Help with a small budget diamond? $2kish

bianka · May 28, 2017

I had a modest engagement ring and have been feeling nostalgic for a budget diamond lately. Would anyone be willing to help me look?

I'm OK with the following: round, oval, cushion, pear, marquis
Ct weight of .4+
Colors all the way to Z
Preloved / vintage is OK

More spread is better than less, all things being considered. I'm not afraid of warm diamonds.

Thank you!

foxinsox · May 29, 2017

There are loads of possibilities on Old World Diamonds - couldn't see photos too easily as I'm posting on my phone. Jewels By Grace has some very pretty options too - this cushion or this RB or this OEC?

Tophat1 · May 29, 2017

What about this one? I love the color!

https://loupetroop.com/listings/rin...rk-brown-size-7-dot-75-18k-wg-semi-bezel-ring

tyty333 · May 29, 2017

Well, I'll post a variety of options...I think you might need to narrow your wants down a little. I think you'll get more finger coverage with oval/pear/marquise
but the sparkle wont be as great as with a round stone (its a trade off).

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2874197
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2314711 going down to M gains you a little size
but its quite yellow...still pretty but most people want whiter for an ering.

Fancy cuts stones tend to show more color in their areas of mushiness so you need to watch for that.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.72-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2618140 VS2 but not sure how eye-clean
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.72-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-sku-2718581 bigger (look at LxW)
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.70-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2869213
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/marquise-cut/0.90-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-sku-3035857
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/marquise-cut/0.81-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2020996 cute fat one
Not finding much in a nice pear.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/0.70-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-sku-3037226

If you find two different stones you like, I (or someone else) can run a tool that will show you how they compare size wise on a finger so you can
get an idea of how big/small they will look.

The other thing you need to consider is whether you might want to trade up to a bigger size some day. If so, you need to work with a vendor that has
a good trade up policy. James Allen has a trade up policy but you have to spend 2x as much as your original stone (you get 100% value of your original
stone to spend towards the new stone you pick out). Some vendors have better trade up policys where you just have to spend $1 more than your original
stone. But if that is important you need to look at each vendor's policy.

So, at this point it would help if you could spend some time trying to narrow down what shape of stone you like.

I ditto foxinsox that an OEC might be a good choice because they look very nice in lower colors. When looking at OECs pay attention to the size (in mm)
vs. the carat weight because they are usually cut deeper than modern round brilliants so you cant compare carat to carats.

Lots of info to digest...