Hello folks, and thanks for helping a newbie.
My girlfriend is really different, in a wonderful way. She never wants the "typical" thing. Part of the adventure is trying to figure out how to fit things to her personality. This engagement ring is no exception.
She is an art history scholar studying Victorian art in particular. I think it's for that reason that this ring appeals to her. It's almost like a William Morris design:
http://www.jewelryexpert.com/catalog/Tsavorite-Secret-Garden-Ring-eng.htm
She has the idea that if we had a round diamond in the center and a couple of green stones on the side, it would look like a white rose.
I would love for her to have the white rose she desires.
The good news is that she doesn't care about measurements that don't translate into beauty we can see unaided. For example, she's fine with tsavorite instead of emeralds - it's cheaper and just as pretty. I'm sure she doesn't care about inclusions that the naked eye can't see, as long as they don't dull the overall impression of the stone.
We went to the nicest jewelry store in town - a place that's been around for 100 years - and they showed us the Hearts on Fire diamonds, which I had never heard of before. We thought they looked fantastic, especially the way they sparkled in low light. It was clear to them that neither of us knew anything about diamonds, and they didn't show us any of the "papers," although I think they did say the one we looked at was AGS000.
We're looking for a round stone in the .75 to .8 range, unless I discover that we can afford a full carat, which would be wonderful. I played with the sliders on BluNile, and found what appeared to be "good" diamonds in the $4000 range at that size. In the B&M, they initially said the .75 HoF would be $6000, then said it might be closer to $8000.
I've been reading on this site all afternoon, but I still feel a bit lost, especially in terms of what really matters to the typical observer. Again, we'd take an inferior stone if it looks great.
My questions (thanks for reading this far!):
1. What's a reasonable price range for a .75 to 1 carat stone that's truly beautiful and sparkly in normal eyesight, but may give up on some of the measurements that a true diamond afficianado would care about?
2. Which specific aspects or measurements could I give up on to attain a lower price without affecting the pure visual impact?
3. Conversely-wise, what factors (apart from looking for AGS000) are most important to that visual impact like we saw with the HoF in the store?
4. What search tools are going to be best? I have played with the Pricescope tool n these forums a bit; so far it's the only one with and AGS search box, but even that seems to say "AGS0," and I guess I'd like to wrap all of it up into just looking for an AGS000 and trusting that. But then there's the HCA score....
5. I know the first answer is for me to readreadread, and I am doing that, too. Are there good threads for someone who's looking to maximize look over "by the numbers" quality?
Thanks so much for your help on this. You guys (if you'll pardon the pun) ROCK.
- Chris
My girlfriend is really different, in a wonderful way. She never wants the "typical" thing. Part of the adventure is trying to figure out how to fit things to her personality. This engagement ring is no exception.
She is an art history scholar studying Victorian art in particular. I think it's for that reason that this ring appeals to her. It's almost like a William Morris design:
http://www.jewelryexpert.com/catalog/Tsavorite-Secret-Garden-Ring-eng.htm
She has the idea that if we had a round diamond in the center and a couple of green stones on the side, it would look like a white rose.
I would love for her to have the white rose she desires.
The good news is that she doesn't care about measurements that don't translate into beauty we can see unaided. For example, she's fine with tsavorite instead of emeralds - it's cheaper and just as pretty. I'm sure she doesn't care about inclusions that the naked eye can't see, as long as they don't dull the overall impression of the stone.
We went to the nicest jewelry store in town - a place that's been around for 100 years - and they showed us the Hearts on Fire diamonds, which I had never heard of before. We thought they looked fantastic, especially the way they sparkled in low light. It was clear to them that neither of us knew anything about diamonds, and they didn't show us any of the "papers," although I think they did say the one we looked at was AGS000.
We're looking for a round stone in the .75 to .8 range, unless I discover that we can afford a full carat, which would be wonderful. I played with the sliders on BluNile, and found what appeared to be "good" diamonds in the $4000 range at that size. In the B&M, they initially said the .75 HoF would be $6000, then said it might be closer to $8000.
I've been reading on this site all afternoon, but I still feel a bit lost, especially in terms of what really matters to the typical observer. Again, we'd take an inferior stone if it looks great.
My questions (thanks for reading this far!):
1. What's a reasonable price range for a .75 to 1 carat stone that's truly beautiful and sparkly in normal eyesight, but may give up on some of the measurements that a true diamond afficianado would care about?
2. Which specific aspects or measurements could I give up on to attain a lower price without affecting the pure visual impact?
3. Conversely-wise, what factors (apart from looking for AGS000) are most important to that visual impact like we saw with the HoF in the store?
4. What search tools are going to be best? I have played with the Pricescope tool n these forums a bit; so far it's the only one with and AGS search box, but even that seems to say "AGS0," and I guess I'd like to wrap all of it up into just looking for an AGS000 and trusting that. But then there's the HCA score....
5. I know the first answer is for me to readreadread, and I am doing that, too. Are there good threads for someone who's looking to maximize look over "by the numbers" quality?
Thanks so much for your help on this. You guys (if you'll pardon the pun) ROCK.
- Chris