Help me find the perfect pair of diamond studs

[barbiebien]

Hello,

i am looking for my first pair of diamond studs. It will be a present from my BF. I have ordered a pair before 0,50 ctw g color, vs2, ideal cut. I thought they were a little to small. Now i was wondering what 0,60 ctw looks like or 0,70. 0,80 can you see a difference. I like them small but the 0,50 ctw was a bit to small. i have a very hard time picking between quality and quantity. I had the previous pair set in yellow gold (prefer it) and i still saw color in the G and i hate to see inclususions. I am ordering from blue nile because i am in Europe and i don't want to pay taxes. Ofcourse if i go lower in color and clarity i can get bigger stones but i really like quality

 

[Fly Girl]

Hi - I purchased my 0.85 ctw J SI1 diamond studs from Blue Nile and am very happy with them. I have difficulty finding the inclusions even with a loupe. My studs are 0.42 and 0.43 ct, so just shy of 1/2 ct, which is a sweet spot price wise. They fit in 1/2 ct mounts. I used the HCA under the Tools tab near the top of this page to select Blue Nile "Ideals", actually they are GIA Excellents but with proportions that land in the AGL Ideal section. I matched up the Table sizes and angles.

I wear E and F colored diamonds on my hand, but Js are fine for earrings. The big thing is Ideal cut gives you great light return, no matter the body color of the diamond, so they look brilliant and sparkly. The money you save by dropping a bit in color means you can get a larger size than your .50 ctw. And, yes, I think the difference in size is noticable. I find that Js look a bit less crisp than E or F stones, but actually look fine next to my face.

If you aren't sure about size, one thing I did was purchase some less expensive colored stone earrings in various diameters to see which I like best.

Good luck!

 

[stone-cold11]

You still have to pay tax for BN.

 

[barbiebien]

Hi - I purchased my 0.85 ctw J SI1 diamond studs from Blue Nile and am very happy with them. I have difficulty finding the inclusions even with a loupe. My studs are 0.42 and 0.43 ct, so just shy of 1/2 ct, which is a sweet spot price wise. They fit in 1/2 ct mounts. I used the HCA under the Tools tab near the top of this page to select Blue Nile "Ideals", actually they are GIA Excellents but with proportions that land in the AGL Ideal section. I matched up the Table sizes and angles.

I wear E and F colored diamonds on my hand, but Js are fine for earrings. The big thing is Ideal cut gives you great light return, no matter the body color of the diamond, so they look brilliant and sparkly. The money you save by dropping a bit in color means you can get a larger size than your .50 ctw. And, yes, I think the difference in size is noticable. I find that Js look a bit less crisp than E or F stones, but actually look fine next to my face.

If you aren't sure about size, one thing I did was purchase some less expensive colored stone earrings in various diameters to see which I like best.

Good luck!

Thank you! i wish i could find some faux earrings in the size i am looking at. How much of a size difference can you see with the eye 0,05? 0,10 per earring?

 

[barbiebien]

Yes i know, it is included in the price (17%) If i buy from the states i pay 19% above the price an 2% import duties

 

[stone-cold11]

Nope, you are still going to pay import tax as most of the stones of BN are actually from US.

 

[allowingtoo]

http://www.ice.com/earrings/diamond-studs.jsp

You can try them on virtually. Click on one and the page gets bigger. But it doesn't tell you much.

I have 1 CT total. I wish I had 1.5. I think that would be the perfect size to me. Not to small, not too big.

 

[barbiebien]

Nope, you are still going to pay import tax as most of the stones of BN are actually from US.

No you don't i have ordered from them before. They ship there stones to their office in the Uk and from there ship it to Europe. You pay taxes to them.

 

[Fly Girl]

Hi - I purchased my 0.85 ctw J SI1 diamond studs from Blue Nile and am very happy with them. I have difficulty finding the inclusions even with a loupe. My studs are 0.42 and 0.43 ct, so just shy of 1/2 ct, which is a sweet spot price wise. They fit in 1/2 ct mounts. I used the HCA under the Tools tab near the top of this page to select Blue Nile "Ideals", actually they are GIA Excellents but with proportions that land in the AGL Ideal section. I matched up the Table sizes and angles.

I wear E and F colored diamonds on my hand, but Js are fine for earrings. The big thing is Ideal cut gives you great light return, no matter the body color of the diamond, so they look brilliant and sparkly. The money you save by dropping a bit in color means you can get a larger size than your .50 ctw. And, yes, I think the difference in size is noticable. I find that Js look a bit less crisp than E or F stones, but actually look fine next to my face.

If you aren't sure about size, one thing I did was purchase some less expensive colored stone earrings in various diameters to see which I like best.

Good luck!

Thank you! i wish i could find some faux earrings in the size i am looking at. How much of a size difference can you see with the eye 0,05? 0,10 per earring?

A 0.50 ct diamond is about 5 mm in diameter. My 0.42/0.43 ct are about 4.8 mm in diameter, which is close enough to 5 mm for me. To get to 6 mm stones, you need to go to around 0.80 ct. I think jumps of about 0.5 mm in diameter are visible. If you are matching stones, I'd try to stay within about 0.1 mm.

 

[barbiebien]

Thanks everyone!

So my mom has a pair of vintage stones that are about 70 years old and 1ct total. She wants to give them to me for graduating in the spring and she feels bad i want another pair from my boyfriend. I really like them but they don't have the sparkle that ideal cuts have. Is it different enough to get a 0,70 pair set in another color of gold and a better quality stone?

 

[Fly Girl]

Thanks everyone!

So my mom has a pair of vintage stones that are about 70 years old and 1ct total. She wants to give them to me for graduating in the spring and she feels bad i want another pair from my boyfriend. I really like them but they don't have the sparkle that ideal cuts have. Is it different enough to get a 0,70 pair set in another color of gold and a better quality stone?

I don't think you would get a lot of use out of two pairs of studs which differ only by the setting color. But, you could have the vintage pair set into another style of earring, such as a wide brushed metal bezel, and have the nicer diamonds in a simple basket or martini setting for everyday use. Or, you can use the vintage pair for now, and wait on the sparklier pair. It sounds like that would make your mom happy.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

My daughter has a pair around .70 ctw and I think it is a great size for everyday wear! Plus, then your mother will know that she is giving you a larger pair that you can save for special occasions.