If you were to buy a round solitaire...

[polk084]

Hi,

I''m choosing my own engagement ring and not sure what to do. It turns out that I''m not very discriminating, because I can''t see much difference in the various cut, color, and clarity grades. Sometimes I think I still want a highly-graded diamond, even if I personally can''t tell the difference, because it will make me feel better to know that it''s considered quality. Other times I think I should just get the biggest diamond I can find, since I can''t tell the difference anyway.

I know the ultimate decision is up to me, but I would like to pose a question for you: If you PERSONALLY were in the market a standard round solitaire ring, and you could spend around $25K, what would you get? Cut, carat, clarity, color, and any other factors I''m missing... since I''m no expert, I thought it would be helpful to get the opinions of people who are.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/3/2009 5:20:48 AM
Author:polk084
Hi,

I'm choosing my own engagement ring and not sure what to do. It turns out that I'm not very discriminating, because I can't see much difference in the various cut, color, and clarity grades. Sometimes I think I still want a highly-graded diamond, even if I personally can't tell the difference, because it will make me feel better to know that it's considered quality. Other times I think I should just get the biggest diamond I can find, since I can't tell the difference anyway.

I know the ultimate decision is up to me, but I would like to pose a question for you: If you PERSONALLY were in the market a standard round solitaire ring, and you could spend around $25K, what would you get? Cut, carat, clarity, color, and any other factors I'm missing... since I'm no expert, I thought it would be helpful to get the opinions of people who are.

Welcome!

For me personally I would choose the best cut I could find, the lowest eyeclean clarity such as SI, and I or J colour. And if the diamond had fluorescence, so much the better.

 

[Mrs W]

Like Lorelei said I too would get the best cut I could find, h color+, eyeclean but VS+ is my preference and with 25k at least reach the 1.75 mark.

This would tempting bc of the size http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1466926.htm

but for my mind clean reasons I would probley end up getting something this http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1474661.htm

 

[Gypsy]

I too would maximize cut. I would get a super ideal round (my personal preferences would be an Infinity, a BGD signature, or an Isee2) in the safest eyeclean clarity rating I could find (SI usually, though not always) and I would easily drop color down to I or J and maximize size on that puppy.


Here's a nice contender (ask if eyeclean)
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5303/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4884/

And to eek out all the size you can (ask if eyeclean)
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4844/


And the setting. There are so MANY amazing solitare settings... an nothing 'standard' about them. I would save about 3000 for a platinum setting. And depending on what my ladies preferences were I would get one of the following:

Mark Morrell's Torchiere

Leon Mage's Classic 4 prong

BGD's Truth Setting

Four Prong Mark Morrel (can you tell I like his solitaires?)

Shodt Fremont Profile

Sholdt Fremont Top View

Okay, so I just realized most of these are four prong except the first (which is frankly my favorite of them all anyway) but that's because I don't know of ANY six prong that holds a candle to that Mark Morrel Torchiere for me.

 

[chrono]

I would go for the best cut, colour (G/H but I know some like a warmer J) and eye clean SI1. Does your budget include the setting?

 

[ILoveDiamondsToo]

I would first call Brian Gavin because cut is most important! And not all inclusions are created equal. I have SI1''s in my studs and an SI2 ering that are all eyeclean. The SI2 inclusions are twinning wisps that I can''t even see with my 10x loupe.

 

[Moh 10]

You may not know much about diamonds today but you may in the future.

When you learn more don't you want to look down and be happy with your purchase instead of disappointed?

You really owe it to yourself to get educated.

At the top of this screen click on KNOWLEDGE.
Then select ADVANCED TUTORIAL.
Read every page.
Ask questions.

$25,000 is too much money to spend poorly, and believe me, it is VERY easy to spend too much on a bad diamond.
A smart purchase requires education.

 

[pink.noodle]

I''m actually in the same boat you are, my bf is letting me have alot of say in the ring as well since he knows how picky I am.
In order to maximize our budget (1.5-2 carat) range here''s the order of my preferences:

1. cut (EX/ideal....I''m also going for EX polish and EX symmetry)
2. color (I''ve always wanted an F and it looks brighter to me than a G stone, I''m color-sensitive go figure)
3. size (1.5 is still pretty big on me, I have tiny fingers)
4. clarity (si1 if it''s eye clean and you can''t see the inclusions with the naked eye then why not?)

Keep in mind the cost of the setting/material (platinum or white gold), etc. Also the cost of the wedding band that will
go with the engagement ring.

 

[atroop711]

if I had 25K...I would get a 2ct (if I could get that) round diamond with great cut..I don't need the best cut but a very good cut with the right specs is good enough for me. I would go for an H-J in color with Strong Blue Fluour. The clarity could be SI2 as long as it's eye clean...the SI2 is fine with me. I won't be walk around with a loupe to show ppl how perfect a stone is nor do I feel the need to tell ppl that my diamond has the best clarity. If I can't see any inclusions then it's good enough for me.

 

[elle_chris]

1. a great cut
2. no lower than in H color
3. no lower than a VS2 clarity
4. size.

It doesn''t have to be an H&A stone or even an AGS0 (I''m saying this because I own them and can''t see a difference between my H&A''s and GIA excellent with goodt numbers and images). But it should have a great idealscope image and be purchased from someone you''re comfortable working with.

I know many people here go lower in color and clarity, but for 25k you can get a larger stone and for me personally, I start to see color in I''s. The reason I''m saying VS2 is because once again, in larger stones just because it''s eye clean to one person, doesn''t mean it will be to someone else. Also, I''d rather not chance one day noticing an inclusion.

 

[just_looking!]

Nice choices!

The 6 prong head on this Leon Mege ring is nice and I'm sure he'd do it without diamonds on the shank?

 

[D&T]

well if I had 25k Budget, I would in fact get my dream setting, whether that was a simple solitaire or a fancy intricate detailed "tacori" (depending our your GF) then get the largest diamond to fit the setting with Cut being the most important, then its a toss up between size and color (I'm not color sensitive and embrace warmer stone color so I can go large and lower color there) if I was limited on budget say $5k or so, I would focus on the diamond first then the setting, and when time permits, change out the setting to my dream setting, if that makes sense. Your budget I think is quite high and you can do so much so that you can afford a nice setting AND a very nice size diamond. HOWEVER, if this is a surprise and the GF doesn't have any design input then Just go for a very nice diamond and a minimal soliatire setting.


One of my all time favorite. Whiteflash is now carrying the Vatche Royal Crown Setting again. http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/Solitaire/Royal-Crown-Solitaire-Engagement-Ring-By-Vatche_1414.htm

ETA: just reread your post again, so you are choosing your own ring... I find that setting / mounting took me the longest to decide on the diamond was the easy part.

 

[Todd Gray]

Hi Polk,

Regardless of the amount of money you have at your disposal, you owe it to yourself to learn about diamonds before making such a significant purchase and thankfully there is a wealth of knowledge and detailed tutorials to be found here on Price Scope and within the web sites of the various vendors mentioned here.

It''s no secret that I am a fan of diamond cut quality and in my mind the proportions of the diamond and the optical symmetry of the diamond are the secret to obtaining phenomenal visual performance.

I recommend you spend some time at a local jewelry store and determine what size diamond looks best on your hand and then look for a diamond in that carat weight with an exceptional cut quality. The decision whether to buy locally or online will likely be dictated by the availability of diamonds with the characteristics that you seek, the attention to detail offered by each vendor and of course price - in my experience, your money is likely to go further online, but I''ve seen a few brick and mortar retailers pull a rabbit or two out of their hats!

Clarity, Color and Fluorescence are also matters of personal preference. Some people prefer to see the inclusions within their diamond and others don''t like to see inclusions even through a loupe! Other people are fine with an inclusion that requires magnification to find as long as they can''t see it with their eyes. The same goes for color, etc. just spend a little time looking around to determine what your likes and dislikes are. Personally I kind of like things in the range of VS-2 / SI-1 clarity with a color between F - I, but I know a lot of people who like to maximize size with something in the range of SI-2 / I-1 and warmer colors like L/M/N and it''s neither right or wrong, just their preference.

 

[Dancing Fire]

a well cut eye clean G SI1 for me.

 

[AprilBaby]

I ditto Gypsy and would take the Mark Morell setting with a Brain Gavin Diamond of superior cut, H+ color and the biggest size I could get.

 

[FB.]

Big stones on small fingers can look strange, but big stones are very attractve - far more attractive than smaller stones.
My "lady" has a 0.5ct D, IF and a 1ct I, VS.
Both are well-cut and not too different in price, but the 1ct stone is much more impressive.

D-E colour and FL-VVS clarity are more suited to being investments that spend their whole life in a safe. While initially, you may like having a D, FL, you eventually will see other people with larger stones in lesser colour and clarity and theirs will look better than yours.

Personally, I'd go for F-G colour, VS clarity in white gold or platinum settings and H-I colour, VS clarity in yellow gold settings.
I quite like inclusions that I can find reasonably easily with a magnifying glass but not with the naked eye - it gives the stone some "character" and allows confirmation that it's the stone on the grading lab's certificate.

I remain to be convinced of the benefits of super-ideal stones mounted into jewellery, where everyday wear-and-tear (after some years) could downgrade the stone to ideal or less. I consider super-ideal to be like D-E colour; best stored in a safe.

....and in life, while it is desirable to meet a certain "quality" level, there is also the law of diminishing returns.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/3/2009 2:01:37 PM
Author: FB.
Big stones on small fingers can look strange, but big stones are very attractve - far more attractive than smaller stones.
My ''lady'' has a 0.5ct D, IF and a 1ct I, VS.
Both are well-cut and not too different in price, but the 1ct stone is much more impressive.

D-E colour and FL-VVS clarity are more suited to being investments that spend their whole life in a safe. While initially, you may like having a D, FL, you eventually will see other people with larger stones in lesser colour and clarity and theirs will look better than yours.

Personally, I''d go for F-G colour, VS clarity in white gold or platinum settings and H-I colour, VS clarity in yellow gold settings.
I quite like inclusions that I can find reasonably easily with a magnifying glass but not with the naked eye - it gives the stone some ''character'' and allows confirmation that it''s the stone on the grading lab''s certificate.

I remain to be convinced of the benefits of super-ideal stones mounted into jewellery, where everyday wear-and-tear (after some years) could downgrade the stone to ideal or less. I consider super-ideal to be like D-E colour; best stored in a safe.

....and in life, while it is desirable to meet a certain ''quality'' level, there is also the law of diminishing returns.

... are you implying that time and wear and tear will change the angles to which the diamond was cut? Because that is what makes it a super ideal and that is not affected by "wear and tear". If you mean the diamond will get dirty and hence perform like a less well cut stone, then keep it clean

Super ideal is not actually a cut grade anyway, it simply speaks to the a very limited set of cut proportions. You can select diamonds from within the ideal and excellent cut grade that meet those standards for no extra cost.

 

[FB.]

My grumble is that diamonds get dirty very quickly. They also have some potential to get chipped or scratched. Even though they are very hard, they are not indestructible for a ring that is worn every day and in a variety of conditions. The super-ideal cuts are always highly priced; there's no "free lunch". For the minimal extra performance, I just don't "see" the point on being obsessive over the angles.
Like everything else in life, there comes a point where you're spending money that is not giving much more than a psychological improvement. I consider "super-ideal" to be equivalent to D, IF.

As an example:
Buy a cheap TV and it may not be a good performer in terms of picture and lifespan.
Buy a mid-range TV and you get excellent value for money and most of the time, most people won't see much difference with the high-end TV's.
High-end TV's cost a lot extra, but the gains seen by the average person are nowhere near proportionate to the extra that you have to pay.

My point being: a super-ideal will cost a lot more - at least, the one's I've seen are priced extra-high. I'd guess that the super-ideals that I've seen, seem to be priced about 20% above ideals.
But even GIA-graded "very good" cuts can look fantastic in most light conditions at a much lower cost.

There seems to be a "culture" on this forum that implies; if you don't have an "ideal" cut, with a HCA score of 1, you're a nobody with a lump of cheap, nasty, blurry glass in your ring, which - I think - is likely to make a lot of potential visitors to this site feel too "inferior" to post on here.

Yes, cut is important to a certain extent, but perhaps not everyone can justify the extra expense (or won't generally notice the difference between Ex and VG cut), but will be made to feel "inferior" if they dare to speak of stones that are only GIA-grade "very good cut". There must be a lot of people out there who are being made to feel as if they're inferior, because they've been looking at cuts that aren't AGS 0 perfect.
Since joining this board, I have been made to feel as if "Very Good" cut stones, with HVA scores below 3, are plain junk that are barely fit for industrial use. If I hadn't already seen how great those cuts can look, I would feel obliged to only ever look at "ideal cut" stones.
My "lady" has a couple of dozen diamonds, varying from "very good" to "excellent" cut grades. In most conditions, the "Very Good" cuts have no problems performing just as well as the "Excellents" - and I really can't "see" how the ideal-cuts could be made to perform much better, in most light conditions. I would not drop down to "Good" cut grades, since I think that they start to suffer a noticeable loss of performance.

Rant over. I'm off to sit quietly in a corner for a while.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/3/2009 2:58:24 PM
Author: FB.





There seems to be a 'culture' on this forum that implies; if you don't have an 'ideal' cut, with a HCA score of 1, you're a nobody with a lump of cheap, nasty, blurry glass in your ring, which - I think - is likely to make a lot of potential visitors to this site feel too 'inferior' to post on here.

I don't think this is the case, we have MANY new posters come to ask for advice on all sorts of diamonds and cut qualities and veteran PSers such as myself work very hard to make Pricescope welcoming and a place where anyone would feel comfortable asking for advice. Judging from the regular positive feedback we get, not only on the quality of advice given but how friendly everyone is, I would say we are achieving this.

I know you are new here, I don't know how long you have been reading for but if you watch Rocky Talk regularly you will see how things work and that we do try to avoid cut quality elitism as best we can while encouraging posters to at least think about cut quality. It is not an easy line for the Pricescope advisors such as myself to tread. Also when referring to lab cut grades I have seen some terrific Very Goods, Excellents and some not so hot AGS0, each diamond is treated as an individual when up for discussion.

 

[D&T]

FB- I value every opinion on this board. no need to sit in the corner

, If you are armed with the knowledge of what makes ideal super ideal top diamonds perform well, and you take that knowledge and buy something other than what you have learned, that is a choice that everyone has to make whether they agree with the spec on paper (online shopping depends on all the numbers and images to help us assess what we are in fact getting will be top performing diamonds) or whether you trust your eyes to do the shopping for you. The OP was just asking what we PERSONALLY would buy.

 

[jet2ks]

FB, I will have to respectfully disagree with a couple of your comments. I asked some of the dumbest, most uninformed questions when I first came to PS and instead of being made to feel inferior, veteran members instead spent quite a bit of time and effort welcoming the newbie and educating him/me. Most of this was done through asking questions about why I made certain choices, which made me really think about what I wanted and letting me make the choices. That is what made me want to join the community and learn enough so that I could help others (and be prepared to buy my FI more jewelry in the future

)

If you have been made to feel inferior, I sincerely apologize. There have been many times when PSers have found and suggested diamonds rated VG for posters, because it meets the specs that they have given us. There are also times where a poster has been worried a diamond is not "good enough" and people have
been saying "Yes, it is".

The other thing that needs to be understood is that PS is a community of diamond lovers and afficianados, so the opinions are going to be different than other places. Not wrong, just different. It is like going into a sports car forum that is full of people who think of a car as art as much or more than just transportation and expecting them to oooh and aaahhh over a minivan.

I''ll get off my soapbox, now.

Threadjack over. To the original post question. I would find the best I-J-K eye clean stone they could within the size range I wanted (prob around 1.5-1.7ct-- sorry ladies, I''m not a size whore). I love the slightly warm colors.

 

[FB.]

jet2ks

Yes, I know what you mean.

One of my hobbies is shooting. I belong to a couple of forums. There is a definite bias towards high-end items on those forums, but I often feel that the shooting forums get a bit "elitist", when someone speaks of being the owner of a cheap-ish gun, or has only a limited budget.
I own a number of guns. They are all middle or upper-middle of the range. I could easily trade them all for a top-end gun, but the gains to be had from buying top-of-the-range guns is minimal to most people. The price difference is large, for only a very small gain.

Another hobby of mine is cycling. I currently run three upper-middle cycles. The gains to be had from top-of-the-range cycles are nowhere near connected to the extra cost.

 

[FB.]

jet2ks & Lorelei

I have been lurking on-and-off for a few months. It has only been in the last couple of weeks or so that I began to feel as if people were being "pressured" into ideal or super ideal and that anyhting les was just not worthy.
Like I said, it even made me feel "inferior" - and I have sufficient cash to buy relatively large and high quality diamonds. It bothered me that if I had come here asking advice for a ring on a limited budget, I would have felt "out of place".
If my comments made a few people step back and think how the budget-concious might sometimes feel inferior, then I have done a good job by raising my concerns.
Believe it or not, I am not the sort of person who looks for an argument, but I am also not afraid to speak out - or take a different opinion - if I think it is appropriate.
I will always say things as I see them, no matter who's feathers get ruffled.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/3/2009 4:11:08 PM
Author: FB.
jet2ks & Lorelei

I have been lurking on-and-off for a few months. It has only been in the last couple of weeks or so that I began to feel as if people were being 'pressured' into ideal or super ideal and that anyhting les was just not worthy.
Like I said, it even made me feel 'inferior' - and I have sufficient cash to buy relatively large and high quality diamonds. It bothered me that if I had come here asking advice for a ring on a limited budget, I would have felt 'out of place'.
If my comments made a few people step back and think how the budget-concious might sometimes feel inferior, then I have done a good job by raising my concerns.
Believe it or not, I am not the sort of person who looks for an argument, but I am also not afraid to speak out - or take a different opinion - if I think it is appropriate.
I will always say things as I see them, no matter who's feathers get ruffled.

I understand what you are saying, sometimes this can happen and I for one try not to do it, I cannot think of any specific examples where anyone was actually pressured into buying any diamond, can you link some examples please as that would help where you felt this was happening? I would be most interested to see this and even discuss it in another thread.

As a long term member I do appreciate feedback whether it is good or bad and especially I am very open to listening as one of perhaps the most experienced posters in RT. I can't speak for all posters but we do have some that see things differently and advise accordingly within their ability, some who think only in numbers and in black or white, others like myself who strive to see the more grey areas. It is a balance, hopefully new posters will take all advice offered under careful consideration and work off what makes the most sense to them. If cut elitism does become the trend then I for one don't agree with it as we are not best serving those who come here for advice regardless of what they want and where they choose to buy from, although we don't want to steer anyone towards buying a badly cut stone, there are those out there of well made stones which can be excellent buys but are not cut to top standards. The trick is to be able to advise properly on these types of diamonds when we don't have much information about them.

I have a responsibility to those who come here seeking advice as a regular poster, if I am in any doubt about a diamond then the only safe course is to take the more cautious approach.

Also just to quote and address this point - "Like I said, it even made me feel 'inferior' - and I have sufficient cash to buy relatively large and high quality diamonds. It bothered me that if I had come here asking advice for a ring on a limited budget, I would have felt 'out of place'."

Many is the time we have been searching for options for posters who only have a few hundred dollars to spend on a diamond and setting and they have been treated with the same courtesy and helpfulness as posters with many thousands to spend!

Also you are more than welcome to offer an opinion, just as far as any feather ruffling going on, bear in mind we do have a dedicated team of posters who spend a great deal of their time helping here for the love of it and take what they do extremely seriously, so just keep that in mind when offering an opinion of how you think things should be done here/ what isn't being done well.

 

[beechezz]

Date: 7/3/2009 12:40:19 PM
Author: AprilBaby
I ditto Gypsy and would take the Mark Morell setting with a Brain Gavin Diamond of superior cut, H+ color and the biggest size I could get.

Thritto!

 

[polk084]

Wow,

This is truly a large forum! (Lorelei, thanks for welcoming me.) I don''t know how to reply to everything, but let me try.

Yes, I know it is important to do my own research. I have been acquainting myself with the links listed here (I particularly enjoyed the video on diamond colors, and if anyone knows where I can find the Part 3 video, I''d appreciate a link because I couldn''t find it). But all in all, I still think I could benefit from knowing what experts would get if they were in my position.

Gypsy, I think Mark Morrell''s Torchiere setting is absolutely gorgeous! I favor six-pronged settings, and the way that band tapers down into the diamond is very pretty. My budget does include the setting, so I do need to take that into account. I thought many people changed out the setting later on, anyway?

It seems like the majority favor getting a really nice cut, then "sacrificing" on color and clarity. FB, would you say that an H-I color would not look good in a platinum or white gold setting? I''ve heard different things on this matter. And Lorelei, when you say fluorescence is a good thing, you still mean only a small amount?

elle_chris, I was wondering whether people could really tell the difference between H&A''s and not. Thanks for your input!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/3/2009 4:59:19 PM
Author: polk084
Wow,

This is truly a large forum! (Lorelei, thanks for welcoming me.) I don't know how to reply to everything, but let me try.

Yes, I know it is important to do my own research. I have been acquainting myself with the links listed here (I particularly enjoyed the video on diamond colors, and if anyone knows where I can find the Part 3 video, I'd appreciate a link because I couldn't find it). But all in all, I still think I could benefit from knowing what experts would get if they were in my position.

Gypsy, I think Mark Morrell's Torchiere setting is absolutely gorgeous! I favor six-pronged settings, and the way that band tapers down into the diamond is very pretty. My budget does include the setting, so I do need to take that into account. I thought many people changed out the setting later on, anyway?

It seems like the majority favor getting a really nice cut, then 'sacrificing' on color and clarity. FB, would you say that an H-I color would not look good in a platinum or white gold setting? I've heard different things on this matter. And Lorelei, when you say fluorescence is a good thing, you still mean only a small amount?

elle_chris, I was wondering whether people could really tell the difference between H&A's and not. Thanks for your input!

You are welcome for the welcome!

Fluorescence to me is nearly always a good thing unless it is what is called an overblue, which can make the stone look cloudy in some lights. This is rare but always best to check with strong or very strong blue. Also some believe medium and above blue fluorescence can help a lower colour diamond face up a little whiter. To me it adds interest and makes the diamond look a little more ' plugged in' if that makes sense. So for me with fluorescence the stronger the better as long as not an overblue.

Here is more info here

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fluor.asp

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/73/1/Blue-Fluorescence-in-Diamonds.aspx

As to H or I colour ( GIA/ AGS graded) we have many happy members with these colour grades set in white gold and platinum, also many J colour. If you aren't sure, if there is a Jareds near you check out some of their Peerless in a similar size and colour grade to the one you are contemplating, this would give you an idea of how these grades look. Alternatively Hearts on Fire if there is a dealer near you.

 

[FB.]

Lorelei

I don''t recall any people being pressured into any particular diamond, but it felt as if the whole culture of this forum was skewed towards looking only for ideal-cut stones - and that unless it had a HCA score of 1, the stone would be a dull, lifeless pebble that would be poor value for money.
If I only followed the information that seemed to "sink in" from reading this forum, I would (honestly) feel that I should buy a diamond with the following specification:

Cut grade: AGS 0 Ideal
HCA score: 0.5
Colour: I
Clarity: SI2

I appreciate that cut is important, but it feels as if everything else is severely scaled-back, virtually to an "all or nothing" principle.
I would feel that colour and clarity were so unimportant that they could almost be ignored and that, so long as the cut was "ideal", the stone would look superb.

I appreciate that many people here know their stuff in great detail, but sometimes people get fixated in certain issues.
An example: I am a keen gardener.
I planted a mini-orchard some years ago. I read lots and got lots of opinions. The "experts" had a phobia of diseases called scab and canker, and had no regard for a disease called mildew.
As it happens, all the experts over-stated the effect of some diseases and under-stated the effect of others - based on their bad experiences that had stuck in their mind more clearly than their good experiences.
As it turned out, the "expert" recommendations turned out to be utterly wrong for my environment; I lost trees to mildew and rarely see any scab or canker.

 

[Dreamer_D]

FB Others have said everything I would have said in response to you already, but more politely

I simply wanted to address one of your points here...

Date: 7/3/2009 2:58:24 PM
Author: FB.

My point being: a super-ideal will cost a lot more - at least, the one''s I''ve seen are priced extra-high. I''d guess that the super-ideals that I''ve seen, seem to be priced about 20% above ideals.

I suspect you are referring to branded cuts such as ACAs etc. which do indeed come with a large markup. However, if you use a search engine like James Allen or Blue Nile and select Ideal cut grade from AGS or Excellent from GIA (which would classify as your run of the mill "ideals") then you can select from amongst those ideals the diamonds that happen to fall within "super ideal" parameters. Such diamonds will cost the same as their "non super ideal" cousins because the price per carat simple cares about the grade by the lab, not the nuances within the cut grade. THAT is what I meant when I said there is not actually a premium attached to super ideal.

Actually, I changed my mind and do have *one* little thing to add regarding the accusation that regular PS posters make people feel inferiour if they want a less-than-ideal diamond

. I''m sorry if you have felt inferiour because you have bought diamonds using criteria that may differ from the criteria that many frequent posters use, but it is insulting to accuse us of "making people feel inferiour" when I can''t think of any time when any regular PSer did such a thing! People come here and say "Help me" and many generous PSers go out of their way to help, with absolutely no reward, often without even getting a thanks. When a poster has a smaller budget -- which so many posters do! -- we help them find something completely within their budget. If they said "I went and looked a diamonds and couldn''t tell the difference between a Very Good and an Excellent!" we say, ''Make sure you look at it in all lighting environments, but if you like it, then buy it!" People post pictures of rings all the time in Show Me the Ring that are less than ideal, and everyone compliments their rings and tells them how lovely their diamonds are. I can think of threads from just the last couple of days that expemplify each of these points. So please, if you feel inferiour for some reason when you spend time on PS, please don''t try to accuse a helpful community of diamond nuts for making you feel that way.

 

[Dreamer_D]

To answer the OP:

I would buy the largest, J color, VS2, ideal cut RB I could find!