Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Help Deciding

D

danramos

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
19
Hi everyone...

I am in the process of purchasing a diamond. I am inbetween two specifically:

http://www.bluenile.com/oval-diamond-2-carat-very-good-cut-j-color-si2-clarity_LD04061522
http://www.bluenile.com/oval-diamond-2-carat-very-good-cut-j-color-si2-clarity_LD04207929

I have contact Maytal Hannah who will be making the setting in a yellow gold harry winston style halo setting. Due to the yellow gold i think i feel ok going down to a J color. According to bluenile both diamonds are "eye-clean" per their standards. My girlfriend is mostly size over everything else. She likes the warm color. She has her heart set on oval. So i feel ok looking for an eye clean stone, cut very well that has good life, small to no bow-tie, and faces up as large as possible.

I have not posted on here before but have used you all to become much more informed and educated regarding my purchase and that is how i knew to contact Maytal regarding the setting.

Many Thanks...

ld04061522_oval_2-carat_diamond_.jpg

ld04011206_2nd_photo.jpg
 
danramos|1395770907|3641117 said:
Hi everyone...

I am in the process of purchasing a diamond. I am inbetween two specifically:

http://www.bluenile.com/oval-diamond-2-carat-very-good-cut-j-color-si2-clarity_LD04061522
http://www.bluenile.com/oval-diamond-2-carat-very-good-cut-j-color-si2-clarity_LD04207929

I have contact Maytal Hannah who will be making the setting in a yellow gold harry winston style halo setting. Due to the yellow gold i think i feel ok going down to a J color. According to bluenile both diamonds are "eye-clean" per their standards. My girlfriend is mostly size over everything else. She likes the warm color. She has her heart set on oval. So i feel ok looking for an eye clean stone, cut very well that has good life, small to no bow-tie, and faces up as large as possible.

I have not posted on here before but have used you all to become much more informed and educated regarding my purchase and that is how i knew to contact Maytal regarding the setting.

Many Thanks...
Click to expand...

Looks like they probably won't be eye clean. Are you set on Blue Nile for your purchase? Would you ever consider James Allen, Whiteflash or someone similiar where you would be able to get light performance images for people on here to judge?

Why not have someone like whiteflash provide the diamond and set it all (that way the cover in event it chips), unless of course your setting is totally custom.

Definitely go with what she wants. The fact she likes a warmer diamond is nice and will allow you to stretch your budget a bit. May I recommend going up to a least SI1 for a diamond of that size however?

Budget?
 
Budget is max 10500. I have considered James Allen and whiteflash but they dont have any in the same size for the price. Not necessarily Carat but overall face up (LxW) of the oval... I have asked Blue Nile and according to them they define eye-clean as "an average layperson viewing the diamond face-up from a distance of six to eight inches would not be able to see any inclusions"

The reason i am going with ther setting is the fact that the only "requirements" i have are the setting style and diamond size (as big as possible lol). maytal has amazing work in settings and they are exactly they style i am looking for.
 
If you are looking at just those 2, I prefer the 2nd one pictured, which I guess is the 2.08ct? It seems like it would more likely be eyeclean as compared to the 1st diamond pictured.

Though you are saying you want a minimal to no bowtie, I would guess both of these ovals will present obvious bowties rather than minimal, but the photos are static images and it is possible in person the bowties are less prominent.

Blue Nile has an excellent return policy, so it may be worthwhile to purchase whichever diamond you perceive to be more eyeclean, and check it out in various lighting conditions.

If you are open to suggestions from PSers, you might give a shout out for diamond recommendations and see what can be found within your specs... some PSers have amazing search skills and you might be happily surprised at the options available.
 
danramos|1395773028|3641136 said:
Budget is max 10500. I have considered James Allen and whiteflash but they dont have any in the same size for the price. Not necessarily Carat but overall face up (LxW) of the oval... I have asked Blue Nile and according to them they define eye-clean as "an average layperson viewing the diamond face-up from a distance of six to eight inches would not be able to see any inclusions"

The reason i am going with ther setting is the fact that the only "requirements" i have are the setting style and diamond size (as big as possible lol). maytal has amazing work in settings and they are exactly they style i am looking for.
Click to expand...


But what does eyeclean mean to you? more importantly your gf? She will be looking at the diamond constantly, so flaws will become easy to spot after a while. Some girls don't mind this at all, especially since the average person would have to really look to find them.. But yours might.

If you even go down in size just marginally to the 1.8-1.9 range you may have better shot at getting a SI1 that is totally eyeclean. You pay for what you get with diamonds in most cases. And a difference of .15 carats wont be noticable to her... It'll still be a big stone.

again...just my .02 cents.
 
thanks for the headsup on the whiteflash i just sent a request. She won't mind if there are very minimal very hard to see inclusions. I have tried looking in a smaller range and am open to it, but face up is where i am most interested. The method i have been sing is simple ( L x W) to come to a sort of idea as to the overall volume (granted its an oval not square) to see finger coverage. If there is one thing she constantly talks about is the size lol so that i would percieve to be her #1 requirement. But i also dont want to get her a piece of glass.

Blue Nile customer service has been pretty upfront and whenever the diamond has a noticeable bow tie they say it and have said in about 7 out of 10 request the diamond has too large of a bow tie or it is not eye clean "per their standard".

I would more than happily take suggestions and or recommendations from fellow PSers.

Thanks
 
marymm -- very nice stone and the K color doesnt seem too yellow. The $ is right, but some of the numbers according to Pricescope are a bit off no? Ie Table and Depth not being ideal at all. But that doesnt seem to hurt this stone. The Stone eventhough 2.14 actually faces up much smaller than my smaller stones due to the girdle thickness and depth. But it is a very nice stone and am inquiring with JA regarding any discount...
 
The JA oval looks very nice! My vote is for JA :appl:
 
I like the faceting on the JA oval. I am not all that sensitive when it comes to clarity, but the inclusions on the other stones would bother me -- I can't believe they said they'd be eye clean... :confused: :|
 
Stive85|1395788507|3641309 said:
Here's one more... Nice warm diamond that is much larger than you wanted and will face up large.

IGI report, but looks good from quick picture and plot diagram... Could be worth a look, but price looks great.

http://www.exceldiamonds.com/Diamon...nd-2-33-Carat-K-Color-VS1-Clarity-282772.html
Click to expand...

The static photo looks pretty good, and I like the chubbiness of it, but... the color is probably more like an M/N than a K, since it's IGI. This stone is 10.32*7.86 mm, and the JA one is 10.24*6.99 mm. You wouldn't really be able to tell the difference in size, only shape. I can't see the price on the JA stone anymore, since it's on hold, so I can't compare them... If the OP liked a more saturated yellow tint, the IGI may be worth looking into... :confused:
 
Those are terrible and frankly, ugly stones.
 
If you want a dead dull rock go with the two from Blue Nile.

The one from JA already posted has a very strong bowtie.

Go down to 1.5 carats and go up in cut quality. Otherwise you are going to have a very expensive ugly ring.
 
Gypsy|1395790288|3641332 said:
If you want a dead dull rock go with the two from Blue Nile.

The one from JA already posted has a very strong bowtie.

Go down to 1.5 carats and go up in cut quality. Otherwise you are going to have a very expensive ugly ring.
Click to expand...


I agree, the two originals you posted don't look very good at all. Sizing down might be an option....

Although I think that IGI stone might be worth taking a look at (ASET, additional picture face up, etc)... Gypsy may disagree.
 
Stive85|1395788507|3641309 said:
Here's one more... Nice warm diamond that is much larger than you wanted and will face up large.

IGI report, but looks good from quick picture and plot diagram... Could be worth a look, but price looks great.

http://www.exceldiamonds.com/Diamon...nd-2-33-Carat-K-Color-VS1-Clarity-282772.html
Click to expand...

This one has potential. Does Excel offer ASETs?

And can they tell you what the GIA color grade is. It's an IGI K. It could easily be a GIA M. In which case it is NOT a good deal.
 
Ok so thats a NO and NO for the two bluenile stones.

I have requested a GIA color grade from excel - that is a nice stone. I have the James Allen stone on reserve price is a few hundred lower than my max. It has a great size and clarity.

I also like the ones posted by Gypsy from James Allen. I really want to get a quality stone, but my girlfriend is mostly interested in size and not to be yellow, but she likes warm stones, just not yellow. I would want the diamond to have life and sparkle though and be eye clean. I can deal with a slight and apparent bow tie just not significant.

Would someone be able to show me a comparison of a stone in the 1.5-.7 (9.9x6.x) range in a halo vs 2 (10.x*7.x). She has a size 5 finger that is more long and slender than chibby so an elongated stone would probably give more coverage and appear bigger.

Thanks
 
Gypsy|1395791472|3641348 said:
Stive85|1395788507|3641309 said:
Here's one more... Nice warm diamond that is much larger than you wanted and will face up large.

IGI report, but looks good from quick picture and plot diagram... Could be worth a look, but price looks great.

http://www.exceldiamonds.com/Diamon...nd-2-33-Carat-K-Color-VS1-Clarity-282772.html
Click to expand...

This one has potential. Does Excel offer ASETs?

And can they tell you what the GIA color grade is. It's an IGI K. It could easily be a GIA M. In which case it is NOT a good deal.
Click to expand...

Gypsy I will refer to you knowledge regarding the response i was provdied from Excel:
" IGI color and clarity grading is on par with GIA standards and definitely miles ahead of the EGL diamond grading labs.This 2.33 Oval color/clarity grade is on par with GIA and as you can see from the high resolution 10X magnified photo is a beautiful diamond sans bow-tie."

Not sure about the validity fo that statement. but none the less i have requested the send me ASET and video if possible. If the color is ok (rememebr i will be putting in a yellow gold halo setting (HW Style), but I don't want it to appear yellow, but warmth is good, this diamond may be agood contender.

thanks
 
the thing that most scares me with the Excel Dimaond is the total depth being at 53% that is very low comepared to others i have seen. But everythign else seems excellent. Crown at 14% is Ideal same as the 55% table. It also faces up very large (big concern of mine). I have requested ASET and additional pictures / videos of the dimaond. Hopefully those could help share some light.

excel_cert.jpg

excel_oval.jpg
 
danramos|1395846800|3641672 said:
Gypsy|1395791472|3641348 said:
Stive85|1395788507|3641309 said:
Here's one more... Nice warm diamond that is much larger than you wanted and will face up large.

IGI report, but looks good from quick picture and plot diagram... Could be worth a look, but price looks great.

http://www.exceldiamonds.com/Diamon...nd-2-33-Carat-K-Color-VS1-Clarity-282772.html
Click to expand...

This one has potential. Does Excel offer ASETs?

And can they tell you what the GIA color grade is. It's an IGI K. It could easily be a GIA M. In which case it is NOT a good deal.
Click to expand...

Gypsy I will refer to you knowledge regarding the response i was provdied from Excel:
" IGI color and clarity grading is on par with GIA standards and definitely miles ahead of the EGL diamond grading labs.This 2.33 Oval color/clarity grade is on par with GIA and as you can see from the high resolution 10X magnified photo is a beautiful diamond sans bow-tie."

Not sure about the validity fo that statement. but none the less i have requested the send me ASET and video if possible. If the color is ok (rememebr i will be putting in a yellow gold halo setting (HW Style), but I don't want it to appear yellow, but warmth is good, this diamond may be agood contender.

thanks
Click to expand...

I would say from IGI I've seen (not many) they can be on par. But also 1-2 grades off. The diamond picture is very staged. Try and get an ASeT and additional photo.

If ASET looks good it might be worth a look. You could always have it appraised and if doesn't checkout return it. I believe they have a no question 30 say return window.
 
yes i have requested the ASET and additional pictures. I have been doing research and IGI has gotten no negative reviews, but it is also been written that IGI - Antwerp and HK appraisal on loose dimaonds is very well respected in EU and Asia. This particular cert is from Antwerp. I may have to do what you say and order the stone and deliver to Maytal. me and her have been working very close and she can give me an honest assesment of how it would look on the yellow gold setting. It is a fine line dancing the warm / yellow look. I want warm, but not yellow.

Thanks
 
danramos|1395850467|3641705 said:
yes i have requested the ASET and additional pictures. I have been doing research and IGI has gotten no negative reviews, but it is also been written that IGI - Antwerp and HK appraisal on loose dimaonds is very well respected in EU and Asia. This particular cert is from Antwerp. I may have to do what you say and order the stone and deliver to Maytal. me and her have been working very close and she can give me an honest assesment of how it would look on the yellow gold setting. It is a fine line dancing the warm / yellow look. I want warm, but not yellow.

Thanks
Click to expand...


That's great. Wait for their answer for the ASET. I'm unfamiliar with Maytel, but I would suggest just having the diamond shipped to you. Tàke it to a totally independent appraiser who will give u a full report as to the specs etc. and can give u a gia colour grade. Then u can decide if u want to keep it.

Again. Wait to see if they can give u an ASET. If not. The appraiser should be able to.
 
danramos|1395850467|3641705 said:
yes i have requested the ASET and additional pictures. I have been doing research and IGI has gotten no negative reviews, but it is also been written that IGI - Antwerp and HK appraisal on loose dimaonds is very well respected in EU and Asia. This particular cert is from Antwerp. I may have to do what you say and order the stone and deliver to Maytal. me and her have been working very close and she can give me an honest assesment of how it would look on the yellow gold setting. It is a fine line dancing the warm / yellow look. I want warm, but not yellow.

Thanks
Click to expand...

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/2.14-carat-k-color-vs2-clarity-sku-296337

Regarding the JA stone... It looks to have brownish tint to it. As Gypsy stated, it does have a bow tie, although I don't think it's that strong (for me anyway). Not the best, but certainly not the worst. Ovals can be difficult -- they show color more than rounds. Anything lower than an H will have tint, and the tint is usually yellow. Try to look for stones with a different undertone. Unfortunately, unless you can see them IRL or have a video/photo like JA, the term "warmth" may be misunderstood. You know what you're looking for in terms of color, but the vendor may not.
 
i'm with you regarding the JA stone and the bow-tie it is their but not overly powerful. I think i would be ok with it. The brownish tine is def. there so it iwll be hard to discern especially going into a yellow gold halo setting. I know this tends to allow diamonds to show whiter than they are. At this point i have an ASET request on the JA diamond and an ASET / more picture and video request from Excel. I guess I will have to wait. I have also emailed GOG and am awaiting to here from them regarding what they may be able to source.
 
danramos|1395855808|3641766 said:
i'm with you regarding the JA stone and the bow-tie it is their but not overly powerful. I think i would be ok with it. The brownish tine is def. there so it iwll be hard to discern especially going into a yellow gold halo setting. I know this tends to allow diamonds to show whiter than they are. At this point i have an ASET request on the JA diamond and an ASET / more picture and video request from Excel. I guess I will have to wait. I have also emailed GOG and am awaiting to here from them regarding what they may be able to source.
Click to expand...

A yellow gold setting doesn't necessarily make a diamond appear whiter -- sometimes it has the opposite effect and brings out the yellow tint even more. Maybe you could have a rhodium plated cup placed underneath the stone and make sure the prongs are white metal?

OP, would you be opposed to the idea of a slightly smaller oval with a double halo? I think ovals and cushions are best suited for that style, and it would allow you to find a whiter stone and still have the larger presence on her hand. :))
 
yes we (my girlfriend and I) have spoken plenty regarding the setting and have very specific idea in mind. We really want to go with the HW Style Halo. A la Charmpypoos which Maytal created except obvs yellow gold and an oval diamond.

cushion-halo-harry-winston-diamond-engagement-ring.jpg

ygmaytal.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top