Help with Engagement Ring

[bdanziger]

I am looking for engagement rings for my gf (6 years). She liked the Tiffany Novo and then we saw the De Beers Forever Pave and she liked it the most.

1.5 Ct HSI. Its $13,800. What do you all think of it? Price really isn''t that bad for De Beers. However, its a very easy ring to copy and I would like to get her something a bit bigger, but they only go up to 1.5 Ct. I have been looking at whiteflash''s 2.095 A Cut Above I SI1. AGS graded, ideal cut, negligible flourescence. I wish I could post a link, its on Whiteflash.com, AGS # is 9557302.

What do you all think of this stone? What do you think of the price? Its a little out of my price range but maybe I can figure something out

Is there any other place i should look for a very well cut H-I SI1 stone (I have looked at goodolegold)? As Long as the stone is eye-clean, i really do not see the problem with an I SI1 (unless my girlfriend and friends secretly are on this forum and know about diamonds

)

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[mercoledi]

Link to your diamond.

That looks like a beautiful stone! Are you thinking of a fishtail pave band like the DeBeers? I believe LynnB has something similar, maybe also from WF.


ETA: Wait, is that fishtail? Or bead set? GOG has a stone for less, but it's not clear if it's going to be eye-clean. You can use the tool under prices/search by cut to look for other stones, or you can post your budget and preferred specs and we can poke around for you.

Good luck!

 

[JulieN]

I think you could save a little?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4550/

 

[Clairitek]

That IS a beautiful stone from Whiteflash!

I did a quick little hunt for you at James Allen and found a few more options. James Allen also does custom work, I believe. A sales rep told me over the phone yesterday that they can pretty much copy anything so long as they have pictures (obviously they mean copy to the point where they aren''t committing copyright violation but it will still be veeery similar).

It also appears that James Allen offers a pretty nice discount for Pricesope users.

An example:
2.01 carats, I, VS2, Ideal Cut
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1135390.asp

Was originally $18,790 and with the PS discount its shown as $17,930. About $3,000 less than the Whiteflash stone.

Good luck!

 

[bdanziger]

Does everything on the Whiteflash AGS report look ok? What about the Idealscope (Attached). Thank you!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/26/2008 4:52:31 PM
Author: bdanziger
Does everything on the Whiteflash AGS report look ok? What about the Idealscope (Attached). Thank you!

Everything is in order, fabulous diamond, you have no worries!

Thanks for the linky Merc!

 

[bdanziger]

The James Allen is a worse cut than the WF. I live nearby Whiteflash so I am lucky enough to be able to see the stone before I buy it.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/26/2008 4:54:45 PM
Author: bdanziger
The James Allen is a worse cut than the WF. I live nearby Whiteflash so I am lucky enough to be able to see the stone before I buy it.

Perfect!

 

[mercoledi]

Yeah, the JA isn't great. The 2.06 GOG has its merits, but why bother if you're so close to WF?

I would put that baby on hold and see when you can go pay it a visit. All the data we can look at marks is as an excellent stone! It's up to your eyes from here!

(but really do put it on hold, stones get swiped all the time)

 

[bdanziger]

Yes, thank you for the link.

I plan to get an exact copy of the De Beers diamond made. Not sure if that is fishtail or not. Should I everything made or should I just give her the ring with the single stone, then put the side stones on?

Thank you!

 

[mercoledi]

I don't think WF upgrades settings, so if you proposed with a temporary plain setting and got a pave setting later, you'd end up eating the cost of the first setting. Good pave is tricky, you can't often just add stones to an existing ring, and even when you can, it's a different look than the DeBeers (it's called hammer set, or gypsy set, you can search for it).


ETA: Yeah, I looked on the zooooom feature of the DeBeers site and it's bead set pave, half eternityish. The WF legato is probably most similar to the style of pave.

 

[bdanziger]

Thanks for the advice. At this point, I am just looking for the diamond. I might get the setting also but I have a side-plan for now...I have jeweler that has made stuff for my parents that can hopefully make a good pave ring. Can''t I get him to set it and then come back and do the Pave?

I am worried it won''t look as good as the De Beers (it looks as if the ring was made around the diamonds). Should the de beers design be that hard to copy for a good jeweler? Thanks!

 

[mercoledi]

Date: 8/26/2008 5:03:30 PM
Author: bdanziger
I am worried it won't look as good as the De Beers (it looks as if the ring was made around the diamonds). Should the de beers design be that hard to copy for a good jeweler? Thanks!

It was. The ring cast to the size and shape of the melee and with the structure required to support the stones and let them shine. Each stone is individually set and held in place with tiny beads, then the center stone is set.

Decent pave isn't hard to find. Really, really good pave is. There's no harm in getting a quote from your family guy and from WF and seeing examples of pave that each of them has done. Since you've seen the DeBeers, let your eyes judge the quality.

Are you concerned that your GF won't like the pave? If you'd rather have her involved in the setting, you could propose with just the stone.

Here's Leon's pave info page.

 

[bdanziger]

Just talked to a diamond broker (friends have used many times). He said he is able to get me a 2.01 ct H SI1, GIA excellent cut for ~17k (very good sym and polish, no fluorescence). He had several 2.0 cts, I SI1s with very good cuts for around 15-16.

Therefore, the WF cut above is above 3k more (in line with ~15% premiums i have read on the forums for a cut above stones).
Is there a large difference to the average person between a cut above H&A versus a normal excellent GIA cut?

Thanks!

 

[bdanziger]

bump

 

[jaz464]

Date: 8/26/2008 6:12:49 PM
Author: bdanziger
Just talked to a diamond broker (friends have used many times). He said he is able to get me a 2.01 ct H SI1, GIA excellent cut for ~17k (very good sym and polish, no fluorescence). He had several 2.0 cts, I SI1s with very good cuts for around 15-16.

Therefore, the WF cut above is above 3k more (in line with ~15% premiums i have read on the forums for a cut above stones).
Is there a large difference to the average person between a cut above H&A versus a normal excellent GIA cut?

Thanks!

If you can swing it, I would most definetely go with the ACA over the GIA diamond. I think it will be worth the extra $$.

 

[jstarfireb]

WF has a beautiful fishtail pave design that might be a good option for the budget rather than making a near-exact copy of the DeBeers design. Custom designs tend to be more expensive than stock settings, even if they seem easy to make. It would look fantastic with the stone you''re looking into!

 

[mercoledi]

H&A is a style of cutting, there are ideal cut diamonds with H&A patterns, and ideal cut diamonds without them. There are also poorly cut diamonds that still qualify as H&A.

The WF ACA is a branded line, that''s why it costs more. There are certainly unbranded, ideal stones graded by both AGS and GIA that are also H&As. While pretty much all ACA''s will be winners, there''s still a lot of room in the GIA excellent category; some stones are more excellent than others

.

If you post the table and depth percentages and the crown and pavilion angles, we can help you evaluate the GIA Ex stone. It is certainly possible to find a beautiful, unbranded stone.

You may also want to consider looking through the WF Expert Selections. These are stones that have just missed the ACA mark, and so are cheaper.


There''s also a PS discount, and I believe that it''s higher on ACAs than ES, so count that into your math.

Good luck!