Guidance

[mantis01]

I have been reading through the forums and have gained a fair amount of knowledge but all of the options are a little overwhelming. I am looking for an engagement ring in the ¾ carrot range simple solitaire in white gold in the $3000 range. I definitely want quality over size but finding the right balance is proving difficult. I went to a local jeweler to get an idea of what the different claritys looked like but the highest they had was a SL1 and to be honest I was appalled at the way it looked and it took a great deal of control to not be unkind in my opinion to the sales person. I work in quality control for a circuit board manufacture so I am very used to looking for defects under high power magnification so possibly I am being to anal. I was originally looking at BN but the fact that you can not see diamonds now has me slightly disturbed. I have done hundreds of searches but I don’t seem any closer to making a decision. I was wondering if I could received some guidance from the forum community as my decision making skills are slightly deficient (as they usually are when spending large chucks of money). I want to get an excellent quality diamond but would like to get a good deal as well. Hopefully this is not too much to ask.
What I have been searing for was (.73 - .85 ct round) (ideal cut) (D- H) (IF – VVF2) and attempting to avoided florescence, cutlets clouds feathers in the descriptions and have the price with a WG setting come in at $3000.

 

[Regular Guy]

For GIA & AGS, VS1 is routinely fine.

Here''s one.

Consider using this, and consider VS....

 

[FB.]

With stones up to 1ct, I'd be happy to go as low as G colour and SI1 clarity for the right stone, or to make a crucial carat weight, although I would prefer F VS2.

In clarity grade of VS2 or better, the inclusions are usually so tiny you won't see them and that it doesn't matter what form they take because they are highly unlikely to adversely affect the stone. Definitely don't worry about VS2 clouds.

Personally, I think that fluorescence is misunderstood and that most people who speak badly of it have never actually seen a fluorescent stone.
While it might be a "safer" option to avoid fluorescence if you don't know whether the recipient will like the blue-lilac tints that can be seen in bright daylight, some people actually like lilac colour. It can look like tanzanite if the fluor is strong-very strong, and if the fluor is medium, it can have a lighter blue tint - perhaps more towards blue topaz.
Fluor can also reduce the cost.

I love strong fluor D-F stones. I now have......er.......six, I think. The fact that you get an extra optical feature for a discounted price is a bonus - if it's to your taste.

I would also suggest that platinum would be a better choice that white gold.
White gold is plated with rhodium, which can wear off and dull to a yellowish colour - especially on a ring that gets a lot of scrapes, knocks, or exposure to household chemicals. There's also the possibility of the white gold containing nickel, which is allergenic.

 

[outatouch0]

Welcome to PS

Budgetwise, if you plan to go with a simple solitaire setting (which is just fine) you are not that far off. TIGHT but not totally unrealistic.
You may need to include SI1-VS1 into your search parameters however. Just get confirmation that a particular SI1 is eyeclean to your standards. VS will be eyeclean. I do understand the sentiment for high clarity for an ER which is why I went with VVS. Unfortunately the price for the stone was a bit more than your total budget.

If your eye for detail is so sensitive as to spot inclusions at VS levels then how is your(and her) color sensitivity? Superior cut I & J stones of VVS may also do the trick. Ideal cut tends to face up whiter.

Definitely check out a few more B&M to see what color and clarities you can live with. Not all SI1 stones are created equal. Maybe try some higher end jewelers that have more quality AGS & GIA stones on hand than your typical maul store which are more geared toward "lower" prices.

 

[tonyc2387]

Date: 11/23/2009 8:37:31 AM
Author:mantis01
I went to a local jeweler to get an idea of what the different claritys looked like but the highest they had was a SL1 and to be honest I was appalled at the way it looked and it took a great deal of control to not be unkind in my opinion to the sales person. I work in quality control for a circuit board manufacture so I am very used to looking for defects under high power magnification so possibly I am being to anal.

What I have been searing for was (.73 - .85 ct round) (ideal cut) (D- H) (IF – VVF2) and attempting to avoided florescence, cutlets clouds feathers in the descriptions and have the price with a WG setting come in at $3000.

LOL. know exactly what you mean... my first forays into maul stores garnered the same reaction. it was all i could do not to say "wait... you *sell* this crap? for thousands of dollars? and call it a diamond?!"

more realistically, though, diamonds don''t need to be absolutely perfect... having inclusions is not a bad thing. for one, it means you can always identify *your* diamond. also, you can think of the clarity scale roughly as a guide to the magnification that you''ll need to see them. so at IF, you need 30-50x or better, but the diamond will (in all likeliness) still have inclusions. as you continue down the scale, at VVS you''ll need 11-30x; VS 7-15x; SI-I 10-0x. so even though a VVS diamond has a cloud, you''d be very hard pressed to see it at 10x, and you''d never see it with naked eyes. IMHO, for your budget, VVS is probably a bit on the ''anal'' side... VS1 would probably suit your needs great, VS2 will allow some flexibility, and there might even be a good SI1 around. after all, you & your intended aren''t going to always be looking at the thing through a loupe, right?

also, D&E colors aren''t quite necessary for the same reasons as IF&VVS... it will be extremely hard to differentiate them from F, and difficult from G-H. again, for your budget, the lower colors allow you to spend more on cut (#1 most important factor to appearance) and carat (1st question everyone always asks).

hope this helps. welcome to PS, btw, and good luck in your search!

 

[emnivek]

Here are a couple from WF which with the PS discount and their basic 4- or 6-prong solitaire in WG would come in right around 3k:

0.77 H VS1 ACA: http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1848248.htm#

0.76 H VS2: http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-2163474.htm

I''m pretty happy with the 0.8 H VS1 ACA I just picked up from them.

 

[Dreamer_D]

"What I have been searing for was (.73 - .85 ct round) (ideal cut) (D- H) (IF – VVF2) and attempting to avoided florescence, cutlets clouds feathers in the descriptions and have the price with a WG setting come in at $3000. "

Not gonna happen my friend if you want an ideal cut diamonds. You can drop carat weight to keep those specs, or change those specs. But you can''t have it all!


I think that you need to go out into the field again

and see some diamonds that were graded by GIA or AGS for clarity. Depending on the lab, the SI diamonds that you saw may have been really crummy examples of clarity.

If it is a mind clean issue for you, then I really think you would be safe with VS1 or VS2 diamonds. That means that even using magnification the inclusions are difficult to find. So go see some of those types of diamonds graded by good labs. You can find a Hearts on Fire dealer, or else perhaps go to Tiffany''s if you are unsure about the quality of the diamonds at your local dealers. Also apparently Jared''s has a peerless brand that is AGS graded. I wouldn''t really recommend buying from these particular vendors because you will pay a high premium, but it will help you know your true tolerance.

As for color, G-H is a safe color range to stick in, most people cannot see any color in those range diamonds.