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I think I found a good e-ring, but can't go it alone...

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ranger2000

Rough_Rock
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Dec 1, 2011
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This is a loaded question about both the diamond and the setting... please throw a few pointers my way if you can!

I've been reading up on round solitaire rings for the past few months and now it's time to get my act together and make a purchase. I read a lot on GOG so I've looked there among other places found on PS. In regards to the ring, both my gf and I prefer a simple solitaire and I'm hoping to find the best cut/clarity I can buy while having the carat size around .80-.95. Of course around .95 would be the best but i'm really looking for the best looking stone. My budget is around $7,000 for the diamond alone.

Going back to GOG and the .82 size, i found two superior rounds in that size during a search today. both VS2's, one is a G at $5,900 and the other is an F at $6,700. Under my budget, but both seemed like pretty good options so far in my search.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8809/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8649/

My first question is, how much better can i do than these two, carat-wise, for around $7,000? I'm probably getting greedy here, but if anyone has a suggestion or two please let me know. My gf has been letting me know how antsy she's becoming.


As for the setting, through PS i stumbled upon the BGD tiffany settings (half round and knife edge). I think i'm planning on a platinum ring regardless of the final choice, but i just wanted to see if there were any other tiffany style rings out there. Also, if i choose to work with BGD for the setting, is it pretty easy to coordinate with them although i might buy the diamond from someone else?

Thanks in advance for any help that comes my way, i greatly appreciate it!
 
How about this one? Or is the color and clarity out of the range you are looking for? GOG is very good about making videos of diamonds you are interested in to see if it's eye clean and looks white enough for you.
This one is $7317
Or bank wire price is $7069
 
oooo yes! another vote for the brian gavin stone. great price!
 
There is a big difference between G and I colors (I've owned both). There is an even bigger difference between an F color and an I color. Make sure your gf is okay with an I color diamond before you make the decision to go with a lower color to bump up the size. I like the first GOG diamond. It's a nice carat weight, and G VS2 is one of the best color/clarity combinations in terms of value, in my opinion. Have you spoken to anyone at GOG? If not, you may want to give them a call and discuss your budget and gf's preferences with them. They may be able to suggest some other options. Metals prices are outrageous, so you are wise to stick with a simple, classic platinum solitaire. Any of the online vendors can help you with that, though it is easier and often less expensive to get both the diamond and the setting from the same vendor.

eta: I actually think platinum is a better value these days than is gold. Gold prices have been very sticky, but platinum has dropped in price. Not sure you'll see this reflected in the actual price of the settings, but in terms of value, gold settings seem way overpriced to me now in comparison to platinum.

eta2: Diamonds with fluorescence are often a bit less expensive than diamonds without fluorescence. However, it is a bit of a reach to suggest that an I or J diamond with fluorescence will look "whiter" or as white as a G or an H diamond. Again, I have owned an I color diamond with fluorescence, and while I enjoyed the way the diamond looked in certain lighting conditions, I still noticed the tint of the I color in other lighting conditions. Fluorescence should be enjoyed as a quirk or an add-on feature, not as a way to brighten a lower-color diamond. And fluorescence is not a uniform characteristic; not all diamonds with fluorescence will react the same under UV light. Some are more reactive than others.
 
SweetAsscher|1322809414|3072835 said:
Laila619|1322809034|3072833 said:
Gypsy|1322808750|3072831 said:
I like both those-- they are gorgeous. But if it were me, I'd drop to I color, add some fluorescence, and get a full carat since you are getting the setting from BGD anyway: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.006-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104052029004
Click to expand...

Nice find...I think getting to a full carat is really nice if you can do it.
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+1
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I would go for this one too! If you get it an the color is too much you can always trade it for a smaller stone.
 
Thanks so much for the recommendations! I saw a few different opinions so I'll try to address them all...

SweetAsscher|1322808435|3072829 said:
How about this one? Or is the color and clarity out of the range you are looking for? GOG is very good about making videos of diamonds you are interested in to see if it's eye clean and looks white enough for you.
This one is $7317
Or bank wire price is $7069
Click to expand...
SweetAsscher, I'm not sure if your pictures or links came through... I wasn't able to see anything.

Gypsy|1322808750|3072831 said:
I like both those-- they are gorgeous. But if it were me, I'd drop to I color, add some fluorescence, and get a full carat since you are getting the setting from BGD anyway: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.006-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104052029004
Click to expand...
Gypsy, thanks for the link to the BGD diamond. It seems like the jump to 1 carat is a popular choice! I haven't really read too much into fluorescence, though. I guess I would need to see it in person to really decide if it's right for me. I'm not sure if my gf is aware of any fluorescent diamonds, and I was really looking for the best match of an excellent cut, white color, and size over .80. But it is difficult to ignore the bump in size and the great price for that one.

My gf has tried on a couple rings around .80 carats. I think the size won't matter too much for her (probably a typical guy thing to say), and it actually looked pretty good on her smaller than average finger... but I'll definitely contact BGD and get more information. My ideal stone is a .90 but so far no luck in that department...

Lula|1322830823|3072885 said:
There is a big difference between G and I colors (I've owned both). There is an even bigger difference between an F color and an I color. Make sure your gf is okay with an I color diamond before you make the decision to go with a lower color to bump up the size. I like the first GOG diamond. It's a nice carat weight, and G VS2 is one of the best color/clarity combinations in terms of value, in my opinion. Have you spoken to anyone at GOG? If not, you may want to give them a call and discuss your budget and gf's preferences with them. They may be able to suggest some other options. Metals prices are outrageous, so you are wise to stick with a simple, classic platinum solitaire. Any of the online vendors can help you with that, though it is easier and often less expensive to get both the diamond and the setting from the same vendor.

eta2: Diamonds with fluorescence are often a bit less expensive than diamonds without fluorescence. However, it is a bit of a reach to suggest that an I or J diamond with fluorescence will look "whiter" or as white as a G or an H diamond. Again, I have owned an I color diamond with fluorescence, and while I enjoyed the way the diamond looked in certain lighting conditions, I still noticed the tint of the I color in other lighting conditions. Fluorescence should be enjoyed as a quirk or an add-on feature, not as a way to brighten a lower-color diamond. And fluorescence is not a uniform characteristic; not all diamonds with fluorescence will react the same under UV light. Some are more reactive than others.
Click to expand...
Lula, thanks so much for this reply. I was hoping for some differing opinions and I've gotten them. In regards to the I color, on paper it seems too low for me but since I don't know much about fluorescence, I may be wrong and I'll have to see it. My gf says she doesn't care what it looks like but I'm all about the highest quality in a classic stone for the price, so if the fluorescence really is like an add-on feature then maybe it's not for me... even though it's less expensive...

I appreciate the help everyone. It's going to be a fun weekend on the phone... is there anyone else I might want to speak with besides BGD and GOG? And does GOG sell a tiffany setting?
 
I will tell you that a lot of girls seemingly don't care too much about the carat weight they receive at first, but they might after shrinkage starts to set in. ;) If my DH had given me the choice of carat or color, I would have picked carat in a heartbeat but I am not color sensitive (I received an H but would have happily gone down to a J). Do you think your girlfriend might be color sensitive?
 
my gf has honestly said she'll take anything; she just wants to get this show on the road. for her job she works with her hands a lot so it was never my intention to get a huge rock that might get in the way, rather it would be something that i'm confident is the brightest and clearest for the money i spend.

after a couple more searches i found two potential upgrades carat-wise to my original GOG choices. i don't have time to call GOG or BGD today so the fluorescent stone will have to wait for tomorrow.

between these two rings below, both around .92, can anyone explain the large difference in price? they're both pretty close using the HCA (1.3 vs. 1.4), but is it just because the GOG ring is a H&A and the james allen is not classified as one? i feel like the JA ring is a great price... what am i missing?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8758/
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1435429.asp

(i am the one with the hold on the JA diamond.)

would i be best off if i start a new post about this? i'm new to the forum rules...
 
i think the hold covers up the price for the JA ring... it was listed around $6,600, compared to $8,300 for the GOG.
 
i think the one from james allen looks great. the one from GOG you pay slightly more for the cut and the service they provide in terms of all the extra details/information, but if you know the right questions to ask then you can find out some of that stuff yourself. have you asked james allen to get a gemologist to review that particular stone?
 
Thanks everyone for the help so far! After lurking for awhile and finally creating an ID I'm amazed at all the responses that come so quickly... unfortunately I still have more questions.

At this point I feel like the JA diamond is a good price for me (considering the setting will add another $1k), so I'm going to investigate it further tomorrow.

1) Since they only show the GIA report on the JA website, can I ask them to provide an ASET, Idealscope, etc. or is that something that they lack compared to other retailers?

2) When I ask JA to have a gemologist review the diamond, I'll still need my own 3rd-party appraisal done, correct?

3) Lastly, one thing I noticed in the GIA report was a slightly thick girdle (4%). Should I be worried at all about that?
 
I was in the same situation, 1 ct was a bit out of budget range so I was looking at 0.8 and above back in end of Oct. I was ready to pull the trigger on 0.8 ct diamonds from BGD when 3 0.91 h vs2 H&A diamonds for $6400 showed up in their inventory and they were sold very quick. One was gone within couple days while the diamonds were still at AGS with no ASET or H&A images from BGD at the time. I got in touch with BGD, bought the 2nd one to go with BGD half round tiffany platinum setting and can't be happier. Sometimes you had to be a bit lucky and patient to get the stone you want and for the right price.
 
Ranger, BGD can source for you as well. Have you called them? I would say before you pull the trigger on anything-- give them a call and tell them: Look-- my budget OUT THE DOOR, including this EXACT setting of yours is: XXXX. I want the largest diamond with ideal LIGHT RETURN at H color (for example) that I can get. And see what they can do for you.

I will say that I have seen a TON of H-I-J colored diamonds and think that OFF THE BOARDS, where people are not very sensitive to knowing what they have and what it means and what it looks like, MOST people would be very happy with an I colored ideal light return diamond WHEN SET and not be able to tell much difference between that an a G unless they compare stones side by side. You lady will be wearing the ring in a 6 prong (which covers up a lot of the side) ALONE on her hand. I think she would probably be fine. And if the color did bother her, you can always return it.
 
Thanks maxmin and Gypsy. No phone calls yet due to a busy work week, but tomorrow I'll get down to business. I'm the type of person who doesn't want to have to worry about possibly returning a stone due to color or size. so I'm trying not to take any chances and seeing if I can get a great all-around diamond that she'll love. I understand this probably makes me difficult to work with, but I'll keep you posted...
 
There is a very slight difference in size on the hand between a .80ct and a 1.0 ct. But in my experience there is a notable difference in brightness of the white of the stone between an F and an I, for example. If I were choosing between those options I would go for the smaller higher color rock. If you can hit 1.15ct by dropping color, then it is worth it IMO. But it is not worth the decrease in the intentity of the while light, to me, to reach 1ct when the other options are so close in perceptibel size, expecially once set.
 
Hello again. Thanks everyone for the posts, they've been really helpful. I made a few calls over the weekend and now I'm traveling for work so I don't have a lot of time to sit down with the information I've received. I got an email with the Idealscope for the James Allen 0.93 G VS2 I mentioned earlier and I'd like to get your opinion if possible.

Here are the stats again:

0.93 G VS2
Cert - GIA
Cut - EX
HCA - 1.4
Depth - 61.9%
Table - 57%
Crown - 34.5 deg
Girdle - 40.8 deg
Slightly Thick girdle - 4%

Idealscope%201.jpg

A gemologist at JA inspected the stone and said that it is likely that the unaided average eye will not see the feather on the lower part... but that's made me a little skeptical. Is that typical for a VS2?

What do you think? At $6,500 am I getting a good deal for the size and quality?
 
Besides the stone above, I have another general question on diamond retailers and appraisals (I apologize if this should be a separate post).

A representative I spoke with told me that their diamonds come with "appraised values" that I can use for insurance purposes. Am I still better off getting a third party appraisal to save $ on insurance costs? Does that typically happen before or after purchasing the stone?
 
I have Jeweler's Mutual, and they will accept the receipt for insurance purposes. If you get an appraisal specifically for insurance purposes, you'll basically get an inflated "appraisal" for the ring. The inflated value will mean you will also pay more for insurance. You can call your insurance company to ask what they require.
 
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