First timer, trying to pick out a diamond for engagement ring

[doog]

I''ve been a lurker here for a while, trying to gain whatever knowledge I can before I take the step of buying an engagement ring. I''m not spending much, my fiancée-to-be and I decided that we''d go simple so that we could spend more money on the wedding. That means I''m looking for a ring somewhere close to .5 carats. My budget is about $1000-$1300 for the stone, I''m trying to find the best stone for the least amount of money, so I''ve tentatively settled for an Excellent or AGS0 cut no lower than H color and would prefer an SI1 or better ,though I understand SI2s can appear to be eye clean.

Thus far I''ve been limiting myself to searching through Pricescope and searching on Blue Nile for AGS stones (most of which include a certificate where I can see the inclusions). I may have found a diamond on Blue Nile tonight, but it seems "too good to be true" compared to what''s out there. There aren''t any inclusions in the center (according to the AGS cert... there are no pictures of the actual stone), the HCA is 1.3, and is quite a bit larger than other stones in the range I''m looking for.

Here are all of the stats:

Color: G
Clarity: SI1
Size: .561 cts
Cut: AGS 0 Ideal (Light 0 Proportion 0 Finish 0 Polish Ideal Symmetry Ideal)
Table: 57.0%
Depth: 60.9%
Crown: 34.5%
Pavillion: 40.8%
Culet: Pointed

Here''s an image showing the inclusions (from the cert):

http://www.gristle.org/~dmandell/agscert.jpg

I''m not sure what else to include. It seems like it''s exactly what I''m looking for, but the cert is from late 2005 (October), so I''m not sure if that indicates something about the stone. I''m also not sure if I''m missing something important... I''d like to make the decision soon, as I want to get the ring in time to return it if need be.

So.... what do you all think? Do you have any advice?

Thanks for any help you can offer,

Doug

 

[Cleo]

You''ve picked a lovely stone there - looks great to me! I can''t see any reason not to go with it.

I have an AGS0 and I love it You''re definitely making a good call by prioritising the cut - it will be beautiful.

x

 

[bee*]

Yeah it looks good so long as it's eyeclean. I'd get them to clarify that before you purchase it. One thing that I'd suggest also is looking at some I diamonds to see if you could go a bit bigger. I was against getting an I until I actually saw my one and it's so icy white that I don't think I'll ever go with a higher color again. Might be something to look at.

 

[Ellen]

Everything looks good so far. I would suggest taking it to an independant appraiser (one who doesn''t sell jewelry) to verify it''s a good stone. And the only other thing worth mentioning is, if you guys were planning to upgrade in the future when the budget allowed, BN doesn''t have that type of policy.

 

[doog]

Thanks for your feedback. I was a little put off by the stone because it was quite a bit larger than others in the same neighborhood, I assumed there was something I must have been missing something. Of course, I don''t know that it''s eye clean yet, but the Blue Nile return policy is pretty generous, and it looks like it *should* be a nice diamond, so it was worth the risk.

If anybody else does see any red flags based on my description I''d appreciate knowing what they are, so that if the diamond doesn''t work out I don''t make the same mistake next time.

Thanks again for your advice,

d

 

[dmus]

Make sure BN verifies it is eye clean before buying. If you do return it the shipping charges both ways will cut into your budget. It looks beautiful by the specs! Good luck.