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Looking for a 2 ct round... need help!

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AHill3207

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
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Hello! So I am a first time diamond buyer, and I've been doing research on here and other websites for several months. It's now come time to make a big purchase and I want to get some feedback from you experts and enthusiasts on here. I apologize in advance if this is information overload, but there a couple of things I need help with.

Anyways, I am looking for a round, hopefully 2 ct or close to it, that will be set in a yellow gold solitaire or pave setting and going on a size 6.5 finger. I'm a little conflicted on budget at the moment.

My mom has given me a very nice 1.1 ct stone but encouraged me to trade it in to find exactly what my girlfriend will love. I do not have a GIA number or similar for this stone, however a previous appraisal lists a serial number for which the jewelers I went to today (along with the jeweler that did this appraisal) could find no record of on the normal sites. My mom is looking for additional paperwork. However, the appraisal lists the diamond as 1.20 ct (measured 1.10 today), IF clarity, E color with a replacement value over $19k. The local jewelers I went to today had a different opinion. Number 1 agreed with the E clarity but said it was SI2, and the second said G color and SI2 clarity. Their offers were $5500 and $1200, respectively, which I was not pleased with. So, to be honest, I'm not sure where to go at the moment with this, I will likely end up keeping it and buying a new stone outright, but I'm open to any opinions and advice you all may have.

Edit: one thing I forgot to mention. It's a little out of round, approximately 0.3mm. 6.9x6.6mm I think it was. Don't have the numbers in front of me.

The two jewelry stores I went to are in the Royal Oak, MI area. I saw quite a few options and have 4 GIA numbers to look at. All right around 2 ct.

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=6261819562
This one was around $15k from jeweler #2 ($1200 trade in value)

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=16241824
This was $17300 from jeweler #1, as are the others below

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=1152560556
This was $18,500

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=1182207204
This was $13,500

I'd like to upgrade to a nicer stone, but if the one I have is only going to get me a few thousand dollars, I will not be able to go with a $25k diamond.

I have yet to compare these to stones I can find from the usual online vendors, but that's my next step.

I am glad to have finally looked at stones in person. I saw a few VVS stones that I liked the look of, but not the price, of course. I'm a little conflicted in which direction to go. From what I have heard, I can be a little less picky about color, since it will be set in yellow gold instead of white or platinum. Any advice for me while I delve into more research?
 
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It would be worth getting an appraisal on your stone from a qualified independent expert, so that you can make a sound decision on whether to keep it or sell/trade it. And they can advise you of fair value depending on the circumstance. If you have trouble finding one in your local area, there are some good ones that participate here that you can ship the diamond to for analysis.
 
Ditto Texas Leaguer...
Look here
https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers

Get an unbiased appraisal from one on the list above so you know exactly what you have.

Just FYI...
On James Allen a 1.1 carat F ( in between the E/G ), SI2 runs from $5100 to $7000. These are diamonds that all have GIA/AGS paperwork.

1.1 E/IF run $12k-$13k
 
Thank you both very much for the recommendation. I'm going to get on that first thing in the morning
 
Goodness! That is quite a spread in evaluations of a variety of characteristics - colour, clarity, and weight!


Since the stone is loose at the moment I’d recommend just sending it to GIA. It’ll take a few weeks, but will probably cost about as much as a thorough independent appraisal and will yield a more valuable document (given that your intent is to trade/sell vs. get more detailed information about the stone than the report would provide for insurance, say)
 
Some vendors recommended here have, on case-by-case bases, evaluated and considered taking stones in as trade toward purchase. (Whiteflash?) But I do believe you will first need a GIA report.
 
My advice is to forget the current diamond for now. Save it and later we can tell you how to have it recut and then you can make her a beautiful pendant. I think you'll do better just buying outright rather than basically having to give away a poorly cut stone (no jeweler is going to give you a good price since the cut is not good). The pendant would make a lovely and sentimental wedding gift or first anniversary gift.

The diamonds you were shown are really bad. About 80% of diamonds graded by GIA are excellent cut, so you can imagine that good cut is not good. Even within excellent, some are really excellent and some are definitely not. You'd be making a huge mistake to buy any of those.

Considering what you've been shown, I really recommend buying an excellent/ideal cut diamond online. I would recommend H-I (maybe J) color and VS2-SI1 clarity. And do not even look at any stone that is not graded excellent in cut by GIA.

Here are some cut guidelines for you:

These are measurements to help you stay in ideal cut territory with a GIA excellent cut stone.

table: 54-58
depth: 60-62.3
crown angle: 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown angle can sometimes work with a 40.6 pav angle)
pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (sometimes 41.0 if the crown angle is close to 34)

I'll look around and show you a few examples of great stones, but I need your maximum budget before I search.
 
I agree, I'm going to hold onto the stone I have, send it to the GIA for a full report, and make other plans for it in the future.

My budget is around $15k, maybe I can stretch it to $18k though. It seems that to get a good quality diamond in that range, I'm going to need to bump the size down to a little less than 2 ft, which is fine. I would love some examples if you have the time, thank you!
 
AHill3207 said:
I agree, I'm going to hold onto the stone I have, send it to the GIA for a full report, and make other plans for it in the future.

My budget is around $15k, maybe I can stretch it to $18k though. It seems that to get a good quality diamond in that range, I'm going to need to bump the size down to a little less than 2 ft, which is fine. I would love some examples if you have the time, thank you!
Click to expand...

You would save a ton of money and have a pretty much identical look by going for a 1.8 or 1.9. Thats diamond buying 101- avoid benchmark sizes unless it REALLY matters to your mind. I also would just save your moms diamond. If its "out of round a little" it will get you a pittance, as youve learned. After you recut or send it to GIA, your "profit" is cut into even more. Just make a nice pendant out of it one day. I just sold an imperfect diamond myself (with color and cut being an issue) and I will tell you- you get BEANS compared to retail of slightly better stones.
 
I would look into recutting the existing diamond now or later... if now, maybe it could be a stone in a 3 stone ring? Just an idea.

What is your timetable?
 
My timetable is a little tight, I would like to have the ring by Christmas. So I'm looking to make a purchase in the coming days. I definitely like the idea of saving the stone to use in another piece. I'd consider using it in a 3 stone ring, but I know she wants a single round diamond in a solitaire or pave style setting.
 
With going with a gold setting you can get away with the I-J color range, personally I would stick more to the I range.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3341034 -- largest at 8.24*8.22mm but top of max budget $17.9k

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3661816 -- 8.07*8.12mm IGI graded so it most liker closer to J/K range in color but very nice stone happy median on budge $16.8k

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3681046 -- 8.09*8.06mm has some brown undertones and strong fluo, budget friendly $15.9k

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3297805 -- 8.12*8.07mm strong fluo but very budget friendly at $15.4k

Super Idea cut but max budge 18k and just a little smaller than the rest but not by much, the cut will make it appear "brighter" than the JA ones

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3925336.htm-- 7.97x8.00mm

Im sure others can help assist in some nice stones and even some preowned since your turn around is tight.
 
Even something like this could be good, and leave you some budget for your setting and come in under $18k total
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3508611.htm
which is 1.74ct but super ideal could be great. You would have to decide if it is eye clean / mind clean enough for you

The difference in face up size from one of your original choices is pretty negligible (8%) but it would be a MUCH better performer.
https://www.diamdb.com/compare/1.75ct-round-7.71x7.74x0-vs-2ct-round-7.99x8.03/
 
In budget, with this setting... i love a 6 prong setting on a larger stone and this is so beautifully simple: https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...-six-prong-diamond-engagement-ring-item-49506

possible stones (in no particular order)

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3596799 *make sure it's eye clean

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3670784

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...rat-i-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-3187087 *the video is terrible quality but should be a nice stone

If you want to hit that 2ct mark but go with that expanded budget: (i'd want both inspected though due to the "additional clouds not shown" in the clarity remarks
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3297805

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3510751
 
Wow! That you all for the suggestions. There's so much to choose from. So far, from the suggestions, I'm really liking these so far:

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3341034
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...-color-vvs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3661816
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3670784
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3510751

Something I've noticed, is that I'm really shying away from diamonds that have inclusions on the table. They seem much more noticeable to me, even if they're small and it's a stone with a higher clarity rating. Is that something I should be overly concerned with?

I really like the six prong setting you've linkked, farrahlyn. Some of the rings I've seen on my girlfriend's pinterest are 6 prongs, and they look really nice. I think I will definitely go this route (or similar from another vendor) if I go with a solitaire setting.

I'm still considering the pave as well. My pinterest research indicates that she loves both types, although a couple most recent posts are french-cut pave styles. Any thoughts on this setting from whiteflash?

https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...set-eternity-diamond-engagement-ring-3591.htm

I think I have some great diamonds here from James Allen. I'm looking into some options from whiteflash as well (the first one posted seems to be no longer available, and I don't quite think the second is eye-clean enough for me, but it's close), seeing as I've heard so many good things about the quality of the cut from them. I will be doing much more research this evening, so I will be sure to report back soon.

Again, I really appreciate all the help you've given to me so far!
 
I found a couple more settings from Whiteflash that I like!
https://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/elena-diamond-engagement-ring-4040.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/harmony-diamond-engagement-ring-879.htm

Does anybody have any feedback on these? I like the 6 prong look of the first setting, but I don't know that I love the cathedrals not connected to the head, left hanging like that. I'd appreciate if anybody had any advice for these or similar settings.

I'm really leaning towards the second stone I linked above, the 1.93 ct I VS2 ACA. It's stretching the budget but I can make it happen.
 
AHill3207 said:
I found a couple more settings from Whiteflash that I like!
https://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/elena-diamond-engagement-ring-4040.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/harmony-diamond-engagement-ring-879.htm

Does anybody have any feedback on these? I like the 6 prong look of the first setting, but I don't know that I love the cathedrals not connected to the head, left hanging like that. I'd appreciate if anybody had any advice for these or similar settings.

I'm really leaning towards the second stone I linked above, the 1.93 ct I VS2 ACA. It's stretching the budget but I can make it happen.
Click to expand...

I like the 'Elena' setting the best out of the ones you've posted. I love cathedral settings!
 
AHill3207 said:
I found a couple more settings from Whiteflash that I like!
https://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/elena-diamond-engagement-ring-4040.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/harmony-diamond-engagement-ring-879.htm

Does anybody have any feedback on these? I like the 6 prong look of the first setting, but I don't know that I love the cathedrals not connected to the head, left hanging like that. I'd appreciate if anybody had any advice for these or similar settings.

I'm really leaning towards the second stone I linked above, the 1.93 ct I VS2 ACA. It's stretching the budget but I can make it happen.
Click to expand...

If you haven’t talked with WF yet, I would encourage you to! WF Super Ideal diamonds do face up whiter than non-super-ideal diamonds and they can make pictures/video to show you that.

I was pretty impressed w WF after a conversation with them and seeing some of the pictures and info they provide. They also have a 100% trade-in policy.

I really don’t think you can make a mistake going with WF instead of JA, because your diamond will be Super Ideal cut and much sparklier.

I hope that you get that diamond you posted from WF or put it on hold, or send WF a message asking them for diamonds with similar stats. I think you could even consider SI1 if you find one that WF says is eye clean.
 
Not only did I put it on hold, I ordered it today! I got the 1.93 ct from Whiteflash, along with the Elena modified with 6 claw shaped prongs! I talked with Jennifer late last night, and Magen earlier today to place the order. They were both extremely nice and helpful, and I feel like I got great advice.

I'm very excited to see how the modified Elena turns out. Someone has ordered one like this before, and they sent me a picture. The picture wasn't too great, but from what I could see, it's going to look amazing!
 
That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you! ACAs are the cream of the crop so you know you got an outstanding cut and it’ll look a teeny bit bigger than a non-ACA stone. I’m very very excited for you!
 
Great choice, it will be gorgeous!
 
Thank you both so much! It will be here in 2 weeks, and I can't wait to see it!
 
AHill3207 said:
Not only did I put it on hold, I ordered it today! I got the 1.93 ct from Whiteflash, along with the Elena modified with 6 claw shaped prongs! I talked with Jennifer late last night, and Magen earlier today to place the order. They were both extremely nice and helpful, and I feel like I got great advice.

I'm very excited to see how the modified Elena turns out. Someone has ordered one like this before, and they sent me a picture. The picture wasn't too great, but from what I could see, it's going to look amazing!
Click to expand...

I missed your reply yesterday and I had selected some WF stones prior to knowing your budget! The 1.93 I VS2 was my favorite! I am so glad you went with WF, and I think that setting will be gorgeous!:appl:
 
I'm glad we were thinking the same thing! Looks like I got a great diamond. I'll be sure to report back when it gets here!
 
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