little help...

[tim_bay_area]

Hello,
I am in the market for an engagement ring and i have a few questions that maybe some of you can answer.

1. What are some good diamond stores located in the bay area (CA). The most popular seems to be the Shane Company, but i was wondering if anyone had other suggestions. I tend to dislike chain stores for some reason.

2. My future wife likes those 3 stone engagement rings. Regarding these rings:

a. what size should the side diamonds be compared to the center stone, is there some rule of thumb?

b. what should the quality of theses stones be? if the center stone is nice (E, VVS2, ideal cut) and the side stones are not as nice (H,SI)will it detract from the center stone?

3. You hear a lot about the 4c''s, but how important are depth%,table%,crown angle, pavilion angle and culet (presence vs absence)

thanks in advance for any help. if you have any suggestions that may help outside of what i asked, that would be appreciated also

thanks
tim

 

[tim_bay_area]

thanks, I'll send you an email

 

[niceice]

1. What are some good diamond stores located in the bay area (CA). The most popular seems to be the Shane Company, but i was wondering if anyone had other suggestions. I tend to dislike chain stores for some reason.

-- Try Joe Escobar Diamonds in Campbell, they are an excellent family owned business and by all means please tell them that we said "hello".

2. My future wife likes those 3 stone engagement rings. Regarding these rings:

a. what size should the side diamonds be compared to the center stone, is there some rule of thumb?

-- The ratio of balance depends on the preferences of the person wearing the ring... Most of our clients seem to prefer that the accent stones be about half the carat weight of the center stone, but a few people like the center stone to stand out a bit more so they go with accent diamonds that are about a third the size of the center stone... Still other people like the center stone to blend with the accent stones and go with side stones that weigh 3/4 the weight of the center stone. We're probably going to get fried for this, but you can find examples of these three weight options on our web site at http://www.niceice.com/jewelry/3stonerings.htm along the right hand side of the graphic at the top of the page... We would simply post the graphic to avoid the link to our own site (Leonid) but the reality is that we sliced the image to make it load faster and it's in a bunch of pieces so cut us some slack here okay because this guy has already made it "clear" that he isn't going to be buying the ring off of the internet

b. what should the quality of theses stones be? if the center stone is nice (E, VVS2, ideal cut) and the side stones are not as nice (H,SI)will it detract from the center stone?

-- The accent stones should at least be the same color as the center stone... You "might" be able to get away with being off one color grade depending on the size of the accents, the smaller the accents the better the odds of this.

3. You hear a lot about the 4c's, but how important are depth%,table%,crown angle, pavilion angle and culet (presence vs absence)

-- Proportions (the true reference for the word "Cut" as used in the 4C's) would be our first focus with regard to the Color, Cut, Clarity, Carat Weight concept... Cut first, Color second, Clarity third and then Carat weight... The combination of proportions has been discussed in hundreds of threads on this forum so we won't repeat ourselves on that here for the sake of saving some electronic paper...

thanks in advance for any help. if you have any suggestions that may help outside of what i asked, that would be appreciated also

thanks
tim


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[tim_bay_area]

Thank you for the suggestion. I will pay the Escobars a visit.

I may still buy a diamond/ring over the internet, however i would like to do some physical shopping around before buying. If anyone can give me a fair price i will buy in person. One thing that would be a concern is the tax when buying from a dealer.

Thanks for the advice on the 3 stones. That will help a lot.

best wishes

tim