help required in choosing a diamond..

[mvksagar45]

Hi,
I just started looking for a diamond ring for my engagement. I am looking around 1500-2000$. I read some info about the diamonds and how to choose them. But i am not sure what quality trade in to get the price right. Can some one please help me ?

I am looking at the james allen site and here are a few diamonds which i saw: (all are round and Excellent cut)

0.40 Caret --- H --- VS2 for 1010$
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.40-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-123677

0.42 Caret --- H --- VS1 for 1120$
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.42-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-174126

0.42 Caret --- I --- VS1 for 1030$
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.42-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-173875

0.43 Caret --- I --- VS1 for 1000$
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.43-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-85464

0.46 Caret --- I --- SI2 for 930$
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.46-carat-i-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-211438

0.46 Caret --- I --- VS1 for 1170$
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.46-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-175178

0.51 Caret --- I --- SI1 for 900$
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.51-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-99145

0.55 Caret --- I --- SI2 for 1180$
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.55-carat-i-color-si2-clarity-sku-181047
can some one please give some more info of which of the above is best ? I am not confined to the above options, please suggest if i am getting this entirely wrong. Thanks.

 

[JulieN]

You can get a .7 I SI2 for about 2000. You might consider J color, as well.

For around 1000, something in the neighborhood of half a carat is what you can get.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The last two have objectionable inclusions, in my opinion. And I think there is no reason to pay for VS1 when you are wanting to stretch the budget. I'll take a look and see what I can find in I VS2-SI1 in just a little while.

 

[JulieN]

These are bigger but I kept it around the same price as the ones you originally posted.

~.5 ct J <$1200

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...145,196141,209932,211434,211313,156736,211196

 

[mcosme]

some suggestions, I agree that going down to J will allow you to get something a little bigger

$928 http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2890087.htm
$978 http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2914777.htm
$1,130 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.53-carat-j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-209932
$1,130 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.53-carat-j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-211434
$1,290 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.51-carat-g-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-205072
$1,240 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.51-carat-H-color-SI2-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-182562
$1,230 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.52-carat-i-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-211002
$1,410 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.58-carat-H-color-SI2-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-175499
$1,534 http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2892588.htm

 

[diamondseeker2006]

This certainly is the winner of all posted if you can just buy the basic 4 or 6 prong solitaire setting. I'd far rather do that over buying a J SI2.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2892588.htm

 

[mvksagar45]

Thanks for all the replies. Sorry for the confusion. I am looking at 2000 for the entire ring and not just the diamond.

From your posts, i came to know that it is better to go with >0.5 caret and J rather then going with 0.45 caret and H or I.

from all your suggestions, i liked

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.53-carat-j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-209932

what do u guys say ?

Thanks again for the info.

 

[mvksagar45]

This certainly is the winner of all posted if you can just buy the basic 4 or 6 prong solitaire setting. I'd far rather do that over buying a J SI2.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2892588.htm

Thanks for your search. But 1500 for just the diamond is kind of out of my league. Thanks.

 

[hawk25]

Thanks for your search. But 1500 for just the diamond is kind of out of my league. Thanks.

Did you have a setting in mind? If so, what does it cost? I think the others might need a more accurate budget range to suggest something appropriate for you. Many PSers would advise people on a budget to spend most of it on the stone, and get an inexpensive plain solitaire setting (like under $500), like the one $1500 istase and DS suggested, bringing the cost within the $2000 budget. It's up to you whether you like the idea of that

 

[JulieN]

Thanks for all the replies. Sorry for the confusion. I am looking at 2000 for the entire ring and not just the diamond.

From your posts, i came to know that it is better to go with >0.5 caret and J rather then going with 0.45 caret and H or I.

from all your suggestions, i liked

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.53-carat-j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-209932

what do u guys say ?

Thanks again for the info.

You can get an H/I for your budget, for a little bit more, most of these are cross-posted with "istase": http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...3&ps=15&DiamondID=182562,213603,211116,211002

The J should be a winner. Pick 3 and then request a gemologist review from James Allen, they will be able to advise you further.

 

[mcosme]

The J you picked should be good, it can be confirmed if you get an idealscope
Like the other guys were asking, what setting were you thinking of getting?

 

[mvksagar45]

Thanks for your search. But 1500 for just the diamond is kind of out of my league. Thanks.

Did you have a setting in mind? If so, what does it cost? I think the others might need a more accurate budget range to suggest something appropriate for you. Many PSers would advise people on a budget to spend most of it on the stone, and get an inexpensive plain solitaire setting (like under $500), like the one $1500 istase and DS suggested, bringing the cost within the $2000 budget. It's up to you whether you like the idea of that

Thanks for the info. I have decided to get a solitaire ring around 400$. So now, the 1500$ budget for the diamond is fine. I have one question regarding

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2892588.htm

I found a 0.6 caret ring for almost the same price

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.60-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-208421

but the difference is the cut. which one should i go with ??

 

[mvksagar45]

The J you picked should be good, it can be confirmed if you get an idealscope
Like the other guys were asking, what setting were you thinking of getting?

But honestly from the pictures i did not like the J's. I am more inclining towards getting at least an I.

 

[mcosme]

If your budget it 1500, definitely go for the whiteflash H&A. It's pretty much the best performing stone you can get
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2892588.htm

 

[mvksagar45]

If your budget it 1500, definitely go for the whiteflash H&A. It's pretty much the best performing stone you can get
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2892588.htm

Is it the cut that makes it so good ? Is that cut worth the price ?

 

[JulieN]

The .600 is only a little bit bigger than the .566... I might go with the WF one in that case.

You need to go a little bit bigger to see the size difference: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.61-carat-j-color-si2-clarity-sku-207238

 

[hawk25]

Comparing the 0.566ct WF ACA and 0.60ct JA, the size difference is really negligible, 0.05-0.08mm difference (not even the thinness of a single piece of copy paper). The WF stone is their branded stone, meaning it is cut to more exacting standards. There are lots of testimonials of how well performing WF ACA stones are (in fact I bought one too, not too much bigger than yours). Yes, cut is that important.

Not that the JA stone is a slouch, it's also a AGS 000. But you're paying an extra $100 for the JA stone for negligible extra size and possibly (slightly) lower cut compared to the WF stone. If you wanted bigger, you'd have to compromise on color

 

[mcosme]

Yes, you do pay a bit more for H&A cut.

The James Allen solitaire setting is only $180, so something like this should still fit in your budget and you will see a difference in the size.
It's an AGS000 so performance is still great.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.64-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-208420

oh, don't forget there's pricescope discount too

 

[mvksagar45]

Yes, you do pay a bit more for H&A cut.

The James Allen solitaire setting is only $180, so something like this should still fit in your budget and you will see a difference in the size.
It's an AGS000 so performance is still great.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.64-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-208420

oh, don't forget there's pricescope discount too

Mostly i will choose between these two :

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2892588.htm

or

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.64-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-208420

which one do you suggest ?

And also How can i get pricescope discount ? Can i get it in james allen too ?

 

[hawk25]

And also How can i get pricescope discount ? Can i get it in james allen too ?

If you enabled cookies on your computer, when you link to the WF stone it should show the PS discount price. When you order, they'll ask for your PS user name. Don't forget that if your total purchase is over $2000 (setting and stone), you can get another $50 off by registering with WF (something I think you'll have to do anyways)

For JA, you'll have to ask for the discount when you order

 

[mcosme]

I would prefer to pay more for the stone and less for the setting.

Put them both on hold while you decide and ask James Allen for an idealscope & gemologist review

 

[mvksagar45]

Actually size is not that big a deal for me. So, i am thinking more towards WF.

Say, if i plan to buy it, what is the next thing i should do ? Call them ?

I am doing this the first time. So, should i ask anything specific ?

 

[hawk25]

If you're going with WF, I prefer to contact by phone or chat (quicker response than email). I've dealt with Liza and she was wonderful. WF says the stone's eye clean if inclusions can't be seen from 10 inches away, but many PSers prefer up to 6 inches, so to be safe ask if it's eye clean to whatever standards you'd like (it should be in their notes about the stone). If you have any other concerns, you can ask to get their gemologists to look at the stone again

 

[mvksagar45]

If you're going with WF, I prefer to contact by phone or chat (quicker response than email). I've dealt with Liza and she was wonderful. WF says the stone's eye clean if inclusions can't be seen from 10 inches away, but many PSers prefer up to 6 inches, so to be safe ask if it's eye clean to whatever standards you'd like (it should be in their notes about the stone). If you have any other concerns, you can ask to get their gemologists to look at the stone again

Thanks for the tip. Actually this is my first time, so i dont have any other questions. Can any one please tell me what i should ask them ? And regarding the price can i ask them to lower it ?