shape
carat
color
clarity

Help me not make a bad choice on a 0.4-0.49ct RB..

SBOB

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 5, 2012
Messages
23
Well, I previously asked for some tips on a princess cut but she has since changed her mind on the cut and style of diamond/ring that she wants (its her right as a woman i guess :) )

Anyway, Im trying to now narrow down/select a round in the 0.4-0.49ct range (mostly due to the budget restriction), and due to the setting that she likes 'James Allen' is the likely source.. Going to pick the 2mm knife edge 4 prong solitaire (ring/setting) in platinum..

When we looked at what was available locally, the superior cut diamonds with the increased sparkle/fire/etc were the ones which she was really impressed by, with size and then colour the next criteria in terms of importance. (So many of them were rather average cuts and didnt sparkle anywhere near as much as ones such as the 'touch of fire' branded diamonds we saw)

So, having done some reading and played with the HCA tool I'm trying to get some ideas on what I should be looking for when it comes to round (RB?) diamonds.

The budget isn't massive and will probably be limited to around the $1100 mark for the diamond (give or take a few $)

My selection criteria so far (apart from the $ range) has been
Cut - 'Ideal' or 'True Cuts' (James Allen's rankings)
Colour - D -> I
Clarity - IF -> VS2
Polish & Symmetry - Excellent -> Very Good

Are these suitable selection criteria to narrow down the choices, for a selection on a limited budget? Or should they be modified?

Ive done some looking and punching of numbers into the HCA tool and the following 3 all scored 'under 2', so does anyone see anything glaringly wrong with the following 'getting ideas on whats available' picks..

Anyone suggest any better alternatives that i should request further images of?(I believe James Allen lets you pick 3 diamonds to get further images/their opinion on)

1)
0.42ct, D, VS2, Ideal Cut
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1363168.asp

2)
0.42ct, D, VS2, Ideal Cut
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1450539.asp

3)
0.42ct, I, VVS2, Ideal Cut
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1466493.asp


Thanks for any helps from the experts
 
The second stone would be my preference. All the numbers are standard. You might want to drop down to an eye-clean SI1
to go a bit bigger in size. I'll have a look to see if there is anything in your specs/budget.

Well, I didnt see much at JA, however WF has some nice stones in your buget that 100% tradein value if she wants
to go bigger some day.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2728074.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2728036.htm

They have the same setting for basically the same price.
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/4-prong-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-587.htm
 
I think you meant to say sonte #2 is an F VS2.

Personally I would look for an eyeclean SI stone as that would allow you to co up in carat.

Of the ones you posted, I would go for #1 or #2 for the pure fact that with the sizes being essentially equal, I like colorless stones. :)
 
tyty333|1331473581|3146221 said:
The second stone would be my preference. All the numbers are standard. You might want to drop down to an eye-clean SI1
to go a bit bigger in size. I'll have a look to see if there is anything in your specs/budget.

Well, I didnt see much at JA, however WF has some nice stones in your buget that 100% tradein value if she wants
to go bigger some day.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2728074.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2728036.htm

They have the same setting for basically the same price.
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/4-prong-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-587.htm


Thanks for the info..Ill do some searching including the SI1 range... I initially ruled those out because I was looking at blue nile which meant no images, but I guess with JA you have the advantage of seeing an image and getting their opinion..

the setting at whiteflash looks a bit different in that it doesnt seem to have the same 'knife-edge' style that she liked..

Those diamonds at WF do look good though so Ill have to get her to look at it again.. though WF does add shipping etc for international orders which bumps the price up a bit again..


Do stocks at each site change regularly, so in a week the options at JA might be more desirable than they currently are?
 
Amys Bling|1331508379|3146496 said:
I think you meant to say sonte #2 is an F VS2.

Personally I would look for an eyeclean SI stone as that would allow you to co up in carat.

Of the ones you posted, I would go for #1 or #2 for the pure fact that with the sizes being essentially equal, I like colorless stones. :)

thanks, and yes wrong letter when typing those in ;)

Ill do some looking including the SI range to see what other options may be available..
 
Stocks of diamonds do change. If you dont see anything you like check back in a few days or a week and see what
they have.
 
tyty333|1331511685|3146546 said:
Stocks of diamonds do change. If you dont see anything you like check back in a few days or a week and see what
they have.

thanks for the tip...
seeing as it was 10 years for her to get the proposal, im sure she can wait a week or 2 extra for the ring that she is picking to turn up ;)


If anyone spots any standouts on the JA site that fit the criteria, feel free to alert me to them. The expert eyes on here know more about what to look for than mine..
 
Anyone have an opinion on this one

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1466494.asp

0.45ct, I/VVS2,
Cut-Excellent
Polish - Very Good
Symmetry - Very Good
Clarity - Feather
HCA - 1.0 (TIC), Excellent for all except spread (very good)


Worth asking for ASET etc on this one?

------------
Actually, i have put it on hold and requested images so maybe confirm that the specs look good while I wait for the pics...
They said they only provide Idealscope images (not ASET) on round diamonds (ASETS on other shapes/cuts)
So, Im waiting on those...


If anyone spots any others that are a better pic than this on the James Allen site feel free to let me know
 
It's definitely worth getting an ASET. I'm assuming that you did, the diamond is now on hold. I'm curious though, if carat and then color are what is most important then why go with a VVS2 I? I'm thinking that you could drop down to an SI1 and still have an eye clean diamond, and if I color is fine with her than you could up the carat weight by buying an SI1 I and stay within budget. I've read the post and this could be an availability issue? It sounds like there hasn't been a lot of winners at this weight recently?
 
Christina...|1331547384|3146725 said:
It's definitely worth getting an ASET. I'm assuming that you did, the diamond is now on hold. I'm curious though, if carat and then color are what is most important then why go with a VVS2 I? I'm thinking that you could drop down to an SI1 and still have an eye clean diamond, and if I color is fine with her than you could up the carat weight by buying an SI1 I and stay within budget. I've read the post and this could be an availability issue? It sounds like there hasn't been a lot of winners at this weight recently?

I did some searching including the SI1 range but there isn't much around...
could possibly get up to the 0.49-0.49 size but in terms of size thats only a very small increase (i know i can't tell the difference when they are next to each other), going from 4.96mm to 5.0-5.1mm, and this came in $100 under budget..

Many of them looked pretty average from the images on the JA site (and had average numbers according to the HCA tool), and I like the idea that no matter how hard i look I shouldn't be able to see any inclusions ;)

But if anyone spots one thats in the SI1 range that looks good it will definitely be looked at..

Thanks
 
Well If there is a very Minimal size difference and you like the VS stone- go for it. Posters are just offering different options :)
 
I think it looks great-
 
thanks for the feedback 'Amys Bling'...

Anyone else have any feedback?

she's out confirming the exact setting that she likes today so hopefully tonight (AU time) I can message them and say I'll take it.. (and as always, the US->AUS exchange rate dropped a couple of % this week while looking... everytime i need to spend some $ overseas the exchange rate always falls a little ;) )
 
SBOB|1331764064|3148745 said:
thanks for the feedback 'Amys Bling'...

Anyone else have any feedback?

she's out confirming the exact setting that she likes today so hopefully tonight (AU time) I can message them and say I'll take it.. (and as always, the US->AUS exchange rate dropped a couple of % this week while looking... everytime i need to spend some $ overseas the exchange rate always falls a little ;) )


Looks good, recent report, no red flags. What did JA say?

FYI generally better to keep everything in one thread, let us do as little weeding as possible to help you ;))

I know in this size range there can be sometimes be surprisingly little difference between clarity grades so if the VVS is of comparable price to other stones you liked why not? If it is more expensive though I'd definitely suggest dropping clarity all the way down to SI1, VS2 - in this size range it will not be difficult to find one that is clean to the nitpickiest specifications and you did say size is a priority.
 
Yssie|1331823467|3149219 said:
I know in this size range there can be sometimes be surprisingly little difference between clarity grades so if the VVS is of comparable price to other stones you liked why not? If it is more expensive though I'd definitely suggest dropping clarity all the way down to SI1, VS2 - in this size range it will not be difficult to find one that is clean to the nitpickiest specifications and you did say size is a priority.

well it was the same price as some of the SI->VS stones they had, so not paying any extra for the clarity side.

And of the stones they had in the budget, very few met the 'HCA' score..

Looks like its a winner so its on hold while I get info on their settings...
The images on their site are difficult to use to determine the 'height' of the rings/bands. And some of their 'matched' bands differ in height greatly in the pictures (like the 2mm comfort fit solitaire)
 
SBOB|1331847478|3149529 said:
Yssie|1331823467|3149219 said:
I know in this size range there can be sometimes be surprisingly little difference between clarity grades so if the VVS is of comparable price to other stones you liked why not? If it is more expensive though I'd definitely suggest dropping clarity all the way down to SI1, VS2 - in this size range it will not be difficult to find one that is clean to the nitpickiest specifications and you did say size is a priority.

well it was the same price as some of the SI->VS stones they had, so not paying any extra for the clarity side.

And of the stones they had in the budget, very few met the 'HCA' score..

Looks like its a winner so its on hold while I get info on their settings...
The images on their site are difficult to use to determine the 'height' of the rings/bands. And some of their 'matched' bands differ in height greatly in the pictures (like the 2mm comfort fit solitaire)


You can just call in and ask for the exact height (depth off the finger, right?) ::)
 
i emailed them for the info,
however it contradicts what is shown in their pictures...

Was going to go with the 'knife edge' solitaire, which has a wedding band which matches in terms of width, height and appearance
But she prefers the comfort fit look, however from their pictures the 2mm comfort fit engagement ring is significantly different from the matching wedding band...
however 'Stacey' from JA has quoted their heights as
Engagement(11043): height of 1.96mm
Wedding(14029): height of 1.86mm

Diamond%20Engagement%20Rings%20with%20matching%20band%20settings.jpg

Sure doesnt look like a 0.1mm difference in the image...

The joys of internet shopping ;)
 
SBOB|1331857262|3149645 said:
i emailed them for the info,
however it contradicts what is shown in their pictures...

Was going to go with the 'knife edge' solitaire, which has a wedding band which matches in terms of width, height and appearance
But she prefers the comfort fit look, however from their pictures the 2mm comfort fit engagement ring is significantly different from the matching wedding band...
however 'Stacey' from JA has quoted their heights as
Engagement(11043): height of 1.96mm
Wedding(14029): height of 1.86mm

Diamond%20Engagement%20Rings%20with%20matching%20band%20settings.jpg

Sure doesnt look like a 0.1mm difference in the image...

The joys of internet shopping ;)


:eek:
...Someone *really* needs new calipers...
 
In the picture you posted, it looks like the rings are different (finger) sizes and different widths. Hopefully, it will be right when you buy/receive the ring.
 
Lotus99|1331859579|3149676 said:
In the picture you posted, it looks like the rings are different (finger) sizes and different widths. Hopefully, it will be right when you buy/receive the ring.


i hope that is the case- I would think they would have a completely matching set!
 
indeed...
but im hoping to get them to confirm it prior to ordering..

Being in Australia its alot more hassle (and expense) if it needs to be sent back due to error...
no free returns for international customers ;)

timezone differences mean email responses take a while because they havent been able to answer the questions via the online chat, so i get an email first thing in the morning but by then they have finished work in NY, so its like a 24 hour turn around for answers ;)
 
just posting to say thanks for all the help...
ring turned up today from JA and have no complaints with the results for the $....

(quick shot from the iPhone camera)
473038_399939800034177_100000544802933_1456077_650739653_o_0.jpg
 
Looks great
 
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