Help with Diamond Purchase

[krislegg]

Hi all,

I am new to diamond buying and all the information available is a little overwhelming. Luckily I found Pricescope! I am just looking for some general advice and guidance.

I am working on a budget of about $1000 to $2000 for both stone and setting. She''s not too picky about size (actually prefers something under .5 carat because of hand size and jewelry preference) but she does want a round stone with decent cut and color.

I have been looking for a while now and have found a diamond I think would be good. Here''s the information:

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 0.33
Color: F
Clarity: VS1
Cut: AGS Ideal 0
Certificate: AGS

Depth: 61.6%
Table: 56.9%
Polish: Ideal
Symmetry: Ideal
Girdle: Thin to slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Negligible
Length: 4.42
Width: 4.48
Depth: 2.75

So what do you think? As I said I know very little and am very overwhelmed by all the information

 

[krislegg]

Here''s the Idealscope pic

 

[Andelain]

You could easily drop to a G or H VS2 and go closer t a half carat for the same price and the stone would still look as white.

 

[tyty333]

Date: 4/2/2010 11:43:44 AM
Author: Lone_Wolfe
You could easily drop to a G or H VS2 and go closer t a half carat for the same price and the stone would still look as white.

I second this idea! What kind of setting are you looking at? We can probably find you a nice 1/2 carat for around $1k. Setting
would be in addition. You have to let us know what your budget for a setting is.

 

[stone-cold11]

Idealscope image looks good, hearts image looks a little off if it is not due to image taking error like the stone being tilted when the image is taken. Ask JA for a retake if you are concern about that.

Ditto about the lowering of specs, for a stone that size, color and clarity difference is much less noticeable.

 

[krislegg]

Thanks for the information and feedback. I didn''t think about the imperfections not being as visible in a smaller stone. I''ll start looking at some slightly larger ones in additions to these others.

 

[krislegg]

As far as setting goes she doesn''t like the simple classic solitaire. She wants something a little more interesting.

I was looking at this one: James Allen Side Stones

And she also liked the look of this one: White Flash X-Prong

My max budget is around $2000 and ideally I would like to get something she''s not expecting (in a good way). I definitely don''t want to just pick one that she''s shown me. I just can''t seem to find many settings that are simple but not just the classic solitaire. Maybe I just don''t know where to look?

Thanks for all your help already!

 

[tyty333]

I like the James allen better for you. Its not as wide as the whiteflahs (3.5 vs 4 mm). A .5 stone is about 5mm so I would think you
would want a thinner band ... and a nice plus is that it is cheaper!

Here is a nice .5 J that is upgradable (just in case later on) and I suspect eye-clean for $900. It is a Brian Gavin Signature diamond
which means it meets his stict standards.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040399040012

Here is an H, VS2...priced at $1312
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-1040399040008

These are James Allen that you might check into. I would request and Idealscope image for them and
ask if they are eye-clean. They are .6 carat...dont know if you want to go that large but you could
do it for less than $2k with the james allen setting and have a lovely ring.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1275961.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1274206.asp

 

[Lorelei]

The hearts are definitely a bit off, could be the diamond or maybe the stone was tilted when the image was taken, check with one of the gemologists. It looks like a very nice diamond, just depends whether having picture perfect hearts are important to you, see what JA advise with that image, maybe a retake might be an idea.