How big is big?

[orangemonster]

Hi... first congratulations!
I have to agree with those who have said look at J stones. I know they are lower on the color scale but I got my 2.02 princess cut stone as a J with a very slight blue fluorescence and every jeweler who has looked at it told me they would have graded it much higher. The cut is terrific too, really sparkles and looks very white!

 

[anavrin]

Thanks everyone for your help! I''m going to go to a B&M tomorrow to look at some 1.25-1.5 diamonds in settings so that I can get an idea of what they really look like on a ring. I think my ideal situation would be something in the 1.33-1.49ct range but it sounds like those are hard to find. I''ve got about a month or two to find something so I guess it''s possible something would pop up in that timeframe. If not, I don''t think I would really have a problem going with an I or J stone to get above the 1.5ct threshold, especially after seeings Mara''s J Color Stones in Platinum thread. Most of those diamonds in that thread look great! Also, that seems to be the majority recommendation here anyway.

Another quick question, I see some people recommending the WF ACAs and some others the WF Expert Selections. How much difference can I expect to see between those? I''m wondering because I want to know if I should be limiting myself to the ACAs or if it''s safe to be looking in the ES range as well?

You guys are great! Thanks again!

~anavrin

 

[Skippy123]

Mara''s is an ES and mine is neither but the sarin grading is all 0''s and very sparkly. The ES and ACA are in house. Do a search on ES versus ACA and the thread will say that ES missed the ACA cut for tiny differences so you are safe chosing the ES.

 

[neatfreak]

As Skippy said, ES stones are usually ACA stones that missed the mark. But like with any stone selection, there are some that are better than others. So as always, learn all you can, and choose selectively. But many ES stones can be great values.

 

[Lorelei]

It also depends if the pedigree of having the ACA brand is important to you, it is to some more than others. It is definitely safe to be looking at the ES range too - generally it has been said that you might not be able to see much if any difference between the ACA or ES diamonds. You can pay a premium for an ACA , so I would say unless the ACA name is a big plus for you, to consider either type of diamond to avoid limiting yourself.

 

[briz]

First of all thanks PS, you helped me obtain just enough knowledge to make the chain store sales lady’s jaw drop and go get the manager after she made me feel totally clueless a couple months ago.
I almost have made up my mind on my E-ring. It’s between two round ideal cut stones. Both are similar sizes one is 0.08 ct smaller, or 0.11 mm x 0.12 mm x 0.04 mm. Is this a large enough increase in size to be noticeable to justify the extra cash?

 

[jason2007]

I just bought an engagement ring for my (new) fiance and it ended with a 1.07 carat RB VS1 H color.

We live outside of Toronto and around here the standard engagement ring is 1/2 carat. It definitely comes down to what is common in the area/her group of friends. Alot of people around town guess that her ring is a 2-carat -- probably because they''ve never seen a diamond even as big as hers (small by PS standards -- or as bright (ideal cut with an HCA score of 1.1).

Jason

 

[climb2cloud9]

Date: 6/20/2007 3:40:01 PM
Author: neatfreak
Where do you live? ''Big'' is really defined by your social circle. What do your friends have?


Here in the Midwest, my stone is pretty big at a well cut .81. But in NY or LA, you''d have to go over 2ct. to be even remotely

''big''.


A 1.25-1.5 is very safe though for most parts of the country, and completely extravagant in others.

Yep, where you live is going to make a difference. I live in LA and someone last week remarked that my ring was "cute" (which I know meant small) and I have a gorgeous 1.25 asscher center stone with 2 side traps. She meant it as a compliment but... Here in LA, a "big rock" is 2.5 or above. Sometimes when I really look at the "big rocks" they have flaws and are yellow so I''ll take my GIA, D color, VS "cute" stone anyday!!!

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

Have you ever seen 1 mm? Go get a ruler and imagine 1/10 of 1 mm...I think you will be shocked at how small it truly is.

There are threads on this, I think for most people it is more or less along the lines of .5mm is noticable, some times people noticing lesser, like .3 or so, but .1? that is REALLY small. There is no way you are going to see it.

 

[tumbelina]

I think as you go up in size, the less you notice small increments. it''s all in the % differnece,and in that size, 0.08 of a carat is barely noticeable unless thye are side by side. i think we tend to forget that your fiancee will get the ring on it''s own not with 2 others to compare it too!

 

[briz]

Yeah i know when i think of 1 mm i think tiny. I drew up the shapes in CADD, it''s almost impossible for me to tell the size difference. The 0.1 mm is basically the thickness of the line.

 

[belle]

Date: 6/21/2007 4:48:24 PM
Author: briz
First of all thanks PS, you helped me obtain just enough knowledge to make the chain store sales lady’s jaw drop and go get the manager after she made me feel totally clueless a couple months ago.
I almost have made up my mind on my E-ring. It’s between two round ideal cut stones. Both are similar sizes one is 0.08 ct smaller, or 0.11 mm x 0.12 mm x 0.04 mm. Is this a large enough increase in size to be noticeable to justify the extra cash?

you will not notice that miniscule size difference. there are other factors that might make a stone appear bigger or smaller but that amount of size alone....no way.