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First time diamond buyer. Looking for some help choosing engagement diamond.

J

jgomez

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 26, 2019
Messages
6
Hi all,

I am so glad I found this forum. I have been going crazy following rabbit holes. Every time I think I know enough to pull the trigger I find something else to scrutinize. This site has been sooooo helpful so far. I've found a few diamonds that I think I like but would love to get some insights from you guys with so much more knowledge!

I have been using what I've seen come up while lurking on the forums for the past week (54-57 table, 60-62.4 depth, 34-35 crown, 40.6-40.9 pavilion) to look for the diamond but I am getting a bit confused when it comes to crown and pavilion ratios, what's goes best with which.

My soon to be fiancee ::fingers crossed:: likes a setting from James Allen but if there is a better diamond elsewhere deff not married to it.

I have a budget of max around $6,500-$7,000, so far these are some of the ones I have seen that seem to look good?

Looking for something in the 1ct range, H, VS2 or above as long as it's eye clean.

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD11735227

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/R102-167108458?utm_source=rarecarat&utm_medium=cpc

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3608346

This one I am a bit afraid since it is SI1
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...rat-h-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-6522530


Thank you all so much for any help!
 
Is the 6500-7000 with the setting, or for stone only? Do you mind sharing the setting she likes? That will help us see whether its unique to JA or whether you can get something similar to it elsewhere.
 
PS. Like the one from BN, don't like the enchanted one (the IS/ASET doesn't look great to me).

dont like the 1.04 from JA because angles don't look complimentary. The other one from JA has potential, but it won't let me see the certificate because the diamond is unavailable. Did you put it on hold? Generally, AGS 000 means much more than GIA XXX. AGS 000 is a pretty safe bet that the stone is ideally cut (although obviously not 100% of the time), whereas GIA XXX doesn't mean a whole lot without a bunch more info.
 
lovedogs said:
Is the 6500-7000 with the setting, or for stone only? Do you mind sharing the setting she likes? That will help us see whether its unique to JA or whether you can get something similar to it elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your replies, this is the setting she likes:
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...um-15mm-comfort-fit-engagement-ring-item-8173

Very plain 4 prong.

lovedogs said:
PS. Like the one from BN, don't like the enchanted one (the IS/ASET doesn't look great to me).

dont like the 1.04 from JA because angles don't look complimentary. The other one from JA has potential, but it won't let me see the certificate because the diamond is unavailable. Did you put it on hold? Generally, AGS 000 means much more than GIA XXX. AGS 000 is a pretty safe bet that the stone is ideally cut (although obviously not 100% of the time), whereas GIA XXX doesn't mean a whole lot without a bunch more info.
Click to expand...

No I did not put it on hold. Sorry I did not notice about it being unavailable.

Budget for both things is about $7,500 but I could adjust a bit for a good diamond.

Sorry I was not too sure what GIA XXX and AGS 000 was, reading up on those now.
 
Hi again,

I have been looking around some more and would really appreciate some help trying to narrow down some of these diamonds below. The more I have been reading the more indecisive I get.

I can still play around with budget up to around $7,000 (for the diamond) but every time I try to filter by AGS0 the list goes down to maybe 8 diamonds.

This is one of the ones I had originally liked:
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD11735227
1.07 H VVS2
Table: 57%
Depth: 61.7%
Crown A: 35.5
Pavilion A: 40.6
Pavilion %: 42.5%

This is some of the others I was looking at:

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD10960925?click_id=306448483
1.01 G VS2
Table: 55%
Depth: 61.9%
Crown A: 33.5
Pavilion A: 40.8
Pavilion %: 43%

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3608346
1.04 H VVS2
Table: 56%
Depth: 61.4%
Crown A: 34.5
Pavilion A: 41
Pavilion %: 43.5%

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6554942
1.02 G VS1
Table: 56%
Depth: 61.9%
Crown A: 35.5
Pavilion A: 40.8
Pavilion %: 43%

Was also wondering if H color would look good on platinum setting or if I should change it up to G

Again, thank you guys so much for any help you can provide. This has been pretty tough/nerve wrecking.




Edit:

Saw some recommendations on another thread of maybe dropping the carat to .9x I can stretch the budget if something along these lines is a nicer diamond than those above:
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4070340.htm?source=pricescope



Edit 2:
Also found this one looking back through WF, would it being I look too yellow on a platinum setting?
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4092177.htm
 
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Just chiming in with my love for Whiteflash and their A Cut Above diamonds. My hubby proposed with one a couple years ago (platinum 1.6 H VS1) and I stare at it EVERY DAY; I never tire of its beauty. I say WF ACA all the way!

Plus their upgrade policy is the best!
 
Three things about D-Z color.

1. Diamonds are graded for color face down where light return has no influence. Not face up where cut quality can raise or lower the appearance of the body color. And you don't wear diamonds face down when set. You wear them face up set. A given diamond may face up differently than its color grade, depending on its cut-quality. In fact the reason fancy-colored diamonds are graded face-up is because cutters work to ‘trap’ the color inside using certain angles. What that means is that poorly chosen angles can make an H face-up more like an I-J. And well chosen angles, along with 3D precision, can get light in and out more efficiently, making an I-J face up more like an H.

2. Color occurs on a sliding scale. The lower you go, the broader the range that fits into that scale. So where DEFs are very similar to each other the difference between a ‘high I color’ and a ‘low J color’ can be dramatic, but a ‘low I color’ and ‘high J color’ might be indistinguishable from each other.

3. See item #1 again. Honestly. This has tremendous impact.

The concept of color grade differences can also be a bit exaggerated in forum discussion.

Have you ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. There's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really, they are all “white”. Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: "Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great." It's like that. And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.You are talking about shades of white. E is colder... H is warmer and J warmer still. But it's all white.

H, I, J and even K (well-cut) can all be beautiful in white metal. Do not worry about that. All the diamond colors you are looking at are essentially white. If you are worried about color, again, the best thing to do is to concentrate on buying the diamond with the best light transmission intensity. Optimal cutting gets light in and out of a diamond on short ray paths. They don’t bounce around in the diamond illuminating the tint present. This makes them reliably face up whiter than the grade assigned at the lab.

IMG_1416.jpg

This is a K in white metal! An H will look great, don’t worry.
 
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LaylaR said:
Three things about D-Z color.

1. Diamonds are graded for color face down where light return has no influence. Not face up where cut quality can raise or lower the appearance of the body color. And you don't wear diamonds face down when set. You wear them face up set. A given diamond may face up differently than its color grade, depending on its cut-quality. In fact the reason fancy-colored diamonds are graded face-up is because cutters work to ‘trap’ the color inside using certain angles. What that means is that poorly chosen angles can make an H face-up more like an I-J. And well chosen angles, along with 3D precision, can get light in and out more efficiently, making an I-J face up more like an H.

2. Color occurs on a sliding scale. The lower you go, the broader the range that fits into that scale. So where DEFs are very similar to each other the difference between a ‘high I color’ and a ‘low J color’ can be dramatic, but a ‘low I color’ and ‘high J color’ might be indistinguishable from each other.

3. See item #1 again. Honestly. This has tremendous impact.

The concept of color grade differences can also be a bit exaggerated in forum discussion.

Have you ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. There's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really, they are all “white”. Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: "Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great." It's like that. And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.You are talking about shades of white. E is colder... H is warmer and J warmer still. But it's all white.

H, I, J and even K (well-cut) can all be beautiful in white metal. Do not worry about that. All the diamond colors you are looking at are essentially white. If you are worried about color, again, the best thing to do is to concentrate on buying the diamond with the best light transmission intensity. Optimal cutting gets light in and out of a diamond on short ray paths. They don’t bounce around in the diamond illuminating the tint present. This makes them reliably face up whiter than the grade assigned at the lab.

IMG_1416.jpg

This is a K in white metal! An H will look great, don’t worry.
Click to expand...


Thank you soooo much. This is super helpful. I am feeling a lot more comfortable about the I-H choice!!


kmoro said:
Ahhhh - love to see you come over to the Whiteflash side, lol. Now you don’t really need any advice ... but ... did you decide to go to I color? Did you see this H?

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4089365.htm
Click to expand...


Whiteflash won me over. I am looking at these 3 and talking to one of their reps atm. Thank you so much for your help :D

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/compare.aspx?idnos=3646313,4089359,4092177

Havig a tough time picking one heh. The 1.195 has a nice size but the other one is VS2
 
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Yay! Great choices! Looking forward to seeing what you pick :appl:
 
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