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Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621ECSM

R

rocksinmyhead

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Messages
6
Hello Everyone!

My first post, I've been reading a lot trying to get an education on diamond buying here, I appreciate all the content and help and education you all provide.

After much shopping around, my girlfriend has decided she likes this Tacori ring: style #2621ECSM

http://www.tacori.com/Engagement-Rings/2621ECSM

http://www.tacori.com/images/jewelry/2621ECSM_multi.zoom.jpg

Now I have to get an emerald cut diamond for it. I'm not quite sure if I need to get the ring first or the diamond first. When we were looking around 47th street in New York a week ago and we were told to get the diamond first, so now I need to find one that will work with that ring.

I don't know if there are any online shops that I could order that ring from and get a good price. I was kind of hoping I could get the whole thing for less than $5k, but I don't know how realistic that is. I was hoping I could find a deal online which is why I'm here. I want to get her something nice, but still try to stay in my budget. She's got her heart set on a 1 carat minimum size diamond and Tacori ring, she wanted platinum but I think that's way outside my budget.

I'm not comfortable buying online, but will do it if it will help me get what we want. I've been to a few stores here in California, and in New York, and I can't help feel like I'm being looked at like a sucker. I see the prices of what they are quoting for stones, and what similar things go for online, and its a big difference. All I want is someone who is going to give me good service and a decent price so I can get this done, I can't count the number of people I walked away from because they were trying to push crap on me at a high markup. So frustrating.

Any help anyone can spare that can steer me to a good place to order that ring and get a nice 1 carat emerald cut diamond to put in it would be much appreciated!

Thanks!
rocksinmyhead
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

Whew, I would think that setting would take up a LOT of a $5000 budget. It is gorgeous, though! I don't think that is a realistic budget at all for that setting and a center stone. I am thinking you'd need about a carat for the ring to look right. What size center stone did they say was the minimum for the setting?

My advice is to use Good Old Gold in NY, because they are excellent at picking out fancy cut diamonds and can send you pictures and video of stones to compare. They also carry Tacori and will have your stone set, which is important because they will take responsibility for any damage while the stone is being set. Then it will be sent to you ready to be insured. You'd have to call GOG and tell them what you are looking for and they would call in stones for you.

They do have one good prospect in stock at just under $4000:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9185/
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

It will take most of your budget to find a nice stone. Tacori has beautiful pieces but they are going to be out of our budget. I'm thinking that you are either going to have to double the budget or decide to buy the best diamond you can afford now and put in a classic solitaire and then at a point in the future have the diamond set into her dream setting.
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

To keep in line with budget I would opt for a more simple setting

I would call JA and have their gemologist take a look at these three diamonds I would also request asset images:)

Diamonds:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1465160.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1465094.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-IF-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1465267.asp

This setting can be customized to different shapes for an additional fee you would have to call JA to ask about that

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/-18k-White-Gold-Pave-Set-Diamond-Engagement-Ring.html
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

diamondseeker2006|1333809284|3165654 said:
Whew, I would think that setting would take up a LOT of a $5000 budget. It is gorgeous, though! I don't think that is a realistic budget at all for that setting and a center stone. I am thinking you'd need about a carat for the ring to look right. What size center stone did they say was the minimum for the setting?

My advice is to use Good Old Gold in NY, because they are excellent at picking out fancy cut diamonds and can send you pictures and video of stones to compare. They also carry Tacori and will have your stone set, which is important because they will take responsibility for any damage while the stone is being set. Then it will be sent to you ready to be insured. You'd have to call GOG and tell them what you are looking for and they would call in stones for you.

They do have one good prospect in stock at just under $4000:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9185/
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response.

Yes your right, I visited a local jeweler that carries Tacori and they quoted me $3700 for that ring in 18k gold and 6 weeks to make it. It has to be a minimum 1 carat for that ring. I don't know if this jewelers prices are competitive, or if discounts can be had or not at this time. I guess I had it in my mind it would be a lot less because many of the places I visited recently quoted me prices less than half that for the ring portion.

The lady I visited yesterday said to make matters worse for my budget, those Emerald cuts need to be minimum G color if put on 18k gold and VS1 quality, so that's going to raise the price, so now I'm really hoping for an internet discount! Or, maybe I can get a stone now put it in a less expensive placeholder and save up for the fancy ring part later.
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

Christina...|1333811075|3165671 said:
It will take most of your budget to find a nice stone. Tacori has beautiful pieces but they are going to be out of our budget. I'm thinking that you are either going to have to double the budget or decide to buy the best diamond you can afford now and put in a classic solitaire and then at a point in the future have the diamond set into her dream setting.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response. After my reality check yesterday, I think your right, getting stone first and ring later may be the best approach. This way she gets what she wants and I can buy it over time avoiding such a big hit to my savings, assuming the ring will still be around and available by the time I save that much. Or, I'll either have to pay way more than I'd like now for what she wants, or try to figure out how to deal with her disappointment for getting less than that now, feels like loose / loose :(
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

farmer gal|1333815150|3165700 said:
To keep in line with budget I would opt for a more simple setting

I would call JA and have their gemologist take a look at these three diamonds I would also request asset images:)

Diamonds:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1465160.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1465094.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-IF-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1465267.asp

This setting can be customized to different shapes for an additional fee you would have to call JA to ask about that

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/-18k-White-Gold-Pave-Set-Diamond-Engagement-Ring.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I will look into this as an option.
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

rocksinmyhead|1333906517|3166234 said:
Christina...|1333811075|3165671 said:
It will take most of your budget to find a nice stone. Tacori has beautiful pieces but they are going to be out of our budget. I'm thinking that you are either going to have to double the budget or decide to buy the best diamond you can afford now and put in a classic solitaire and then at a point in the future have the diamond set into her dream setting.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response. After my reality check yesterday, I think your right, getting stone first and ring later may be the best approach. This way she gets what she wants and I can buy it over time avoiding such a big hit to my savings, assuming the ring will still be around and available by the time I save that much. Or, I'll either have to pay way more than I'd like now for what she wants, or try to figure out how to deal with her disappointment for getting less than that now, feels like loose / loose :(
Click to expand...


Awww, I feel badly for you and incidentally for all you young guys who save to buy
FF a beautiful ring that she will be delighted with only to find out that what she has
in mind doesn't match the budget....

These ladies here have wonderful suggestions, and are EXTREMELY good hunters !!!
Maybe give this thread a day or two so others can have a chance to weigh in....

And actually, didn't I just read a thread where someone contacted Jon at GOG, told him
what they wanted and what their budget was, and then they made an appointment.
Jon had found and brought in several wonderful diamonds to choose from, and a gorgeous setting,
the ring came in budget and the couple were absolutely delighted....
I got the impression Jon was very caring and patient, and made their experience very positive...
If I were you, I would seriously go that route.
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

Speaking as a woman, I would suggest you be honest with your girlfriend and ask how she wants to proceed. The budget is $5,000. It's not possible to buy a well-cut diamond and that setting within that budget. So, how do we prioritize? Suggest buying the stone now and the setting later?

My only thought is, it seems like she is in love with the setting more than an emerald cut specifically. IMO, I think she may need to think more about what she wants here. Traditionally, the diamond is the main event, and putting the setting before the center stone is a bit backward. If she's not in love with an emerald cut, it does have very different light performance than a round brilliant, and I'd want to be sure that she is okay with that.

Just generally, I'd suggest laying out the budget and having an honest talk about what that can really buy. You're really going to be pushing the limits of your budget to get near 1 ct in a well-cut stone. The reason you'll see most of those settings only made for 1ct+ stones is that the setting should cost less than the diamond, and if you're spending $3500 on a setting, you'd expect to be spending over $10,000 for a diamond, generally.

I would suggest that she narrow in on what she likes about that setting to see if you can replicate it for less, or plan on a plain solitaire until you can save up for the Tacori.

Here are some ideas for less than the Tacori:
http://bridal.gabrielny.com/style/ER7255W44JJ
http://bridal.gabrielny.com/style/ER7510W44JJ
http://bridal.gabrielny.com/style/ER7528W44JJ
http://bridal.gabrielny.com/style/ER5707W44JJ
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

Hi theere! I am not sure I should even post this but I thought maybe it is worth a try!
I found the ring you are looking for here: http://www.genesisdiamonds.net/tacori-2621ec-dantela-collection-diamond-engagement-ring.html... The specs on the ECs they are quoting you are probably going to be off bc they are EGL and the cut quality is also probably questionable, but what struck me was the completed ring price of 5,300! Now let me say I have no knowledge good or bad about this vendor, however, they do have a 30 return policy so maybe it is worth a shot? You could call them and inquire about the specs of the diamond you will be ordering and maybe work something out to make sure the keystone quality is up to snuff and then have it sent to a trusted appraiser for validation??
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

Thanks for all the help everyone!

I've been searching all over the place, around town here and online. The process is wearing me out. I think this is probably the best stone for the ring she wants, all things considered, the total will be way over the budget I had in my head when I started this but I'll just have to deal with it, what do you think? I ordered it to physically take a look at it.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9185/
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

diamondseeker2006|1333809284|3165654 said:
Whew, I would think that setting would take up a LOT of a $5000 budget. It is gorgeous, though! I don't think that is a realistic budget at all for that setting and a center stone. I am thinking you'd need about a carat for the ring to look right. What size center stone did they say was the minimum for the setting?

My advice is to use Good Old Gold in NY, because they are excellent at picking out fancy cut diamonds and can send you pictures and video of stones to compare. They also carry Tacori and will have your stone set, which is important because they will take responsibility for any damage while the stone is being set. Then it will be sent to you ready to be insured. You'd have to call GOG and tell them what you are looking for and they would call in stones for you.

They do have one good prospect in stock at just under $4000:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9185/
Click to expand...


Can you explain a little more about this part that you wrote?
"They also carry Tacori and will have your stone set, which is important because they will take responsibility for any damage while the stone is being set. Then it will be sent to you ready to be insured. "

There is a jeweler down the street from me, they carry Tacori also, I've visited them and they are nice. Although, I must say I didn't get as much technical info from them as I have from GOG or from any brick and mortar retailer I've been to for that matter. But, they have been nice, they just haven't been able to get a stone that worked for me and the ones they did get were a lot more expensive. So I was thinking of using them to get the stone set in the ring I want. Thinking it would be good to do it that way because they are local. Is that not a good idea? Is there a reason I should go with GOG to get the stone set too instead of a local Jeweler?
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

The main reason we usually recommend having the stone seller set the diamond is in case there was damage to the diamond while being set, the stone would be covered by the jeweler. In the case of buying a stone and having it set elsewhere, the setting jeweler will usually not take responsibility if the stone is damaged.

However, the one way around this problem is to contact Jeweler's Mutual Insurance and go ahead and get the ring insured BEFORE the stone is set. You'll have to have the stone info and the setting info in order to do it, but they are one of the only insurers who will insure a diamond before it is set.

The only other advantage of using GOG is that they have an interest free 6 month payment plan if that would help spread out the expenses at all. That may apply to the diamond and I am not sure about the setting, though.

I think the diamond looks beautiful and will be gorgeous in that setting!
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

bigdiamondtinygal|1335999214|3186083 said:
how about this one? perhaps if there is a pricescope discount this might be doable?? I'm not emerald cut expert so hopefully someone else will chime in.

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/index.php/jewelry/Emerald-cut-diamond
Click to expand...

No. Huge table coupled with Huge depth. No ASET no crown height information. That diamond is going to be glassy (athough Rock DIamond will be along to defend his diamond orphanage stone in a minute) and it faces up small for it's carat weight. It also looks dark under the table in all the pics. There is a reason that price is so low, and that's because it's not a good choice.
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

Farmer girl did post some options for you, but many of them were not really rectangular. I prefer a ratio of at least 1.25 to get to a true EC shape (and my perferred ratio is about 1.3-1.4) PLEASE NOTE: JAMES ALLENS LABELS OF "excellent" and "good" are largely USELESS SO IGNORE THEM ENTIRELY, I DO.

Here are some better options in your budget. I'll explain what each stone's challenges are and what I would do.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1424430.asp This one has the most potential to be a gorgeous performer. It is 90 points BUT it faces up (the measurements, which is what you should be comparing with all fancy cuts, NOT the carat weight) at basically 6.5 x 5 with a great ratio of 1.3. The steps are even and rest of the measurements are very promising. Plus it's got both high color and clarity with a price tag UNDER 4K. This is my first recommendation.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1482399.asp This one is tied with the first one. And has the same comments. Great measurements, no flags, great color and clarity. This one additionally have a great octagonal outline and the spread is FANTASTIC 7x 4.7 basically. This is going to look BIGGER than many full carat stones (again, compare measurements not carat weight).

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Good-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1474862.asp This one is overdeep, but the table is small and the diamond doesn't look glassy or dark-- BUT the picture is kinda crappy because the diamond looks smudged. I would ask about this stone's performance compared to any of the others. Despite it's depth it does face up at 5.8 x 4.7 SO I would have that crown height checked first thing. It needs to be above 11% but HONESTLY above 14% for a great looking step cut.
 
Re: Help, shopping for 1c emerald cut for Tacori Style #2621

I prefer the first stones above to ANY of these below but if having a full carat to brag about is important to you (honestly the ones above FACE up like a one carat stone and NO ONE will be able to tell different on the hand, even WITHOUT a halo). But here are some options above a carat. JAMES ALLENS LABELS OF "excellent" and "good" are largely USELESS SO IGNORE THEM ENTIRELY, I DO.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1424455.asp Ask if this one is eyeclean (it has a chance) whether any feathers break the surface, and WHY it has only a 'good' for symmetry). It has a nice image though. BUT IT IS SMALLER (face up) THAN ANY OF THE ONES I POSTED above that were under a carat (so that's one reason why I wouldn't even think about chosing it over any of those).

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-IF-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1424508.asp This H has a decent picture (but a bit washed out so you can't see the details very well) and good numbers. PLEASE NOTE IT IS THE SAME SIZE AS THE 94 POINT STONE I POSTED ABOVE and that one was a D color and seven hundred dollars cheaper. And this one is 5,200. BUT it is the nicest stone I found in the above carat range (I would still prefer one of the less expensive under carat options with their higher color and clarity and cheaper price tag). Still this one has the potential to be a knock out stone.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1441809.asp Another H, this one seems to have a P# problem (cut for weight retention) but it's not too bad, and it is 400 cheaper than the one I posted above ( I would still prefer the H IF I posted above but my choice would be one of the first two I posted in the under carat crowd).

FInally: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Good-Cut-Emerald-Diamond-1455548.asp WEIRD numbers all over the place. Table is too big for me personally, but if the crown height works out over 11% (again my personal preference is over 14%) this could be okay. IT IS an E VS2 and the picture does show a really lovely stone. I reason I posted it is because of the picture but also because it is a really spready stone and is the biggest stone (face up) of the lot: 7.3 x 5.3 so it's a much bigger diamond than the rest AND is still 4,700. SO, despite the table and it being a shallow stone I think it's worth having a gemologist check it out and see what they say about the performance compared to the other diamonds.


What I would do is ask the gemologist to pull ALL OF THESE and then ask them to pick the three best performers (and if there are any ties, the less expensive stone wins). Best brightest of the three. THEN have them give you a SARIN and an ASET of each of the three finalists.
 
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