Looking for advice on engagement ring purchase

[StarkFan]

Hi all,

I am finally ready to purchase an engagement ring for my girlfriend of 4+ years and I need advice.

For the setting, I have selected:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/classic-truth-sleek-micro-pave-18k-white-gold-5542w18

My girlfriend prefers a 6 prong setting so I asked if they could put one on the above and they said they could. They allowed me to select between the two 6 prong styles they have:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/six-prong-solitaire-14k-yellow-gold-5351y14
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/classic-tiffany-style-half-round-18k-white-gold-5478w18

Seeing as my girlfriend drew inspiration from a tiffany ring for the 6 prong preference, I decided on the tiffany style setting.

The custom work doesn't cost too much, but I was offered to be provided with the CAD prior to casting for around 220$ more.

Would you guys suggest in me getting this or just trust that it will look good?

Now comes the bigger question: What Diamond?

I am looking at round brilliant diamonds between .75 and .85 but ideally my budget is leaning more towards the .75 unless I find a great deal.

The one I am considering at the moment is this one:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.760-i-vs1-round-diamond-ags-c-104063428101

I did run it through the HCA tool as I've seen others do on the forum and it scores a 1.5. What that means other than it is excellent I am not too sure

What do you guys think? Can I do better on the diamond? I understand the grading part of it but I have trouble with the other aspects of it such as ASET and IdealScope. I was hoping some of you would be able to help me out.

Thanks in advance

 

[StarkFan]

Here is the info on the diamond:
Type Brian Gavin Signature
Product ID: CAGS-104063428101
Shape: Round
Report: AGS
Carat: 0.760
Color: I
Clarity: VS1
Measurements: 5.86 x 5.89 x 3.63
Lab Cut Grade: Ideal
Light Performance: Ideal
Polish: Ideal
Symmetry: Ideal
Table %: 55.7
Depth %: 61.8
Crown %: 15.2
Crown Angle: 34.4
Star %: 51.0
Pav Angle: 40.9
Pavillion %: 43.2
Lower Girdle %: 77.0
Culet: Pointed
Fluorescence: Negligible
Girdle Min-Max %: 1.5 - 3.7
Girdle: Thin To Medium Faceted

 

[godzillinois]

Congrats! I'm about to propose to my girlfriend of 4 years as well! I would also check Whiteflash and James Allen as they are the more highly recommended sites on here. I myself went with Blue Nile which was great, but they don't offer pics of the stone beforehand. I think once you start comparing the multiple prices between sites you'll get a better understanding of a good deal.

I'm by far an expert but I don't think you have much to worry about if you're looking at those specs of diamonds, especially if they're a great cut and score nice on the HCA! Also look at stones between the 0.75 and 0.85 range (like 080) you might find a bigger stone at a similar price. Getting too caught up in the minor details will drive you crazy, as long as the 4 Cs are good and the HCA score is fine I feel like any other differences will be barely noticable. I found that going to a bunch of brick and mortar stores and seeing their diamonds helped me out, I figured the majority of stones I was looking at would be better than any of the stones in the store. Esp since I was looking at GIA stuff and the stores barely had any certified stones and if they did it was usually EGL. Good luck!

 

[StarkFan]

Congrats! I'm about to propose to my girlfriend of 4 years as well! I would also check Whiteflash and James Allen as they are the more highly recommended sites on here. I myself went with Blue Nile which was great, but they don't offer pics of the stone beforehand. I think once you start comparing the multiple prices between sites you'll get a better understanding of a good deal.

I'm by far an expert but I don't think you have much to worry about if you're looking at those specs of diamonds, especially if they're a great cut and score nice on the HCA! Also look at stones between the 0.75 and 0.85 range (like 080) you might find a bigger stone at a similar price. Getting too caught up in the minor details will drive you crazy, as long as the 4 Cs are good and the HCA score is fine I feel like any other differences will be barely noticable. I found that going to a bunch of brick and mortar stores and seeing their diamonds helped me out, I figured the majority of stones I was looking at would be better than any of the stones in the store. Esp since I was looking at GIA stuff and the stores barely had any certified stones and if they did it was usually EGL. Good luck!

Thanks ringnewb.

I know I can't go wrong when looking at diamonds in those specs. Like you I am no expert and was curious as to what others thought. I am also curious as to whether the 6 prong will look nice on that setting but I guess no one would know unless I had the CAD handy.

 

[ecf8503]

That is a *perfect* stone. It will be beautiful! If you want to go bigger, you may want to drop the clarity to a VS2 / SI1 / (and even some SI2's can be eye clean). What is your budget?

ETA: Here is another option - higher color, lower clarity -

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d.../0.774-g-si1-round-diamond-ags-c-104063435149

 

[StarkFan]

That is a *perfect* stone. It will be beautiful! If you want to go bigger, you may want to drop the clarity to a VS2 / SI1 / (and even some SI2's can be eye clean). What is your budget?

ETA: Here is another option - higher color, lower clarity -

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d.../0.774-g-si1-round-diamond-ags-c-104063435149

Hi ecf,

I actually didn't specify the clarity and was mostly looking at size and price for my initial selection. I did see that .774 but was worried about the hearts and arrows pic with the white spots on the outer rim, but as a newbie when it comes to diamonds, I may have been worried for nothing. Also, there are many inclusions in there when looking at the report. Not sure how that would affect it in person.

As for budget, I would like to stay between 3500 and 4000 on the diamond.

Realistically, if there isn't anything there that interests me, I could wait and see what comes up in the following weeks as it will likely take 3-4 weeks for the ring to get made.

Thanks for the help!

Chris

 

[bunnycat]

That is a *perfect* stone. It will be beautiful! If you want to go bigger, you may want to drop the clarity to a VS2 / SI1 / (and even some SI2's can be eye clean). What is your budget?

ETA: Here is another option - higher color, lower clarity -

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d.../0.774-g-si1-round-diamond-ags-c-104063435149

Hi ecf,

I actually didn't specify the clarity and was mostly looking at size and price for my initial selection. I did see that .774 but was worried about the hearts and arrows pic with the white spots on the outer rim, but as a newbie when it comes to diamonds, I may have been worried for nothing. Also, there are many inclusions in there when looking at the report. Not sure how that would affect it in person.

As for budget, I would like to stay between 3500 and 4000 on the diamond.

Realistically, if there isn't anything there that interests me, I could wait and see what comes up in the following weeks as it will likely take 3-4 weeks for the ring to get made.

Thanks for the help!

Chris

I might take a guess and say that it could be an articfact from the photography process. These things are so finicky to photograph. Get off just even a hair....

Brian is, how do I say, very adamant and stringent (and extremely enthusiastic!), about his H/A stones. But you could call and talk to them about it. They can pull it for you.

 

[StarkFan]

I might take a guess and say that it could be an articfact from the photography process. These things are so finicky to photograph. Get off just even a hair....

Brian is, how do I say, very adamant and stringent (and extremely enthusiastic!), about his H/A stones. But you could call and talk to them about it. They can pull it for you.

Thanks. I will definitely ask them to pull them once I narrow my selections.

What would you pick between those two stones?

The stone ecf suggested actually scores a 0.9 on HCA. Does that make it a better stone? I've read that anything below 2 will essentially perform the same.

 

[bunnycat]

I might take a guess and say that it could be an articfact from the photography process. These things are so finicky to photograph. Get off just even a hair....

Brian is, how do I say, very adamant and stringent (and extremely enthusiastic!), about his H/A stones. But you could call and talk to them about it. They can pull it for you.

Thanks. I will definitely ask them to pull them once I narrow my selections.

What would you pick between those two stones?

The stone ecf suggested actually scores a 0.9 on HCA. Does that make it a better stone? I've read that anything below 2 will essentially perform the same.

You are correct that a score of under 2 on HCA is all the same. It just means they are worth investigating. However, with these branded stones, all the "investigation" has been done for you with idealscope and ASET. HCA is more for use with the vast inventories of other places with more generic stones that you need to weed through.

I think you could go with either stone and either stone can be upgraded pretty easily (maybe just a hair easier with the G since all you have is "up" to go in clarity there plus up or down in color). If you want a very white stone and it's eyeclean, I'd go with the G. If you were looking in BG's Blue line, I'd feel comfortable considering the I (because I have one myself). It kind of comes down to color tolerance for you, a little bit of size, and clarity tolerance. I couldn't find an inclusion with the side of a barn, so I'm happy down to the SI's but with color I don't like to go below H without a little "helper" fluorescence.

 

[StarkFan]

I might take a guess and say that it could be an articfact from the photography process. These things are so finicky to photograph. Get off just even a hair....

Brian is, how do I say, very adamant and stringent (and extremely enthusiastic!), about his H/A stones. But you could call and talk to them about it. They can pull it for you.

Thanks. I will definitely ask them to pull them once I narrow my selections.

What would you pick between those two stones?

The stone ecf suggested actually scores a 0.9 on HCA. Does that make it a better stone? I've read that anything below 2 will essentially perform the same.

You are correct that a score of under 2 on HCA is all the same. It just means they are worth investigating. However, with these branded stones, all the "investigation" has been done for you with idealscope and ASET. HCA is more for use with the vast inventories of other places with more generic stones that you need to weed through.

I think you could go with either stone and either stone can be upgraded pretty easily (maybe just a hair easier with the G since all you have is "up" to go in clarity there plus up or down in color). If you want a very white stone and it's eyeclean, I'd go with the G. If you were looking in BG's Blue line, I'd feel comfortable considering the I (because I have one myself). It kind of comes down to color tolerance for you, a little bit of size, and clarity tolerance. I couldn't find an inclusion with the side of a barn, so I'm happy down to the SI's but with color I don't like to go below H without a little "helper" fluorescence.

I see. I mentioned the blue line diamonds to her and she didn't seem very interested haha. Having said that I think I would prefer a whiter diamond. I guess as long as it's eye-clean (which they said it was without having looked at it in person), perhaps that would be the way to go.

 

[bunnycat]

I might take a guess and say that it could be an articfact from the photography process. These things are so finicky to photograph. Get off just even a hair....

Brian is, how do I say, very adamant and stringent (and extremely enthusiastic!), about his H/A stones. But you could call and talk to them about it. They can pull it for you.

Thanks. I will definitely ask them to pull them once I narrow my selections.

What would you pick between those two stones?

The stone ecf suggested actually scores a 0.9 on HCA. Does that make it a better stone? I've read that anything below 2 will essentially perform the same.

You are correct that a score of under 2 on HCA is all the same. It just means they are worth investigating. However, with these branded stones, all the "investigation" has been done for you with idealscope and ASET. HCA is more for use with the vast inventories of other places with more generic stones that you need to weed through.

I think you could go with either stone and either stone can be upgraded pretty easily (maybe just a hair easier with the G since all you have is "up" to go in clarity there plus up or down in color). If you want a very white stone and it's eyeclean, I'd go with the G. If you were looking in BG's Blue line, I'd feel comfortable considering the I (because I have one myself). It kind of comes down to color tolerance for you, a little bit of size, and clarity tolerance. I couldn't find an inclusion with the side of a barn, so I'm happy down to the SI's but with color I don't like to go below H without a little "helper" fluorescence.

I see. I mentioned the blue line diamonds to her and she didn't seem very interested haha. Having said that I think I would prefer a whiter diamond. I guess as long as it's eye-clean (which they said it was without having looked at it in person), perhaps that would be the way to go.

Well- if you don't mention it to her, it's not something she's really going to see overtly. It's not going to glow blue at her in a room. Fluor will only be obviously visible under a blacklight (bright blue) but the effects of it can be seen in any lighting situation where UV is present (sun, fluorescent and CFL lighting, etc...). The visible effects in regular lighting situations (like outside) will be that it makes the diamond "face up" a little whiter than it's graded color. Mine has a little lavender-blue-white tint to it in sunshine.

I think one of the big labs (Maybe it's AGS??) view is that all diamond fluoresce SOME...so their fluor scale goes something like negligible, faint, medium, strong, V strong whereas GIA's scale reads none, faint, etc....

 

[StarkFan]

I might take a guess and say that it could be an articfact from the photography process. These things are so finicky to photograph. Get off just even a hair....

Brian is, how do I say, very adamant and stringent (and extremely enthusiastic!), about his H/A stones. But you could call and talk to them about it. They can pull it for you.

Thanks. I will definitely ask them to pull them once I narrow my selections.

What would you pick between those two stones?

The stone ecf suggested actually scores a 0.9 on HCA. Does that make it a better stone? I've read that anything below 2 will essentially perform the same.

You are correct that a score of under 2 on HCA is all the same. It just means they are worth investigating. However, with these branded stones, all the "investigation" has been done for you with idealscope and ASET. HCA is more for use with the vast inventories of other places with more generic stones that you need to weed through.

I think you could go with either stone and either stone can be upgraded pretty easily (maybe just a hair easier with the G since all you have is "up" to go in clarity there plus up or down in color). If you want a very white stone and it's eyeclean, I'd go with the G. If you were looking in BG's Blue line, I'd feel comfortable considering the I (because I have one myself). It kind of comes down to color tolerance for you, a little bit of size, and clarity tolerance. I couldn't find an inclusion with the side of a barn, so I'm happy down to the SI's but with color I don't like to go below H without a little "helper" fluorescence.

I see. I mentioned the blue line diamonds to her and she didn't seem very interested haha. Having said that I think I would prefer a whiter diamond. I guess as long as it's eye-clean (which they said it was without having looked at it in person), perhaps that would be the way to go.

Well- if you don't mention it to her, it's not something she's really going to see overtly. It's not going to glow blue at her in a room. Fluor will only be obviously visible under a blacklight (bright blue) but the effects of it can be seen in any lighting situation where UV is present (sun, fluorescent and CFL lighting, etc...). The visible effects in regular lighting situations (like outside) will be that it makes the diamond "face up" a little whiter than it's graded color. Mine has a little lavender-blue-white tint to it in sunshine.

I think one of the big labs (Maybe it's AGS??) view is that all diamond fluoresce SOME...so their fluor scale goes something like negligible, faint, medium, strong, V strong whereas GIA's scale reads none, faint, etc....

Yea, she won't know until we go glow-in-the-dark bowling and her ring is so bright it's distracting