Is this a good price and color for sidestones?

[Lula]

My half-bezel "temp setting" is way too big for my left hand now that I've lost more weight, and it looks like I'll be replacing it sooner rather than later. I tried on some three-stone rings yesterday, and really liked how they looked on my hand, but only if the proportions of the ring have side stones 1/2 size of center stone.

Which brings me to my current dilemma!

Please share your opinions on these two side stones my local jeweler just took in on trade-in. They are two .31 carat GIA ExExEx, I color, VS2 clarity, which come with their diamond dossiers. EAch stone's numbers and IS (took my own scope!) looked good. I didn't bring my H&A viewer, because I'm not concerned that the stones be H&A, and my jeweler already thought I was a little weird with the IS, but he humored me.

He's offering the pair for $950 (plus tax), which will bring the total to around $1,000. I did a search on WF and JA's sites, and there just doesn't seem to be a lot of inventory to compare these stones to. Based on what I saw, these seem like an okay price -- not a deal, but easier to buy them locally where I can see them in person and not deal with shipping and finding a matched pair. Does this make sense or am I fooling myself?

Also, my current stone is an AGS 000 Infinity .77 carat G color, VS1 clarity -- the smaller side stones are two grades lower in color. For those of you with three-stone settings, how picky were you about color grades matching?

I'll send them to Wink to put in a new setting at some point, but I might wear them as studs for a while.

Thanks!!!!!!!

 

[slg47]

My half-bezel "temp setting" is way too big for my left hand now that I've lost more weight, and it looks like I'll be replacing it sooner rather than later. I tried on some three-stone rings yesterday, and really liked how they looked on my hand, but only if the proportions of the ring have side stones 1/2 size of center stone.

Which brings me to my current dilemma!

Please share your opinions on these two side stones my local jeweler just took in on trade-in. They are two .31 carat GIA ExExEx, I color, VS2 clarity, which come with their diamond dossiers. EAch stone's numbers and IS (took my own scope!) looked good. I didn't bring my H&A viewer, because I'm not concerned that the stones be H&A, and my jeweler already thought I was a little weird with the IS, but he humored me.

He's offering the pair for $950 (plus tax), which will bring the total to around $1,000. I did a search on WF and JA's sites, and there just doesn't seem to be a lot of inventory to compare these stones to. Based on what I saw, these seem like an okay price -- not a deal, but easier to buy them locally where I can see them in person and not deal with shipping and finding a matched pair. Does this make sense or am I fooling myself?

Also, my current stone is an AGS 000 Infinity .77 carat G color, VS1 clarity -- the smaller side stones are two grades lower in color. For those of you with three stones, how picky were you about color grades matching?

I'll send them to Wink to put in a new setting at some point, but I might wear them as studs for a while.

hmm...were you able to hold them next to your G? (obviously the G is set...)

BGD has 0.31 H SI1s H&A for $482...so price seems reasonable?

but it might be easier to get Wink to source you a matched pair that would go with your center stone?

 

[Lula]

My half-bezel "temp setting" is way too big for my left hand now that I've lost more weight, and it looks like I'll be replacing it sooner rather than later. I tried on some three-stone rings yesterday, and really liked how they looked on my hand, but only if the proportions of the ring have side stones 1/2 size of center stone.

Which brings me to my current dilemma!

Please share your opinions on these two side stones my local jeweler just took in on trade-in. They are two .31 carat GIA ExExEx, I color, VS2 clarity, which come with their diamond dossiers. EAch stone's numbers and IS (took my own scope!) looked good. I didn't bring my H&A viewer, because I'm not concerned that the stones be H&A, and my jeweler already thought I was a little weird with the IS, but he humored me.

He's offering the pair for $950 (plus tax), which will bring the total to around $1,000. I did a search on WF and JA's sites, and there just doesn't seem to be a lot of inventory to compare these stones to. Based on what I saw, these seem like an okay price -- not a deal, but easier to buy them locally where I can see them in person and not deal with shipping and finding a matched pair. Does this make sense or am I fooling myself?

Also, my current stone is an AGS 000 Infinity .77 carat G color, VS1 clarity -- the smaller side stones are two grades lower in color. For those of you with three stones, how picky were you about color grades matching?

I'll send them to Wink to put in a new setting at some point, but I might wear them as studs for a while.

hmm...were you able to hold them next to your G? (obviously the G is set...)

BGD has 0.31 H SI1s H&A for $482...so price seems reasonable?

but it might be easier to get Wink to source you a matched pair that would go with your center stone?

Hi, slg -- I was able to hold them next to my G, and that's the problem -- my G is in a half-bezel which makes it really hard to compare the colors. I just did another search, and JA has two .31 I VS2s, AGS 000, H&A, for $440 each. I'd rather have a higher color for a little more $$$, like the BGD H's. But at .31 carat, it seems like more of a mind-clean issue than anything I'd see when the stones are mounted.

It might be easier just to have Wink source them, but I have the option of putting these on lay away for a few months, which allows me to "freeze" the price and take my time deciding on a setting design.

 

[D&T]

I think the price is fine and reasonable especially including taxes, and you are supporting your local market which I think is a good thing too!

The color I'd be fine with only two color grades off. Bring your ring in and ask your jeweler if they have any mountings around to just rest those losse diamonds in, once sitting in there, face up you may not notice a difference when you compare yours. In that size, I can't tell which is my I stone or J stone once set and now I have an H and still can't really tell (but I obviously know which one is the H stone since its in a different metal and put in a pendant).

 

[Lula]

I think the price is fine and reasonable especially including taxes, and you are supporting your local market which I think is a good thing too!

The color I'd be fine with only two color grades off. Bring your ring in and ask your jeweler if they have any mountings around to just rest those losse diamonds in, once sitting in there, face up you may not notice a difference when you compare yours. In that size, I can't tell which is my I stone or J stone once set and now I have an H and still can't really tell (but I obviously know which one is the H stone since its in a different metal and put in a pendant).

Hi, D&T -- I just posted on your pendant thread in SMTB -- your new H pendant is gorgeous.

The part of your reply I highlighted in red is exactly what I was thinking, too. It does help the local economy, and I do like to take my business to a local jeweler when I can.

I like your suggestion about putting them in a setting to check the color -- he's got some empty settings that would work for that.

 

[Dreamer_D]

The price is fine, but a little higher than you might pay online. I paid about the same for my .35ct and .36ct J VS2 and SI1 stones from WF.

Color would bug me. In my experience, there is a crispness to a G color that is not the same in I color stones. I would want H at least. Will it bother you? I can't say. But you have shown yourself to be color sensitive. Given that these are not a *deal* per se, I would pass.

 

[Lula]

The price is fine, but a little higher than you might pay online. I paid about the same for my .35ct and .36ct J VS2 and SI1 stones from WF.

Color would bug me. In my experience, there is a crispness to a G color that is not the same in I color stones. I would want H at least. Will it bother you? I can't say. But you have shown yourself to be color sensitive. Given that these are not a *deal* per se, I would pass.

Thanks, everyone for the consultation/therapy. Dreamer, you are right. The I color would bother me over time, even if I couldn't see the differences in color when set, because *eventually* I'd find the .01% of lighting conditions where I could see the difference and it would bug me. Mind clean matters, even though I wish it didn't!

I'm going to price out some G's, and see what's out there in the 1/3 carat range.

Maybe I'll be lucky and Infinity will cut some baby Infinity diamonds...