Is even a little bit bigger better?

[Black Jade]

I was wondering what people think.

Some friends admire my jewelry and I have been helping them buy things and I am surprised, every single time they will go for even a hair''sbreadth bigger as opposed to what I would consider more quality and more attractive. One friend recently bought diamond stud earrings for her daughter''s graduation. She was able to spend $1000. I thought she ought to go the custom route and get .60 cttw that were AGS 000''s, but she saw that she could get pre-made studs for that price that were .75 ctw and really wanted those instead. I kept saying that she would see little difference on the ears between .30 each and .37 each and that I thought the .30''s would look much better, but she wouldn''t do it. I have had other friends do similar things. It makes me wonder, if I am silly or not. for instance, when I bought my own earrings, I could have gone over 2 carats but not have gotten H color and VS2 clarity ACA''s. I thought I would rather have 1.81 that were more perfect (to me).

When I bought my anniversary ring, which is a solitaire, I could have gone as big as .80 or .85 if I were willing to go the J color ans SI2 but I stayed at .65 F SI1.

Am I silly not to want to go the biggest possible? Is big the only thing that people really notice? I do notice that lots of the time, people whose jewelry gets noticed, it''s large even if its not what I would consider to look nice. I know a lady, for instance, whose 2 carat princess cut e-ring is always getting noticed and it''s mall quality, not very sparkly and set with a lot of really included side diamonds. Yet most or our mutual acquaintances LOVE this ring. Am I strange that I don''t?

Is size the main thing or is there a point at which the quality is not up to your standards and you don''t care about the bigger size?

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/26/2009 2:43:40 PM
Author:Black Jade
I was wondering what people think.

Some friends admire my jewelry and I have been helping them buy things and I am surprised, every single time they will go for even a hair''sbreadth bigger as opposed to what I would consider more quality and more attractive. One friend recently bought diamond stud earrings for her daughter''s graduation. She was able to spend $1000. I thought she ought to go the custom route and get .60 cttw that were AGS 000''s, but she saw that she could get pre-made studs for that price that were .75 ctw and really wanted those instead. I kept saying that she would see little difference on the ears between .30 each and .37 each and that I thought the .30''s would look much better, but she wouldn''t do it. I have had other friends do similar things. It makes me wonder, if I am silly or not. for instance, when I bought my own earrings, I could have gone over 2 carats but not have gotten H color and VS2 clarity ACA''s. I thought I would rather have 1.81 that were more perfect (to me).

When I bought my anniversary ring, which is a solitaire, I could have gone as big as .80 or .85 if I were willing to go the J color ans SI2 but I stayed at .65 F SI1.

Am I silly not to want to go the biggest possible? Is big the only thing that people really notice? I do notice that lots of the time, people whose jewelry gets noticed, it''s large even if its not what I would consider to look nice. I know a lady, for instance, whose 2 carat princess cut e-ring is always getting noticed and it''s mall quality, not very sparkly and set with a lot of really included side diamonds. Yet most or our mutual acquaintances LOVE this ring. Am I strange that I don''t?

Is size the main thing or is there a point at which the quality is not up to your standards and you don''t care about the bigger size?

No, I don''t either. Size just isn''t my thing, though I think it is for many women. So your experience is not surprising.

 

[jet2ks]

I think it's because size is an fixed number that people can relate to--bigger HAS to be better. Too many people think cut only means shape and that the other 3 C's are what is making the diamond look good. For instance, my FI's center stone is .56ct, but her hairdresser commented on how much brighter and sparklier it was than her own 1ct stone. She then proceeded to say that I must have bought a better color and clarity than her boyfriend for the diamond to sparkle so much. We have received similar comments from FI's sister and SIL.

I'm content knowing that I bought the best cut diamond I could and just smile when other people comment about how bright it is.

 

[D&T]

you''re not silly to want to go bigger. Its the first thing people notice is size. I went down in color grade to the most comfortable spot for me (kept the IDEAL cut though) in order to increase size.

 

[glitterata]

Different people have different preferences. It''s just a question of taste.

 

[Gypsy]

Depends on what you are buying. I'm getting some studs later this year and have already asked BGD to look for the stones for me and I wanted the LARGEST I could absolutely do for my budget so I dropped to K eyeclean with Flourescence BGD Signature. Even eeking out a little meant a lot to me. Because I have chubby lobes. And I'm going to pony up for the bezel settings because I want even more coverage.

BUT it really depends on the piece, my budget and so forth. I would not compromise on cut quality though. That's my standard. If it meant better cut or size? size loses for me.

 

[Black Jade]

Date: 6/26/2009 5:11:06 PM
Author: Gypsy
Depends on what you are buying. I''m getting some studs later this year and have already asked BGD to look for the stones for me and I wanted the LARGEST I could absolutely do for my budget so I dropped to K eyeclean with Flourescence BGD Signature. Even eeking out a little meant a lot to me. Because I have chubby lobes. And I''m going to pony up for the bezel settings because I want even more coverage.

BUT it really depends on the piece, my budget and so forth. I would not compromise on cut quality though. That''s my standard. If it meant better cut or size? size loses for me.

Interesting. Obviously there''s no right or wrong with this. It''s just taste. It''s intriguing for me to read your post, because you''re like my friend, very different from me.

I know that some of this is a mind issue, in my case. I went to a brick and mortar after I ordered my earrings and looked at J color, I1 clarity earrings that were around the same size as mine and they were pretty, even very pretty. But I still would not have bought them. I would rather have the smaller size than go crazy worrying that everyone who looked at my earrings ''might'' see the flaw, or think they were yellow, which is what I would do, I know me. With the ones I have, I know they are ''perfect'' (well, I know nothing is perfect, but I know that people can''t see flaws or yellow in H VS2) so I am very comfortable wearing them). I''m like this with everything! When we were shopping for a home, the real estate agent was ready to kill me! We kept walking into houses where he was showing us the cathedral ceilings and the latest appliances in the kitchen, while I was checking the closets to see if the doors were hung right and stomping on the floor to see if the house shook. We did finally get a house that was ''perfect'' for me and I love it so much that I never want to move, even though it was far from the flashiest house we looked at. And I love my earrings so much that I never want to change--there is nothing that would be an ''upgrade'' for me.

 

[Gypsy]

Well like I said, it depends on the piece. I''m a COMPLETE AND TOTAL NUT when it comes to noticing flaws. But these would be in my EARS. LOL. And I''m not terribly color sensative. AND have seen K SI''s from Brian in the size I will be getting multiple times and had no problem with them (and loved them).

I''ve seen a lot of ideal diamonds from a lot of vendors on here because I like in Nor Cal and we do a lot go GTGs and people bring a lot of their goodies.

Would I buy a K SI from anyone other than a PS dealer. Not bloody likely. And even AMONG the PS dealers there are only three I''d buy from, with an ACA certificate and an AGS000 to back it.

NOW if we were talking about a ring. I''m VERY comfortable with I color in sizes under 2 carats in brilliant cuts. And recently saw Tacori''s I step cut and fell head over heels. So, it is a personal thing.

 

[Black Jade]

Gypsy, I''m sure you will get beautiful earrings and that they will look great. I hope I did not sound like I was attacking your taste, which I am not. I was just curious to understand my friend. thanks for sharing your opinion with me, I appreciate it a lot.

 

[Gypsy]

Didn''t feel that way at all. Promise.

And no worries.

It really isn''t just about eye clean. It''s about mindclean too. I''m very much a nut about execellent cut. And when I see anything asymmetrical in an IS or ASET or anything, it makes me twitchy. But something''s got to give in terms of Cut, Clarity and Color. So for me... it''s a sliding scale depending on the item. It is a different perspective than yours, and I can totally understand yours, but just wanted to explain mine better.

NOW if you are talking settings and design. That I am completely anal about. If there was a way to grade settings on polish, symmetry, performance. I''d need a D IF each time. Fortunately most of the vendors I work with realize this (poor guys) so... they deliver.

 

[radiantquest]

i think most of the time people who go gaga over size usually dont really know what it takes to make a really beautiful diamond. most girls that are going out shopping for their erings or whatever think that size is the only thing that matters. every person has their own "system" for picking diamonds.

 

[Gypsy]

Black Jade what I didn't mentions is that my engagement ring and melee are F VS. And my BGD pendant F/G VS melee. And my seven stone band is G VS-SI (all eyeclean 100%). so getting K's is QUITE a departure for me. All of my current diamonds are colorless or high up in the near colorless range. But PS and those GTG's man... they've made me hungry for SIZE.

But I wasn't that way when I started out on here though.

If I had dropped to I/eye clean when I started out with my engagement ring, I would have been able to get a lot more size. But, back then I was very much where you are now. People also change. I'm not saying you will. But look at how many people come here ready to buy at the mall, and leave with a diamond that is an ideal cut after 20 agonizing posts about the length of the arrows in thier IS images. If your friend came on to PS... who knows what her opinion might be further down the line.

 

[Sharon101]

Date: 6/26/2009 8:25:52 PM
Author: Gypsy
Black Jade what I didn''t mentions is that my engagement ring and melee are F VS. And my BGD pendant F/G VS melee. And my seven stone band is G VS-SI (all eyeclean 100%). so getting K''s is QUITE a departure for me. All of my current diamonds are colorless or high up in the near colorless range. But PS and those GTG''s man... they''ve made me hungry for SIZE.

But I wasn''t that way when I started out on here though.

If I had dropped to I/eye clean when I started out with my engagement ring, I would have been able to get a lot more size. But, back then I was very much where you are now. People also change. I''m not saying you will. But look at how many people come here ready to buy at the mall, and leave with a diamond that is an ideal cut after 20 agonizing posts about the length of the arrows in thier IS images. If your friend came on to PS... who knows what her opinion might be further down the line.

I really can relate to the bit about people changing! Especially as you get older, way older!!!!

Maybe due to the eyes aging too! LOL

Last year I gave up 6 carat total earrings that were really bad cut, but they looked so good and were a cheaper than cheap price (from a jewellery trade show). Anyway, I let them go because I wanted to strive for a better cut....but I think about this decision all the time and to this day still second guess not taking them. I probably should have taken them....

.....but Im getting spoiled about the cut too, so I take comfort in that. But they looked so good!!!!

Anyway, I can see why people do actually prefer size over the best cut because Ive walked in those shoes. Plus I can see why people prefer cut over size because its so nice to get the best possible and know that you have one of the finest things possible in the world.