help for fist time internet buyer

[cal0008]

I'm looking into getting a diamond on line within the next few months and have reasearched most prices online extensively. The cheapest appear to be cutrate diamonds, dirt cheap diamonds and jewelery zone... anyone have any info on how good customer service wise cutrate and jewelry zone is? Also big question... looking for biggest bang for the buck... I only have 5k to spend, but want to get the biggest carat, but do not want it to look trashy. I have found some 2k diamonds at the above sites for that amount but they are all in the k-l color ... will this really look so yellow when set in white gold? my main example is 1.83carat, color k clarity sI1 depth 66.3 table 63% vg symm and polish... faint fluorecence. This is an oval shape... can anyone give some advice... would this look large and cheap...yellow... or just large and not spectacular.. I can live without the ooohs and ahhhs..

Thanks so much!

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

There are so many options you have. Your going to have to decide what factors you want to lean on when you purchase your stone. With a budget of 5K and your emphasis on not needing a huge stone I would give this advice. Figure out what color you would be comfortable with. K & L stones do have a tinge of a yellow hue to them. White gold and platinum tend to show off colorless stones better, meaning if you stick a K or L color stone in this type of setting you might be more likely to see the color versus a yellow gold setting. Visit the goodoldgold website. Jonathan has the different colored stones in decending order pictured next to a d colored stone so you will be able to see visually how substantial the color change is versus the icywhite D color. I would also tell you it might be a good idea to read his educational section on diamonds. It will help you make a more informed decision. What ever you do don't rush in to things and explore all your options before deciding what you want to go with. First and foremost educate yourself. First establish what color grade you can live with. G-H-I are in the near colorless range but do have a slight hue to them There are some really eye-clean si-1's and than there are some that are worse than others. Visit goodoldgolds gallery of inclusions and read the different classifications such as If-vvs1-vvs2-vs1-vs2-etc..etc.. and this will probably give you a good idea of what you actually want. There are too many factors to explain and most of yours will all deal with what your own preferences are..so good luck..

-Josh

 

[student]

Definitely check out some brick and mortar jewelers. It's the only way to really see what different colors and sizes look like (same goes for clarity and cut). They probably won't be able to match internet prices, but give them a chance. If they give you a good deal, great, and if they don't, you can use the knowledge you've gained elsewhere.