Help me find a diamond

[shimeez]

So I''m looking for a diamond for the engagement ring for my girlfriend. I''m looking for a 1 carat colorless diamond. The cut should be as near ideal/excellent as possible and the clarity isn''t that important. SI2 or above should be fine.

So i''ve found two at local stores I''m considering. (My girlfriend really wants to be able to take it in to get it checked up on and stuff. Both Shane Co and EE Robbins both offer lifetime guarentees)

So the one at EE Robbins that I''m looking at is:
1.00 Carat
Round Elite Diamond (Elite is an EE Robbins propriety cut? It''s got 80 facets instead of 5
color: D
clarity: SI2
depth - 58.4%
table - 55%
crown - 13%
pavilion - 43%
girdle - thin faceted
culet none
polish Very good
symmetry very good
graining nil
flouresence None
EGL certified

$6100

The one I saw at Shane Co is
1.01 Carat
color d
clarity SI2
Table - 59%
depth 63.5%
(Don''t know pavilion and crown)
girdle medium -thick
Polish Excellent
symmetry excellent
culet none
flourescene faint blue
NGL certified (Is NGL reliable?)

$4800

I''m still considering purchasing things online. How do you know that something in SI1,2 are actually eye clean? It seems like a lot of the websites don''t really show that information.

Anyways, thanks! Let me know what you guys think.

 

[JulieN]

58.4 is too shallow for a ring stone, is overpriced, and the girdle is too thin

depth of 63.5 is too high for stone 2

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome to PS

Firstly I would suggest reading the tutorials to learn about cut - without a great cut you will not have a beautiful diamond. Pass on both of these, for a start one is too deep and the other too shallow. Also the crown and pavillion angles are always needed to judge cut quality, these are so important.

The only way to tell if a diamond is eyeclean is to decide what your idea of eyeclean is and ask the vendor if each diamond is. Eyelean means generally no inclusions visible in normal light with normal vision at a distance of about arms length. Decide what your comfort level is, there are some very clean SI clarities out there and you may be lucky and find a good one.

I haven''t heard of NGL grading, EGL depends on which division, EGL USA is said to be the most reliable out of Europe, Antwerp , Israel etc, but EGL is also said to be soft on grading. Best thing is to try to stick to GIA Excellent or AGS 0 diamonds to get a properly graded diamond with known cut quality, however EGL diamonds do have a lower price tag if budget is a consideration. Always get an independant appraisal on an EGL graded diamond to make sure it checks out, they can and be a great deal if you pick a good one. Also could you enlarge your colour options to E and F - does it have to be a D?

 

[diamondfan]

Date: 8/18/2006 2:01:09 AM
Author: JulieN
58.4 is too shallow for a ring stone, is overpriced, and the girdle is too thin



depth of 63.5 is too high for stone 2

Julie, you are the bomb! You always know the answers to these things. I am so impressed, I still do not know that much about all the percentages and numbers! (I am ashamed to admit)

I think buying on line from a trusted site that has a no questions asked return policy is pretty safe. So many people have had overall very good experiences with it. Worth trying or investingating imho.

 

[davidgelb]

Hi Shimeez,
Welcome to PS! Let me just say that I began my search at Robbins Bros in LA (I take it you are in Seattle if you are shopping at EE), and after finding this site, realized that the diamonds I was being shown at Robbins was overpriced and much less in quality than I eventually found online.

I highly suggest you do some searching online before buying at any of the B&M''s...companies like Whiteflash (I highly recommend WF) have some great deals and are able and willing to work with you to find exactly what you are looking for. They are extremely honest, have good return policies (or they will send a diamond directly to an approved appraiser in your area without having to buy the diamond first) and can give you any information you ask for.

As you can probably tell, I am so happy with what I found online! Take some time, do some searching...you will find what you are looking for. Until I found this last diamond, I was never happy with the ones I was picking...then I found this one and knew it was right.

Also, spend a lot of time reading on PS...there is some wonderful advice and people who are more than willing to help you out!

Good luck! And make sure to let us know what you end up deciding...and let the forum know if you have questions...we are all here to help everyone out!

-David

 

[phoenixgirl]

OK, some ideas:

0.937 D SI1 H&A

1.04 D SI2 AGS0

1.04 E SI2 ACA H&A

This is a sampling of the kind of stones you can find online. There are others with similar parameters. Good luck in your search!

 

[shimeez]

Thanks everybody for your inputs.


Is it worth getting diamonds at a B&M? The two I''m looking at both offer lifetime warranties. They''ll inspect and clean it as much as you want. They''ll do the rhodium plating on the ring for life too. Is it worth several thousand more to get this kind of service? How much does inspection/clearing/plating cost in a year?

Thanks!

 

[belle]

Date: 8/18/2006 12:17:36 PM
Author: shimeez

Is it worth several thousand more to get this kind of service?

it isn''t to me. no way. if it is to you, more power to you.

How much does inspection/clearing/plating cost in a year?

most jewlers will clean and inspect for free.
not eveyone has to have their rings replated. i am one of the fortunate to have never needed a ring replated. most places charge less than $50 to have it done though.