Help choosing engagement ring

[Jimboy]

Hi guys, I'm pretty new to all this but this forum is a fantastic resource and I'm hoping you can help me make some decisions and find a great diamond.

I've learned a little bit about diamonds but am happy to have my views corrected. Here are some details;

1) I was thinking about buying a loose diamond online and getting a local jeweler to set it. I feel getting it set locally might be handy if I need to take it for adjustment etc, plus I can inspect the settings and styles in real life instead of looking at photos. It's probably mre expensive though. I was also thinking of talking to a local jeweler after I find a good online price and seeing if he could find anything close to that.

2) The ring style I am after is solitaire in white gold, I haven't got much further than that. Still trying to decide if I like 4 or 6 prongs..

3) Budget - I live in Australia so for the diamond I'm thinking max around USD 5k which is around AUD 7k. Happy if I can find what I want cheaper! I've been looking at the Blue Nile AU site a fair bit.

4) So - the Diamond!
Shape - round
Size - would love to get 1 carat or above but I've seen some .8 diamonds in shops and think that would be my lowest limit.
Clarity - Happy with eye clean, seen some good prices for SI2 on Blue Nile but not sure if I should go quite that low on clarity.
Cut and Polish - preferably excellent/ideal
Colour - really unsure here. Started out thinking minimum H but after reading this forum I'm wondering if I should go for I or even J.
Fluorescence - Not really concerned, kind of like the sound of a fluorescent diamond! As long as the colour grading is accurate.....

I've seen some of the comments around symmetry and the HCA tool used on this site. I was trying to use it but I can't find crown and pavilion measurements.. So bearing that in mind, here's an example of a diamond that looks like it might fit the bill. Interest to hear thoughts on that.

http://www.bluenile.com/au/diamond-details/LD06652722

Really appreciate any advice I get, thanks for helping!

 

[E B]

Hi Jim (I assume ),

The diamond you picked is a little too deep at 62.9. The general recommendation around here is 60-62.4 for depth.

Blue Nile is a fine retailer, but they don't give quite the cut information that other vendors do. Sometimes, you'll find an AGS Ideal diamond (like this: http://www.bluenile.com/au/diamond-details/LD00133968 <---- copy and paste the link, clicking won't work) and that'd be the safest buy at BN (but make sure to get the certificate first, as well as confirm if eye-clean), along with their Signature Line which comes at a premium.

There are quite a few .9 carat H, I ideal cut diamonds out there at or under $5k. 1 carat isn't impossible, but more difficult.

Be sure to read Gypsy's post about round diamonds here for more good info:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/am-i-a-good-pricesope-student.219966/

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You have to click on the GIA report and look at the diagram of the diamond to find the crown and pavilion angles.

These are measurements to help you stay in ideal cut territory with a GIA excellent cut stone. Stick within these numbers only:

table: 54-58

depth: 60-62.3

crown angle: 34-35.0

pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (sometimes 41.0 if the crown angle is close to 34)

It is MUCH better to have the stone set by the diamond seller. That way they take on the risks involved in setting the stone. If you take your stone to a local jeweler, for one thing, many are angry that you bought online instead of from them. Secondly, the diamond generally will not be insured while they set it. There is very rarely a problem, but it is a risk you'd be taking. So I highly recommend getting Blue Nile to set it since you are interested in a solitaire. Then it comes to you ready to wear, and it can be insured immediately, if you plan to do so, since it would be set.

 

[jimboy777]

Hi guys, thanks a lot for the advice so far. That linked article to round diamonds was excellent and you've also helped me get the GIA report details I needed for HCA.

I hear what you're saying about getting it set by the seller but I'm still concerned I won't know exactly how it will look from photos and also getting the size might be tricky. I went through all my girlfriend's jewelry boxes last night and couldn't find a single ring!! If it does need adjusting might be good to go back to the jeweler who set it for me.. But, you've given me some good points to think about so will cross that bridge a little later.

If I drop my criteria slightly on colour I can obviously get a much better deal. I've found another diamond on BN which has an HCA score of 1.7. This is 1.09 carat but J colour, SI1. Was wondering what people thought of it, and particularly whether the image showing inclusions on the GIA report looked alright or not. I'm not sure whether those inclusions would be visible to the eye or not.

http://www.bluenile.com/au/diamond-details/LD06778063

I'm still feeling a bit hesitant about J colour but my head tells me that when it's not sitting next to another diamond you probably won't notice any issues...

I might look at some other sites that include the ideal scope images as well.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The cut numbers on that stone look good, but I have read before that when there are a lot of inclusions, that combined with strong fluorescence can possibly make a stone look a little cloudy in sunlight or when UV light is present. So I'd probably stick with VS2 if you are considering fluorescence. And VS2 is definitely a plus if you are buying a stone without pictures.

 

[Gypsy]

The cut numbers on that stone look good, but I have read before that when there are a lot of inclusions, that combined with strong fluorescence can possibly make a stone look a little cloudy in sunlight or when UV light is present. So I'd probably stick with VS2 if you are considering fluorescence. And VS2 is definitely a plus if you are buying a stone without pictures.

Ditto.

If you buy with pictures you may be able to get an SI stone that works for you.

 

[jimboy777]

Hi again, just wondering what people think of this diamond and if anyone has heard good or bad reports of zoara.com.au?

They have filters which I haven't seen on the other sites I've looked at to say if the diamond is considered eye clean and also to filter for hearts and arrows. There is no ideal scope picture available but am I right in assuming a diamond classed as hearts and arrows would look excellent under an idealscope?

http://www.zoara.com.au/diamonds/p_round_excellent_cut_i_vs2#p=6491934

It gets an HCA score of 1.3, I colour, VS2, 1.08 carat. Priced at approx USD 4850.

Interested in your thoughts.

Thanks!

 

[gr8leo87]

Hi.

A few things to take into consideration while importing stones to Australia.

If a stone is coming loose - there's no customs duty but a GST is applicable amounting to 10% which is not factored into the advertised price and you'll need to pay at the time of import.

If a diamond comes set in a setting there's 5% customs duty (and then GST is applied on amount + customs duty). Unless the vendor sends the items with a certificate of origin with the product which may and may not always originate in the originating country.

And you also pay importation charges and customs brokerage charges to FedEx depending on the value of the importation which can be between 100$ - 200$ depending on the value of import.

All the best with your search mate.

 

[gr8leo87]

Also there are some vendors who claim their stones to be hearts and arrows but never provide any supporting images along.

A hearts and arrows usually has these specs (when not having these specs the stone may not be a H&A)

Table : 54 - 58 (bigger table has pointy hearts - not H&A)

Crown angle : 34 - 36 (shallower than 34 results in blue arrows - not H&A, steeper angle results in under the table leakage and arrows don't pop - not H&A)

Pavilion Angles: 40.6 - 41.0 (deeper than 41.0 especially with steeper crown has light leakage and arrows don't pop)

Lower halves : 75 - 78 (GIA rounds them to nearest 5% (if you find 80% LGF good chance it may not be heart and arrow.

Quality of hearts: Clefted hearts with 2 or 3 of them having cleft bigger than a certain size, pointy hearts, wonky hearts, different sized hearts, hearts merging in the chevrons (the Vs), etc etc disqualify stones from being H&A.

Hope this helps.