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thomaslongmore

Rough_Rock
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Sep 6, 2008
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I''m in the market for a princess cut diamond engagement ring. I''m looking to spend approx. $10,000 on the diamond and setting. For the last month I''ve been researching diamonds on the internet and concluded the internet was the way to go.. or I thought. I feel like I''ve hit a dead end. I was set on purchasing a princess cut diamond GIA, 1.31 carat, F color, VS1 clarity, 5.96-5.89-4.33, Depth 73.5%, table 70%, Girdle STK, polish excellent, symmetry excellent, and no fluorescence on union diamond for $8350. The setting I picked out was a Tiffany style solitaire in platinum for $675. Well I was all ready to contact Union Diamond today andl I read the responses to my post last night... now I''m having doubts. Is it impossible to tell the brilliance of a diamond without physically seeing it or looking at a picture. Is there a possibility for complete disaster in making this purchase. Any suggestions? I haven''t read any negative reviews in re: to Union Diamond, only positive. What should I do? Any personal experiences with Union Diamond? Do these companies stay in business because of suckers like me?
 
there's been a few (disastrous?) negatives for UD, but they involve EGL stones.
 
a colorless diamond, inclusions not visible to the naked eye, ideal cut, excellent polish and symmetry. How can I go wrong?
 
ideal cut?
 
UD classifies it as a signature ideal. I really appreciate your help!!
 
Princesses are a little more predictable than other fancy cuts... there is a princess grading system by AGS, no?

Make life easy on yourself. Get a stone with a cert from AGS that says it is a well-cut princess, or buy a princess from a trusted ps vendor that will give you their respected professional opinion on the cut and hopefully images as well.

The stones you were looking at on the other thread were also a bit all over the place in terms of size/color/clarity.

WF is well regarded for their ACA princesses, but they don''t have anything ACA in your range right now. They do have a number of expert selection princesses you might consider, such as:
1.41 G/SI
1.14 G
1.56 G

And a couple of other options without images up yet. Call them and ask about those, they can send you images and give you their opinion.

Good old Gold also has a few, but a gap in their supply around your budget. These are on either side:
1.2 G/VS
1.23 G/VS

Also, may I ask a question about your budget distribution? Are you getting a temp setting or do you know that your girl would like a simple setting or are you playing it safe with a plain plat ring? Even on solitaire settings, there are differences in how the setting looks at different price points and you might consider putting a little more budget towards the setting unless you know your girl''s preferences or are just using this as a placeholder setting.
 
She prefers platinum solit.. I picked out the Tiffany. Are you basically telling me.. I''m make a mistake with the diamond from UD. I can''t thank you enough for your help.
 
BN and Union simply do not offer as much information about their products as other ps vendors. That you were looking at those company''s signature ideal products suggests they are better than average but there is no way of knowing how beautiful the stone is without buying it. If you want a knock-your-socks off princess, it is just easier to buy from someone that gives you more info upfront, from a vendor that has a rep for stricter standards on their use of "ideal cut".

OK, she wants a solitaire. My only complaint about the less expensive tiffany style settings is that sometimes they have a stock size head that doesn''t really fit the diamond well, and given your budget my preference would be to get a more integrated looking ring. My personal all time fav princess solitaire setting shown on pricescope is WF''s W-prongW-Prong, but at least try to get an appropriately sized/integrated head if you decide to do something more Tiffany-esque.
 
Here''s the deal. Most people want LOTS of info. Pics, ASET, AGS light performance rating.

If we can''t get that, most people will want at least an AGS princess.

Probably...probably, the stone from UD will look decent. But whatever it is when you open the box will be a complete surprise.
 
If you had $10,000.00 to spend on a princess cut, tiff sol setting. Setting and diamond from same site. Where and what would you buy? Please take into consideration I''m working class blue colar and by no means wealthy!!!
 
Date: 9/8/2008 2:06:29 AM
Author: thomaslongmore
If you had $10,000.00 to spend on a princess cut, tiff sol setting. Setting and diamond from same site. Where and what would you buy? Please take into consideration I'm working class blue colar and by no means wealthy!!!
Click to expand...
Thomas, I would look at vendors who have detailed photos of the diamond and ASET images, also AGS0 cut grade Princess can make it easier to find a well cut and pretty diamond. I would consider G or H colour if you want to try to get as much size as possible for the budget, and VS2 to SI clarity ( verify SI clarity grades are eyeclean to your standards). That should narrow the field, cut quality is so important and fancy shapes aren't always predictable by the numbers, so an expert vendor with in house stones is so helpful. I would check out Whiteflash, Wink Jones, Good old Gold for starters as they carry well cut Princess and some nice settings.
 
Stick with AGS 0 graded princess cuts. GIA is no good for telling you about the cut, and any company can have something called signature ideals. Maybe they''re GREAT, but unless they provide pictures, idealscope and/or ASET images, etc., who knows??? If a diamond is graded 0 in light performance by the AGS, you know it will have great light return, therefore it will be very sparkly!
 
Date: 9/8/2008 2:06:29 AM
Author: thomaslongmore
If you had $10,000.00 to spend on a princess cut, tiff sol setting. Setting and diamond from same site. Where and what would you buy? Please take into consideration I''m working class blue colar and by no means wealthy!!!
Click to expand...
What I would do if I could not find the stone I was looking for at any of the ''usual'' PS vendors is contact Jon at Good Old Gold and ask him to go find some prospects for me from the diamond district.
 
EEEE, Mrs Salvo!
 
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