Long story follows, but I just bought a radiant cut diamond via Internet, which is exactly what everyone says not to do. I know I should see this in person, and I will have some time to view (and possibly exchange) the ring before I propose, so I mainly looking for ideas on how to make that decision.
I posted on here a while back, but mostly have been lurking. I am a 'techie' so I am obsessed with details on large purchases.
Anyhow, my girlfriend kept me up past 1am again last night talking about how our lives aren't going anywhere, wondering when we are getting married, and all. I was hoping to wait a while longer before getting engaged. She can't move in (mostly her job situation, but also the condition of my house), and there is no point (in my mind) paying interest on a ring you don't need yet when that money can go into the house or towards a better ring later. But lacking the sound judgement I'd have on a sound night of sleep, today I finally ordered a ring from Abazias.
Criteria:
Size: By far her most important factor, with anything less than 2 carats being looked at the same way as if I got her a CZ (at least we can say we're engaged, maybe we can afford a real ring someday).
Clarity: SI1, she doesn't mind small flaws if she can have a larger stone.
Cut: She told me Radiant, Cushion, Emerald, Asscher, Princess, and maybe Round are acceptable. She turned down another proposal before, she says because of who it was that proposed, but she remembers she didn't like the ring. The fact it was a traditional round cut is what she remembers most. She has since said round is acceptable, but thought I'd avoid it. I didn't want Emerald or Asscher given my budget and her saying clarity isn't that important. I didn't want princess, I don't like them myself, and worry the corners will chip.
Color: She wanted something unique, so I tried to steer her towards YZ/fancy but she hated the idea. She says she doesn't like yellow, but looking at an 'M' versus a 'D' she says she doesn't mind the color if she can have a larger stone.
Setting: Must be white gold, she really wanted a halo ring, but given the size requirement of the center stone and my budget, I didn't feel that was a good option. Bulky, gaudy and almost cocktail ring is what she wanted. I got the cheapest 'nice' setting with some bulk and side stones. I also wanted to avoid fancy details, as she hates patina (I avoided platinum setting for the same reason). Someday maybe we will upgrade the setting and keep the stone.
Fluorescence: Strong Blue, to maximize uniqueness and possibly size/price/yellowness. I personally really like the blue color of fluorescence diamonds. I'd be fine with faint fluorescence, but feel something was missing with no fluorescence.
Lab: UGS, based on comments I've read, this is small price advantage in the current market. The market tends to price all sub-GIA labs the same, but EGL-USA grades better than the others. I also don't like how the GIA reports leave off important measurements I get on the EGL reports.
Proportions:
Depth 72.9%
Table 59%
Crown 11.7%
Pavilion 51.3%
I know this is way too deep, but otherwise I like the proportions. You don't get a consistent pavilion angle anyway with the fancy cuts, and the face size isn't really that much larger with the ideal 63% depth. Lots of the radiants online have weird proportions, tiny crown %, huge tables, etc. Removing those gives me very few choices, since I don't have many to choose from to start with.
Report:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3322562/Diamonds/EGL.jpg
I posted on here a while back, but mostly have been lurking. I am a 'techie' so I am obsessed with details on large purchases.
Anyhow, my girlfriend kept me up past 1am again last night talking about how our lives aren't going anywhere, wondering when we are getting married, and all. I was hoping to wait a while longer before getting engaged. She can't move in (mostly her job situation, but also the condition of my house), and there is no point (in my mind) paying interest on a ring you don't need yet when that money can go into the house or towards a better ring later. But lacking the sound judgement I'd have on a sound night of sleep, today I finally ordered a ring from Abazias.
Criteria:
Size: By far her most important factor, with anything less than 2 carats being looked at the same way as if I got her a CZ (at least we can say we're engaged, maybe we can afford a real ring someday).
Clarity: SI1, she doesn't mind small flaws if she can have a larger stone.
Cut: She told me Radiant, Cushion, Emerald, Asscher, Princess, and maybe Round are acceptable. She turned down another proposal before, she says because of who it was that proposed, but she remembers she didn't like the ring. The fact it was a traditional round cut is what she remembers most. She has since said round is acceptable, but thought I'd avoid it. I didn't want Emerald or Asscher given my budget and her saying clarity isn't that important. I didn't want princess, I don't like them myself, and worry the corners will chip.
Color: She wanted something unique, so I tried to steer her towards YZ/fancy but she hated the idea. She says she doesn't like yellow, but looking at an 'M' versus a 'D' she says she doesn't mind the color if she can have a larger stone.
Setting: Must be white gold, she really wanted a halo ring, but given the size requirement of the center stone and my budget, I didn't feel that was a good option. Bulky, gaudy and almost cocktail ring is what she wanted. I got the cheapest 'nice' setting with some bulk and side stones. I also wanted to avoid fancy details, as she hates patina (I avoided platinum setting for the same reason). Someday maybe we will upgrade the setting and keep the stone.
Fluorescence: Strong Blue, to maximize uniqueness and possibly size/price/yellowness. I personally really like the blue color of fluorescence diamonds. I'd be fine with faint fluorescence, but feel something was missing with no fluorescence.
Lab: UGS, based on comments I've read, this is small price advantage in the current market. The market tends to price all sub-GIA labs the same, but EGL-USA grades better than the others. I also don't like how the GIA reports leave off important measurements I get on the EGL reports.
Proportions:
Depth 72.9%
Table 59%
Crown 11.7%
Pavilion 51.3%
I know this is way too deep, but otherwise I like the proportions. You don't get a consistent pavilion angle anyway with the fancy cuts, and the face size isn't really that much larger with the ideal 63% depth. Lots of the radiants online have weird proportions, tiny crown %, huge tables, etc. Removing those gives me very few choices, since I don't have many to choose from to start with.
Report:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3322562/Diamonds/EGL.jpg
I'm glad you can get your girlfriend what she wants right out of the gate.
I was honestly surprised he was willing to spend as much as he did back in 2008. But since then, my husband and I have been lucky enough to get good jobs, and so we've agreed that a 5-year anniversary/out of debt ring would be appropriate. It also happens that he needs a new wedding band, as well, once an injury to his hand heals, so we'll get to ring shop for each other all over again. 
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