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Found the setting now I need to find the stone

Sdfd504

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
7
I have finally found the perfect engagement ring setting after a search for several months and now I need some help finding the perfect stone. The setting shows with a 1ct center round stone which is what I believe I will go with. Budget is around 5-7k if possible but willing to deviate from that if needed for clarity, cut or if I can get more ct weight. My gf is very much into having a ring that "blings" in the light but I would like to know the clarity and cut is great as well. Sorry to be completely green to the topic but this is not my cup of tea but I am trying to learn everyday!

https://kirkkara.com/item/K174C65RWR
 

flyingpig

Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Nov 7, 2015
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2,975
I say you can definitely get 1.0c H/G VS2/SI1 from WF ACA, BGD, CBI or GOG Ascendency. The best of the best.
 

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
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4,814
Did she specifically request that setting? It's a hot mess and insanely expensive for what it is. You can do much better with a custom setting. Is 5-7 k just for the stone or for the setting AND stone?
 

Sdfd504

Rough_Rock
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May 29, 2015
Messages
7
soxfan|1465670781|4042991 said:
Did she specifically request that setting? It's a hot mess and insanely expensive for what it is. You can do much better with a custom setting. Is 5-7 k just for the stone or for the setting AND stone?


We have looked at them together and had it narrowed down between that setting and the one below. She loves rose gold and loved the details on it. The 5-7k is for the stone alone not including the setting. I am open to custom made however I am not familiar with the top companies to contact.

https://kirkkara.com/item/K150R65RWR
 

soxfan

Ideal_Rock
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4,814
Sdfd504|1465671035|4042992 said:
soxfan|1465670781|4042991 said:
Did she specifically request that setting? It's a hot mess and insanely expensive for what it is. You can do much better with a custom setting. Is 5-7 k just for the stone or for the setting AND stone?


We have looked at them together and had it narrowed down between that setting and the one below. She loves rose gold and loved the details on it. The 5-7k is for the stone alone not including the setting. I am open to custom made however I am not familiar with the top companies to contact.

https://kirkkara.com/item/K150R65RWR

Ok good- that's a great budget for a stone and you can get a better quality rose gold/two-tone setting with a PS vendor! People here can help you pic a fantastic stone and setting. I am NOT an expert on stones, but If you like that setting, take a look at these vendors (and search here for pics of their work- others will chime in to post rings as well...)

Love affair diamonds/ Caysie Van Bebber: http://www.loveaffairdiamonds.com/settings-custom-made-for-your-center-stone/
Brilliantly engaged: http://www.brilliantlyengaged.com
David Klass: https://www.facebook.com/david.klass.jewelry/
 

Sdfd504

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
7
Thanks for those links I will definitely take a hard look at them! This has been an overwhelming search lol
 

Gypsy

Super_Ideal_Rock
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40,225
Sdfd504|1465671035|4042992 said:
soxfan|1465670781|4042991 said:
Did she specifically request that setting? It's a hot mess and insanely expensive for what it is. You can do much better with a custom setting. Is 5-7 k just for the stone or for the setting AND stone?


We have looked at them together and had it narrowed down between that setting and the one below. She loves rose gold and loved the details on it. The 5-7k is for the stone alone not including the setting. I am open to custom made however I am not familiar with the top companies to contact.

https://kirkkara.com/item/K150R65RWR


That's a better design by a LOT. I'd go for that one.

Or do a custom piece with both of you designing it together.
 

Sdfd504

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
7
Yes I am leaning towards the second one but she liked them both. Any help finding the center stone please?
 

Sdfd504

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
7
What depth, color and clarity should I be looking for to be clear to the naked eye with as much "sparkle" as she like to put it as possible?
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
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Apr 2, 2015
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2,339
The "sparkle" is going to come from how well it's cut. So stick with triple EX GIA stones or AGS 000 stones. Oh geez....where's Gypsy's spiel. I will find it and cut and paste it for you. In the mean time, here are some rough parameters that will help you vet stones.

Depth: 59-62.4%
Table: 54-58% (can go to 59% if a larger table is pleasing to your eye)
Crown angle: 34-35 degrees (can go 33.5 to 36 but should verify with an IS or ASET)
Pavilion angle: 40.6 - 40.9 degrees

A shallower CA is more complimentary with a steeper pavilion angle. IE, CA of 34 degrees is complimentary with a 40.9 degree PA.
 

JDDN

Ideal_Rock
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I found Gypsy's tutorial!


Round Diamonds 101:

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. With round diamonds even a GIA triple Excellent is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only (HPD in Europe is good as well). EGL is a bad option: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/[/URL]
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones generally, though you can. In general, AGS0 trumps HCA though as one examines the actual stone and the other does not.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.

So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD,BE, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.

Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium. Some AGS0's are better than others though, so pay attention to any ASET or IS provided.

In general with rounds, you will want a table 60% or less. A depth between 59 and 62.4. Crown angle 33.5-35. Pavilion Angle: 40.6-40.9 (there is a little give on this). And the crown and pavilion angles must be complimentary which is what the HCA checks for you.

On color:


It is important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Image

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. Within 2 color grades it is hard. Not impossible. But very hard. And it gets harder once set. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

Generally we say to be conservative stay above H if you DO NOT KNOW YOUR LADY'S COLOR PREFERENCES.

If you are talking fancy shapes without ideal light return (because there is no 'ideal' for EC's Radiant, etc) it's a bit different.

This is how I think of it.

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. One 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.

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.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.

YES. If you have an accurately graded F and an H THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them side by side. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white, you only see the contrast because of the proximity. But it's very slight, you could set an F center with G sides and never tell the difference. And even H sides depending on the setting and the size of the sidestones... especially with round brilliants.


I want you notice all the qualifiers thought. I'm talking about stones with the SAME performance. An ideal H will out white an F that has compromised light performance from a poor cut.

NOTHING impacts the appearance of a diamond as much as cut. CUT is king.

You want the shinest whitest and brightest diamond out there: Cut is King. No other factor, not color or clarity or anything else impacts how white bright an shiny a stone is.

On Clarity: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-clarity
Clarity Vs2 or Si1 and eyeclean is as high as you need to go in a round. So set that as a floor. And verify eyeclean with vendor or images and vendor (best). An Eyeclean SI1 will look just like an IF to the naked eye. So... really anything over VS2 and eyeclean is just because you want higher clarity for some personal or cultural reason (and that's fine of course, just make sure it's an educated decision) or because you are getting a good deal on a stone because higher clarity stones can be harder to move (especially in lower colors). So make sure you don't put a CEILING on your clarity. All you need is a floor. And with rounds, in general that floor is Si1 or Vs2.
 

kb1gra

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
1,118
A few things:

1. has she tried these particular settings in person? What we like on a computer screen may not look the way we think in real life, and I'd hate for you to spend almost $5k on a setting that's so unique only to have her not like the real life version.

2. Artcarved does detailed bicolor rose gold rings like that at a much more friendly price point. You might need to contact a distributor to see which of their settings come in the bicolor option but I know they released several recently.
 

Sdfd504

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
7
kb1gra|1465783629|4043436 said:
A few things:

1. has she tried these particular settings in person? What we like on a computer screen may not look the way we think in real life, and I'd hate for you to spend almost $5k on a setting that's so unique only to have her not like the real life version.

2. Artcarved does detailed bicolor rose gold rings like that at a much more friendly price point. You might need to contact a distributor to see which of their settings come in the bicolor option but I know they released several recently.


We have looked at several styles in person and she will be trying on both styles in person before I purchase. Like you said it is a very unique setting and she has very unique taste as she likes to say so we agreed to look at the settings instead of me picking them out. lol Thanks for the advice on the company I will take a look at them.
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
58,547
I'd encourage her to also look at these designs, because many can be made in two-tone metals with rose gold. It would be nice if the budget could yield more for the diamond and a little less for the setting.

https://www.facebook.com/cvbinspired/photos

That said, between the two Kirk Kara rings, the second one is vastly better, in my opinion (platinum and rose gold).

Diamonds:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3684109.htm?source=pricescope (already posted by tyty, and I think this one is a great choice)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3634210.htm?source=pricescope

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-search/1.07-ascendancy_heart_arrows-I-AGS--SI1-diamond-stock-12651-cert-104071026003

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3253504.htm?source=pricescope (ask why this one is premium select. It looks great cut wise, so I wonder if there are clarity issues.)
 

Gypsy

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