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Getting engaged. Need help ASAP on diamond

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Phinsfan4life

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Messages
43
Hello all!

I'm new to the forums. Both my gf and I are in the military and I'm gettin ready to pop the big question. I've done a lot of online shopping (James Allen, Blue Nile, Brilliance, Union Diamond). I think I might have found a good deal at Union Diamond but I want to make sure I'm not getting ripped off..

It's EGL certified vice GIA. Here are the stats: any help would be highly appreciated.

_15477.jpg
 
Mmmm. You know EGL grades softer than GIA, right? And this is an EGL SI2 - which might be an I1-I2 in GIA. And it's likely not a GIA E color either.

Is it a round brilliant? That table is huge.........

You can do better. jmho.
 
Do you have any recommendations on where I should buy at? I honestly don't know a whole lot about buying diamonds. I can only budget for around $2,500 (setting/diamond).

That what I was worried about with it not being GIA. Any recommendations on wheere to shop?

Thanks everyone
 
What's your budget? You can do much better. Are you set on buying from union diamond?
 
My budget is aroun $2,500 but there is wiggle room to pay more.

I am not set on UD, I just need help to find out where to buy and what not.

Thanks again!
 
If I were you I would put all the money into the stone, buy the best quality cut you can get (AGS0 or GIA Ex at the very least). An ideal cut stone will face up larger and whiter than a less well cut stone. Then put the stone in an inexpensive temporary setting, then you can choose the final setting together when finances allow. And buy from a vendor with a good upgrade policy in case you want to upgrade later on.

Let me go see what I can find -
 
Thank you. I will be waiting for your recommendations.
 
Phinsfan4life|1393869116|3626474 said:
Do you have any recommendations on where I should buy at? I honestly don't know a whole lot about buying diamonds. I can only budget for around $2,500 (setting/diamond).

That what I was worried about with it not being GIA. Any recommendations on wheere to shop?

Thanks everyone
Click to expand...

I.D. Jewelry and B2CJewels have done some nice rings. You might contact them and see what they can provide in your price range.

We have the "HCA" Holloway Cut Adviser at the top, under Tools. You plug in the values off the diamond's report and look for score = 2 or less. It's a basic first-pass screening tool to eliminate some of the really leaky and poorly-made diamonds right off the bat. Any diamond with an AGS 000 rating, you don't need to bother. But run it for most of the GIA "excellents", because some are a lot better performers than others.

Pricescope has a very restrictive list of proportions to look for, and this is what probably a majority of PS buyers choose in a modern round diamond (antique cuts, "fancy" cuts are much more variable)
depth - 60 - 62% - maybe up to 62.4% (deeper may face up smaller diameter than typical for carat weight, though)
table - 54- 57% (most seem to like 55%-56%, but 57% is not huge)
*crown angle - 34- 35 degrees
*pavilion angle - 40.6- 41 degrees
girdle - avoid extremes, look for thin to slightly thick, thin to medium etc
polish and symmetry - very good and above

*Crown and pavilion angles must work together; increase one = must decrease the other. With angles at the shallower ends ( CA 34- PA 40.6) and steeper ( CA 35- PA 41) check to make sure these angles complement in that particular diamond - eyeballs, Idealscope, trusted vendor input - check as appropriate!

Then PS has loosely labeled three varieties of "ideal" round diamonds:
FIC firey ideal cut - Taller crown height, steeper crown angle 35 degree or more, smaller table, deeper stone, more biased toward fire, may look "dark" (fire is kinda the opposite of white light, brilliance) or face up smaller diameter due to its depth
TIC Tolkovsky ideal - Aims for a good balance between fire and brilliance, in all lighting conditions
BIC brilliant ideal -- biased a bit more toward brilliance (brightness, white light) than fire, may have lower crown angle, larger table, shallower depth.
The HCA, I think, still tells you things like TIC or BIC or FIC along with the cut rating and other info.

Diamonds that have a very low crown and a huge table really tend to not show as much fire, or it's all out around the narrow rim around the table.
 
Phinsfan4life|1393869814|3626483 said:
Thank you. I will be waiting for your recommendations.
Click to expand...

If you pair this stone:
.595ct, I, VS2
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.595-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104069795018

with this setting:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/ashleigh-14k-white-gold-5853w14

You will have a very nice final product, of the highest quality possible.


If you would prefer a more elaborate setting:

.48ct, I, VVS2
http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-default&id=13

Leaves about $1,400 for a very nice setting and Wink at High Performance Diamonds will give you 15% off the setting, with the purchase of this stone!
 
 
Here is a nice K (I'm going for size)
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.72-carat-k-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-40170

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.70-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-243455

This one is probably not eye-clean but could be worth asking.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.70-carat-i-color-si2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-290691

Settings
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/18k-white-gold-double-claw-prong-engagement-ring-item-22604
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/14k-white-gold-twisted-shank-contemporary-solitaire-item-6854
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/14k-white-gold-2mm-comfort-fit-solitaire-engagement-ring-six-prong-item-7995

Is the $2500 for just the stone or stone and setting?

Edit - some higher colors but smaller size in your budget
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.64-carat-e-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-287515
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.61-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-255132
 
I personally would recommend the I color stones in the .70-.75 range with a simple setting. You can always upgrade to a fancier setting for an anniversary or something! I have bought from both Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash and they both have great quality diamonds!
 
That is a nice K diamond from James Allen..

I was thinking between $2,500-$3,000 total for diamond and setting... Obviously I want a nice diamond at least .70 ct, but do not want to go extremely low on cut/color/clarity...

That K you showed me seems really nice...
 
You can buy a great diamond from any of the vendors recommended above. What kind of setting does she want? Check James Allen, White Flash, Brian Gavin, Good Old Gold and High Performance Diamonds and see which vendor carries settings she would like. Although I'd prefer to get a simple setting in order to maximize the size of the center stone, I see that some women see rings as a total package and have a particular setting they like/want.
 
diamondseeker2006|1393871683|3626517 said:
I personally would recommend the I color stones in the .70-.75 range with a simple setting. You can always upgrade to a fancier setting for an anniversary or something! I have bought from both Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash and they both have great quality diamonds!
Click to expand...


WhiteFlash seemed to be pretty expensive..

Did you see that K diamond from JA someone posted.. if so, what do you think about it?
 
Sakuracherry|1393871954|3626521 said:
You can buy a great diamond from any of the vendors recommended above. What kind of setting does she want? Check James Allen, White Flash, Brian Gavin, Good Old Gold and High Performance Diamonds and see which vendor carries settings she would like. Although I'd prefer to get a simple setting in order to maximize the size of the center stone, I see that some women see rings as a total package and have a particular setting they like/want.
Click to expand...


Obviously I want to get the best "bang for my buck"... Who is normally cheaper in your opinion? JA, BG, GOG, HPD, BN?

I really don't know that's why i'm here searching..

Thanks!
 
Obviously I want to get the best "bang for my buck"... Who is normally cheaper in your opinion? JA, BG, GOG, HPD, BN?
Click to expand...

Well it's not about "who's cheaper". There is value in the services they provide. Good Old Gold, Whiteflash, Brian Gavin all hold their stones in house and have done extensive testing and workups to evaluate the light performance of the stone. James Allen does not have their stones in house, and you have to ask them to call them in and get idealscope images on them to evaluate light performance of candidates. There's more work on your end at sites like JA. Blue Nile doesn't provide any kind of workup - you are literally buying blind. No good.
 
Also look at the return, trade-up/upgrade policy, the shipping fees the return shipping policy (how much will it cost, say, if you are overseas?) fees. (People outside the US need to look at shipping costs and likely transit times.) Is there a buyback policy (if you need to or want sell the diamond later; what % of original purchase price will the vendor give you?

Price, I think ID Jewelry and B2C Jewels were perhaps lower in the past. I haven't bought from them. ymmv But sometimes you can go down to VG poish or VG cut and still get a very nice diamond. They are just harder to buy online because the farther off the AGS 000 / top of GIA Excellent cut grades they are, the more "individualized" a diamond's character and performance can be.
 
I believe it's worth paying for the great service those vendors provide. Those in house diamonds are pre-screened. Another option for you is to call Yekutiel at IDJ and see what he can find for you. He can access many stones that are listed on BN if they are in NY. He can also provide you with ASET/idealscope images.
 
I'm in the US, right outside Washington DC..

This is just a hard decision.. I know I want around a .70-.75 ct round diamond.. But I can't seem to find that perfect one.. I guess everyone has this problem...
 
What online website should i focus on? HPD, JA, GOG?

It's getting difficult going back and forth
 
HPD doesn't seem to have many that fit your criteria. Can you pick a favorite from all the stones posted above? The experts have picked nice ones for you. Do you still want to keep searching?
 
I'm going to.. I'm currently talking to someone from both James Allen as well as WhiteFlash...

I also called IGD but they never returned my call yet, and have also been looking on HPD website.
 
RockyRacoon|1393870787|3626497 said:
Phinsfan4life|1393869814|3626483 said:
Thank you. I will be waiting for your recommendations.
Click to expand...

If you pair this stone:
.595ct, I, VS2
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.595-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104069795018

with this setting:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/ashleigh-14k-white-gold-5853w14

You will have a very nice final product, of the highest quality possible.


If you would prefer a more elaborate setting:

.48ct, I, VVS2
http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-default&id=13

Leaves about $1,400 for a very nice setting and Wink at High Performance Diamonds will give you 15% off the setting, with the purchase of this stone!
Click to expand...
I'd go with Rocky's recommendation. simple is best she can always upgrade the setting .. But sometimes you get the elaborate setting and regret it after two years......so let her settle in with a nice GIA ideal cut stone and figure out what her taste really is for the setting or she might just love the simple setting after wearing it
 
My personal favorite is the I/SI1 from GOG that ecf posted. It's over 0.7 ct, eye-clean and near colorless. You can put the stone in a simple solitaire setting. If you want to work with JA, pick three stones and get idealscope images. If you're still interested in what IDJ can offer, call them again.
 
I don't know if she likes this kind of setting, but this is not a bad deal if you can win this for $3000 or less.


http://bit.ly/1cxLh3u
 
I'm not going to buy a ring off eBay. But thanks for the post I really appreciate it
 
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