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Lady has a small finger and on a budget...I need help guys!

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DLFB

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
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79
So for the past 2 months I've been researching for my ideal ring (with the help of the lady luckily) and I've also set my budget for it. Right now, I have my eyes on a .50 - .75 depending on what I can get with my budget. So far...my ideal rock would be:

** = very important
* = important

at least for me


.50-.75
D**
VS2>
Ex polish**
Ex - VG symmetry
Table - 57%>*
Depth - 62%>*
no cutlet or fluor*
Ideal cut*

Pretty much, I'm looking at an AGS000 or GIA equivalent(although I'm much more comfortable with GIA terms). I've seen prices from $1700-2200, but is it possible for me to find something at the $2k flat range or am I pushing it? I'm thinking I can only get up to .50 the most.

Also, the tricky part: I think the lady wants a classic solitaire/tiffany setting. I've decided that the metal will be platinum or palladium...while all of that is set, she has small and thin fingers. She wears a 4.5-4.75 as shown in these pictures:

http://i38.tinypic.com/2609b20.jpg
http://i38.tinypic.com/2609b20.jpg

If you noticed on the 2nd picture, the ring isn't even on the right position. I'd definitely have to give her a 4.5. The stones on her ring right now are like little dots, it'll get worse when the real thing is on her finger.

The problem: While I can get the size problem sorted out, the tricky part is on the width of the ring itself. I'm getting a relatively small stone (for my small budget which I'm not ashamed of and it shall remind us of our small beginnings in the future
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)and I don't want the ring to overwhelm the stone itself but to make it look bigger. What's the standard width for rings? Is it 3mm?

I found this link and I think it should help me but I cannot understand any of it: http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/files/RBCSizeOnFingerCP43543.jpg

Thanks for the help guys, I'd appreciate it.
 
is your budget for just the diamond or the diamond and the setting?
 
just the diamond.

the setting is a whole different story since I know it'll be much easier than finding a stone and she's already told me what setting she wants. sorry if I didn't include that.
 
Do you really want the depth greater than 62? That''s pretty deep...
 
well, I know this might be pushing your budget but I''d go for this in a heartbeat and it''s the real deal Tiffany:


http://www.signedpieces.com/item.cfm?item_id=8038

If that is just too much to aim for then you many have to check with a couple vendors on stones with your specs. I just did a quick search and not one came up that high in color and clarity in your size range. I didn''t search stones of lower colors but if you are on any type of time table you might have to compromise a bit. I did find a few stones at the .80 range but they are closer to 4K for the diamond.
 
Date: 10/23/2008 2:15:18 PM
Author: mrssalvo
well, I know this might be pushing your budget but I''d go for this in a heartbeat and it''s the real deal Tiffany:



http://www.signedpieces.com/item.cfm?item_id=8038


If that is just too much to aim for then you many have to check with a couple vendors on stones with your specs. I just did a quick search and not one came up that high in color and clarity in your size range. I didn''t search stones of lower colors but if you are on any type of time table you might have to compromise a bit. I did find a few stones at the .80 range but they are closer to 4K for the diamond.
Click to expand...

Ditto...I''m not really seeing anything in your price range for those specs that is an AGS0 or a true ideal cut...
 
Although you say a D colour is very important to you, I suggest you seriously think it over:

1- Finding a D stone will be much harder, specially when you consider the cut
2- D colour will significantly increase price
3- D colour is not perceptively different from the other colourless grades. These stones are graded upside down, since even trained specialists are unable to tell the difference face up
4- A well cut stone will face up much whiter than a poorly cut one

If you have to choose between two good stones, go for the better cut over the better colour grade (within reason, of course) every time.
 
0.59 ct D VS2

Here is something close. Can you be specific about why you prefer GIA and why you have picked the depth and table preferences?
 
If you drop a single color grade to an E (still ICY white):

.52 ct E, VS2 AGS Ideal $1749

That vendor (Excel) also carries what many think is the best Tiffany solitaire replica.
 
I think you mean your > to be <?

Men should remember that: EVERY guy thinks his girl has small fingers. Yes, she does...relative to you.
 
This one is a 0.54 ct D VS1, but it does have mb fluorescence.

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Diamond_Details.aspx?idno=1231679#

As far as the RBC on finger chart, it is meant to show you the percentage of the finger each carat weight will cover based on finger size. The small white numbers in the grey cells are indicating the diameter in milimeters of the diamond and finger respectively. For example, a .50 ct diamond (5.2mm) on a size 5 finger (16mm) would cover 33% of the finger (5.2/16). Hope this helps.

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any type of time table you might have to compromise a bit.

- The earliest that I'll be giving the ring is April 09 but I might be planning it on December 09 as well. Still undecided and depending on how everything goes with our time. We're sort of in a long distance relationship, so our vacation days are pretty crucial.

Do you really want the depth greater than 62? That's pretty deep...

- Actually, make that LESS THAN. That was a mistake - I'll edit if I can. Goes the same for the table.

Can you be specific about why you prefer GIA

- That's where I started my research before until now, so pretty much its what I know. Maybe I should learn a bit more about AGS. But to me they're the only ones I'm going to trust for now (AGS and GIA)

Men should remember that: EVERY guy thinks his girl has small fingers. Yes, she does...relative to you.

- Haha, yes, everyone says that, but I can really back it up. She's a petite woman and underweight for her age, its expected she'll have thin, skinny fingers.

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Diamond_Details.aspx?idno=1231679#

- I've gotten lucky with a few searches before but just like that, there's a flaw in it.
 
You should be happy with a VS1. You generally can''t see inclusions with a 10x loupe. Here is an ideal cut D VS1 at .54 cts. (someone else posted it, too):

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1231679.htm

But like others have mentioned, I personally would not hesitate to go to E or F color to get a slightly larger stone. E and F are still in the colorless range.

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1467064.htm (this one would be 5% less with the wire/pricescope discount)
 
I''m thinking the ''flaw'' he''s referring to on the stone I posted was the fact that it had mb fluorescence. In his list of requirements he said it was important the stone didn''t have any fluorescence,
28.gif
I knew that but I posted it up anyway. lol
 
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1231679.htm

- this is perfect minus the fluorescence. That's exactly what I'm looking for. is it possible for me to get one at that price? I can go VS2 if needed.

EDIT:

I realized that was the same rock a while ago
1.gif
 
Date: 10/23/2008 10:04:51 PM
Author: girlie-girl
I''m thinking the ''flaw'' he''s referring to on the stone I posted was the fact that it had mb fluorescence. In his list of requirements he said it was important the stone didn''t have any fluorescence,
28.gif
I knew that but I posted it up anyway. lol
Click to expand...
Well, we all know that this stone is outstanding and is priced at a discount because of the floro. The real truth is, medium blue florescence is not going to negatively effect this stone whatsoever, and in fact, some of us would prefer it because of that! I hope he might reconsider that because that is a great stone!
 
I can actually consider it, but hmm, what are the chances of me getting something without fluorescence? If I need to stretch the budget to $2500, then I''ll probably do it.

But then again, that might trigger me to look for a bigger stone with that budget...and it''ll be the never-ending cycle.
 
Why is D so important? To be honest, we started looking for E and lowest F. We ended up buying a G and to be honest could barely tell a difference!
 
I cannot help you find a stone, because I don''t really know anything about RBs. I did, though, want to point you to the <1 carat thread. If you go here you can see all kinds of .5-.75 carat stones and get an idea about what size setting you like. Personally, I would (and did) put that size stone in a 2mm setting, but I think it is an issue of taste and could look perfectly good in a larger setting.
 
I found one that''s within in price range. Only thing was the Polish and Symmetry is VG but it is still equivalent to an AGS000. The price is pretty good too-it leaves me $XXX for the setting which should be enough.I emailed the vendor if he can find me one that has an EX rating on both.

Thanks katamari. I''ll do some window shopping tomorrow but as you said, I think 2mm is good to maximize its "size". I''m looking at a 4-prong tiffany setting. I think that''ll do a good job of making the stone look bigger on her small and thin fingers
1.gif
 
Make sure you run the diamond's numbers through the HCA to narrow out the bad performers. Here's the link to the HCA in case you've not come across it before:

https://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp


During my search yesterday when I posted up the stone with mb fluoro, WF had another without fluoro and VG polish and symmetry (was a .51ct D VS2 $2,070) but it scored awfully on the HCA so I didn't include it. That's why I'm mentioning the HCA tool to you so you can double check with it.

Good luck!
 
Thanks girlie-girl (although I''m lost on how you''re supposed to use that)!
1.gif


I just came back from doing a little bit of research from a known jewelry retailer here in Canada (Peoples, which is affiliated/sister company of ZALES), and oh boy, CDN stores wants your ARM, LEG and possibly the best of your 2 KIDNEYS. Basically, I just wanted to see on how "big" a .50ct stone would look like in person...skipping to the main topic of the story...I asked for a .50-.70ct stone in solitaire ring. The lady gave me a:

.70ct, G color, I1 clarity in 14k white gold (4mm band)

Guess how much was it?

$3500CDN + taxes which is approx. $3200-3300US.

I shook my head in disbelief. We just spoke for a bit and I left the store.

Thank god for these forums. Sheesh.
 
Hi DLFB,

Can I ask why and how you have chosen your ideal specs?
 
Date: 10/25/2008 12:47:07 AM
Author: DLFB
Thanks girlie-girl (although I''m lost on how you''re supposed to use that)!
1.gif
Click to expand...

Sorry about that, guess I could have explained it a bit instead of just linking to it.
20.gif
Enter the information on your diamond into the appropriate fields and it''ll return a number to you that should help you eliminate poor performing stones. I''ll run the stone I linked above through it for you so you can see and have bolded the fields you plug into the HCA tool:

. Shape: Round Ideal Cut
. Carat: 0.54
. Depth %: 60.6
. Table %: 56
. Crown Angle: 34
. Crown %: 14.5
. Star : 55
. Pavilion Angle: 40.8
. Pavilion %: 43
. Lower Girdle %: 75
. Girdle: Thin to Medium Faceted
. Measurements: 5.29-5.31X3.21
. Polish: Excellent
. Symmetry: Excellent
. Culet: None

dlfbhca.jpg
 
-I've decided that I would need the ring for December 09. It's just the perfect time for myself and for her as well.

-I've been doing a lot of searching and COMPROMISING and somehow I'm finding good-bigger stones around my budget. I still kept the color in the colorless range and Triple Excellent/Ideal cuts...what I did to compromise is to drop the clarity range.

some finds:


Request Information About the Diamond Diamond Information
Shape: Round
Weight: 0.62
Cut: Excellent
Color: E
Clarity: VS1
Certification: GIA
Depth %: 62.2
Table %: 56
Symmetry: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Girdle Thickness: Slightly Thick --
Culet Size: None
Fluorescence Color: -
Dimensions (in mm): 6.42x6.47x3.39

^Can this information be right? a .62ct measuring @ 6x6x3?


Request Information About the Diamond Diamond Information
Shape: Round
Weight: 0.74
Cut: Excellent
Color: F
Clarity: SI2
Certification: GIA View
Depth %: 60.6
Table %: 57
Symmetry: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Girdle Thickness: Medium To Slightly Thick
Culet Size: None
Fluorescence Color: -
Dimensions (in mm): 5.88x5.84x3.55



Request Information About the Diamond Diamond Information
Shape: Round
Weight: 0.72
Cut: Excellent
Color: D
Clarity: SI2
Certification: GIA View
Depth %: 62.4
Table %: 56
Symmetry: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Girdle Thickness: Medium To Slightly Thick
Culet Size: None
Fluorescence Color: -
Dimensions (in mm): 5.73x5.71x3.5


Request Information About the Diamond Diamond Information
Shape: Round
Weight: 0.70
Cut: Very Good
Color: E
Clarity: SI2
Certification: AGS
Depth %: 61.1
Table %: 54
Symmetry: Ideal
Polish: Ideal
Girdle Thickness: Thin To Medium
Culet Size: -
Fluorescence Color: -
Dimensions (in mm): 5.78x5.71x3.51





If you guys were to choose any of these, which ones would you guys pick? I might schedule an appointment to see these stones in person soon (as soon as the CDN $ goes into parity with the USD again!)
 
anyone?
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If you could get the crown and pavilion angles people could give you a bit more help.
 
I wouldn''t bank on the Cdn dollar being back on parity with the USD for quite some time. If you read what most analysts say, fair trading between the two should really be around 0.85USD for one dollar Canadian. We recently purchased our diamond from Whiteflash and between the time I started looking at them(beginning of Oct) to last week when we bought(end of Oct.), we lost almost a grand on the exchange(from 0.93 to 0.81). If the dollar goes up into the high 80s again, it might be a good time to take the plunge.

I would strongly avoid any of the chain stores in Canada. Peoples, Ben Moss, etc all offer much lower quality stones than one could find on the internet. Even with the exchange rate sitting around the where it is now, you could find something much better online.
 
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