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MARINE needing to KNOW 4 SURE about a diamond

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Blessed2beAlive

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Okay, this is my first post so I hope I do it correctly. I had a gorgeous ring custom designed for my fiance. The center stone was at first a cz just to get the ring on her finger. It is surrounded by amazing G pears and F VVS2 stones and sapphires. It has a halo with F diamonds and 4 AAA sapphires on each corner.

NOW its time for the actual diamond. (I wanted her to help pick.) We do not want one with an yellow tint. It needs to be a 2.0O to 2.20 carat. No more than a D E or F or G color and a VS2 minimum. We want none or faint flouresence. We went to a store and they only brought out three diamonds. One which is a K diamond with very strong flourescence. It showed very beautiful and they said with the strong blue it would appear whiter and it did. NOW that it is set, it is awful and yellow.

What price range and where would we find a good diamond to fit our criteria??? I don''t think we should only see 3 diamonds and have to pick from those. How many diamonds should they bring in for us to look at? What is normal.

Thanks a lot

Frank
 

diamondseeker2006

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Wow, that will be quite a ring! I think we''ll need to see pictures!
2.gif


First of all, the cut of the stone is the most important factor. When the stone is ideal cut, you can easlity go to H color and stay near colorless. if you go to G color or higher, you''ll be looking at quite a large price tag.

Here are some examples of high quality stones. In our search for a new diamond, I could not find the selection locally that I could from some of the vendors that specialize in well cut stones.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/I270111/ (new stone so no pictures, but they have similar stones you can see)

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1466926.htm

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1206908.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131




This is the best search tool. Just put in excellent-excellent for cut and check GIA and AGS for labs:

http://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx
 

Blessed2beAlive

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I attached a picture. I hope it works

MYGIRLSRING2246.JPG
 

ImpatientOne

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OOOORAH, Marine! Do you have any other pics to share?

Go to the top of this page and click on the PRICES link and enter your parameters. Expect to pay a lot of $ if you are not willing to loosen your parameters.


Best wishes!
Army Wife
Marine Mom
 

YoungPapa

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Frank,

I live in a world where everyone wants a ring as wide as a paperclip. You, my friend, proposed with a diamond encrusted coupling. I can appreciate a guy that bucks the trend, and based on her resounding ''OH YES'' I''m not alone.

Your ring is wide. I''m guessing 8mm at least - probably 10mm or more. If I''m correct then that center diamond in the picture is closer to a 1.00 carat in size - not 2.00 carat. You''re going to have a hard time squeezing a 2.00 carat diamond into those prongs, not to mention a price tag that might surpass 20k. If your only real objection is the yellow tint then a properly graded diamond of "I" color or better might be exactly what you need in your diamond upgrade. I wouldn''t personally be so concerned about fluorescence - in fact it could work to your advantage.

You can buy the diamond anywhere, but an online dealer will offer a better selection and value than the local store. Limit your search to GIA and AGS graded diamonds and you''ll know everyone is playing by the same set of rules.

All the best,
 

Lorelei

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Date: 2/26/2009 10:59:25 PM
Author: James Allen Schultz
Frank,

I live in a world where everyone wants a ring as wide as a paperclip. You, my friend, proposed with a diamond encrusted coupling. I can appreciate a guy that bucks the trend, and based on her resounding ''OH YES'' I''m not alone.

Your ring is wide. I''m guessing 8mm at least - probably 10mm or more. If I''m correct then that center diamond in the picture is closer to a 1.00 carat in size - not 2.00 carat. You''re going to have a hard time squeezing a 2.00 carat diamond into those prongs, not to mention a price tag that might surpass 20k. If your only real objection is the yellow tint then a properly graded diamond of ''I'' color or better might be exactly what you need in your diamond upgrade. I wouldn''t personally be so concerned about fluorescence - in fact it could work to your advantage.

You can buy the diamond anywhere, but an online dealer will offer a better selection and value than the local store. Limit your search to GIA and AGS graded diamonds and you''ll know everyone is playing by the same set of rules.

All the best,
Great post Jim and ditto !
 

Blessed2beAlive

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Date: 2/27/2009 4:51:14 AM
Author: Lorelei



Date: 2/26/2009 10:59:25 PM
Author: James Allen Schultz
Frank,

I live in a world where everyone wants a ring as wide as a paperclip. You, my friend, proposed with a diamond encrusted coupling. I can appreciate a guy that bucks the trend, and based on her resounding ''OH YES'' I''m not alone.

Your ring is wide. I''m guessing 8mm at least - probably 10mm or more. If I''m correct then that center diamond in the picture is closer to a 1.00 carat in size - not 2.00 carat. You''re going to have a hard time squeezing a 2.00 carat diamond into those prongs, not to mention a price tag that might surpass 20k. If your only real objection is the yellow tint then a properly graded diamond of ''I'' color or better might be exactly what you need in your diamond upgrade. I wouldn''t personally be so concerned about fluorescence - in fact it could work to your advantage.

You can buy the diamond anywhere, but an online dealer will offer a better selection and value than the local store. Limit your search to GIA and AGS graded diamonds and you''ll know everyone is playing by the same set of rules.

All the best,
Great post Jim and ditto !


I am so happy to be able to have so many wonderful people look at my fiances ring. It is 8mm wide. I thought I would add some other stats of the ring as it stands. It is at the jewelers right now we had the cz removed to try loose stones in.

The current stones that look proper in the setting are ranging from 2.10 to 2.39 carats. The picture does not show how truly large the setting is. It is also very wide on top.


The side bands have 1.98 total carats. The diamonds are G Color (they are pretty white except with me behind the camera, I don''t do well on pics). They are VS1 clarity. Each diamond around the "halo" is 1mm. There are 20 of them. Five on each side. There are 4 AAA sapphires, one close to each corner of the ring.

My girl found this amazing ring and told me she loved it but hated the sides. She has long fingers and likes a wide ring and says "they are just so wonderful" So...........that''s what I got her. She had her mom''s ring and said she wanted it to look like her''s (pears,rounds, etc.)

She designed my ring with some hints. It is 14 mm wide and took 34 penny weights of palladium. The wider bands just feel sturdier to me. I always thought men have such big hands, that the small rings disappear on them.

Here''s the dilemna. What should be my standards on getting a diamond. We set a K diamond that was 2.17 carats and it was so yellow although it had strong flourescence. It looked awful but the size was PERFECT!

Are SI1'' or SI2''s okay?? or Should i go for a VS2 or VS1??

What color diamond will show clear enough to not have yellow?? "with the white gold and clear diamonds already, any yellow pops out stronger.
Would H be a good color, or is I good enough?
What price range should I be looking at so I don''t get my wallet taken. HAHAHAHA

Thanks so much everyone!!!! I''ll get some pics posted soon.


 

Blessed2beAlive

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Would an asscher or cushion look good??? Do they sparkle??
 

atroop711

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Date: 3/1/2009 10:02:17 PM
Author: Blessed2beAlive
Date: 2/27/2009 4:51:14 AM

Author: Lorelei




Date: 2/26/2009 10:59:25 PM

Author: James Allen Schultz

Frank,


I live in a world where everyone wants a ring as wide as a paperclip. You, my friend, proposed with a diamond encrusted coupling. I can appreciate a guy that bucks the trend, and based on her resounding ''OH YES'' I''m not alone.


Your ring is wide. I''m guessing 8mm at least - probably 10mm or more. If I''m correct then that center diamond in the picture is closer to a 1.00 carat in size - not 2.00 carat. You''re going to have a hard time squeezing a 2.00 carat diamond into those prongs, not to mention a price tag that might surpass 20k. If your only real objection is the yellow tint then a properly graded diamond of ''I'' color or better might be exactly what you need in your diamond upgrade. I wouldn''t personally be so concerned about fluorescence - in fact it could work to your advantage.


You can buy the diamond anywhere, but an online dealer will offer a better selection and value than the local store. Limit your search to GIA and AGS graded diamonds and you''ll know everyone is playing by the same set of rules.


All the best,

Great post Jim and ditto !



I am so happy to be able to have so many wonderful people look at my fiances ring. It is 8mm wide. I thought I would add some other stats of the ring as it stands. It is at the jewelers right now we had the cz removed to try loose stones in.


The current stones that look proper in the setting are ranging from 2.10 to 2.39 carats. The picture does not show how truly large the setting is. It is also very wide on top.



The side bands have 1.98 total carats. The diamonds are G Color (they are pretty white except with me behind the camera, I don''t do well on pics). They are VS1 clarity. Each diamond around the ''halo'' is 1mm. There are 20 of them. Five on each side. There are 4 AAA sapphires, one close to each corner of the ring.


My girl found this amazing ring and told me she loved it but hated the sides. She has long fingers and likes a wide ring and says ''they are just so wonderful'' So...........that''s what I got her. She had her mom''s ring and said she wanted it to look like her''s (pears,rounds, etc.)


She designed my ring with some hints. It is 14 mm wide and took 34 penny weights of palladium. The wider bands just feel sturdier to me. I always thought men have such big hands, that the small rings disappear on them.


Here''s the dilemna. What should be my standards on getting a diamond. We set a K diamond that was 2.17 carats and it was so yellow although it had strong flourescence. It looked awful but the size was PERFECT!


Are SI1'' or SI2''s okay?? or Should i go for a VS2 or VS1??


What color diamond will show clear enough to not have yellow?? ''with the white gold and clear diamonds already, any yellow pops out stronger.

Would H be a good color, or is I good enough?

What price range should I be looking at so I don''t get my wallet taken. HAHAHAHA


Thanks so much everyone!!!! I''ll get some pics posted soon.





I personally have an H, SI2 with strong blue fluorescence and it''s a great stone. It''s eye clean and looks very white (because of the fluorescence ...I assume)
 

Noahsmom

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Hey Frank,

I have a H SI2 with strong blue and it is a stunner. I think if you loosen up on the fluoro then you can lower your price range quite a bit. If the blue is a "clear" blue and not a cloudy one then I think it makes the fire more brilliant. that is just my opinion though.
 

Blessed2beAlive

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Thanks so much!!!

The more opinions the better. And when it comes from the ladies its always great advice :) They know their rings. My girl knows every diamond and speck!
 

Lorelei

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You can definitely consider ( GIA or AGS graded) SI1 or SI2 clarity if you can check it out for yourself to make sure the diamond is eyeclean, or are working with a trusted vendor who can inspect the diamond for you. Cut is key to a diamond's beauty, a reliably graded and well cut K colour might show a little warmth from the side but I would not call it yellow, however colour sensitivity varies and if the diamond you were looking at was not well cut then it may show more tint. So if you need to help the budget, I would look at I or J colour graded as above. G or H however are a sweet spot for many and it might be an idea to begin there.

Here is a video on colour which might give you more of an idea. Bear in mind it can be different viewing diamonds in person as said previously colour sensitivity varies and so do computer monitors.

http://vimeo.com/3288695
 

Rockit

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I might hazard a guess that the CZ was quite colorless and you are both accustomed to it... matching the lack of color you are used to seeing may prove difficult without spending a bundle. Also, since you are quite sensitive to subtleties of color, the higher-colored F and G diamonds already set into the ring may make it tough to go much lower in terms of color without noticing a difference between these stones and the center diamond. As suggested, G/H, sounds like an excellent place to start, and, I think SI1 is an extremely safe option. What are the approximate face-up measurements you are looking for?
 

emeraldlover1

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Very pretty ring. First off, congrats! Second, I''d like to address something that Jim asked you about above. You said that the ring is 8mm wide and that the stones surrounding the halo are 1mm. That would make you be able to fit a stone that measures up around 6mm into that setting. This leaves me scratching my head as to how you would fit a 2ct stone into that setting. Reason being that most 2 ct rounds are around the 8mm mark in diamater. Do you have the specs on the current stone? It is possible that you have a very deaply cut 2ct on your hands and are unnessasarily paying for ct weight when you setting is actually not condusive to it.

That being said, many posters have already pointed out that if you get a well cut stone you would probably be able to go as low as a j without noticing the color. One regular poster here has a fab. cut 3.5ct i (independently graded as a j) and I can not see one ounce of color in that stone even in a low lighting situation where it would most likely be more noticeable. If your budget allows for you to stay on the other end of the color spectrum then I would go as high up as makes you feel comfortable. However, if my first paragraph has any truth at all you probably have a poorly cut stone on your hands at the current moment.
 

Blessed2beAlive

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Date: 3/2/2009 8:27:05 AM
Author: Rockit
I might hazard a guess that the CZ was quite colorless and you are both accustomed to it... matching the lack of color you are used to seeing may prove difficult without spending a bundle. Also, since you are quite sensitive to subtleties of color, the higher-colored F and G diamonds already set into the ring may make it tough to go much lower in terms of color without noticing a difference between these stones and the center diamond. As suggested, G/H, sounds like an excellent place to start, and, I think SI1 is an extremely safe option. What are the approximate face-up measurements you are looking for?
You are absolutely right!!! We did get used to the very clear center. I think that is what keeps throwing us off. Thanks for the help on the color suggestion. I think we are definetly going to have to stay in the F-H range. I don''t know for sure what the measurements are, but I know they said something about 8 across when they were looking for other diamonds.

I care about the money to some extent, but my main concern is that she is happy and not settling for a diamond that she believes has to much warmth in it. We both got really used to a clear center, and it look so different with a center stone that had "yellow" in it.

She would be grateful for anything but I would feel bad not getting her something I can afford to. (I guess I want it to be more perfect than she does)

HERE''S SOME PERSONAL INFORMATION TO HELP YOU KNOW WHY SHE IS SO SPECIAL TO ME AND WHY I WANT THIS SOOOOO PERFECT!!

My budget is around $22,000.00. The main concern is I just want her completely happy. She doesn''t ask for much EVER. No new clothes, and she hates shopping, no fancy car, nothing like that. She coupon clips everything, and saves money everywhere. She''s a country girl, and loves the simple. She''s jeans and t-shirts but can dress it up when she wants. She is beautiful, simple but can be very classy if need be ......... she just does it barefoot style.
emwink.gif
Her dad was a preacher for 28 years so she learned to adapt to all kinds of environments.

Recently (right before xmas)her parents got hit by a drunk driver and her dad is now stuck to a wheelchair. He was shattered from midback down. Pelvis, legs, feet EVERTYHING! Her mom got her face burned and legs broken. She still stays strong and keeps on going. She juggles taking care of them and us too.

She is truly the kind of girl that appreciates hard work and how much it took to get her this ring. That''s why its so easy to want to spoil her. She doesn''t usually allow it. She appreciates everything even the small things like getting her a glass of water every night to sit by the bed. She thinks thats sooo sweet.

She cooks, cleans, takes care of two kids, homeschools a six year old, was a nurse, a marine, and now a stay at home mom running a full time at home business. With deployments she is the only person that keeps life having sanity. My schedule usually screws things up and leaves her alone alot and she has a lot on her plate.

I don''t want to sound picky, but this is for her, and that is all that matters!!! Maybe ya''ll can see why too. Thanks everyone for all your help!!!!
emsmile.gif
emteeth.gif
 

Blessed2beAlive

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Date: 3/2/2009 9:19:38 AM
Author: emeraldlover1
Very pretty ring. First off, congrats! Second, I''d like to address something that Jim asked you about above. You said that the ring is 8mm wide and that the stones surrounding the halo are 1mm. That would make you be able to fit a stone that measures up around 6mm into that setting. This leaves me scratching my head as to how you would fit a 2ct stone into that setting. Reason being that most 2 ct rounds are around the 8mm mark in diamater. Do you have the specs on the current stone? It is possible that you have a very deaply cut 2ct on your hands and are unnessasarily paying for ct weight when you setting is actually not condusive to it.

That being said, many posters have already pointed out that if you get a well cut stone you would probably be able to go as low as a j without noticing the color. One regular poster here has a fab. cut 3.5ct i (independently graded as a j) and I can not see one ounce of color in that stone even in a low lighting situation where it would most likely be more noticeable. If your budget allows for you to stay on the other end of the color spectrum then I would go as high up as makes you feel comfortable. However, if my first paragraph has any truth at all you probably have a poorly cut stone on your hands at the current moment.
I wish I knew more about measurements, and I will try to get back to you with that info. I know they said that the ring would fit a 1.50 carat diamond and up but they would have to sqeeze a large stone in. Is this possible??? Would they be stretching the prongs too far????

I may be off on the other measurements but I believe they are correct. The jeweler said that the way it is set on top, it can go up to an 8. something across, I don''t have any clue what that means. I know that it can fit a smaller diamond, but the cz they put in there was pretty large, and it was kind of overflowing. We got used to it and the smaller diamond didn''t look right.

I never thought about the cut being part of the problem. I will definetly look into that!!!! The current stone was just for "experimenting" to see what would look good in the setting. I know that it said on the GIA report said excellent, then Very good. I don''t know if that helps or not.

I will definetly look into that to see if our measurements change we can get a much better diamond.

What kind of measurements should we be looking for???? I have been reading all the information and it kind of swamps me.

Thanks so much!!!

Frank
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
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If your jeweller says what I take to be an 8mm round diamond can definitely fit into the ring, then that would be around the 2 carat mark. With the cut grades from GIA such as Excellent, Very good etc, it is best to evaluate each diamond carefully as the GIA cut grades can give undeserving configurations the Excellent grade for example. So what I would suggest is any diamonds you see that you like, post the proportions here and we can look them over for you. You could also consider AGS0 cut grade diamonds, AGS along with GIA are considered to be the gold standard for diamond grading, AGS moreso with cut grading.

Cut is critical if you are going to end up with a beautiful rock for your special lady, so very important to concentrate on that.
 

emeraldlover1

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Frank.... I do agree with what Lorelei said. Your jeweler was probably saying that a round diamond 8mm in diamater which would be around the 2ct mark would probably be the max your setting would fit without it looking silly and/or more specifically be too much for those prongs. I think that your budget will get you what you want within your color guidelines. There are some usefull tools on here to help you determine how good the cut of your diamond is. However in order to help with that we will need more specifics about the individual stones. Like, Lorelei said, post them here and we will all help you figure out how the diamond will perform. In the mean time I''d call good old gold and see if they have anything that fits your budget and size and color requirements.
 

RBD hunter

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Here''s a thought
Could you measure the dia of the CZ
That should get you the general dia of the new diamond.
 

Blessed2beAlive

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Well I got some measurments that may help out. The cz that was in the ring was 7.94x8.01x4.97 It was smaller than the diamond that had been put in. I liked the 2.17 carat diamond that was in there, the size looked really nice, however it was so yellow and it also did not have a good cut.

We tried another diamond recently and I will never buy from a store again. It looks gorgeous in the lights but at home it turned milk white and had no sparkle. They said the cut didn''t matter (YES IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THE BS) but as soon as I was out of their lighting it was horrible. I told them I wanted to returned and they about flipped out. I just don''t see paying for something that is not pretty when it gets out of the store.

I want a 2 carat diamond with excellent cut, excellent polish and symmetry and an H or better color (I am color sensitive) A VS2 or better. I work a very meticulous job and according to the eye doc have pilots eyes. I can see extremely small items and SI1''s and SI2''s do not work out when we try them. I can always see the imperfection. (Of course it could also be the crap we were looking at).

Please let me know some suggestions on where to purchase.

The last diamond we tried in the ring (only two have been in there) was way to shallow and we spent almost $24,000.00. I know we can do better than that, just need some direction on where to go.
 

jet2ks

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Date: 2/26/2009 10:18:26 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Wow, that will be quite a ring! I think we'll need to see pictures!
2.gif


First of all, the cut of the stone is the most important factor. When the stone is ideal cut, you can easlity go to H color and stay near colorless. if you go to G color or higher, you'll be looking at quite a large price tag.

Here are some examples of high quality stones. In our search for a new diamond, I could not find the selection locally that I could from some of the vendors that specialize in well cut stones.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/I270111/ (new stone so no pictures, but they have similar stones you can see)

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1466926.htm

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1206908.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131




This is the best search tool. Just put in excellent-excellent for cut and check GIA and AGS for labs:

http://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx
The James Allen stone that diamondseeker linked is still available and seems to meet all the criteria that you are looking for. I would ask them for an ASET image and post that so the diamond experts on the forum can have a look
 

sonnyjane

Ideal_Rock
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Messages
2,476
I just wanted to jump on the bandwagon and say that my e-ring stone is also an H SI1, and to be honest, every time I look at it I can''t believe I got it for what I did. Not only is it eye clean but even under a loupe I had a hard time finding any flaws. It is such an awesome stone and not yellow at all, in fact it looks very very white. I think as long as you look at the stone, you can be open to go down in clarity to at least SI1, it would reallllly help you in price.
 
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