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Looking for e-ring advice - please help

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eljay

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 21, 2009
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8
Hello,

I am so glad I found this forum!

In the past few weeks, I went through a self-education about the 4Cs etc. and I am now ready to buy an engagement ring.

To put things in perspective, my girlfriend is not into jewelry at all. I know many men will say that, but I really mean none. She has no earrings, no rings, no chains, bracelets, nothing. So, try to figure out a ring size for that one! After starring at a printed size chart, my best guess is that her size is 7, but I have no idea how to get it right without her knowing.



I know she''s not fussy about getting a fancy ring. That said, I still want to propose with something that is nice and that she will love. That is, if she says ''yes'', of course. :)



At first, I was going to try to find a twist setting, but then I just decided on a simple classic ring (2.5mm 18K white gold) with a Tiffany 4-prong setting (I hope I have the terminology right!) and a princess cut solitaire. I think it makes it easier to get a matching band later.
I know that my budget is not that great, but I came up with these options for the diamond:

OPTION 1:
Carat weight: 0.70
Cut: Signature Ideal
Colour: H
Clarity: VS2

Depth %: 69.7%
Table %: 71%
Symmetry: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 4.90 x 4.85 x 3.38 mm
Crown height: 13%
Length/width ratio: 1.01


OPTION 2:
Carat weight: 0.81
Cut: Signature Ideal
Colour: I
Clarity: VS1

Depth %: 71.5%
Table %: 73%
Symmetry: Very good
Polish: Excellent
Girdle: Slightly thick to thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 5.08 x 5.02 x 3.59 mm
Crown height: 13%
Length/width ratio: 1.01


Option 2 is $500 more than option 1.

Here come my questions.
Do you have any suggestions for me in terms of trading off some of the options on the diamond like colour, clarity, and size? For example, I have noticed that even polish and symmetry quality does make a difference in price. So, should I drop some of the specs in favour of getting, say, a slightly larger diamond? In this range, would there be a noticable difference between say, "very good" and "excellent" symmetry? Or is there even a noticable difference when going up only .1 of a carat?

I think, the only thing, I am set on is that it should be an ideal cut with at least VS2 clarity and "I" or whiter colour.

Sorry for being all over the place.



Thank you very much for any insight!!

p.s. I''m hoping to make the purchase this week!
 
Welcome to PS, eljay.

The first thing is that a princess is nearly impossible to evaluate from the numbers alone. You can eliminate stones that fall outside accepted ranges, but to get an idea of how good of performance the diamond will have requires high quality photos and light performance images (ASET, preferably or Idealscope if ASET is not available). Since Blue Nile does not provide photos or images, it is really difficult to recommend a fancy shape from them. They do have a good return policy, but you'd be better off going with a vendor who provides more information up front.

The one thing that stands out to me on both of those is that the tables are larger than depths, when the reverse is preferred. You mention wanting an "ideal" cut. The only major lab that issues a cut grade for princess is AGS, so any stones you find that the vendor lists as Ideal and graded by GIA is just the vendor's own description and they can call a diamond anything they want.

As far as dropping specs, the naked eye cannot tell the difference between VG and Ex in polish and symmetry, or even Good in most cases, so you are definitely safe with VG. I color is a good place to start, though I might suggest opening up to SI clarity if you work with a vendor who can confirm the diamond is eye-clean before shipping--that would allow you to maximize your budget. Carat weight and face-up size are different things, especially with fancy shapes. It is possible to go up in weight and down in dimensions and vice versa. Make sure as you compare size, you are looking at length and width as well as carat.

If you would like some help on your hunt, give us an idea of budget and we can help see what well cut diamonds are available.
 
jet, thanks for the helpful info. I will re-read later as I don''t have much time on this PC, before my gf comes back to the room. :)
So, just to add quick info, my max budget is CAD$3500 or around US$3200 including a ring.

stonecold, that''s a beautiful diamond. I will look at whiteflash too as I see they ship to Canada. Thank you!
 
Eljay,

I went with a whiteflash ACA princess cut in a solitaire setting as well. I also went with a .79 ct diamond. I just want to assure you how beautiful the princess cut is from whiteflash! They do an amazing job picking their ACAs and you deff have a top of the line pick there. P.S. The ASSET image looks great, that diamond Stone Cold picked gets my vote! If u have any questions about dealing with whiteflash, let me know!

Good luck,

-Ted
 
Date: 9/21/2009 4:22:52 PM
Author: jet2ks
Welcome to PS, eljay.

The first thing is that a princess is nearly impossible to evaluate from the numbers alone. You can eliminate stones that fall outside accepted ranges, but to get an idea of how good of performance the diamond will have requires high quality photos and light performance images (ASET, preferably or Idealscope if ASET is not available). Since Blue Nile does not provide photos or images, it is really difficult to recommend a fancy shape from them. They do have a good return policy, but you''d be better off going with a vendor who provides more information up front.

The one thing that stands out to me on both of those is that the tables are larger than depths, when the reverse is preferred. You mention wanting an ''ideal'' cut. The only major lab that issues a cut grade for princess is AGS, so any stones you find that the vendor lists as Ideal and graded by GIA is just the vendor''s own description and they can call a diamond anything they want.

As far as dropping specs, the naked eye cannot tell the difference between VG and Ex in polish and symmetry, or even Good in most cases, so you are definitely safe with VG. I color is a good place to start, though I might suggest opening up to SI clarity if you work with a vendor who can confirm the diamond is eye-clean before shipping--that would allow you to maximize your budget. Carat weight and face-up size are different things, especially with fancy shapes. It is possible to go up in weight and down in dimensions and vice versa. Make sure as you compare size, you are looking at length and width as well as carat.

If you would like some help on your hunt, give us an idea of budget and we can help see what well cut diamonds are available.
Click to expand...
Ditto Jet.
 
Well, I''ve searched around and have not found a nicer diamond than that posted by stonecold above. There were some others for a bit less from other vendors, but didn''t have the ASET image and such detailed description as whiteflash provides. I was hoping to actually find exactly .79ct, but .81 will do fine. So, I am pretty sure that I am set on that one in a simple 4-prong Tiffany style setting from whiteflash: http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/Solitaire/4-Prong-tiffany-style-solitaire-for-fancy-cut_756.htm
That''s right on my max budget. What do you think of that combo?
By default, they offer 14K white gold. Should I get 18K white gold instead? Does it make a difference in durability?

Now, the next question is: ring size. How do I come close for someone who does not wear any rings? The best I could do is guess that her ring finger is close to the the size of my pinkie and that seems to be size 7. I don''t think her hands are big and I see that most ring size charts range from 3 to 9, so I think maybe she''s not that high in size. I just hope not to have to do a cross-border return for resizing. Argghhh.

Thank you again for your responses.
 
Looks good.

Get a ring sizer and try it on her when she is sleeping?
 

Yes, I guess I''ll have to be sneaky. :)


How about 14K vs 18K white gold for the ring?


I know that 18K has more gold content, so it should be softer and, therefore, more prone to wear. However, since it''s white gold, it''s plated anyway, so the wear resitsance should be near same. Am I correct?

 
Is she prone to skin allergy? WG usually has Nickel which can cause allergy.

Plating is too thin to be of much use to prevent wear. More important is to know what kind of alloying metal is use for the WG than the gold content.

There is a WG using Palladium, no need plating and will not result in an allergic reaction, but not common as it is more expensive for the jeweler to make and less white than WG/Nickel.
 
Date: 9/23/2009 8:52:12 AM
Author: Stone-cold11
Is she prone to skin allergy? WG usually has Nickel which can cause allergy.

Plating is too thin to be of much use to prevent wear. More important is to know what kind of alloying metal is use for the WG than the gold content.

There is a WG using Palladium, no need plating and will not result in an allergic reaction, but not common as it is more expensive for the jeweler to make and less white than WG/Nickel.
Click to expand...
I don''t think she is allergic to any metal. So, do you think I''d be ok with the 14K setting for this diamond?
 
Probably. From what I heard, WF setting are good quality, just not sure the difference between the 14k and 18k they offered. Maybe ask their opinion?
 
Will do.


Tap02, I''m not sure how to send you a private message (is it the ''subscribe to author'' function?), so I''ll just ask here:
What metal did you use for your setting from WF?

Thank you.
 
yap, no PM function here.
 
I had to go with the platinum. I know i had to spend a couple extra bucks to get it as well, but I personally feel it was the right decision. I asked around on my thread, and most of the ladies replied that if i could afford the plat, go with that.. but they mentioned 18k wg was very nice as well.

I went big i guess lol. Firstly, i only wanted the 4 prong tiffany setting, but when i stumbled upon this setting, i knew it was unique, elegant, and still traditional. i love it.


http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/Solitaire/-Legato--Sleek-Line-Diamond-Solitaire_1118.htm

If you want, heres a link to some pictures of my ring. Just for an idea/reference! Any other questions, just fire away!

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/showing-off-the-aca-princess.124760/
 
The picture should say all...
1.gif


Thanks for everyone''s help! My girlfriend fiance, loved it!

DSC08449.JPG
 
And now Whiteflash''s own photo of the ring...
It''s amazing!

prst__.jpg
 
Congratulations eljay!! That is a beautiful ring you picked out for your girl.
 
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