Help Needed, I am diamond shopping.

[WeatherGuy]

Hi everyone, great forum. I am currently diamond shopping and have a few questions. I will let you guys know what I am looking for and maybe you can point me down a few avenues. Any help would be appreciated.

1. I have a budget of $5k (includes setting and diamond).
2. I would need this diamond within a few weeks (I decided to propose before leaving for the Air Force)
3. I am looking for a quality diamond that is a good match of size and brilliance (isn''t everyone!). I know that with that budget I probably wont be able to get up to 1CARAT, .75 - .8 is fine.
4. I think i have the setting picked out, or at least the style. It is a tacori hand engraved platinum setting (antique style). She likes dante little antique styled settings.

THAT ALL BEING SAID: I want this diamond to BLING! Can anyone tell me if things like HoF and STAR129 or LEO diamonds are worth it? Also maybe you all can point me to a few diamonds that you think would refrence what I would be needing so I can at least have a starting point. Any info would be great, thanks everyone!

 

[Diamondsbybree]

To give you a little info on the Tacori settings, especially in platinum. They alone can run $3000 + just for there setting. That doesn't leave alot for the center bling bling...

There are alot of vendors who carry beautiful "look a likes".
I would start first with finding the perfect center stone, and trying for a budget of $3500. That gives you a nice chunk to find a Tacori look a like. Or consider buying gold versus platinum?

 

[kevinng]

This one goes BLING BLING BLING! Uless it's too small?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/0_76ct_d_vs1_h%26a.htm

This one's a little leaky at the edges for my liking... but still, it's a nice diamond and within your budget.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/0_86ct_f_vs2_h%26a.htm

Jonathan at GOG was really great when I bought my engagement ring. I'm sure you'll find something if you would just call him and talk to him.

There are more diamonds in your range, but I just picked out the 2 that I think look good under the scopes... and the inclusions are not too disturbing to me. I must emphasise that these are purely based on my taste and limited knowledge.

 

[bling]

congrats on your upcoming engagement! you budget is a great and you can definitely find a fantastic stone close, if not one that hits the 1 ct mark. Like the others mentioned though, Tacori settings are very expensive and will eat almost half your budget. but if you she likes the look of the Tacori, then you will be able to find something simliar for less and leave more of your budget for the rock!

now, you have to decide what factors are important for you. you said you wanted it to BLING! (nice name, by the way.. ) so you want a super cut stone..stick with the ideal H&A stones to get the best performance. now that we have established that, its up to you or your soon to be to decide whats important. does she like size most? does she wasnt only the whitest stone? does she want flawless? most folks here will agree, that you can sacrifice on color and clarity..up to your comfort level to maximize size. with super well cut stones, they tend to mask color and inclusions, therefor allowing you to hit the sweet spots of around G-H color, VS2 to SI1 clarity. Those usually give you the best bang for the buck..look super white, even in platinum and are eye clean (always ask the vendor if its eye clean and what sort of inclusions they are and where).
There are many online vendors here that are very reputable and will work hard to find what you are looking for. WHiteflash, Diamondsideals, GoodoldGold, Superbcert, Niceice..jsut to name a few have wonderful reputations here, as well as excellent diamonds to choose from..dont think you can go wrong. so give it some thought..and come back and tell us what you find! good luck!

 

[chialea]

Not all of the Tacori settings are that expensive. If he has in mind the hand-engraved solitaire setting with no diamonds on it, it's much more reasonable. (That's the one I have my eye on too, for that matter

)

 

[Regular Guy]

Just in case you've missed the obvious like I did (I discovered Pricescope about a month ago via a Google search, and it took me several days to realize what the different views of the site were), remember, you can go to what's ostensibly the front page of this site:
https://www.pricescope.com/
and search among many vendors from here. Also, the tutorial associated with Pricescope seems savvy on setting priorities.

Although I can't advise you about the specific methodology for doing it, finding a diamond that is a little irregular from the point of view of AGS0 (and so it probably does not have an AGS cert, but would have a GIA one), but still meets the parameters for being "0 - 2" on the HCA scale...that's a strategy for getting you the greatest bang for the buck.

Hopefully others smarter here will point you on the way...

 

[ame]

I have a .86ct H/ SI2 Star129 and I don't think he paid much more than 3200 for it, if he even paid that much. My setting is going to be easily 700 total. I think if you go H, SI1 or 2 you could go up to about a carat, just shy even, and be pretty good. But that really depends on your setting. Simple solitaires are going to be a lot less costly than something with stones in it. But Antique, especially with a Tacori, is going to be pricey. Tacoris I have never seen one (in any store) under 1500.

 

[WeatherGuy]

Thanks so much for the great info everyone! I really appreciate the diamond links also. I would love to go with something non brand name and save some cash but i just haven't found the look i want in anything else.

Here are some examples of the tacori settings i am looking at. If you guys have any ideas on other designers or retailers that can save me money that would be great! She likes the engraved/pave'/antique look with out being big or gaude.

thanks a million!

 

[chialea]

There are lots of antique-y looking settings (a big list was posted recently, which I'm sure you can find if you search for it). The setting which I was referring to is this one:

The setting you're looking at is encrusted with small diamonds, and is going to eat up a very large part of your budget. It might be a better to go with a setting with less diamond on it. (This particular setting also has the advantage that it's actually designed for a .75 ct diamond, so it'll look more in proportion than the other one). Another maker of Tacori-style settings is Coast Diamond, but I haven't seen too much of a price break on the settings I was interested in.

 

[researcher]

Here are a couple of others to consider:

.794 G SI1

.811 G SI1

 

[researcher]

Also, you might want to check out the expert selection at White Flash!

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/expert-selection/1.htm

 

[WeatherGuy]

has anyone ever dealt with fay cullen ? faycullen.com i think.... they have a huge selection of antique style settings but i am not familiar with them.

-thanks for all the responses and links

 

[WeatherGuy]

just bumping here .... fay cullen (faycullen.com) anyone? heard of it? used it? anyone?

also, is it tacky to buy a stone, get it set in a tiffany style setting (very standard issue) and then give it to her and let her pick the setting and be properly sized for it after the proposal? any thoughts from you ladys would be appreciated.

 

[WendyT]

Hi WeatherGuy!

Welcome!

I personally would prefer that my boyfriend propose to me in a simple tiffany setting and then we go setting shopping afterwards, but that's me.

If you're unsure about the setting you want to propose with, you may want to let her choose. You can put more money towards getting her a bigger rock or better quality, whatever your preference may be and that might buy you some time to save up for the pave setting she likes.

Hmm...but if you don't want to go with that option, I did some searching for you and stumbled across these:

This setting is $675

This one is $1225

And I saved the best for last (This is my favorite!!)

:

This one may fit your budget and looks very similiar to Tacori and is cheaper. It's $1750.

I got these from www.antiqueengagementrings.com. I hope this helps!!!

-Wendy

 

[chialea]

antiqueengagementrings.com has some really nice stuff -- and very little of it fits that size stone, so just be careful

Search the board for experiences with Fay Cullen. I think the general opinion is that she does good work and is reliable, and is also a very interesting person (if you sign up for her "priority viewing" mailings, you get an interesting rant every month about something). I wouldn't hesitate to buy from her (I almost did, in fact, but it looked "too old" my for SO

), but it's worth a search of the board.

 

[katrina_33]

https://www.pricescope.com/forum/rockytalky/links-for-settings-antique-rings-online-t16601.html

Here is a link to the thread I posted with all of the antique ring and antique style mountings I found for sale online. Lots of these are just estate jewelry sites selling whole pieces though, so look for the ones that note "antique style mountings."

I think lots of people have had good experiences with Fay Cullen and antiqueengagementrings.com. I think antiqueengagementrings can custom make their mountings to fit different size center stones as well, but I'm not positive.

 

[katrina_33]

http://www.customplatinum.net/swapframe5.asp?intCatalogID=4

This site (Sheldon Speyer) also has antique style semi mounts for around $1000 - $1500 in platinum. Many of them are really really ornate, but there are some simpler ones as well.

 

[Diamondsbybree]

Faycullen has gorgeous rings, but I believe her return policy is not that great. I have read some posts on DT out it.

 

[WeatherGuy]

thanks wendy your opinion is appreciated, thanks to everyone else also!