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In need of your advice!!!!!!!

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Handsman129

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
18
Hello Everyone.

I've been lurking on this message board for several months now, but this is my first post. I've done alot of research and have a pretty good idea of what to look for in a diamond. Its time to buy my girlfriend of almost 3 years an engagement ring, but I'm afraid to pull the trigger.

I'm driving myself crazy looking at different diamondd from different vendors, and going back and forth on which aspects I'm willing to compromise on, but this is basically what I'm looking for:

.75-.9 cts
G-I
SI1-2
Very Good - Excellent Cut (Under 2.0 HCA) (I'm aware that a VG under 2 is uncommon, but a gentleman from B2C jewelers found me one)

I'm aware that depending of which end of those ranges I lean toward that I'm looking at a pretty significant difference in price (at least for my budget) but I'm really trying to keep the price of just the diamond under 3000.

I'm already a rather indecisive person, so a BIG decision like this is a struggle for someone like myself!
I was contacted by White Flash and B2C when I put in a request for a diamond on this site, but I've spent most of my time looking on James Allen because their videos give me the best idea of what I'm purchasing. I have also heard alot of great things about Brian Gavin, buf honestly I'm not sure what the difference is between them and White Flash.

I probably would have bought something from James Allen by now, but I keep reading how cut is the most important characteristic, and its hard to discern that quality on a computer screen!

My girlfriend says she prefers a whiter stone if it means compromising on the size, however I know that not all diamonds of the same color grade look the same. And since the diamonds I'm looking at are smaller, I don't know how much she'll even notice it when the ring is facing up. If I had my way I would get her a .85-.9 carat diamond, but I don't want to sacrifice on color if you guys don't think I can get away with it (I'm doing a platinum setting by the way).

I'm a very frugal person, so my goal is to get the most value for my purchase while also getting her a ring that she will adore! If that means buying a pre owned ring and getting the diamond reset, I am not opposed. I've looked on diamond bistro, i do now i dont as well as have you seen the ring, but I'm just not comfortable making a purchase based on the poorly taken photos and lack of a guarantee that other sites offer.

PHEW! That was alot, sorry. I'm sure you can tell that I'm (unnecessarily) driving myself nuts, but I wanted to come on here and ask for advice/wisdom/insight/opinions from folks who: A. Arent trying to sell me anything & B. Have more knowledge and experience buying/selecting diamonds than I do.

Some questions:
I know the spectrum of GIA excellent alone is very broad, but for someone like my girlfriend who is not a diamond snob, do you think the difference in brillianice between a well cut Very Good and Excellent cut diamond is worth the the extra money? I know that cut is king, but unless we have a better cut stone right next to her ring, as long as hers is brilliant and sparkly to some degree then what's the difference? I suppose my lack of knowledge of exactly what a Very Good cut looks like in person is keeping me from feeling comfortable buying online.

From what I have told you so far, is there a vendor that you think would be best suited for my needs?
Here are some recommendations I received from sales reps:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/compare.aspx?idnos=3483187,3461747,3461765

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/compare.aspx?idnos=3408366,3461769,3461765,3408352

http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-7227806-0.90-carat-Round-diamond-H-color-SI1-clarity.aspx
Pics of above diamond from B2C
http://i60.tinypic.com/2vjswhl.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/ao9eep.jpg
(Sorry, Pricescope wouldnt let me link images)


Thanks in advance everyone, I'm sure I'll have more questions soon.

Jordan
 
Hi, Jordan, it really does seem complicated at first! What we'll tell you off the bat is to stick with GIA Excellent and even within that range, we will say some are better than others. I would get the idea of VG cut out of the equation.

Cut is THE most important factor in a diamonds beauty. I, personally, prefer to buy stones that have the option of a magnified image as well as light return images such as ASET or Idealscope. You already know about the HCA as a screening tool to find diamonds that fall into the better range of Excellent. You don't have to use the HCA on AGS Ideal Cut graded diamonds because they are graded for light performance.

I personally have bought great round brilliant diamonds from Whiteflash and Good Old Gold. High Performance Diamonds carries Infinity which is also a top of the line brand of diamonds. James Allen will allow you to choose three stones max and they may provide images on them if they can access them.

If color matters to her, you might aim for H SI1 but I color will allow you a little more size. I'll see what I can find and be back.

Of the stones above, I like this one from WF the best:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3461765.htm

The stone from B2C looks nice, too, but I prefer a smaller table and a girdle that is not thick. The thick girdle is probably the reason it dropped to vg cut.
 
 
telephone89|1437062450|3903586 said:
https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/tiffany-diamond-solitaire-engagement-ring-61-i-vs1-t214065.html smaller than you're looking for, but it is tiffany. Comes in under budget.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/reduced-mark-morrell-85-f-vs1-engagement-ring-t213775.html']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/reduced-mark-morrell-85-f-vs1-engagement-ring-t213775.html[/URL] right within the size, higher colour.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the heads up!
I'll have to consider that Tiffany ring since it is much cheaper. Does anyone know what to expect as far as cut from a Tiffany diamond?

I saw the .85 ring a week ago, but it got a 4 on the HCA.
 
I'm not a fan of the way the diamond is set for the diamondbistro ring. Plus I think you will be more satisfied getting a ring from WF as their customer service is top notch and they have a generous up-grade policy.

Consider the first one below. It's an A Cut Above and the same size as the 0.77 carat.

The 2nd and 3rd links are possibilities but they are new, so call to see if they are eye clean. The 3rd one is an H so it will be a little whiter than the I's you're considering.

I would not go with the K colored WF stone you posted only b/c you said your GF prefers a whiter stone if it means a smaller stone. Those of us who are color sensitive will be bothered by the tint in a K colored diamond. And really, an I is on the border so I wouldn't venture below an I for someone who has stated she prefers a whiter stone.


http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3502536.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3502537.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3502535.htm
 
Agreed w/ Diamondseeker,
Fave is the .77 I VS2
The one from B2C isn't bad either.
The 2nd link JDDN posted is a close 2nd. Wonder why they don't post the eye-clean symbol... it looks pretty clean...

Ditto on the K VS2 stone, it may look too "yellow" for your soon-to-be fiancee.

If you choose to go with the .77 I VS2, check with WF re:
- inclusion at 9:30 (feather?) to see if it would affect durability
- fluorescence (though supposed to be almost non-issue since it's faint)

A side question re the K VS2 stone:
When looking at the ASET image, the small green triangles on the upper girdle facets seem bigger/longer than usual (esp. at 2, 4, 8 o'clock).
Does this mean there's certain degree of crown painting (4-5 maybe)?
If so, how does this impact how the diamond will look like? Anyone knows?
 
I never knew an inclusion could affect the durability of a diamond. Oh boy, just when I thought I had my mind made up more questions and little details pop up that make me want to hold off for the "perfect" diamond. Haha.

Could you point out the inclusion you see? I tried looking for it but couldn't find one.

Do you guys think I'll be getting a significantly better cut stone from White Flash than if I cherry picked a few <2.0 HCA diamonds on James Allen and had them run the IdealScope for me? White Flash seems to be a little bit pricier, which I don't mind as long as I'm not paying extra for details my girlfriend and I can't really appreciate.


Thank you everyone for all your input and advice, you've been a huge help. I feel like I'm much more confident about making a purchase now.
 
It's at 9:30 o'clock on the magnified diamond image or 8 o'clock on the IS & ASET images, near the girdle.
You may want to have it reserved while asking those questions.

It's a bit (well actually a lot) of caveat emptor when buying a diamond. Although with top notch vendors like Whiteflash the risk is really minimized, you may want to know all the details before purchasing a diamond, rather than after, esp. since it's an important and sentimental purchase.

WF having a significantly better cut stone? I would say so, WF specializes in ideal cut diamonds after all. There can occasionally be a few diamonds which are really well cut at JA with noticeable price difference from WF, but in general people in the trade know what they are doing. One of the senior posters here said she found great one at JA after about 3 months of search, inquired about it but didn't end up purchasing it. Then she found out later that JA had made it into one of the True Hearts (and put higher price tag on it of course).

They have different business models too. WF has a lot of in house diamonds (on top of their virtual selections), JA sources theirs from nearby vendors. WF supplies IS and ASET images, JA supplies videos (and some light performance images when requested and available). Both are great vendors, so it really boils down to which one you feel more comfortable with, which one has the diamond you think you'll love the most when you want to purchase it, which one has the setting you like, the different policies etc.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the info! I'll be sure to bring up those concerns when the rep from White Flash calls/emails me again today.
I'll be sure to post any other diamonds I'm considering and ask for your advice before I buy anything.
Thanks
 
White Flash posted a video of the .77 carat for me. Rep told me their diamonds are heavily vetted so the inclusion will not affect the integrity of the stone. Do you think this is reliable info since it is coming from the people selling me something?
What does everyone think of the video, that's one sparkly diamond....
 
Very reliable vendor, I would trust them.

Do you have a link to the video?
 
Handsman129|1437100371|3903929 said:
I never knew an inclusion could affect the durability of a diamond. Oh boy, just when I thought I had my mind made up more questions and little details pop up that make me want to hold off for the "perfect" diamond. Haha.

Could you point out the inclusion you see? I tried looking for it but couldn't find one.

Do you guys think I'll be getting a significantly better cut stone from White Flash than if I cherry picked a few <2.0 HCA diamonds on James Allen and had them run the IdealScope for me? White Flash seems to be a little bit pricier, which I don't mind as long as I'm not paying extra for details my girlfriend and I can't really appreciate.


Thank you everyone for all your input and advice, you've been a huge help. I feel like I'm much more confident about making a purchase now.
Click to expand...

Whiteflash has a sterling reputation here and there isn't any question that their diamonds are indeed sparkly and beautiful. Having said that, you ABSOLUTELY can cherry pick gorgeous stones that have great looking IS images available. We see people come back to post after they get IS images in from vendors all the time, and many of those IS images look great. To someone new to diamonds, it is perfectly possible you won't tell a difference between a superideal cut and a diamond with ideal proportions and a great cut. Many here will downplay the beauty of diamonds that aren't "superideal" and you start to get the feel you stand to sacrifice A LOT of beauty by not getting a superideal. That just is not the case.

If you aren't in a rush, you can find great diamonds at great value. If you are in a hurry or you value the other perks that Whiteflash offers, such as generous trade-up or buyback, then you should not hesitate to give them your business. They are a great vendor.

Edit: Regarding your 0.77c diamond. I think it is a gorgeous stone at a very fair price. I would not hesitate to pull the trigger on that!
 
I appreciate the advice Pfunk!

I'm not in a rush. Its been 3-4 months since I started looking and it will be another 3 or so until the latest I'd like to propose.

I believe James Allen only gives you 3 free Idealscope images, so I suppose I should make them count if I'm going to attempt to cherry pick a well cut stone for a cheaper price...

I'm very tempted to buy the White Flash diamond, however I did not anticipate buying an I colored diamond at the bottom of my size range when I set out to pick one.
 
Even though I'm not in a rush, if I could purchase ring this week I could pop the question on our vacation a week from now!
 
Either of the WF stones look great and are priced fairly. The 0.78 has a smaller table that some prefer, but both look wonderful. Maybe they can send you a comparison? I would also ask about color difference between the two I's. I wouldn't hesistate on either and think you will be happy no mater which way you go.
 
Yup, and you can even ask what's their objective opinion on both stones, what's the personalities of each diamond like.
They are usually upfront about it.

P.S. if they post video of the .781 and/or comparison pics/videos please do share. Curious too :)
And if you are serious about those two stones, you may want to reserve the one you prefer while getting second, third etc. opinion from PSers just in case you want to be extra extra sure.
 
Thanks guys! I've emailed the Rep whose been helping me (fantastic customer service by the way), eagerly awaiting her reply tomorrow.
 
pfunk|1437319167|3904799 said:
I would also ask about color difference between the two I's..
Click to expand...

good question to ask!
 
The 0.78 is an ACA and the 0.77 is an Expert Selection. I would choose the ACA over the Expert Selection if all else was equal and the price difference wasn't much (but that's just me!).

What setting are you thinking of putting it in?
 
The .77 may fall under ES just because it's a GIA-certed though.
I agree, all things equal, ACA would be the better pick, even just for the feeling you are getting the cream of the crop.
The thing is, there maybe subtle differences between the two diamonds and they may exhibit different personalities.
So it may not be that clear cut, though as pfunk says, whichever OP chooses it will be fabulous.
 
JDDN|1437370804|3905066 said:
The 0.78 is an ACA and the 0.77 is an Expert Selection. I would choose the ACA over the Expert Selection if all else was equal and the price difference wasn't much (but that's just me!).

What setting are you thinking of putting it in?
Click to expand...


I'm stuck between these two settings. Need advice. I like the more expensive one better but it puts me out of my budget. Don't know if I can justify an extra 500 a setting that is only slightly better. The second one is my favorite by the way.

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/6-prong-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-4.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/classic-tiffany-style-knife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-734.htm
 
Hm, that's tough. I agree, I like the 2nd one better. The prongs are more fluid and delicate in the 2nd one. You can always ask WF if they can work with your budget. They may be able to since it's a WF setting.
 
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