Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

General direction advice

G

gb2510

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 24, 2018
Messages
6
Hi- I've been reading through the forums the last week or so and have read a lot of the stickied posts with links and videos and articles. All very helpful. I guess where I'm getting stuck is how to finally pick the right one.

Brief overview- picking out a ring for long term GF who wants a round diamond in a 6 prong solitaire setting. She does not typically wear jewelry. My budget is around $10k, but will go up if a better option for the price is available. I'd like to be around 1.5c but that seems to be closer to $13-15k.

I've watched videos/read about the 4 C's and am still struggling as to what should be sacrificed to get the size for the price. Seems many people have their own opinion on what should be sacrificed and what they feel is more important. Based on my research, it seems like I am limited with my budget to a F/G, VS1, Excellent cut. For someone who is so new to this, is it worth going smaller for Ideal cut?

Based on these rings, how much of a difference in quality regardless of size?

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3973653.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3988011.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4008481.htm

Any tips outside of the obvious on how to locate the best ring for the money, and what levels of the 4 Cs can be sacrificed on to still have a nice looking ring.

Thanks!
 
We all assess diamonds differently; however, I think you will find many people here to be concerned about the cut quality. With a super ideal cut diamond, they tend to face up whiter and larger despite their actual size and color.

IMO, the sparkle is what makes the diamond so cut is always most important to me.

That said, I see you selected some stones with higher color and clarity. Is there a cultural reason for this, or just your idea of what is "best" and works?

If you will consider going to an H and eye clean SI1, you will open more doors that is more budget friendly.

Here are some super ideals that are all within your target range:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-di...83288,3947713,4015033,3955174,3955173,3986358

If you really want to push the $13k limit of the one stone you had already selected, then here is a 1.527ct H SI1 that would work.

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4011141.htm

But before we get too far into all this, what is the preference of you and your SO in regards to the 4 C's?
 
With a super ideal like whiteflash ACA, you can go down to an eyeclean SI1. Of course, you can call them and have them look at it and send you pics, etc.

At least go down to a VS2.

Consider Going down to F/G also.
 
I have an I/VS2 WF ACA and love it. Just throwing that out there if you want to bump up the size :)
 
Thanks for both of your replies.

In terms of preference, I was trying to do this solo without her involved outside of general preference (round/solitaire 6 prong).

In terms of H vs G vs D/E, to the general eye, is it not too noticeable? I think I generally chose higher color/clarity as what I felt was "best".

Based on what @sledge linked above, and the general consensus of the forum, eye clean seems to be important and what I'm looking for. She is not a diamond person, or a jewelry person at all for that matter, so I think something that looks nice to her is most important. So I would say something that is around 1.4-1.5 size wise, eye clean, and of course sparkly!

Of course everyone is looking for the best bang for the buck, but that's essentially what I need to figure out in terms of what to settle on to get the 1.4-1.5, eye clean, and sparkly if that makes sense.
 
An H in a super ideal will face up whiter and brighter than a regular H, so I would even say you could consider going to an H.

High colors aren’t really “better” and lower colors “less than”. It just depends on what you like. I compare it as bright morning sunshine to afternoon sunshine.

Not everyone likes a super bright white diamond. It’s like whitening teeth. Some people think there is such a thing as having teeth too white, lol. :eek2:
 
I wouldn't get the first one because that's a sample photo. I'd stick to in-house stones. Between the other two you listed I'd get the much larger Expert Selection stone, but definitely see what else is out there too.
 
Just for comparison, this is a 1.83ct Whiteflash I color (SI1) ACA. Faces up very white. In case you are concerned about an H color.
D84EC963-2125-4846-8830-90CFB73E30E8.jpeg
5DF6C6D5-7552-4214-95DB-4D95A219D963.jpeg
 
Agree with @whitewave about color being a PREFERENCE, not a "better" or "worse" thing. I probably should have used my words differently earlier. But most people do associate a higher color (such as D/E/F) as more desirable, or "better", than a lower color (such as H/I/J).

The bigger question that comes into mind is -- do people really like whiter diamonds because of their color, or because society deems them more rare and they cost more? What if J/K/L colored stones pulled a premium and a D/E/F sold at discounted pricing? Would we see a shift in what society deems as "best"?

Anyhow, that is a great link that @whitewave provided showing the various color grades. As you can see, the color is mainly seen in the body, or sides, of the diamond. Normally this is the LEAST seen part of the diamond and a non-factor for most people. The link also showed a top view of a D, H & K and you can see how the differences were less noticeable. That is common on the top view and why some people choose to go with lower color grades as they still face up nice & bright white.

FYI, here is the ring I picked for my girl....super ideal BGD Blue (medium fluor) 0.867ct H VS2. I wasn't stuck on the VS2, it just so happened to work out that was a better price than a similar SI1 I was looking at.

DKJPV_0629_WR-1.jpg

2018-07-02 21.02.04.jpg

2018-07-02 21.01.00.jpg
 
When I was looking to upgrade from my 1.7 G/SI1, I wanted another G or higher in color. I quickly saw that my budget wasn't going to allow me to go any higher than a 2 carat, which seemed kind of pointless. So, I jumped in blindly into trying out an I colored ACA and I'm SOOOOOOOOOO glad I did. It allowed me to hit almost 3 carats. I see no tint ever. Not saying that no one ever sees a tint at an I, but that was my experience. I'd not hesitate to grab that H/eye-clean SI1 linked above
 
IMO, a safe bet would be a well cut G/H VS stone.
 
Hi

You have a lovely budget. What is her finger size?

You've asked what the sacrifice is--I don't know because I am not buying your ring. Only you know what the means. My general direction (or no sacrifice as you put it) would be branded D IF NO Fluor specs. Which apparently wouldn't fill any PS requisites, but mine. KWIM?

You've stated she doesn't wear diamonds. Hence, the diamond you buy /her first diamond should a great original presentation: with a policy that might support an upgrade. (translation = you did your homework, gems is fabu , good value in the long run) BG, WF and HBI have good products with tight cut specs and trade ups.

cheers--Sharon
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top