Help selecting a diamond from BGD - Ps expertise sought

[maimed]

Hello,

I am in the final stages of getting BGD to start a custom engagement ring for me pending the selection of a diamond and I am getting quite excited!! Given the amount of experience on this forum I thought I would see if anyone wanted to help me out in picking just the right diamond.

Relevant information:

I would prefer a round
The band is a solitaire, so only a centre stone is sought
Cut is most important, preferably a BGD signature H&A cut (unless someone can convince me otherwise)
It will be set in platnium
Given that I trust the amount of experience of members on this forum, I have no other preferences in terms of the other C's and I am trusting that the diamonds reccomanded would be the best bang for buck in terms of quality.

The maximum price is USD$1800 - USD$2400 so I am looking somewhere in the 0.5ct+ range. I would like something that is good quality but if you honestly think that there would be no difference for example paying more for a J compared to a H then I would go with the J.

This is something I have found already: comments on this one?

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.605-j-vs2-round-diamond-ags-c-104071852132

Thanks very much! Any suggestions are highly appreciated!

 

[starryeyed]

Hi maimed.

Sounds like an exciting project! If you are thinking seriously about a particular diamond, have BGD reserve it for you. You wouldn't want a lurker to snatch it out from under you.

If you are comfortable with J color diamonds, here are a few more, slightly bigger:

$2360 Wire Price
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.702-j-vs2-round-diamond-ags-c-104070957116

$2234 Wire Price
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.703-j-si1-round-diamond-ags-c-104071810115

 

[maimed]

Thanks for the reccomandations!

Should I be comfortable with a J in your opinion? Or should I stick more around the .055-0.6ct range with a slightly better colour?

I have been reading that for round diamonds that colour is not all that important (obviously it still is important).

 

[Gypsy]

It is important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. So... no. Not really. Within 2 color grades it is hard. Not impossible. But very hard. And it gets harder once set. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

Generally we say to be conservative stay above H.

If you are talking fancy shapes without ideal light return (because there is no 'ideal' for EC's Radiant, etc) it's a bit different.

This is how I think of it.

Ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. One there's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really. They are all white?

Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great.

And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.


YES. If you have an accurately graded F and an H THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them side by side. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white, you only see the contrast because of the proximity. But it's very slight, you could set an F center with G sides and never tell the difference. And even H sides depending on the setting and the size of the sidestones... especially with round brilliants.


I want you notice all the qualifiers thought. I'm talking about stones with the SAME performance. An ideal H will out white an F that has compromised light performance from a poor cut.

NOTHING impacts the appearance of a diamond as much as cut. CUT is king.

You want the shinest whitest and brightest diamond out there: Cut is King. No other factor, not color or clarity or anything else impacts how white bright an shiny a stone is.

 

[maimed]

Fantastic! Thanks for that Gypsy!

I have only been a member here for a very short while but from what I can see your posts are always very informative and appreciated!