Help choosing a budget round stone .75ct - 1ct?

[zacjones99]

First of all I''d like to thank everyone here who takes the time to help out wandering strangers like myself.

So our five year anniversary is coming up, and a new ring is in order. Believe me she''s earned it putting up with me these last five years

. I''ve done just enough research to know that my wife and I could greatly benefit from some direction from a disinterested and knowledgable source.

So we''ve found a setting we''re very happy with, and at what seems like a great price to me, despite it being offered by the local Devon''s Jewelers in the mall. The owner knocked $1k off the retail, which brought the price down to $3,050 for this setting in platinum. I didn''t think much of it at the time, but after I got home I couldn''t find the setting she liked anywhere online for less than retail! Hmm, I''m impressed with our local mall guy so far. So this is the setting we like, only for a round center stone instead of the princess used here. So far so good? Does anyone know where to get the Verragio ENG-262 p for a better price?

So anyway, although the setting is a little out of our price range, we''re going to go with it, leaving us with a less than desirable budget for the center stone. Now I know many here will balk at the idea of paying $$ on the setting and $ on the stone, and if it wasn''t for trade up programs it''d be a tough call to justify something like this. However, getting an inexpensive stone now through James Allen and taking advantage of their upgrade program when the time is right seems to be a perfect fit for our situation.

I''ve also discovered over the last few weeks that she is not at all concerned with closely scrutinizing her ring or associating her ring with any concept of "rarity". I think she''s looking for brightness, nice patterns, and good white color. We''ve also been able to determine she really doesn''t seem to notice or care about inclusions. With this setting however, black inclusions would be pretty hard not to notice from the side views, so I''m thinking we should try and stay away from those. Please correct me if I''m wrong there, favoring non-black inclusions, as I really don''t have much experience in this.

So could someone help me out a little -- which of the following stones might be best for us? Or maybe you can point me to something better?

0.90 Carat D-SI1 Premium Cut Round Diamond from James Allen for $1610 (IGI cert)
0.91 Carat G-SI2 Premium Cut Round Diamond from James Allen for $1630 (IGI cert)
0.92 Carat H-I1 Ideal Cut Round Diamond from James Allen for $1990 (GIA cert)
0.82 Carat E-I1 Hearts & Arrows Ideal Cut Round Diamond from James Allen for $2150 (AGS cert)

I hope I''ve provided enough info. Thanks all!

 

[tonyc2387]

Date: 11/8/2009 9:47:37 PM
Author:zacjones99

I've also discovered over the last few weeks that she is not at all concerned with closely scrutinizing her ring or associating her ring with any concept of 'rarity'. I think she's looking for brightness, nice patterns, and good white color. We've also been able to determine she really doesn't seem to notice or care about inclusions. With this setting however, black inclusions would be pretty hard not to notice from the side views, so I'm thinking we should try and stay away from those. Please correct me if I'm wrong there, favoring non-black inclusions, as I really don't have much experience in this.

err... at least, in my limited experience, looking in your exact weight range, you should be careful in the SI range, and will definitely want to stay out of the I range. almost every SI and every I i looked at had easily visible inclusions, especially from the side. JA will help you making sure the stone is top- and side- eye clean, but it will be tricky finding one. You could stay in the lower near-colorless range with a H&A cut to save some cash and balance that step up in clarity, and unless they're next to D,E,F rocks, she won't notice.

what's your total budget for the stone? also, if you're looking to upgrade, have you considered WF ACA? it seems to be regarded as one of the more liberal upgrade policies out there...

 

[Lorelei]

Hi Zac

SI clarities can certainly be an option if reliably graded from GIA or AGS, I1 however might not be eyeclean so initially I would stick to SI2 clarities from a vendor who has the diamonds available and can advise you whether they are eyeclean or not, such as JA.

What is your budget for the diamond?

 

[tyty333]

You need to have them verified as structurally sound stones and eye clean to your satisfaction.

Here is a stone that doesnt look too bad...it rates a 2.0 on hca $1770, .82, H, I1.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-I1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1213214.asp

HCA 1.3, $1700, .84, I, I1
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-I1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1230499.asp

 

[zacjones99]

Date: 11/9/2009 12:27:23 AM
Author: tonyc2387

Date: 11/8/2009 9:47:37 PM
Author:zacjones99

I've also discovered over the last few weeks that she is not at all concerned with closely scrutinizing her ring or associating her ring with any concept of 'rarity'. I think she's looking for brightness, nice patterns, and good white color. We've also been able to determine she really doesn't seem to notice or care about inclusions. With this setting however, black inclusions would be pretty hard not to notice from the side views, so I'm thinking we should try and stay away from those. Please correct me if I'm wrong there, favoring non-black inclusions, as I really don't have much experience in this.

err... at least, in my limited experience, looking in your exact weight range, you should be careful in the SI range, and will definitely want to stay out of the I range. almost every SI and every I i looked at had easily visible inclusions, especially from the side. JA will help you making sure the stone is top- and side- eye clean, but it will be tricky finding one. You could stay in the lower near-colorless range with a H&A cut to save some cash and balance that step up in clarity, and unless they're next to D,E,F rocks, she won't notice.

what's your total budget for the stone? also, if you're looking to upgrade, have you considered WF ACA? it seems to be regarded as one of the more liberal upgrade policies out there...

Thanks for your input. I'll keep that in mind. I was originally thinking a couple minor visible inclusions would be OK, but maybe it's not going to be too much more $$ to get into something where you can't see any inclusions at all, even on really close inspection.

My budget is in the $1500 - $2000 range.

I did look over at WF, but there didn't seem to be as many stones in my category. I'm only buying one though, so it's worth keeping in mind if I can't find what I'm looking for over at JA. Thanks. Zac.

 

[zacjones99]

Date: 11/9/2009 5:20:00 AM
Author: Lorelei
Hi Zac

SI clarities can certainly be an option if reliably graded from GIA or AGS, I1 however might not be eyeclean so initially I would stick to SI2 clarities from a vendor who has the diamonds available and can advise you whether they are eyeclean or not, such as JA.

What is your budget for the diamond?

So you would tend to stay away from the IGI stones on JA? Or just make sure that they check out OK by my salesperson? I''m trying to keep it as low as possible, in the $1500-$2000 range. That way when it comes time to trade it back in I''ll be in the $3000-$4000 minimum price range. (Every $ I save now will save us $$ in the long run!

) Thanks. Zac.

 

[zacjones99]

Date: 11/9/2009 11:46:54 AM
Author: tyty333
You need to have them verified as structurally sound stones and eye clean to your satisfaction.

Here is a stone that doesnt look too bad...it rates a 2.0 on hca $1770, .82, H, I1.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-I1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1213214.asp

HCA 1.3, $1700, .84, I, I1
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-I1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1230499.asp

I''ll be sure to include those in the running then. I think that maybe letting go of a little size (down to .8 or .85) to get a stone with a really good cut and an inclusion that might be able to be hidden under a prong (like the first one you suggested) would be the ideal solution. Thanks! Zac.

 

[zacjones99]

Oops. Looks like I put down the wrong info for the setting -- it's the Verragio ENG-0262.

http://www.rainerijewelers.com/designers/verragio/classico/item-55075.html I just tried them too and it's $3240 there, but no tax, I guess my local jeweler has found some competition. That would save about $80 there, next I'll have to find out what each place would charge to set the stone. Is it pretty important to get it set locally to get some kind of service warranty?

Also, looking a little more closely at the setting, it doesn't look like the prongs are going to be able to hide any kind of inclusion. So scratch that part of my last post.

 

[tonyc2387]

Date: 11/9/2009 12:10:53 PM
Author: zacjones99
Thanks for your input. I''ll keep that in mind. I was originally thinking a couple minor visible inclusions would be OK, but maybe it''s not going to be too much more $$ to get into something where you can''t see any inclusions at all, even on really close inspection.

no problem. if minor inclusions are ok, then you should be ok in SI... but IMO things start to get really noticeable in I, especially from the side. but i may be far more picky than you and your wife (''grats on the 5 years, btw! can''t believe i forgot that)

as for IGI diamonds, people seem to shy away from them on PS because their tolerances can be softer and less reliable than AGS or GIA... so you''re more likely to get an I at any other lab, when you thought you were getting an H. cut proportion grades can be much less strict... stuff like that. but, as for any diamond, you can always call and have a gemologist take a close look. if you''re looking to stay in the .90ct range and under $2000, that might just be your ticket... but there are many a folk here who would say drop the weight and up the cut quality, and you''ll wind up quite happy.

it''s a fun game, no?