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Looking for three stone princess stone/setting

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minorthreat

Rough_Rock
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Jan 22, 2009
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Hello,
I am about a week old to this site but I have been researching diamonds for about two months now.
My girlfriend (soon to be fiancee) told me she wanted a three stone princess cut ring a long time ago. She expects a ring anywhere between 2,000-5,000 dollars.
I plan on spending 5,000-8,000. At first I was set on getting D color with vs2+ quality and spending about 3,000 on the center stone alone. However after doing alot of research I think I fell in love with the infinity diamonds and I don''t mind going as low as G color. However there are no local stores near me (San Francisco Bay area). I want my side stones to be at least .30-.40 ct (Each) next to a .85-1.05ct center. I really fell in love with this setting:

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/three-stone-settings/ring/item_60-2401.asp

However, they just up''d the price on that band by 250ish dollars... THE DAY AFTER I CONTACTED THEM VIA PHONE ABOUT THIS SETTING... Really pissed me off. They also told me the side stones right next to the center are only .15 cts a piece and that if I wanted .30ct in them I could but it would make the cost substancially more since it would be considered a custom setting. My girlfriend doesn''t like the trellis winding settings so that knocks out about 50% of all the three stone settings on the market. If anyone has any suggestions on settings that looks really close to the JamesAllen one please let me know.

As far as the stone goes... Are Infinity diamonds really worth the price? I am trying to limit my spending on my center stone to 6k but it seems all the decent infinity stones are 7500+. I guess I should state my criteria first: Princess / Ideal cut / D-G / .85-1.05 cts and the grading I want to be superb... I want it to be immaculate and I really want to get my moneys worth. I don''t really know what the markup is on jewelry but I am the type of person who would spend months till I found that right deal.

Any advice or input would be extremely appreciated...
Thanks in advance,
-Joseph
 
In my opinion, yes, ideal cut stones like Infinity, Whiteflash ACA (which I have), and the hand-selected rocks at GOG are worth the extra cost. There are also ideal cut princesses such as the Jared Peerless and Hearts on Fire Dream that IMO are not worth the cost, because they carry a huge price premium. The others I mentioned are just as pretty but much less expensive. What I like about branded ideal cuts in general is that it takes the guesswork out of the equation. I think this is important especially for princesses because the numbers aren''t down to an exact science like ideal RBs are.

You can certainly find non-branded or non-AGS0 princess cuts that are just as great performers, but you just have to do a little more legwork and rely on your own eyes.

As for a similar setting, how about this one? Knox makes some really nice settings, and I believe they will set a diamond that you buy elsewhere and send to them.
 
Thanks for the response, but the setting you mentioned seems to me as if the center stone is set on a pedestal. The bottom of the stone is almost = face of the side stones. I want the ring to look a little more proportionate. Now I realize the center stone is supposed to stand out... but I don''t want it standing out so far ahead that it is hiding the side stones.
 
Some of the Infinity stones are EX instead of ID...but they have Ideal light performance, and usually take a ding on polish. This is totally fine. (and a little bit cheaper.) the .87 F VS1 is less than 5K.
 
Every time I try searching WHITEFLASH ACA PRINCESS DIAMONDS my search results show up as 0. Am I doing something wrong here are they are really out of 1 ct princess aca?
 
Did you expand the color and clarity parameters of the search?

I did a search on WF a couple of weeks ago, and there were none, or few, at the time. I believe they are expecting a new batch in "soon."
 
I am and I am having no luck... pretty bad timing to be "out" of diamonds before Valentine''s :-(
 
I would definitely take a look at Infinity if you like the brand.
 
http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=272 I'd expand to H in color and consider this stone if you want over a carat.

As for settings. I think Ingwar has a few settings similar to that one http://www.leoingwer.com/new_catalogue.asp?A=24&Catagories=5 . I bet if you called Wink up (at Highperformance diamonds) he could find you a couple similar settings to chose from. It's not an uncommon style at all. Any jeweler can get you an ingwar setting.

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=141 is an alternate diamond, under a carat, but for the $$ saved it would probably be my choice... especially if you want those larger sidestones. This is the one I'd buy. H's are great values.
 
Those 2 stones you linked by infinity are great gypsy, however I am not sure yet If I want to go do H in color. I will have to think about that one for a bit and also... I really am in love with the setting from james allen... I just need to find out exactly how much more I will have to pay for them to put the .30s on the side. If you find any other Infinitys that are .90 Ct but G+ color Ideal cuts please let me know... Also does anyone know if Infinity only sales stones that perform Ideal on light performance? I haven''t been able to see the light characteristics on there stones unless I saw the ascet.
 
Date: 1/29/2009 10:22:03 AM
Author: minorthreat
Those 2 stones you linked by infinity are great gypsy, however I am not sure yet If I want to go do H in color. I will have to think about that one for a bit and also... I really am in love with the setting from james allen... I just need to find out exactly how much more I will have to pay for them to put the .30s on the side. If you find any other Infinitys that are .90 Ct but G+ color Ideal cuts please let me know... Also does anyone know if Infinity only sales stones that perform Ideal on light performance? I haven''t been able to see the light characteristics on there stones unless I saw the ascet.
Click to expand...

I am not 100% sure of how much your budget is for the diamond, but here are some Infinity for you that might suit you -

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=140

This one is slightly under .90 but you would not see any visual difference I would bet, dinged on polish but a fab diamond nevertheless!

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=236
 
Infinity only cuts stone that are top notch. Ideals. Beautiful stones even at lower colors, and I don''t consider an H or I "lower". I have an M cut by Infinity and it certainly shows it''s warmth in indoor lighting but it is so sparkly and nicely cut that I don''t mind. Now an H would be quite white once set with comparable side stones.
 
Just an FYI- Knox Jewelers will do custom work for you, so if you want they could probably lower the center stone.
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I'm pretty sure all Infinity stones are AGS ideal for light performance. Way back in the beginning when the grading just came out, sometimes they would get 1, but Infinity knows exactly how to cut 0s after...what, 4 years?

I think you should look at each stone's detail page again...they all have a little category for "Light Performance."

Should mention that Infinity is the cutter/manufacturer; they do not sell them.
 
bumping this... as I am still looking for a setting identical to this one...
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/three-stone-settings/ring/item_60-2401.asp

Except I want .30 cts each on sides not .15s which is defualt on the JA band

Also, if anyone sees any extremely good deals on infinity stones let me know as I am trying to find a better deal on one atm
 
Why don''t you have WF make you a custom setting and get the stones in the exact sizes you want? Have you talked to them and gotten a quote?
 
I will contact them and see. However WF has a very low inventory of ideal princess cuts on their website at the moment.
 
WF just made a custom 3-stone for me. It''s a bit smaller than what you''re looking for (.57 center), but I think the proportions are what you want, atleast.

ring123123asd.jpg
 
Date: 1/30/2009 7:43:40 PM
Author: minorthreat
I will contact them and see. However WF has a very low inventory of ideal princess cuts on their website at the moment.
Click to expand...
I believe wf can get you what you want. They sell stones that never make it to the internet listing because they have buyers waiting for them. And Bmole's beautiful ring looks exactly like what you're looking for (sans the stones on the band).
 
Yes, definitely call them. When I called, Traci did a search and was able to recommend stones. She was great to work with.
 
It sounds like custom may be the way to go. Most 3-stone settings are designed to accentuate the center stone by setting it apart from the sidestones. If the JA setting is the closest to what you want, I''d consider asking them to customize it by increasing the size of the sidestones.

Also, in an ideal cut princess, H color will not be a problem at all. I have an I color princess that looks like an F because of the cut. And remember, G/H/I/J are all considered "near colorless" and H is on the higher end of this. I highly doubt anyone will be able to tell the difference between a well-cut G and H once they''re set (remember, they''re graded face-down, so that''s where the difference would be, but you look at them face-up).
 
Edited due to triple post...sorry, my computer was acting up!
 
Edited due to triple post...sorry, my computer was acting up!
 
Thanks for the input I am awaiting a response from WF right now.
 
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