Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

In the market for a 1.5 RB... need some help

B

Bairum

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 7, 2012
Messages
4
I'm in the process of looking for a engagement ring. Here are the rough C targets I'm going for:
- Color: I or better
- Clarity: SI1 or better
- Cut: very good or excellent
- Carat - 1.5 ish
- Round Brilliant
- Cert - either GIA or AGS

My original price range was around $10K, but have since realized that for that price I lose significant quality for anything close to 1.5 carat. I am therefore considering spending up to $15K for the diamond.

Can any of the season'd vets take a look at the following, and verify whether this is good value for the money? Is there something else I should be looking at instead of this price?
1.508 Carat I VS2

The following are the images from whiteflash. Looking at the images, anything that stands out (good/bad) to you guys? To my eyes, seems like the there is a bit of light leakage around the sides... but not sure?

diamond_11.jpg

Idealscope:
idealscope_7.jpg

Aset:
aset_12.jpg

Hearts:
hearts_1.jpg
 
No, not specifically just hearts and arrows. I actually don't know the benefits of hearts and arrows other than the fact the proportions are supposed to be top notch. The one I posted was just the one I figured was the best value while looking around... but that being said, since I have very little experience, its hard to tell...
 
Hearts and arrows carry a price premium, they usually cost you about one color or clarity grade (keeping the price and weight the same.) the benefit is subtle.
 
Thanks Mom2Boys, that looks interesting, however a bit out of my price range. Also, no offense to diamondSeeker, but I prefer to buy from an established company.
 
Diamondseeker got her diamond originally from Good Old Gold recently and it is an excellent diamond--I would consider buying it myself if I were in the market! She is a veteran here on PS (she has helped a lot of newbies here find diamonds) and would only buy the best for herself! BTW, you can find a lot of great deals on the pre-loved forum compared to internet retail--a lot of things listed there may be price negotiable!
 
Bairum|1347044383|3263849 said:
Thanks Mom2Boys, that looks interesting, however a bit out of my price range. Also, no offense to diamondSeeker, but I prefer to buy from an established company.
Click to expand...

Diamondseeker got the stone from GOG, a very well respected and established company. It might be worth checking into further to see if she could send it back for them to inspect and go from there. It really is a great price for an excellent cut stone and prices in pre-loved are usually negotiable.
 
There are a lot of great vendors here though too. I'd still recommend checking out Good old gold and see what they have that does fall in your budget. Brian Gavin is another vendor I'd look at inventory. If I get a chance later tonight I'll see if I can find any links...
 
I was in the exact same boat as you until a few weeks ago.

You can find a 1.5 RB with H color, VS2 clarity, and excellent/ideal cut for around 12000-13000 (at least that's what I paid). For 15K, you should be looking at 1.7 ct or a 1.5 ct with G color and VS2 clarity. I found that Whiteflash, James Allen, and Engagement Rings Direct to be the best (in terms for most bang for your buck). Brian Gavin and Good Old Gold have really nice loose diamonds they seemed to be a bit more steep in price. However, those sites DO have all the lab images on the website. Therefore, keep in mind that you need to ask for the ASET/Idealscope images and certificates since some sites won't have all the details. To make sure its a good light return, put the angles into the Pricescope HCA tool. Anything <2 (although anything 2.5 and under should be alright) shows great light return and should be considered for further investigation. Look at the ASET and compare it to some "ideal" images on google. Parts that should be red, green, and blue are fairly obvious. In fact, the images you posted up earlier are something to be mimicked. After that, talk with the sales rep/owner/whoever from the store and go from there.

Happy shopping!
 
Wow, great feedback, thanks.
 
Here are three from JA you could have their gemologist take a look at. I would also request idealscope images.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1493627.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1515348.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1522314.asp



The one from WF is beautiful as well. One thing to keep in mind when thinking about who you want to buy from, is are you ever going to want to upgrade to a larger size. At JA you have to spend double you origional purchase price to upgrade, where as WF you you can trade in for equal or higher value. If you aren't going to use that then it doesn't really pertain to you, but if you think you might it is just something to keep in mind:)
 
Bairum, I would highly suggest you contact Jonathan at goodoldgold. I was in a very similar position up to about a week ago. Was considering getting a 1.5 off of blue Nile, but the lack of any info aside from the lab report just didn't sit too well with me. Later I called gog, spoke with Jonathan, told him my budget and my ultimate goal (including the preferred face up measurements) and sat tight for a little bit. A few days later, this is what he came back with. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/opinion-on-this-stone.179529/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/opinion-on-this-stone.179529/[/URL] Although I expect to have the stone early next week, I don't expect that there will be any surprises. All in all I have been very pleased with gog and to top everything off, their price is surprisingly not far off of everyone else.
 
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top