Hello from a newbie!

[USAHistoryTeacher]

Hello all,
I have been reading this message board for several months and have found so much useful information to help in my quest to find the perfect ring. The members here seem genuinely interested in assisting fellow diamond enthusiasts. With that being said, here is my situation:

I am looking to propose to my girlfriend of 5 years and am in the early stages of searching for a stone. I have a budget of $8000 and I am looking for something between 1-1.5 carats in weight. I would prefer quality over weight but would also like to find the largest and highest quality stone for 8K (who wouldn''t?) I have been to several stores/independent jewelers to get an idea of what is out there but I was hoping to get some input on what quality of stone I should be getting for this price? After reading this message board for sometime now, I have realized the importance of cut/ratios to the brilliance of a diamond.

(1) What should I expect in color, Carat, cut and Clarity for 8K?
(2) What are the ideal percentages/ratios to look for in a round stone? How can you tell if the cut is too deep or too shallow?
(3) Is it common practice to "haggle" over price? What is a proper amount to offer below retail?

Thanks for any help and I appreciate all of the wisdom from this board!

 

[stone-cold11]

1) depends. Online or brick store? Online, 8k could probably get you a nice 1.6c J SI1, or a much smaller D IF, probably 0.8c.
2) Use the cut adviser. Just get it below 2, inside the intersection of the AGS and GIA range is safe.
3) Depends again, online, no, brick store common.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/9/2009 9:15:51 PM
Author:USAHistoryTeacher
Hello all,
I have been reading this message board for several months and have found so much useful information to help in my quest to find the perfect ring. The members here seem genuinely interested in assisting fellow diamond enthusiasts. With that being said, here is my situation:

I am looking to propose to my girlfriend of 5 years and am in the early stages of searching for a stone. I have a budget of $8000 and I am looking for something between 1-1.5 carats in weight. I would prefer quality over weight but would also like to find the largest and highest quality stone for 8K (who wouldn't?) I have been to several stores/independent jewelers to get an idea of what is out there but I was hoping to get some input on what quality of stone I should be getting for this price? After reading this message board for sometime now, I have realized the importance of cut/ratios to the brilliance of a diamond.

(1) What should I expect in color, Carat, cut and Clarity for 8K? It depends on balance and priorities, if you want D VVS then you will have a much smaller diamond, H to J colour and SI clarity much larger. How you apportion the budget is up to your preference, as long as the cut is excellent and the diamond eyeclean if you select SI clarity, then you will have a lovely diamond.
(2) What are the ideal percentages/ratios to look for in a round stone? How can you tell if the cut is too deep or too shallow?

Here are some numbers you can use as a guide to find a well cut round.

depth - 60 - 62% - although my personal preference is to allow up to 62.4%
table - 54- 57%
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

note - with crown and pavilion 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!

As the above implies, configurations depend on each other. A little give here can still work with a little take there.

From expert John Pollard.

With that said, here's a "Cliff's Notes" for staying near Tolkowsky/ideal angles with GIA reports (their numbers are rounded): A crown angle of 34.0, 34.5 or 35.0 is usually safe with a 40.8 pavilion angle. If pavilion angle = 40.6 lean toward a 34.5-35.0 crown. If pavilion angle = 41 lean toward a 34.0-34.5 crown.

GIA "EX" in cut is great at its heart, but it ranges a bit wider than some people prefer, particularly in deep combinations (pavilion > 41 with crown > 35).

You can also use the Holloway Cut Advisor here the aim is to score below 2 then evaluate with images such as ASET and or Idealscope, the HCA is used for elimination not selection.



(3) Is it common practice to 'haggle' over price? What is a proper amount to offer below retail? Online vendors operate on slim margins so not really usual to haggle, brick and mortar stores you can try and see what happens.

Thanks for any help and I appreciate all of the wisdom from this board!

I hope this helps and welcome to Pricescope! Thanks for your very kind words too!