My First Post

[briguy7]

Thank you all for the thousands of informative posts, and the tens of thousands of humorous ones. I find my self in a predicament in which I did not imagine. I have been blessed with the love of my life for almost five years, three of which we have been living together, or shall I say my better half has been putting up with me.

Tonight, I have realized, again, that there is nothing more to my life than her happiness, or her desire for a perfect engagement ring. Yet, tonight I was sitting on our couch, reflecting on our previous conversation over cheap Cabernet Sauvignon. I cracked a smile and realized, not for the first time, that the woman I loved… Loved me. It seems curious and cliché to say, but I have been waiting my whole life to meet my compliment. My better half. For some reason however, I felt shamed that I could not put forth more money after such a long ‘trial period.’ This quickly passed as I started to plan out a picturesque proposal, but we have to let her be the judge of that.

I digress… I want to bring the love of my life to the bosomy slopes of Maine in a couple weeks for a long ski and stay weekend. I have only one problem, no ring. I need to reserve a sizeable portion of my budget for memories ($2,000 ±). The rest is hers ($7,000 ±), on her finger. Hopefully she will say YES?

After months of research, I am leaning towards WhiteFlash ACA diamonds. I love all of the information on their site. My original criteria was an F VVS2 .9 ± ct but they were too expensive and the weight would have to go down for my budget. I have now revised my criteria to the H-I VS1-VS2 1.0+ ct. I am worried, after looking at so many VVS diamonds that the VS2 will show flaws. But I digress…

Here are two diamonds that look great on paper. Any comments?

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Diamond_Details.aspx?idno=1844711

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Diamond_Details.aspx?idno=1151346

I am partial to the cut… She is partial to the size… Go figure? Please help…

 

[Eva17]

since she is partial to size, going down in color and clarity is a better way to spend your money.

you won't be disappointed if you get a quality cut stone in a lower color. the wow will still be there!!!


unless the color/clarity is a cultural reason, you can find a stone to make you both happy and most importantly her happy since she will be wearing it everyday. the human eye will love what is sees. just have to have the mind follow.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/9/2009 9:55:50 AM
Author:briguy7
Thank you all for the thousands of informative posts, and the tens of thousands of humorous ones. I find my self in a predicament in which I did not imagine. I have been blessed with the love of my life for almost five years, three of which we have been living together, or shall I say my better half has been putting up with me.

Tonight, I have realized, again, that there is nothing more to my life than her happiness, or her desire for a perfect engagement ring. Yet, tonight I was sitting on our couch, reflecting on our previous conversation over cheap Cabernet Sauvignon. I cracked a smile and realized, not for the first time, that the woman I loved… Loved me. It seems curious and cliché to say, but I have been waiting my whole life to meet my compliment. My better half. For some reason however, I felt shamed that I could not put forth more money after such a long ‘trial period.’ This quickly passed as I started to plan out a picturesque proposal, but we have to let her be the judge of that.

I digress… I want to bring the love of my life to the bosomy slopes of Maine in a couple weeks for a long ski and stay weekend. I have only one problem, no ring. I need to reserve a sizeable portion of my budget for memories ($2,000 ±). The rest is hers ($7,000 ±), on her finger. Hopefully she will say YES?

After months of research, I am leaning towards WhiteFlash ACA diamonds. I love all of the information on their site. My original criteria was an F VVS2 .9 ± ct but they were too expensive and the weight would have to go down for my budget. I have now revised my criteria to the H-I VS1-VS2 1.0+ ct. I am worried, after looking at so many VVS diamonds that the VS2 will show flaws. But I digress…

Here are two diamonds that look great on paper. Any comments?

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Diamond_Details.aspx?idno=1844711

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Diamond_Details.aspx?idno=1151346

I am partial to the cut… She is partial to the size… Go figure? Please help…

There is a way to please you both, and it''s going down in clarity. This is a great example, and there is a good chance it''s eyeclean (many SI1''s are!). If you can''t see anything, you can''t see anything.

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1848273.htm#


If you are set on VS2, which would be no problem, I would go with the H you picked.

And what a sweet post!

 

[briguy7]

Ellen,

I agree with you, "If you can''t see anything, you can''t see anything." However, I am overly cautious of SI diamonds. I know that there are a lot of happy owners here on PS, but I can not bring myself to spend money on a diamond, sight unseen, unless I know there are no visible inclusions.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/9/2009 10:59:58 AM
Author: briguy7
Ellen,

I agree with you, ''If you can''t see anything, you can''t see anything.'' However, I am overly cautious of SI diamonds. I know that there are a lot of happy owners here on PS, but I can not bring myself to spend money on a diamond, sight unseen, unless I know there are no visible inclusions.

Hi briguy,

I agree the H VS2 you linked could be a great choice, VS2 should be eyeclean at close examination, but just check with your WF rep that there are no visible inclusions from any angle to make absolutely sure. WF are very used to advising clients in this capacity.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/9/2009 10:59:58 AM
Author: briguy7
Ellen,

I agree with you, ''If you can''t see anything, you can''t see anything.'' However, I am overly cautious of SI diamonds. I know that there are a lot of happy owners here on PS, but I can not bring myself to spend money on a diamond, sight unseen, unless I know there are no visible inclusions.

I totally understand! However, you are working (or will be) with a very reputable company. And they are quite used to people wanting a totally eyeclean stone. If you tell them you don''t want to see anything from any angle/distance, and to have their sharpest pair of eyes look it over, you should be fine, they will be honest about it. They don''t want the stone to be returned, any more than you would want to return it. And you could also mention you are eyeing the other stones too, you might put them on hold until you decide, they will do that too.

At any rate, you can''t go wrong with any of these, please let us know how it goes!


p.s. I have a pair of ACA studs from them, .58 each, and I can''t even find the inclusions with a loupe in the SI1.