First time buyer in search of help.

[patdunk]

Hello everyone, I recently decided to make the plunge and start shopping for an engagement ring. After visiting numerous stores in my area and seeing jewelry out of my price range I decided to look on the internet. The thing is this, being in the military I don''t make allot so being as it is I need to get the best deal for my money. I stumbled upon EBay and thought all my problems were solved, however after doing some research I came across this site and read a large number of negative reviews and that really opened my eyes to the many problems one can face when buying from an online dealer that uses EBay. Reading the many post on here I have learned allot about jewelry and the things to really look for, and for that I am very appreciative. So here is what I could use some help with. The ring I am looking for has to be platinum band, I am leaning towards an accented or 3 stone setting, with a quality certified center diamond that is at least .75 ct, that is under $4000-5000 max. In going through this site I found some online dealers that I was very impressed with, the main one being the James Allen site. I read the many wonderful reviews that his site received so I think when it is time to buy that is going to be the #1 site I will start the final search with. Once again thanks to this site for all the help, and if anybody has any suggestions for a first time buyer and hopefully a last time buyer it would help me out tremendously. Thank you. -Patrick

 

[Lorelei]

Hi Patrick and welcome

With your 4 - 5K budget is that for the entire ring or just the centre diamond? There are lots of great PS vendors here, I have recently purchased from Michael Jay Fifth Avenue, a non PS vendor and he was fantastic! If you aren't in too much of a rush to purchase, it would be great if you could stick around and learn the ropes, there is a lot to learn and many great people to help you! Diamond buying involves a lot of research, and thought and compromise to find what you want and get the best deal, it isn't as straightforward as you may think! However, the research and time you put into this will find you a spectacular diamond far more beautiful than many you will see, that you can love forever.

I did a search for a .75 diamond, as I don't know exactly what you are looking for I assumed an SI1 clarity which should be eyeclean and an H colour, near colourless which is a great choice for a white look without the premium well within your budget. Do you know the colour, cut and clarity specs you are interested in? Also make cut your main priority, doesn't have to be a branded cut unless that is what you want, but the best cut possible. No diamond is beautiful without a fantastic cut, regardless of the colour and clarity. As close to Ideal cut as possible is a good rule of thumb, there is an excellent free tool here called the Holloway Cut Advisor which you can find under tools. This weeds out better performing diamonds from the lesser ones and helps to clarify your choices. You need to enter the depth and table percentages, also crown and pavillion angles etc for it to assess the diamond. The HCA isn't a substitute for doing your research, just a helpful addition to it.

Online buying is definitely the way to go and we have the best vendors here. It is the way to get the best price possible, the best advice and help from those in the industry. They all have a generous return policy too, so it is a very safe way to shop. As for Certification, GIA is generally considered to be the industry standard and the most desirable. Many of us wouldn't recommend Ebay as the best place to buy a diamond, online vendors are probably your best bet. I hope some of this is helpful to you Patrick, good luck with your ring! When you find some contenders, post the specs here and we will be glad to help you choose.

 

[Regular Guy]

Patrick,

I agree with Lorelei, a well cut diamond is a good thing to have. A quick look at James Allen makes me think his signature series may be selected more for depth & table, vs total parameters, so I''d encourage you to either use the HCA each time you look at his options, or the search by cut db, which does it for you. Taking two options to consider for center diamonds, and one of his from his old site (I bought from Jim summer before last, shared my feedback that I liked some of his old settings, but don''t think he agrees enough to have ported them over), you might consider something like option a or b here.

For a ring, consider
and for diamonds, consider this .6 F SI 1 from Jim or this .76 G SI 1 ACA from WF, as some ideas.

 

[Lorelei]

Good stuff Ira, fab setting and terrific diamonds, especially the Wf one!

All within budget too!

 

[patdunk]

First let me say, thank you for your recommendations. The $4000-5000 is the total that I want to spend for the entire ring. Stone wise I am looking for a .75 ct or greater round cut with a color of G/H and a clarity of V1/2, SI1, with a premium cut. Now in your opinion what of the 4 C''s would you sacrifice in order to have a ring that looks like a quality diamond to the untrained eye? For me right now I am still in the looking phase, trying to educate myself so when I feel it is ready to buy I will be well informed and ready.

 

[JonG]

I''m in the process of purchasing a custom three stone princess cut engagement ring set in platinum, from James Allen. You should have no difficulties finding what your looking for with him, as my price range was the same as yours. Jim is easy to work with and will help you get exactly what your looking for within your budget. My experience with him has been really good thus far...I''m sure there are other people on PS that can attest to Jim''s level of professionalism.

 

[jaz464]

My opinion is definately do not spend dollars on a VS stone. You can find a great SI1 with a little searching and even possibly an SI2. It will look eye clean and you won''t be spending $$ on something you can only see with a loupe.

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 10/27/2005 2:42:55 PM
Author: patdunk
First let me say, thank you for your recommendations. The $4000-5000 is the total that I want to spend for the entire ring. Stone wise I am looking for a .75 ct or greater round cut with a color of G/H and a clarity of V1/2, SI1, with a premium cut. Now in your opinion what of the 4 C''s would you sacrifice in order to have a ring that looks like a quality diamond to the untrained eye? For me right now I am still in the looking phase, trying to educate myself so when I feel it is ready to buy I will be well informed and ready.

As Lorelie observed, no sacrifice needed. For example, the WF option with the ring I noted above should about meet your specs, no?

Perhaps when you''re ready to buy, James Alexander will have a comprable to make it work all in one shop.

But, I wouldn''t modify your specs at all to get what you want!

 

[Lorelei]

As RG said, you don''t need to sacrifice! Look at SI1 and S12 stones and get the vendor to check them out carefully to make sure they are eyeclean. Get the best cut diamond you can and you won''t see a prettier one than on your GF''s finger! It looks like you can get what you want on your budget with RG''s one search, the WF diamond looks like a fabulous stone and they are also a great vendor. Those are quite respectable specs you are looking for and I am sure you will end up with something beautiful.