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Graff made my search very very difficult.

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xaniotis

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
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2
It all started on our trip to Chicago when we unknowingly walked into a Graff jewelry store to look at engagement rings knowing full well we couldn't afford the price tag. My GF trys on a radiant cut E VVS2 at 1.75 carots and the the darn thing lit up like an alien space ship that was hit by lightning. The only thing that lit up more was her eyes. So to my chagrin I asked the price and my mouth dropped $82,000!!!!

Since that fateful Chicago trip, that diamond is the only thing she talks about and how amazing it was. Me, being the wonderful BF thought about selling blood, plasma and various non-essential body parts to help make her dream come true but unfortunately I'm still about $72,000 short. So to make a long story short...........Can i find a radiant cut diamond J color S1 or S2 in clarity and between 1.5-1.75 carets that would sparkle as much as that Graff ring but at a budget of 8-10K. Sorry that's all I could get for my liver since its been severely abused throughout the years.

Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated..
 
I would consider reaching to to Diamonds by Lauren - he posts here frequently and is well versed in radiants. Also Jonathan at Good Old Gold.
 
Radiants are so hard to pick. This one looks like it has a lot of flashes going on but as a VS2 it looks like it may have a visible
inclusion on the table. You would need to ask JA. It is in budget.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/radiant-cut/1.51-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-209584

I second (ok, third) talking to
www.diamondsbylauren.com

Edit - here is one slightly over budget. It has an interesting faceting pattern. I wasnt sure if I liked it but when you scale the stone
way down, it seems to look pretty nice (IMO).
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/radiant-cut/1.71-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-sku-380778
Here is another one that has some flashes (but also looks like it has a few dead zones). Slightly over budget
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/radiant-cut/1.52-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-435850
 
xaniotis|1437076522|3903746 said:
It all started on our trip to Chicago when we unknowingly walked into a Graff jewelry store to look at engagement rings knowing full well we couldn't afford the price tag. My GF trys on a radiant cut E VVS2 at 1.75 carots and the the darn thing lit up like an alien space ship that was hit by lightning. The only thing that lit up more was her eyes. So to my chagrin I asked the price and my mouth dropped $82,000!!!!

Since that fateful Chicago trip, that diamond is the only thing she talks about and how amazing it was. Me, being the wonderful BF thought about selling blood, plasma and various non-essential body parts to help make her dream come true but unfortunately I'm still about $72,000 short. So to make a long story short...........Can i find a radiant cut diamond J color S1 or S2 in clarity and between 1.5-1.75 carets that would sparkle as much as that Graff ring but at a budget of 8-10K. Sorry that's all I could get for my liver since its been severely abused throughout the years.

Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated..
Click to expand...

I don't have any suggestions, but you might be able to afford the alien space ship ring if you become a stand-up comedian. You are funny!! You've got talent! I needed a good giggle today.

And yes, contact David at Diamonds By Lauren and Jon at Good Old Gold.
 
Hilarious.

What did the setting look like by the way? Was it a solitaire or a halo? Reason being if it was a halo, you can go with a higher color diamond that's slightly smaller as the halo will provide much finger coverage. An E is very white. A J not so much. I have nothing against J's, I just don't want your GF to be disappointed with the color compared to the Graff ring. An H is a nice middle ground if you have the funds for it in the carat size you're after.
 
First and foremost thank you for the help everyone. I sent an email to the Good old gold and will be contacting the other today. It's just so hard looking at numbers and specifications to judge beauty. Even looking at the pictures to the links that were posted it was hard for me to decipher how much fire each diamond. Eventually I did see the difference from one to the other based on the pictures or at least I think I did. If you guys have any more suggestions they would be welcome. Let the search continue or as I call it the Game of Stones....
And nope the Graff did not have a halo but I may since I think this will be the death of me.
 
It has to be around 1.75 ct? That's a very large size. Are you open to dropping under the 1.5 ct mark to make the other Cs fit in within budget without sacrificing so much colour and clarity? There is a huge $/ct jump at the 1.5 ct mark.

J will be warm and it will show in a radiant, which loves to show colour easily and in that size.
You can get eye clean SI1 but may take a lot of searching to find a clean SI2.
More importantly, don't forget about cut because that is what makes any and all diamonds sparkle.
 
I second the posters above a J in a radiant is never going to be ice white it is always going to be slightly tinted. Cut gives a diamond the fire and sparkle so you have taken steps to ensure that part is going to be as nice but a J is NEVER going to look like a E, and it is not really fair to expect it to look like one. I would also suggest if she has her heart set on a white facing stone go for a H at least or above and drop down a bit in size.

This is above your budget, but it would come fairly close to looking like your $80 000+ stone;

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/index.php/jewelry/loose-colorless-diamond-150ct-f-vs1-original-radiant-cut-diamond-gia-r6142
 
When looking at radiants (or almost any diamond), look for clearly defined facets that flash on/off (a hall of mirror effect).
Any area where the facets do not look clearly outlined we tend to call "mush". These areas do not reflect light well (also referred
to as leakage). Almost all fancy cuts stones will have some area of mush but you want to minimize it as much as possible.

For example, the first stone I posted above...you can see the distinct facets flashing on/off. This looks like a decent radiant IMO.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/radiant-cut/1.51-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-209584

A so-so radiant...you can see decent facets N/S through this stone but mushy E/W. Would not recommend.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/radiant-cut/1.51-carat-f-color-si1-clarity-sku-389791

Just poor all around...complete mush under the table. A definite no.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/radiant-cut/1.51-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-sku-268795

Well, that pushes the limit of my knowledge about radiants. Actually, the above info applies to fancy cut stones in general.
 
Hi ALl!

Tyty- I would hesitate to definitively call areas "mush" based on rotating videos.
There's issues of focus and depth of field which can affect how a picture looks in relation to real life.
Speaking from personal experience, sometimes what looks like mush in a picture can look attractive and bright in person.
When considering Radiant cuts, remember that the shape will affect the overall facet pattern and light return. Longer rectangles are less likely to have a uniform brilliance- instead some well cut rectangular radiants have a combination of smaller flashes, and larger flashes ( also known a virtual facets). This is similar to ovals and pear shapes where a "bow tie" can be either detrimental, or beneficial.
Leakage, as identified by ASET is not necessarily "mush"- and in fact leakage ( as identified by ASET) is an essential element of a well cut radiant.
 
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