HELP! Another stud question!

[Irishgrrrl]

As some of you may know, I''ve been searching for a nice pair of princess-cut studs. My priorities are: I color or better, must be eye-clean, around 1.50 ctw, preferably GIA certified (but another reliable cert would be fine), and at least "good" cut. (I know a lot of PSers are very into ideal-cut diamonds, but I''m really not too bothered by slightly less-than-ideal cut if that will save some money.) The budget is around $2,500 or so. I found these two on Abazias . . . what do you think?

http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=45251407&src=builder

http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=1678168945&src=builder

If it makes a difference, I''m planning to set them in yellow gold. Thanks!!!

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Anybody? Please? Unfortunately, I need to make this decision pretty soon.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/18/2008 3:16:51 PM
Author: Irishgrrrl
Anybody? Please? Unfortunately, I need to make this decision pretty soon.

I don''t know a lot about Princess, hopefully someone will chime in soon.

 

[2danes]

Sorry Emm,
I''m not help in picking out diamonds, but did something bad happen to the earrings you were waiting for?

Annie

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Skippy & Annie, thank you!

Oh, Annie, you would not believe what we''ve been through with these earrings! LOL! I originally ordered a pair from an eBay seller. (I know, I know!) The seller had very good feedback, so I thought I''d be OK. (Also, he did have a good return policy, thank God!) The studs were supposed to be eye-clean and H/I color. They got here, and they looked like frozen spit!!!

So, needless to say, I returned that pair and got a full refund, including shipping (fortunately). Then, I ordered another pair from an online jeweler who we''ve used in the past. DH got me a three-stone necklace from this place for Christmas a few years ago, and I love it! The quality is exactly as they had said it would be. The stones are SI clarity (eye clean) and G/H color, and I couldn''t be happier with it. So, I thought I''d order from them again since they did such a great job on my necklace. Well, the earrings arrived today. They are SI2/SI3 clarity, and I knew they wouldn''t be completely eye clean, but the inclusions are pretty bad. No black inclusions, but one of them has a HUGE crystal that totally screws up the light retun in the stone. The other one is marginally better, but still not great. Also, the color is supposedly G/H (like my necklace), but I think the earrings look pretty yellow when compared to my necklace. I''m thinking they might be more like I/J? Of course, I might be way off base because my necklace is round brilliants and the earrings are princess cut, so maybe the princess cut just shows more color? I really don''t know much about princess cuts, unfortunately.

The online jeweler did tell me that, if I wasn''t satisfied with the SI2/SI3 clarity after seeing them, I could return them and get a pair that are more like SI1 clarity and would be more eye clean. Of course, that also involves a price increase!

So, I checked out Abazias and found some within my price range and target specifications, which are certified by either GIA or EGL USA. If I order the other pair from the online jeweler, they wouldn''t be certified. So, I''m thinking I should go with Abazias, since I''ll have the added assurance of the certification. This is turning out to be WAY harder than I thought it would be!!! ACK!

So, what''s going on with your ring? Has it FINALLY left the post office???

 

[2danes]

Oh Emm!!!!!!

You poor girl! That totally sucks, but~
I''m glad to read that you are GOING TO MAKE it happen!
I hope that you''ll get some good feedback on these stones.

I''ll not threadjack, but YES, danhov finally recieved my ering. So, now I need to wait 10-14 days (thank goodness it didn''t disappear through the US Mail.)

I''ll be sure to post the DAY it arrives.

Good luck with your project!

Annie

 

[Skippy123]

What about something like this and then you could upgrade later?

http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-361733.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-114359.htm

 

[Irishgrrrl]

YAY!!! I''m so glad it''s finally where it''s supposed to be!

And you''d better post a bunch of pics for us, girl!!! You KNOW we''ll settle for nothing less! LOL!

I''m definitely going to make this earring thing happen . . . I''m NOT giving up, no matter how much I sometimes want to! LOL! I''ve been e-mailing a lady at Abazias who is going to help me find a matched pair of stones. I gave her my specifications and budget and she''s going to run a search for me tomorrow and let me know what she finds.

Wow, this is so exciting! This is the first time I''ve really made an "informed" diamond purchase, and the first time I''ve bought certified stones! This will be great practice for when I go to upgrade my e-ring in a while!

Wish me luck!!!

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Date: 6/18/2008 9:20:17 PM
Author: Skippy123
What about something like this and then you could upgrade later?

http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-361733.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-114359.htm

Skippy, thanks for those! I have been eyeing up the Whiteflash ACAs!

But, I''m one of those annoyingly color-sensitive people and I just don''t think I''d be OK with J color. DH thinks I''m crazy because I can see a difference between the earrings that arrived today and my necklace! LOL!

Also, I hate to say it, but I''m really in love with the 1.5 ctw size (or somewhere close to that size). I currently have a pair of 1.0 ctw round brilliant studs, and I''m just SO ready to go bigger! Shrinkage has set in BAAAAAAD!