First Time Diamond Buyer

[sgruning]

I currently own a pair of Leo 3/4 diamond earrings. I bought these without educating myself and now feel after reading many of the postings if I could have either saved money or got more for my money.....lessons always be learned, right?

Now I would like to buy a 1 carat diamond. I am in now way near the Rockefeller income level so I am trying to stay around 4k - 5k. I like my setting so I am looking for a loose stone. Is my price range realistic? I was looking at a round Leo but now not so sure. Any comments or suggestions for this newbie would be GREATLY appreciated (probably more than you know!!). THANK YOU!

 

[Ellen]

Your price range can get you there, provided you're not too picky.

Here's a beaut.
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-78291.htm#

Ask if it's eye clean though.

 

[sgruning]

Wow, thank you for the recommendation. What do you think of this site I found called Yehuda??

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 10/28/2006 1:57:18 PM
Author: sgruning
Wow, thank you for the recommendation. What do you think of this site I found called Yehuda??

I believe their stones are clarity enhanced...

 

[Ellen]

Date: 10/28/2006 1:57:18 PM
Author: sgruning
Wow, thank you for the recommendation. What do you think of this site I found called Yehuda??

I don''t know anything about them, other than they sell clarity enhanced diamonds. Is that something you''re interested in?

 

[sgruning]

Does anyone know the difference between the Leo and the EightStar?

 

[sgruning]

Well, I don''t know. I am not familiar with clarity enhanced. From just hearing "enhanced" I doubt it, but let me let my fingers do the walking on Google.

 

[sgruning]

Nope, not interested in enhanced diamonds...........

One pitfall to avoid when shopping for clarity is the "clarity-enhanced" diamond. This is an artificial process used to "fix" the flaws on an otherwise good stone. Although a clarity-enhanced diamond can look nearly flawless (in some cases, it is impossible to detect the enhancement), it is intrinsically worth as much as a flawed stone.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 10/28/2006 2:28:19 PM
Author: sgruning
Does anyone know the difference between the Leo and the EightStar?

Here''s the links to both.

http://www.theleodiamond.com/leo-schachter-diamonds.html

http://www.eightstar.com/

I''m not sure if you''re aware though, that these are "branded" diamonds, which raise the price quite a bit. Keeping to your budget, you''d have to go much smaller in size...

 

[Regular Guy]

You might check out this one from JA, too.

Leonid notes they''re in his company safe. I don''t know that they''ve been reviewed personally by JA, but they have been by AGS, and this is good.

 

[phoenixgirl]

If you search by cut here, you'll find a lot of options in the 1.00 to 1.24 carat, H-J, VS2-SI2 range within your budget. You can also save big or improve clarity by considering a K color. I always like to look at the mm of the diameter when comparing size, rather than the carat weight.

Good luck!