Help choosing a diamond

[Annechka]

Hi everyone,

I have been lurking around the forum for quite some time now. My bf and I already looked at a lot of places starting with Tiffany’s and some local places and will also be looking at JA in NYC next week. We have narrowed down that we definitely don’t want Tiffany’s or any chain stores like Kay. We are thinking of buying a diamond at James Allen and setting it at Lauren B. Has anyone had an experience doing that? I have seen a couple of threads but nothing tooo specific. Will the warranty still be effective if 2 parts are purchases from 2 different stores?

Now on to the main part: we desperately need your help deciding which one of the diamonds to get. After all the research we are still not sure what would be the best diamond for us, and we would really appreciate some opinions.

We were looking at 1.75-2+ carats, H color and up and SI1 and up. We both are not color sensitive so H works for us, and as for clarity, we just want it to be eye clean. We want to stay within $20,000 but if the diamond is amazing, we are willing to put down a little more. Here are some of the diamonds that we are currently looking it:

https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/l...at-h-color-vvs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-3448683
https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/l...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3414502
https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/l...-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3593515
https://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/diamond-details/LD09365706
https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/l...g-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3112314

Thanks a lot in advance!!

 

[lalala]

With your budget, have you looked at superideals? I'd take a look at Whiteflash and High Performance Diamonds (hpdiamonds.com).

Otherwise, the JA stones look good, I can't see the IS images because I'm on my phone.

 

[Annechka]

Thank you! No, we haven’t but I did see a couple of diamonds that caught my eye. What do you think about these?
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3833679.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3824308.htm
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD8624
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9315

Do you think color I will be visibly yellow?Thanks again!

With your budget, have you looked at superideals? I'd take a look at Whiteflash and High Performance Diamonds (hpdiamonds.com).

Otherwise, the JA stones look good, I can't see the IS images because I'm on my phone.

 

[lalala]

Paging @HappyNewLife .. she just got an I from WF and LOVES it!

 

[HappyNewLife]

Thank you! No, we haven’t but I did see a couple of diamonds that caught my eye. What do you think about these?
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3833679.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3824308.htm
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD8624
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9315

Do you think color I will be visibly yellow?Thanks again!

I've had a few diamonds:

.79 H (Blue Nile)
1.0 F (Robbins Bros)
1.7 G (non-WF PS vendor I don't recommend)
and now a 2.937 I WF ACA

When I had the H, I noticed the slight yellow tint. I always thought I was color sensitive. When I ordered the 2.937 I WF ACA, I was worried every day for 2 weeks whether the tint would bother me. Let me just tell you that my worry was unjustified. This diamond is bright and white and I have NO regrets about having an I (and as a result being able to go BIGGER). I personally believe that if you buy a superideal diamond (HPD, WF, BGD) in an I, it will just blind you with sparkle and the slight warmth you may see once in a blue moon would never bother you. But that's just me/my experience. I hope that helps!

 

[Annechka]

Thanks so much! This was super helpful! I was drooling over your ring the other day! Absolutely gorgeous! Is there a reason why you went with ACA and not CBI? Other than you found a perfect size, color, clarityand price combo for yourself? Thanks again!

I've had a few diamonds:

.79 H (Blue Nile)
1.0 F (Robbins Bros)
1.7 G (non-WF PS vendor I don't recommend)
and now a 2.937 I WF ACA

When I had the H, I noticed the slight yellow tint. I always thought I was color sensitive. When I ordered the 2.937 I WF ACA, I was worried every day for 2 weeks whether the tint would bother me. Let me just tell you that my worry was unjustified. This diamond is bright and white and I have NO regrets about having an I (and as a result being able to go BIGGER). I personally believe that if you buy a superideal diamond (HPD, WF, BGD) in an I, it will just blind you with sparkle and the slight warmth you may see once in a blue moon would never bother you. But that's just me/my experience. I hope that helps!

 

[HappyNewLife]

Thanks so much! This was super helpful! I was drooling over your ring the other day! Absolutely gorgeous! Is there a reason why you went with ACA and not CBI? Other than you found a perfect size, color, clarityand price combo for yourself? Thanks again!

I went with WF because they offered me a nice trade-in amount for a non-WF diamond. To be fair, I didn’t even reach out to HPD to see if they would - no reason other than that I didn’t think to. Both companies have my utmost respect