I've been lurking on this forum for a couple of weeks to try and learn as much as I can before I take the plunge and buy my first diamond. I'm currently looking for an engagement ring with around a $16k budget, brilliant round, ideally more than 1.5ct, and to be set in a traditional white gold solitaire setting (white gold and solitaire is something I know my GF wants).
Since I've been looking at checking out an online vendor I've been a bit conservative in my search restricting Cut to si1 or better (more likely vs2), Color to I or better, and cut to excellent/ideal. I've found my budget tends to offer around a 1.7ct, I, VS2 diamond. Should I have any concerns about the I color at that size? Or do I need to look for H?
One thing I haven't been good at so far is looking at a local vendor to compare/contrast some of these options. I doubt "Jared" or "Tiffany" will be much help for getting a feel for GIA rated diamond options and I'm not sure if there's a small independent jeweler I should trust. Plus I'd feel bad for wasting the time of a local jeweler only to buy everything online.
So back to the online stuff
.
I found the following diamond on JA and was thinking about pulling the trigger, but the table on this one is pretty small at 54% and I worry its going to look smaller due to the table size:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.71-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-262348
I was also considering these two slightly larger ones:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.79-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-171526
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.78-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-234131
I also found a similarly sized SI1 diamond from whiteflash but don't seem to have anything similar clarity to the JA options in stock:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2983080.htm
I'm also open to other suggestions.
Since I've been looking at checking out an online vendor I've been a bit conservative in my search restricting Cut to si1 or better (more likely vs2), Color to I or better, and cut to excellent/ideal. I've found my budget tends to offer around a 1.7ct, I, VS2 diamond. Should I have any concerns about the I color at that size? Or do I need to look for H?
One thing I haven't been good at so far is looking at a local vendor to compare/contrast some of these options. I doubt "Jared" or "Tiffany" will be much help for getting a feel for GIA rated diamond options and I'm not sure if there's a small independent jeweler I should trust. Plus I'd feel bad for wasting the time of a local jeweler only to buy everything online.
So back to the online stuff
.I found the following diamond on JA and was thinking about pulling the trigger, but the table on this one is pretty small at 54% and I worry its going to look smaller due to the table size:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.71-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-262348
I was also considering these two slightly larger ones:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.79-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-171526
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.78-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-234131
I also found a similarly sized SI1 diamond from whiteflash but don't seem to have anything similar clarity to the JA options in stock:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2983080.htm
I'm also open to other suggestions.
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