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Help! Need advice on 1.5-2ct halo

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Getupkid

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I have been reading on here for a while and trying to find similar advice but nothing really met my situation. I’m trying to make a decision on a diamond for my engagement ring but can’t decide which way to go. The ring is going to be a simple round halo. We have looked at diamonds but not much. She made comments that she loved the carat but also says she doesn’t want it to be obvious imperfections or yellow. Here are the diamonds I’m looking at, some certified 1.5 with great quality and some 2 with compromising either color or clarity. What are your thoughts (price is approx after tax with ring)…

1.51 H si1 very good cut Gia cert for $13,000 beautiful but felt small…

1.6 K si2 excellent cut Gia cert for $10,500

2 L si2 very good cut Gia cert for $11,200 I really didn’t notice the yellow too much but it could have been the lighting

2.02 F I1 not certified for $10,500 imperfections not too bad on the table but one cloud on the edge that we might be able to hid a little with a prong.

Any suggestions or recommendations are greatly appreciated! Looking to make a decision Friday so kind of a short time span…

Thanks!
 

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HDer

HDer

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Wow. First off, I definitely agree with the appeal of a larger 1.5-2 carat stone.

Now, of those four stones, without seeing them, generally speaking people on this forum do not like Very Good stones. That's because 2/3rds of stones are graded GIA Excellent so Very Good is in the bottom third of cut. That doesn't mean there aren't Very Good stones that might even be better than Excellent stones, but it requires a good deal of knowledge and searching.

Along those same lines, generally people advise against buying uncertified stones.

So that said, are you looking to buy in person or online? It sounds like with the tight deadline in person is probably the way you want to go, which will limit your options.
 
HDer

HDer

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Now in terms of colors and imperfections:

Generally people to I/J to be the boundary where it becomes hard to tell that a stone has color. I bought an L stone and I'm happy with my choice, but here's the caveat: on a lower color stone, color will be visible some of the time. When? Mostly when you're looking at the stone from the side. Now people don't normally spend a lot of time looking at their rings from the side, but your g/f will see flashes of color (yellow or brown depending on the stone) if the stone is in motion or if she looks at it from the side.

Imperfections: you'll hear a lot of people talk about "eye clean." A rough definition of eye clean is that any imperfections are not visible to the naked eye without magnification. Generally speaking, VS2s and up are considered safe bets for eye cleanness and SI1s and SI2 are mostly not eye clean by that definition. HOWEVER, and this is the big benefit of looking at stones in person, just because after 5 minutes of staring you can find an imperfection in the stone doesn't mean other people will be able to or that it should bother you in day to day life. So even if a stone is not strictly eye-clean, you might find that whatever imperfections are really not that important.
 
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Getupkid

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I am looking in store but did find a few online but the stores recommend not doing that. I understand that's their way of trying to get the sale but here are the ones I was looking at online...

2.01 J si1 xxx Gia 6265676686
2.02 K si2 xxx Gia 2267412820
 
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Getupkid

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Beautiful, just a little high for my budget.
 
msop04

msop04

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FWIW, my last diamond was a 2.43 J/SI1... it was set in a halo, so it was plenty white facing.
aaa_1.jpg img_2107.jpg img_20130630_144051.jpg imageuploadedbytapatalk1418133757.jpg
 
msop04

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Getupkid

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I want to be around $10-12 after tax and ring. The 1.5 is too high after thinking about it. Probably $10,500 max for the diamond
 
Winks_Elf

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What size finger does your gf have? Keep in mind that the halo is going to make the overall look quite a bit larger. For example, my "baby diamond" is a .67ct, measures only 5.6mm, but with the cushion frame halo it measures 10mm on the diagonal, with a 2.3mm shank and 2.4mm band next to it. My finger size is a 6.5-7, depending on the day.
Handshot of halo.jpg
 
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Getupkid

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She has size 6. Do you guys think that any of the ones listed in the original post are a good deal? These are with $1500-$2000 settings
 
msop04

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Getupkid said:
She has size 6. Do you guys think that any of the ones listed in the original post are a good deal? These are with $1500-$2000 settings
Click to expand...

Those diamonds are all over the place as far as cut quality, color, size, and clarity, but I'll play... :)

1.51 H si1 very good cut Gia cert for $13,000 beautiful but felt small…
No.

1.6 K si2 excellent cut Gia cert for $10,500
Can't really make a judgement on this one, but why would you settle for a 1.6 K/SI2 when you can have a very nice 1.77 J/VS2 for $350 more??

$10,860 (7.74 mm), VS2, HCA 1.9, this would be my choice for the money
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3208406


2 L si2 very good cut Gia cert for $11,200 I really didn’t notice the yellow too much but it could have been the lighting
No. An L will be yellow, period. Jewelers lights make everything look good. Match that with only Very Good cut *AND* SI2... no bueno. This one is all kinds of wrong... But since you said you'd like to keep the diamond around $10,500, this one is out anyway.

2.02 F I1 not certified for $10,500 imperfections not too bad on the table but one cloud on the edge that we might be able to hid a little with a prong.
No. I1 is almost always very obviously included. There is a reason it's an 2ct+ F color for $10,500. There are unicorns out there, but without seeing this, I'd never consider an I1 for an engagement ring.
 
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msop04

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msop04

msop04

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Getupkid said:
Ok, now you have me thinking. I don't like any of their settings so I think would get the setting I found locally. It fits a 2ct. I love the 2.23 you posted earlier but would be too large for the setting, what about this one?

https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/l...j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3180347
Click to expand...

I don't like that one... the cut isn't good. (it fails the HCA miserably at 4.8 )
I think you're going about this backwards. You need to find a stone first, then a setting to fit. What is the mm range for the setting you like? Carat is weight, not spread, so you need to focus on the mm spread if you want to use that particular setting. :)

Some 2 ct will face up like 1.9, while others may face up like a 2.15 or so... my 3.33 faces up like a 3.5-3.6 ct, so it's imperative that your jeweler tell you what the mm range would be. :)
 
msop04

msop04

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Tell ya what, @Getupkid... since you like the setting at your local jeweler, you need to go ahead and find out what range diameter will fit it. Don't let the jeweler tell you in carat weight -- that means nothing. Ask him/her what mm size range will safely fit that halo for no airline.

That will make it a lot easier than guessing while looking for stones. :)

ETA: the jeweler may hesitate and want to show you his stones... tell him you have a family stone that you may use. Jewelers like to give excuses as to why you shouldn't buy a diamond online to try to secure a sale for themselves. I'm sure he'll pull out several of HIS diamonds that will fit -- and that's perfectly fine... you don't have to buy them -- make note of their diameter. Just a heads up.
 
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msop04

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Here's one that's a little out of the box...
It's an IGI graded stone (yeah, I know... blasphemous) ;-), so the F color worst case is probably more like an H/I... in my opinion, this stone would be totally eye clean (minimize to about 1/2 and you won't see a thing -- and that's WAY larger than IRL).
It scores 2.5 on the HCA, but I think it would look fine. It's not a dog by any stretch of the imagination! The best part: $9610 and 7.87 mm.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...f-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3366891
 
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Getupkid

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They said it's between 7.8 and 8 mm and might take a 7.7
 
msop04

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HDer

HDer

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@Getupkid @msop04 has given you some good suggestions, and I think the key question is whether the Friday deadline is your own proposal deadline or the jeweler's deadline. If it's the jeweler's deadline pay no attention to it because they make stuff up like this all the time to create urgency for the sale. However, if you want to propose this weekend, then getting a stone set off the internet in this time frame will be tough.

Getupkid said:
Ok, a little higher cost and its not GIA but whats your thoughts on this?

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3388121
Click to expand...

Normally people don't recommend IGI stones because IGI is known to be more lax when it comes to grading. However, the one you picked looks like it has decent proportions (the main issue is the crown angle is a bit shallow) and faces up like one of the more ideal stones people might buy. So what I would do is discount the rating a bit, and see if you find any K/VS stones at the same price point with GIA grading that you like better. If not, I personally think it's worth a shot, although others on the forum might disagree with me.
 
msop04

msop04

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Getupkid said:
Ok, a little higher cost and its not GIA but whats your thoughts on this?

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3388121
Click to expand...

I think it's pretty, BUT IGI J is likely equivalent to GIA K/L/M, so it will be much more tinted than the others. The gain in surface area won't be noticeable AND it's yellower AND more expensive.
Your best bet is EITHER GIA J/VS2 above. My advise is to put all the three I listed on hold before a lurker gets them.
 
msop04

msop04

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@Getupkid, I think you're getting caught up in carat WEIGHT, and not focusing on face up size... let me show you what I mean.

This is the GIA stone versus the IGI 2 ct you just posted on a size 6 finger. You'll notice that there is no real discernible size difference, and you would be paying MORE for the lesser IGI certed stone that is yellower. It just doesn't make sense to go that route.

IMG_4031.PNG
Keep in mind that you will be adding a halo to this, so there is no way you'd be able to tell the size difference. However, the color difference will be obvious.

This is the absolute best advice I can give you...
 
HDer

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