First Lab Diamond Purchase to Upgrade Engagement Ring| JA 2 vs 2.2 CT?

[Kim N]

So the 2.51 diamond got a 0.9 on the HCA score and that is below the 1 - 2 threshold. I am going to do the 2.62 CT diamond now. However, James Allen is out of the office until tomorrow... Should I just pay for it now and ask to amend my old order after they are back in office?

Not to dissuade you from the 2.62, but when you select no to the H&A question on the HCA, the 2.51 scores 1. Not sure why that is... I only realized this because I distinctly remembered the 2.51 scoring between 1-2 when I entered it yesterday.



But I'd get whichever one you would regret missing out on!

 

[HyBoNiX]

Thank you for that information, super helpful! Does the 2.51 CT look less gray and more clear than the 2.62?

 

[DejaWiz]

Thank you for that information, super helpful! Does the 2.51 CT look less gray and more clear than the 2.62?

They both look equally clear, to my eyes.

 

[HyBoNiX]

I’m going for the 2.62 diamond. GO BIG OR GO HOME! Lol. This thing is gonna look like a 3-3.5 CT on my wife’s hand. She’s not a very materialistic person, so I’m curious how she’s going to like it. But who doesn’t love big diamonds?! Super excited to be locking this in again. Lol.

Thank you once again DejaWiz, Kim N and the pricescope forums. You are all life savers and maximized the size/quality for my budget. I’m thinking of presenting this on Valentines Day at a nice restaurant or at Disneyland where she works. Lol. I’ll get tons of pictures for you guys.

 

[DejaWiz]

I’m going for the 2.62 diamond. GO BIG OR GO HOME! Lol. This thing is gonna look like a 3-3.5 CT on my wife’s hand. She’s not a very materialistic person, so I’m curious how she’s going to like it. But who doesn’t love big diamonds?! Super excited to be locking this in again. Lol.

Thank you once again DejaWiz, Kim N and the pricescope forums. You are all life savers and maximized the size/quality for my budget. I’m thinking of presenting this on Valentines Day at a nice restaurant or at Disneyland where she works. Lol. I’ll get tons of pictures for you guys.

Fantastic choice! Congratulations and I know I'm looking forward to seeing pictures and reading about your wife's reaction when she sees and wears it for the first time!

 

[Kim N]

I’m going for the 2.62 diamond. GO BIG OR GO HOME! Lol. This thing is gonna look like a 3-3.5 CT on my wife’s hand. She’s not a very materialistic person, so I’m curious how she’s going to like it. But who doesn’t love big diamonds?! Super excited to be locking this in again. Lol.

Thank you once again DejaWiz, Kim N and the pricescope forums. You are all life savers and maximized the size/quality for my budget. I’m thinking of presenting this on Valentines Day at a nice restaurant or at Disneyland where she works. Lol. I’ll get tons of pictures for you guys.

You're very welcome! Your wife is going to be blown away. I'm glad I could help, and I can't wait to see photos!

 

[La2020]

I’m going for the 2.62 diamond. GO BIG OR GO HOME! Lol. This thing is gonna look like a 3-3.5 CT on my wife’s hand. She’s not a very materialistic person, so I’m curious how she’s going to like it. But who doesn’t love big diamonds?! Super excited to be locking this in again. Lol.

Thank you once again DejaWiz, Kim N and the pricescope forums. You are all life savers and maximized the size/quality for my budget. I’m thinking of presenting this on Valentines Day at a nice restaurant or at Disneyland where she works. Lol. I’ll get tons of pictures for you guys.

do post pictures once your order arrive.

 

[HyBoNiX]

Just for your guys reference — this was the original diamond I proposed to my wife with: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...d-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3292965

Ring was still beautiful and her finger size made it look like a 1 CT stone. However, deep inside I’ve always wanted to go bigger when I had the means to.

Fast forward to now, and this new stone is literally almost 4 times the size and is a better cut/quality diamond. What an upgrade! Lol.

 

[DejaWiz]

Just for your guys reference — this was the original diamond I proposed to my wife with: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...d-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3292965

Ring was still beautiful and her finger size made it look like a 1 CT stone. However, deep inside I’ve always wanted to go bigger when I had the means to.

Fast forward to now, and this new stone is literally almost 4 times the size and is a better cut/quality diamond. What an upgrade! Lol.

That's a 140% increase in face-up surface area!
This is going to be amazing!

 

[HyBoNiX]

I just sent the ring to James Allen. I will be honest and say that it hurt me a little to see it go away. I took some goodbye pictures for the memories. lol







Here is my wife's promise ring to serve as a replacement while her ring is being serviced. I bought this when I was 19 years old to my wife when we were dating at the time. Tiny little diamond and it was overpriced. Bought it from Kay Jewelers which was my very first credit card.



Side note, but my father-in-law is worried that the center stone is too big and would attract attention from thieves or people who need money. Any concerns with a rock this big in public? I am curious if anyone here has had any issues with people trying to steal their rings.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Side note, but my father-in-law is worried that the center stone is too big and would attract attention from thieves or people who need money. Any concerns with a rock this big in public? I am curious if anyone here has had any issues with people trying to steal their rings.

Depends on where you live. Where I live, a 2-3 carat ring doesn't stand out that much, but I think it is good to be mindful of where you wear a large diamond. When I travel to less affluent parts of the world, I wear a band only...I used to have a CZ "travel" ring with a 2ct centerstone, and an associate in Southeast Asia told me not to travel with fake substitute, because it is bad enough to get mugged wearing the real deal, but to lose your life over a fake.....not worth it!

Tell your wife to just wear her promise ring in areas where she feels safe wearing 2-3 carats.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Depends on where you live. Where I live, a 2-3 carat ring doesn't stand out that much, but I think it is good to be mindful of where you wear a large diamond. When I travel to less affluent parts of the world, I wear a band only...I used to have a CZ "travel" ring with a 2ct centerstone, and an associate in Southeast Asia told me not to travel with fake substitute, because it is bad enough to get mugged wearing the real deal, but to lose your life over a fake.....not worth it!

Tell your wife to just wear her promise ring in areas where she feels safe wearing 2-3 carats.

This was supposed to read:

Tell your wife to just wear her promise ring in areas where she feels unsafe wearing 2-3 carats.

 

[HyBoNiX]

James Allen has gotten the ring and I’m waiting for updates on their end.

However, I do have a concern that’s been bugging me again. The diamond scored a VG on light return, and EX/EX on fire/scintillation for the HCA. I know HCA isn’t a selection tool but other users on these forums are saying any diamond should have EX in those three categories. Curious if anyone has had any diamonds that performed just as well even if the light return was only VG. Lol.

 

[DejaWiz]

James Allen has gotten the ring and I’m waiting for updates on their end.

However, I do have a concern that’s been bugging me again. The diamond scored a VG on light return, and EX/EX on fire/scintillation for the HCA. I know HCA isn’t a selection tool but other users on these forums are saying any diamond should have EX in those three categories. Curious if anyone has had any diamonds that performed just as well even if the light return was only VG. Lol.

The HCA is a mathematical estimation tool, not an actual analysis tool.

JA provided the analysis tool by means of Ideal-Scope, and the light return is as perfect as it can get!

 

[HyBoNiX]

The ring has arrived!!!
I am just going to say that this diamond is fricken huge!!! My lord, I was not expecting it to be so big. It almost looks like those kids' toys that are supposed to be fake diamond rings... My wife was stunned as was I...

Here are some photos of this beauty:











Videos:

Honestly, this diamond is gorgeous... Beautiful!!! Please let me know what you guys think of it and if we made the right decision!

 

[DejaWiz]

The ring has arrived!!!
I am just going to say that this diamond is fricken huge!!! My lord, I was not expecting it to be so big. It almost looks like those kids' toys that are supposed to be fake diamond rings... My wife was stunned as was I...

Here are some photos of this beauty:











Videos:

Honestly, this diamond is gorgeous... Beautiful!!! Please let me know what you guys think of it and if we made the right decision!

That is...just WOW!
I'm blown away. Stunning.

 

[Kim N]

The ring has arrived!!!
I am just going to say that this diamond is fricken huge!!! My lord, I was not expecting it to be so big. It almost looks like those kids' toys that are supposed to be fake diamond rings... My wife was stunned as was I...

Here are some photos of this beauty:

Honestly, this diamond is gorgeous... Beautiful!!! Please let me know what you guys think of it and if we made the right decision!

It's absolutely gorgeous! And the perfect size on your wife. You made the right call in going big or going home! Just fabulous.

 

[FL_runner]

Oh my goodness it’s lovely! You made a great choice and I hope she loves wearing it every day! Congrats

 

[DAF]

THANK YOU!!! I have taken your recommendation and reserved the following diamond: https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...olor-vs1-clarity-true-hearts-cut-sku-13184002

I think 2 CT is the perfect size for my wife’s ring and we will be going to Jared today to reconfirm that as well.

@DejaWiz — if you find any other amazing 2 - 2.5 CT diamonds, please let me know as you seem to have a better eye than I do. I think my budget has changed to 10k at this point, but I think the one you found may be perfect. However, you are the expert here. Lol.

Did you get your extra 10% off?

 

[DAF]

Ooooh, the 3 ct looked really nice on her hand.

 

[Sparkles88]

Wow!!!! Congratulations on your new upgrade, it looks gorgeous on your wife’s hand

 

[La2020]

The ring has arrived!!!
I am just going to say that this diamond is fricken huge!!! My lord, I was not expecting it to be so big. It almost looks like those kids' toys that are supposed to be fake diamond rings... My wife was stunned as was I...

Here are some photos of this beauty:











Videos:

Honestly, this diamond is gorgeous... Beautiful!!! Please let me know what you guys think of it and if we made the right decision!

Thank you for sharing such wonderful crisp photos and videos..its soooooo blindly stunning from my screen and I bet it is 10000x much more beautiful in real life! I know how hard it is to capture the actual sparkle and brilliance of diamonds in digital format.

And the ring setting is the one of my favourites from James Allen!

 

[HyBoNiX]

Did you get your extra 10% off?

I did not. Was there a discount I could have received?

It's absolutely gorgeous! And the perfect size on your wife. You made the right call in going big or going home! Just fabulous.

That is...just WOW!
I'm blown away. Stunning.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! My wife loves it but is not used to such a large diamond. You can literally see it sparkle across the room, it’s pretty crazy. I’m so happy with the purchase though. Seriously awesome to have a beautiful ring for her. Very blessed for sure. First lab diamond and recommend anyone to go that route

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Wow! It is beautiful. So crisp. Does your wife have any idea how many internet strangers are happy for her? Good job!

 

[HyBoNiX]

Wow! It is beautiful. So crisp. Does your wife have any idea how many internet strangers are happy for her? Good job!

Hahah, she knows now! Thank you very much!

Thank you for sharing such wonderful crisp photos and videos..its soooooo blindly stunning from my screen and I bet it is 10000x much more beautiful in real life! I know how hard it is to capture the actual sparkle and brilliance of diamonds in digital format.

And the ring setting is the one of my favourites from James Allen!

THANK YOU!!! Yes, it was very difficult to photograph it. I did like 3 minutes of research of the best ways to shoot it, but just went outside to grab some shots. That's why there are lots of photos and videos.

Follow up question to you all:
Is diamond insurance worth getting for an LGD? I am looking at insuring with Jeweler's Mutual or BriteCo, but both require a value update every year or two. (GemShield does not work with James Allen and told me I would have to go to their Jeweler of choice if there are any damages or loss)

I understand Lab Diamonds are going down in price, so this scares me a little bit for a value update every year or so. The goal of insurance is to insure it with the same CTTW and quality, so this may be a moot point, but something to consider. However, I am curious if you guys insure your LGD and what company you utilize. I appreciate all the help here!

 

[mayaINaU]

Hahah, she knows now! Thank you very much!



THANK YOU!!! Yes, it was very difficult to photograph it. I did like 3 minutes of research of the best ways to shoot it, but just went outside to grab some shots. That's why there are lots of photos and videos.

Follow up question to you all:
Is diamond insurance worth getting for an LGD? I am looking at insuring with Jeweler's Mutual or BriteCo, but both require a value update every year or two. (GemShield does not work with James Allen and told me I would have to go to their Jeweler of choice if there are any damages or loss)

I understand Lab Diamonds are going down in price, so this scares me a little bit for a value update every year or so. The goal of insurance is to insure it with the same CTTW and quality, so this may be a moot point, but something to consider. However, I am curious if you guys insure your LGD and what company you utilize. I appreciate all the help here!

I insured my lab diamond with Jewelers Mutual. I didn’t realize that you have to update the value every year. Does that just mean reassess if you want to raise the value with a new appraisal or keep it at the purchased/originally appraised value? I decided to insure it because if it was lost/stolen/damaged, I would really hesitate to spend that much money a second time. Insurance gives me the peace of mind to wear it and enjoy it without worrying.