 can often times be totally eyeclean, from all sides. If you could possibly up the budget, this one might be a consideration to get you to the 1 ct. mark. 7529.00 with bankwire.

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/3518/

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 2/3/2008 1:18:34 PM
Author: ImpatientOne
Good Old Gold only carries top notch stones. They wouldn''t sell one with ''bad'' flour...

Ok, just wanted to know! No offense meant to GOG. Thank you!

 

[Rhea]

Oh, Ellen, that''s a lovely GOG stone!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 2/3/2008 1:29:23 PM
Author: Addy
Oh, Ellen, that''s a lovely GOG stone!

It is, isn''t it?

 

[susiegrneyes]

Here''s one to take a look at

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD01163559&keyword_search_value=LD01163559

 

[Ellen]

Hi susie

The stone you picked is a great color and clarity, but it''s facing up smaller due to the depth. If one is going to pay the 1 ct. mark premium, it should face up at or very close to what it should.

Also, with that crown and pavillion angle combo, which can be great, I''d want an IS pic, and BN won''t do that. So it''s safer if we stay at places with lots of info on the diamond.

 

[susiegrneyes]

Thanks for the info Ellen. I didn''t notice the diameter. I picked it based on the HCA which rated it 1.0, but I do agree with you I would want the largest face-up possible.

 

[Hest88]

Mike, is there a reason F and VVS1 are your minimums? I understand and support your desire to have a high-color, clean stone if that''s truly what you want, but if you''re going purely by what will have a *visual* impact you might want to consider going down even to the H, VS1-2 level which could get you something like:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3867/

or

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-312253.htm

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 2/4/2008 3:52:57 PM
Author: Hest88
Mike, is there a reason F and VVS1 are your minimums? I understand and support your desire to have a high-color, clean stone if that's truly what you want, but if you're going purely by what will have a *visual* impact you might want to consider going down even to the H, VS1-2 level which could get you something like:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3867/

or

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-312253.htm

Ditto, I want to stress that if there are two diamonds where everything else is identical, you would not be able to tell the difference between a flawless and an eye clean SI stone to the naked eye. Inclusions are even super hard to find in VS1's. I would strongly suggest dropping in clarity to a VS2 and you will still have a super clean and clear diamond. You can also easily drop in color to a G or lower and still have a super icey white diamond!!

ETA: I switched from an F/VVS2 .74 to a H/SI2 1.11 and I am thrilled!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If you put a VS1 and VVS1 side by side and use a 10x loupe, more than likely they will look the same to you. So please do not think VS1 is low quality, because it is not. It is extremely clean.

If you want excellent cut (which we will all highly recommend as the most important aspect), you''ll need to boost that budget to get a 1 ct. stone that is F color and VS or above.

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-608078.htm ($8138 w/discounts)

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3527/ ($8157)

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-57343.htm ($8876)

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-608071.htm ($9029)

You pretty much move into the over $10,000 range when you get into VVS clarity and D-F color in ideal cut.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wait!! I think I found a great one for you! It is .91 F VVS1 at $7748, just a small amount over!!!

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3915/