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DoeEyes

DoeEyes

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
628
I apologize ahead of time, this is a long post. I just started searching for an engagement ring after deciding with my SO that we're ready for the next step.

I'd like to buy my engagement ring and wedding band together, and narrowed it down to what I want: a 0.5ct diamond in a 6-prong solitaire white gold plain band (Tiffany style?) I like when the band is slightly pinched or tapers in at the center stone, but not required. And for my wedding band I just want a thin white gold band with the little diamonds (I guess it's called pave?) along the top half of the band. I was hoping to spend a total of $2000 on my two rings and my SO's ring, but so far I'm hitting $2000 just for my rings. Not the end of the world if mine alone are $2000, his will probably not be pricey.

Went to a jeweler in person (Barsky in Philadelphia) and found this: 0.5ct diamond (He wrote down these details: D-SI1-G-X-VG-Faint) on a 14kt white gold 6-prong plain Tiffany style solitaire band ($1975) and the wedding band is a 18kt white gold with pave diamonds TW 0.16ct ($475). The diamonds on the wedding band go about halfway around, totally covered looking from above. The total for these two would be $2450 plus tax (8% in Philly), total $2646. It's possible I could negotiate down, get a different diamond not GIA certified, see if I could get the wedding band in 14k instead of 18k (it was just 18k was what he had there to show me).

I came home and started shopping and found this on James Allen: 0.5ct diamond (D-SI2 Excellent cut round) on a 14k white gold 6-prong plain solitaire "comfort fit" band ($1347) and this wedding band (SKU 14208W14) it's a 14k white gold thin french-cut pave set diamond eternity wedding ring TW 0.26ct ($615). The diamonds on this one go all the way around which I don't love. Total for the James Allen rings $1962, no sales tax.

I found another wedding band I like better on Blue Nile (stock #20321) the diamonds only go halfway and it's $590 for my size. Very similar to the JA one but the style I like better. I would just be concerned about everything matching if I bought from two different places, so I created a similar ring on BN, 0.5ct diamond, round, Ideal‑cut, D‑color, SI2‑clarity on a Classic Six-Prong Solitaire Engagement Ring in 14k White Gold ($1410) so buying these two from BN would be $2000.

I'm the furthest thing from a diamond or jewelry connoisseur. I basically just need to get these rings so I can get engaged and married, and this is the look I like. I could save about $200 by getting a slightly worse diamond (0.5ct G-SI2 good cut) which I assume will still be beautiful and I won't even notice, but I feel like for $200 I'd rather just have the D and excellent cut.

I guess what I'm wondering is should I go with the set up I have or compromise on certain things, and are there other sites I should check out? I'm pretty set on this exact design for the engagement ring and wedding band, so browsing used isn't working out, although I'm not at all opposed to a used ring or diamond.

Depending on how much I would save, I'd be willing to buy the diamond and setting separately and go to a local jeweler to have it made, but not unless the savings will be substantial. At this point I think I'm just ready to order something and be done with it, but I'd like to know if the prices I'm finding are decent or if I could save another few hundred ordering somewhere else.
 
Don't mess around with any other grading labs other than GIA/AGS or else your just asking for trouble.
 
You could save more by going down to an F in colour or even G as these are all colourless. Especially in smaller sizes where the way your eye works is to your benefit and tends to see all the sparkles as white. Please whatever else you compromise on, don't compromise on cut. It's what makes diamonds sparkly.
 
foxinsox said:
You could save more by going down to an F in colour or even G as these are all colourless. Especially in smaller sizes where the way your eye works is to your benefit and tends to see all the sparkles as white. Please whatever else you compromise on, don't compromise on cut. It's what makes diamonds sparkly.
Click to expand...

At a 0.5ct size, what cut should I be looking at? Excellent/Ideal only or is Very Good and Good going to basically be the same? Also are Excellent and Ideal the same?
 
foxinsox said:
You could save more by going down to an F in colour or even G as these are all colourless. Especially in smaller sizes where the way your eye works is to your benefit and tends to see all the sparkles as white. Please whatever else you compromise on, don't compromise on cut. It's what makes diamonds sparkly.
Click to expand...

One more question, what about clarity? Does it matter for a 0.5ct diamond?
 
frogplus said:
At a 0.5ct size, what cut should I be looking at? Excellent/Ideal only or is Very Good and Good going to basically be the same? Also are Excellent and Ideal the same?
Click to expand...
Excellent/Ideal and Good/Very Good actually aren’t very good at all.
I don’t know that Ideal is a GIA grading but there’s a cheat sheet people round here use for MRBs to ensure you get a stone which is most likely to have great light return.
Depth 60-62.3
Table 53-57
Crown: 34-35.5
Pavillion: 40.6-40.9

Clarity, usually avoid clouds and black carbon spots and you should be ok.
 
I have no personal experience, but ID Jewelry are often recommended as being able to work magic for all budgets, I’d consider approaching them to see what they can find for you!

Don’t compromise on the cut but dropping down in colour should be fine, even to H or I.
 
Looks like OP’s budget for the stone is around $1200, given that a setting and wedding ring are required within the total budget.

@frogplus if you want a superideal, this one might suit:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3936422.htm

Whiteflash do have an excellent trade up policy so if you did decided you could afford or wanted to upgrade in the future, you could do so. Superideal stones are beautifully cut but there is a premium to pay.

Otherwise:

Stick to GIA XXX stones using @foxinsox numbers for all the angles as above. You can use “advanced filters” on Blue Nile or James Allen to search for these. You might need to drop a tiny bit in size or go down to H or I colour. I’ll have a look to see if I can get you started!
 
Rpb said:
For a super ideal in G with an eye clean SI1 this seems value for money...
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/compare.aspx?idnos=3981512
Click to expand...

Wow, that is a GREAT find!

Considering bang for the buck, this is the stone I'd pick. It's a great color, eye clean and has a super ideal cut. Basically, it's going to be super white, look bigger & whiter because it's a super ideal and sparkle like crazy because of the superior cut.

Some additional perks of buying from WF:
  • Complete transparency -- has all images, videos, etc. so you know exactly what you are buying.
  • Well trusted & respected vendor on PS
  • Some of the best customer service available
  • One of THE best trade programs available (spend $1 more and get FULL credit of your original diamond towards your next purchase)
  • This stone is A Cut Above (ACA) meaning it has near perfect symmetry and is a true Hearts & Arrow (H&A) stone, as evidenced by the Ideal 0 rating, which is the highest you can get.
  • This stone has AGS certification, which is considered to be superior as it uses advanced 3D modeling to obtain the most accurate angles & percentages of the stone and consequently can assign a cut grade, in this case Ideal 0, which is the highest you can achieve.
  • This stone is exceptionally clean for an SI1.
  • No sales tax, as it's an online vendor and they are out of state. Of course, you should report on your taxes, just like you did before Amazon implemented mandatory sales tax.
  • Free shipping.
  • No hassle return policy if you are unhappy for any reason.
  • In-store diamond that has been reviewed and fully vetted by a WF gemologist
To ensure you get the best match between your e-ring & wedding band, I'd buy from the same vendor. Unless you are not a "matchy matchy" person. WF has a very large selection of settings. So does James Allen, and JA is running a 25% off special but would have a $100 setting fee unless you could get the setting shipped to you, and then send to WF who would set the stone for free.

FWIW, I did find another stone from BN that looks nice. It's slightly larger. It's an SI1 but not sure it's eye clean. The video concerned me and I'd want to clarify before buying.

But the angles, etc. look very good. Before you buy, you want to request idealscope & ASET images. My guess is you may only get one or neither. Because BN deals in "virtual inventory" (they buy from suppliers, so they don't actually have the stone in-stock and other retailers also have access to the inventory).

Oh yeah, a 1.3 HCA which is great too.

The issue is it's only $100 or so cheaper. For that small difference, I would still take the WF stone all day long.

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD10715060

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I like this one, Blue Nile I VS1 0.46ct (open link in a new window if it doesn’t work),
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD10513017?click_id=604675727

Or this, https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD10525563?click_id=569799136

Both of these are labelled “great finds” for some reason being cheaper than expected!

Here’s one from James Allen, I see they have a deal on settings at present too so the 6 prong in 14K is $247.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2853159
 
The cut on the stone is the most important thing (not color). Dont buy a "D" unless its a well cut stone. Go lower in color and get a well cut stone.

You might consider going with a solitaire setting and a pave wedding band. Its a really nice look that puts the highlight on the stone and gives
you a little more texture than two pave bands. Price will also be lower and fit in your budget better.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-5298416
Or the ones that snowdrop posted above...they are also nice.

6 prong solitaires
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...-six-prong-diamond-engagement-ring-item-49506
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...solitaire-engagement-ring-six-prong-item-7995
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...-basket-knife-edge-engagement-ring-item-41048
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...ld-presentation-solitaire-six-prong-item-7990 cheapest 6 prong

Wedding bands
https://www.jamesallen.com/wedding-...ng-set-diamond-wedding-ring-30-ctw-item-53346

Edit...some JK colored stones. Since you will be covering up most of the pavilion with the 6 prongs the color will look less obvious.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...k-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-5313755
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4667566 use a prong to help cover the feather
 
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OP as other posters have said GIA VG cut is really not that great and we would strongly encourage that you look online for the best find.

In the 0.5ct size, I personally think that you can safely drop down to J color to get the most bang for your buck, but if you are able to see some GIAXXX in person, that would be great. Also, you have to decide if it is important to you to cross the 0.5 mark.

If so, I like this stone from JA: https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/l...j-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4104744

JA currently has a 25% off settings and wedding bands as well.

Otherwise, if you are willing to drop under 0.5ct, then many of the previously posted suggestions are lovely as well.
 
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