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Help - choosing engagement ring

I

icenoob

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
20
Budget is a few thousand dollars. Looking for a Round cut, simple ring. Girlfriend isn't picky, but I wouldn't mind some size, sacrificing quality. Would like it to shine/sparkle though.

This seems to be a good bet from what I've seen:
http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/solitaire/

Does it matter if its 4 prong or 6 prong?

http://jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diam...|PriceTo:999000|Sort:Price asc ,DefaultOrder|

Should I try to get the lowest depth possible with a round and focus on the circumference? That way it looks bigger overhead?
 
Your links didn't really work correctly... what are you looking for?
 
JulieN|1361312609|3384736 said:
Your links didn't really work correctly... what are you looking for?
Click to expand...

oh, strange.

ok, I'm looking to get around .8 to 1 Carat. Round Cut. SI1 is fine with me/her (I think lol).

and maybe a Knife Edge Solitaire Ring to go with it.
 
NEVER compromise cut quality. A well cut stone will LOOK bigger than a poorly cut stone of the same carat weight. If you can give us your budget we can help you look for a superb stone! :)
 
Budget for diamond?
 
ecf8503|1361313153|3384746 said:
NEVER compromise cut quality. A well cut stone will LOOK bigger than a poorly cut stone of the same carat weight. If you can give us your budget we can help you look for a superb stone! :)
Click to expand...

trying to stay around $3000-4000 with tax included. :saint:

tax would be Canadian customs which I figure would be around $400-500 depending on total price.

ecf8503|1361313153|3384746 said:
A well cut stone will LOOK bigger
Click to expand...

that sounds very interesting, open to any advice :mrgreen:
 
Icenoob,

You are in very good hands. Julie_N seems to be on top of it :) Any of these stones look lovely. :)

The knife edge is beautiful, but I've tried some on recently and didn't think they were very comfortable. Just a thought.
 
JulieN|1361319077|3384857 said:
http://jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.80-carat-G-color-SI1-clarity-sku-197144
http://jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.80-carat-G-color-VS1-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-198636
http://jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.81-carat-G-color-SI1-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-98850
http://jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.80-carat-G-color-SI1-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-150003
Click to expand...

Great! Thanks for the help. :naughty:

I see a definite pattern to your selection. Of the values you chose, which ones can I wiggle to get a better price?

Is it OK to drop down to an "I" level or even "J" color from the "G" ?

And I assume its ok to dabble with some SI2 clarities?

For example, something like this:
http://jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-I-color-SI2-clarity-sku-197148
edit : oh you know what, this looks fairly banged up on the top middle, now that I used the rotating camera feature. Are the JamesAllen diamonds definitely what you see in the rotating camera? and, is that scratch something to worry about / visible to the eye?
 
Yes, you can definitely find great SI2s... IME, people don't like big black inclusions.

I picked G color because I couldn't hop the .9 ct jump with the I Si1 combo.. and the price difference between a G and H is not that much. you could prob do it by going to SI2 or J color.
 
JulieN|1361342689|3385145 said:
Yes, you can definitely find great SI2s... IME, people don't like big black inclusions.

I picked G color because I couldn't hop the .9 ct jump with the I Si1 combo.. and the price difference between a G and H is not that much. you could prob do it by going to SI2 or J color.
Click to expand...

Interesting how Diamond shopping works. Its like a science. Thanks, I'm learning!

I'm really curious about.. :
What do you feel are the key specification categories to create a really good sparkle? :confused:
What do you feel are the key specification categories to create the illusion of size? :confused:
 
icenoob|1361373525|3385282 said:
JulieN|1361342689|3385145 said:
Yes, you can definitely find great SI2s... IME, people don't like big black inclusions.

I picked G color because I couldn't hop the .9 ct jump with the I Si1 combo.. and the price difference between a G and H is not that much. you could prob do it by going to SI2 or J color.
Click to expand...

Interesting how Diamond shopping works. Its like a science. Thanks, I'm learning!

I'm really curious about.. :
What do you feel are the key specification categories to create a really good sparkle? :confused:
What do you feel are the key specification categories to create the illusion of size? :confused:
Click to expand...

Sparkle = CUT! A poor cut stone will not sparkle properly, give off any fire or brilliance and will look dull. The only thing that all these things depend on is the cut of the diamond. We suggest ideal/excellent and sometimes very good (very rare, but possible), but nothing lower (on round stones). A really well cut stone that's the same size as a poor cut stone can sometimes look bigger (assuming that the other stone is cut too deep). If it's cut too shallow, then it may look bigger than the other, but still will not perform anywhere compared to the ideal cut stone.
 
Here are two I'd recommend:

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.02-carat-I-color-SI2-clarity-Very-Good-cut-sku-133767 (scored a .9 on the HCA), I'd ask what discount they're giving on this stone, as for an idealscope image and ask about that inclusion which looks like feather, speak to a gemologist to see if it can be hidden by a prong, and make sure it's not detrimental to the structure of the stone.

another:

Same as above (in regards to what to do). This is a perfect example of being able to lower the color (which I know K sounds scary, but this one has FL which makes it look more like a J and we have many members on here that have bough K colored stones and say they're SO white!) So this could be a great one. This one also scored well on the HCA (anything under 2 is great) it scored a 1.8...:

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.07-carat-K-color-SI1-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-79276
 
In many eye-clean SI2s, if you look closely at the diamond, you will be able to see inclusions... some people don't want to see anything close up, and some people don't mind seeing some white stuff, as long as they feel it does not detract from the beauty of the diamond. Sometimes the inclusions are more obvious from the side view, can cause the diamond to look hazy, or possibly present a structural risk; check off these concerns with your service representative.

This is a nice I1: no black inclusions, and they are off to the side http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.04-carat-G-color-I1-clarity-Very-Good-cut-sku-156698

If you want a diamond to look big for its carat weight, you can get a spready cut... but I find less than a carat, it doesn't really make much of a difference, a tenth of a mm or so, so I don't bother looking for them... the G VS1 I linked is such a stone. Above a carat/1.25 cts you can push it to 2 tenths of a mm.

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-J-color-SI2-clarity-sku-196536
Has a big inclusion off to the side, but I think they can cover it with a prong: http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-H-color-SI2-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-132798
 
That J-SI2 looks beautiful! I would ask JA and confirm if its eye clean. If it is its worth looking at in my opinion. best of luck on your search! Your in good hands here ;)
 
ok, I'll ask them if its eye clean :)

also, check this out. I talked to them and asked them to match everyone's posts and dig for some "deals" based on inclusions. since my budget is tight and I want 'big', but not too worried about inclusions. they came up with these 5:
http://www.jamesallen.com/?q=comfort%20fit#!/loose-diamonds//TabSelected:3|DiamondID:194016,186646,183136,184425,117848

Are the top 3 choices good buys? Because that would better fit within my budget once I factor in the setting/ring/etc.

And from anyone's experience here, does JA help with hiding inclusions behind the prongs by request? Or is it better to buy the diamond and do the setting/ring locally?
 
194016 and 186646 are worth getting Ideal Scopes for, as well as the J SI2 I linked above.
 
I like the numbers on the .92 K the best.
 
JulieN|1361642302|3388607 said:
194016 and 186646 are worth getting Ideal Scopes for, as well as the J SI2 I linked above.
Click to expand...

ah, now my lack of diamond knowledge has me confused. lol

so, do you mean that those 3 have better cut ratings? the others say "Ideal" on them.
 
Ideal Scope will show you if there is any leakage, and how severe it is.

The others I didn't pick for strong leakage. You can tell when the arrows which are supposed to be black go white.
 
icenoob|1361648031|3388666 said:
JulieN|1361642302|3388607 said:
194016 and 186646 are worth getting Ideal Scopes for, as well as the J SI2 I linked above.
Click to expand...

ah, now my lack of diamond knowledge has me confused. lol

so, do you mean that those 3 have better cut ratings? the others say "Ideal" on them.
Click to expand...

this .92 K does NOT have leakage and scored a 1.3 on the HCA so I'd request more info on this. An ideal scope will tell you if there is or isn't leakage.

http://www.jamesallen.com/?q=comfort%20fit#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.92-carat-K-color-SI2-clarity-sku-184425
 
Yeah, sorry, I meant that K SI2, not the J VS2 .90. Ask if eye-clean.
 
ok, so the reports are in and I need all your girls helps! :confused: :appl:

Gemoligist says: 184425 and 194016 are extremely close with a tiny edge going to 194016 in performance which may be indistinguishable. Gemoligist and person working with her feel they perform much better than 196536. I was given advice that given the price/size difference that 184425 may be the best buy.

However, without further ado, lets take a look at those Ideal Scope images..

184425:
http://www.jamesallen.com/?q=comfort%20fit#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.92-carat-K-color-SI2-clarity-sku-184425
184425.jpg

194016:
http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-J-color-SI2-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-194016
194016.jpg

196536:
196536.jpg
http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-J-color-SI2-clarity-sku-196536


Let me know if anyone wants me to call them back for some questions or more information. I can do so asap :)
 
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