Good engagement ring choice

[icantthinkofausername]

Hi,

I'm about to pull the trigger on buying an engagement ring and am feeling slightly nervous I'm going to make a bad decision. Luckily I found this forum which has some great buying advice. My girlfriend picked out a setting awhile back so I'm pretty much settled on that, the diamond part is really stressing me out though

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-platinum_4508 is the setting.

I had this diamond picked out:
http://www.bluenile.com/oval-diamond-1-carat-or-less-very-good-cut-e-color-vs1-clarity_LD02147441

However when I see another diamond down the list, that is the same cut, carat, clarity, but a slightly less clear color (F instead of E) and its more expensive, I wonder if I'm missing something.

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=head#diamonds_pid=LD02127202

So I guess my questions are:
1) Is what I was going to pick out an okay diamond for that e-ring?
2) Why is the second diamond link more expensive? Is there a criteria I'm not seeing that would make me prefer it more for a 300 dollar difference?
3) Why is the maximum cut for oval diamonds on blue nile "Very good" instead of "ideal" like round diamonds?

Thanks everyone!!

And just a general comment. I was going to buy a diamond like this in December, and it has gone up quite a bit in price, yikes!

 

[stone-cold11]

No easy way to buy diamond without images, ASET image, which BN does not provide.

So that stone is a shot in the dark.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Welcome! Unfortunately diamond prices have increased considerably this year. So you are getting an oval diamond to go in that setting? If so, I'd recommend going with a diamond vendor who can provide you with pictures of the stone at minimum. Ovals are going to vary a LOT and you cannot just order one sight unseen. You would not want the stone you linked anyway because it says the girdle is very thin to extremely thick, and you'd want to avoid those extremes on both ends!

I'll take a look around and see if I can find any ovals in your price range. But many people work with a vendor such as Good Old Gold who will call in stones, evaluate them for light performance, and provide you with pictures and video to help you decide on the best stone. And any vendor can get you a setting like that.

Not seeing any currently in-house at GOG, but they can call some in. There are a few at James Allen, but I can't tell a lot from their pictures. If you search there, try to focus on ideal cut as it will eliminate some of the poorer cut stones:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1381781.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1381794.asp

 

[TristanC]

In a nutshell, blue Nile is usually the first online retailer people check out. But they have a major problem in that you have no photos or evaluative images such as aset and idealscope to guide your purchase.

They are also not as cheap as they were a while ago. Hence people are recommending alternative sites.

Try James Allen, Brian Gavin diamonds, whiteflash and good old gold instead

Good luck!

 

[pregcurious]

I agree with the posters above. The ering setting is beautiful and can be found through other vendors who can show you pictures and/or videos of the diamonds, and offer you great customer service.

 

[jstarfireb]

In addition to agreeing with everything others have said, I'll offer an answer to your 3rd question. Blue Nile reserves their Ideal designation for their Signature Ideal line of rounds and princesses. Everything else gets up to very good, but not ideal on their system. I actually ignore vendor cut grading systems when I'm looking for diamonds, because they often are based solely on depth and table numbers, which don't tell anything near the whole story for a fancy cut. The only shape I'd consider buying without photos and an ASET is a round brilliant, because there's a lot less variation in faceting patterns, and the proportions are down to a science.

 

[tyty333]

This one looks pretty nice...
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VVS1-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1337293.asp
another...
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-SI1-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1075740.asp

 

[icantthinkofausername]

Thanks guys. I'll take the advice. And I really appreciate you taking the time to find other ovals, thank you!

What should I do about the setting? I can't seem to find one quite like it at James Allen, and my girlfriend really seemed like she liked that one. Is it a pain to buy them separately? Even that, do I just go to a jeweler to get it set? Do I have to worry about it not fitting?

 

[nfowife]

The D/SI1 that tyty posted above looks really nice, I'd request ASET for that one.


This setting is very similar, you could always aske for it without the pave on the sides as a modification but I think it is a nice touch too:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/18k-White-Gold-3-Stone,-Pave-Set-Diamond-Engagement-Ring.html

if you look toward the bottom of the page there is a picture of one they've done with an oval too (though in yellow gold).

 

[icantthinkofausername]

Should I be concerned the last two tyty posted are "premium cut" and not "ideal cut" or is premium pretty much just too much out of my pricerange (4000ish)?

 

[tyty333]

Should I be concerned the last two tyty posted are "premium cut" and not "ideal cut" or is premium pretty much just too much out of my pricerange (4000ish)?

Honestly, I didnt see any pretty ovals in the Ideal range (in your budget). The table on that D colored stone is a little
larger than what is considered "norm". The depth on the other stone that I listed is a little deep.

Unlike rounds that you can order by the numbers (sight unseen), fancy shape stones have to be evaluated
somewhat differently. What you really should do is find a stone that appeals to you visually then request an aset
image to check on the light return. Dont worry so much on the labels because fancy cuts vary so widely. Go look
at the ideal ovals at JA in your price range and post any that you think are pretty. I didnt see any that I would
consider prettier than the D I posted but what you like may be different than what I like.

I have a D/SI1 pear (see avatar). Did I want a D colored stone...not exactly...did I want to pay for a D...definitly not.
Did I want an SI1 clarity...no, at the time I wanted a VS clarity but I knew I could be waiting a heck of a long time
to find a pretty shaped pear with a lovely faceting pattern in my size/price range in an F/G color, VS clarity...so...I
snapped it up! My stone is also a tad on the shallow side but it is still beautiful.

Here is another stone that is in the ideal range but is also more expensive ...it looks nice
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1247640.asp

Do you know what you are looking for in a oval (besides the usual cut/color..etc)?

- length/width ratio you find appealing...use this tool
https://www.pricescope.com/tools/aga-diamond-shape-selector click on the oval

- nice outter shape, no big shoulders. See the bulge factor on the shape selector

- nice faceting pattern
you have to judge with your own eyes

- minimal bow-tie
use your eyes ...read the link to learn about bow-ties
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/fancy-shape-diamonds

After you find one you like, request and aset image and post.

Hope this helps,
tyty