Is it worth it to go up in size?

[jadedpanther]

So I kind of have the same question that forereal had about sizing. Is it worth it to up if the difference is kind of small? In my case, I am thinking about increasing from .7 carats to .84 carats. Here are the specs for diamonds.

#1
.7 ct
F color
SI1 clarity
Ideal cut
med-thick girdle
70 depth
70.9 table
1.01 ratio
~1550


#2
.84 ct
F
SI1
Excellent/Ideal cut
thin-med girdle
67.9% depth
70% table
1.01 ratio
~2450

So what do you all think? Is the extra 900 dollars worth it? And will I even notice the size difference? I know I don't have the crown angles, etc. but just tell me what you think. Thanks.

::Edit:: my bad, yes they are both Princess cuts. The measurements are #1 (5.06 x 4.98 x 3.53) and for #2 (5.38 x 5.29 x 3.59)

 

[Lorelei]

Are these Princess shapes? We need the diameter measurements also please - it could be that any increase in size wouldn't be significant...

 

[jadedpanther]

See the edit above. Sometimes I forget the most important things.

 

[trillionaire]

if you can afford the extra 900, then I think that is the way to go, absolutely. It would put her over the 3/4 carat mark

, and only a bit under 1ct for a great price. I think princesses are not supposed to face up as large as rounds, so the extra carat weight may mitigate this effect a bit.

Good luck!

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks! The size difference wouldn't be much I would think, is there any way you could compare the two side by side? Are they with an online vendor or with a jeweller? If they are online, I would ask the vendor for detailed photos and an ASET image if available - if they are with the same vendor, then maybe he could take a pic of the diamonds side by side so you can get a feel for how they face up for size. Also out of the two stones, you need to check if they are eyeclean to your standards, that could help you decide also. But if you haven't seen these diamonds, I would absolutely recommend you get detailed pics, so you can see how they look.

 

[Herfnerd]

I actually found myself in this very same dilemma between a 0.71ct and 0.83 ct stone.

It finally came down to the fact that there is not much of a noticeable difference in size between the stones and it will be even less so when you look at the 'smaller' stone subjectively - i.e. when its on her finger and she has nothing to compare it to.

However, if she is the type of person where 'size matters', than by all means, go for the bigger one.

Another way of looking at it - depending on your budget, $900 will get you an awfully nice setting!

JMHO and YMMV............

 

[claireabelle]

Date: 7/23/2008 10:15:53 AM
Author: Herfnerd



Another way of looking at it - depending on your budget, $900 will get you an awfully nice setting!

This is so true... you could enhance the smaller stone with a knockout setting?? If you''re going for a lovely simple solitaire though, I''d prefer that bit extra if you can afford it.... but don''t break the bank for .14 ct

what size finger is she? If she''s tiny, the .7 will look bigger anyway.... sorry I have been absolutely no help. ha!

 

[jadedpanther]

Well the setting is a princess cut channel setting, seen here http://www.preciousjewelers.com/170ct-channel-style-bridal-p-25013.html so that part is all set. It costs about 1700 with the F color diamonds in the setting.

We currently have the .7 ct diamond set in that setting and it looks beautiful, but kind of small. She has larger fingers (8.5) We are trying to stay under 4K, so I was hoping this would be the solution. Unfortunately, all the .9ct diamonds that I''ve seen have awful girdles/depths/tables and cost at least 3K.

Any advice?

 

[Herfnerd]

Wow! That''s one beautiful ring!

I''m still not sure that there''ll be an appreciably noticeable difference jumping up to an .84 ct center stone - but that''s just me. Have you asked the jeweler''s opinion??

Just this newb''s humble opinion........

 

[RxTechRN2b]

The difference is less than 0.5mm in diameter, and the bridal set has thicker channel/princess bands -- I don''t think that little bit is going to make a $900 difference considering the chunky width of both bands together.

 

[jadedpanther]

OK, it seems that everyone is in consensus, lol. Thank you for all of your opinions. I''ll just go ahead and stick with the one we have. I guess I could save that 900 dollars for a nice weekend getaway or something...with the price of plane tickets these days, I''d probably need that much.

 

[cara]

Hmm, I am of the every little bit helps camp on a larger finger, since it doesn''t sound like the extra cost would break the bank. My concern is that it does seem like an awfully large price jump for a small size increase. Are the stones from the same dealer/both eyeclean/graded by the same lab?

By area, the larger stone is ~13% bigger. Clearly the price is much more than 13% more. If this is the forever stone, I would probably suck it up and go bigger now, but if it might be upgraded in the future maybe save your pennies for then.

 

[jstarfireb]

If it were up to me, I''d put the vast majority of your budget toward the stone and just get a plain WG solitaire setting. I would without a doubt drop the color to H-J to get a larger stone. You can get a simple Tiffany-style solitaire for about $300, leaving $3700 for the stone...a stone like this beauty, which almost hits the 1ct mark. This is great because you get 1ct size without the price premium. Then when you have some more cash, I''d put it toward either a resetting or a more blingy wedding band, maybe one with channel-set princesses like the setting you posted. This is considering that your lady has a slightly larger than average finger size, and also that princesses look smaller than rounds for carat weight.