N00b question regardin where and what

[Frallan]

the when will take care of it self

Hi all,

Ill explain the situation so you understand my reasoning.

If my bonus comes through I thought I'd be going all in on a wedding ring for my wife. (Yes we got married in the courthouse when we had our son since marrriage is a special legal status here in sweden that protects the family if something would happen to me). Now we plan to get married "for real" since my wife wants it. I havn't told her but Im eligeble for bonus this year and it looks probable that it will fall out which will hand me something like 4k USD in february. I can add some to that but not to much say around another 2k and I can pay for the fitting and the gravel on the side.

Now she does not want a rock the size of a meteor on her ring. I've been looking at 0.6 to 0.8 ct for the main stone if I find a very good stone for a very good price i could probably stretch it to 1.0 ct but anything larger she would refuse to wear.

This means Im looking for a stone with the absolute maximum of sparkle around 0.7 ct right now. I'll post a link below to something I think might fit the bill. But had I been an expert and certain of what Im doing this post wouldn't exist. Truth is I feel like a babe in the woods here - Im totally out of my deapth. Diamonds is a bloody science and I've read hours and hours of post and still just the surface.

Therefore what Im looking for is:

A: Advice on the stone
B: Advice on suppliers (I live in Europe so anything from the US needs to have 25% VAT added for price comparison)
C: A meaningful discussion so that I can spend 15-20% of a years income on a ring in some comfort that I wont have to regret it every night for the rest of my life.


JA has a stone which Ive looked at http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-IF-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1527103.asp however I've read truthaboutdiamonds as well and they say that BG is the wat to go for H&A. Are there any reputable european suppliers? (I know truthaboutdiamonds ar affilated which is why I post here rather than there however there is a lot of nice info there as well).

Thank you for taking your time to help me.

Best Regards
/Frallan

 

[LaraOnline]

Beautiful...stunning...IF...
if she wants a LOVELY diamond in this size range, surely she will LOVE this

 

[Rosebloom]

That's a spectacular diamond. For me personally, I'd rather something G/H color and VS clarity in a larger size for less money (actually I'd do I color and an eyeclean SI). You can't tell the difference visually between an internally flawless stone and a VS stone. And the vast majority of people can't tell the difference between an E color and a G color especially when worn on the hand without a comparison stone.

But you know your wife and your cultural situation so if this is the route you want to go I'm sure it will be a beautiful diamond!

 

[justginger]

That diamond is beautiful. Personally, my sweet spot is G/H/I in color, especially in ideal cut stones. *I* cannot perceive those stones as tinted, nor can quite a few other people (the majority, possibly?). Same with the IF clarity, I feel it's a bit of overkill. If you drop down to G/VS2 or so, you'll save money (which makes your point C a bit less of a concern!). You'll have a spectacular diamond, the right size for your wife, and you'll be well under budget.

However, if you LIKE high color, high clarity stones, this one is lovely.

 

[LaraOnline]

I appreciate high colour! Perhaps one day I will rock an E....

Clarity wise personally I must be very unsophisticated lol, I have been living with my beautifully cut F/SI2 diamond for some years and am yet to see an inclusion?

Every now and then I *think* I see one, but it turns out to be a reflection of a prong...

To go for a E/IF / Ideal is an incredibly classy choice. I can appreciate the care that you have put into this stone, Frallan.

ETA: before you pull the trigger I would just make sure that you have it dead right size wise. Lots of women are embarrassed to say that want a larger stone, but size is really a major part of the general consumer assessment and enjoyment of a diamond.

PS (and the US generally) seems to be the Kingdom of Huge Rocks, and not all countries or people are 'into' size to that degree. But I would still be confident that I have the size correct.

Alternatively, I would investigate the upgrade / swap potential, just to be sure. After all, imagine if your woman was buying you a 'forever' boat, the one you would love and cherish forever...it would be vitally important to you that she know exactly what you wanted / rated / needed, right?

 

[Frallan]

Well since I am quantity (size) limited I go quality instead.

Also I see it like an investment in her and in our life together as well as finacially. A High class diamond isn't likly to depreciate in value until the synthetics are perfect and indestingueble from naturals.

This means that if we in the future fall on hardships there is the choice to sell a diamond instead of something essential even if selling is the last resort in a desperate situation. And then I might as well go for broke (that is me beeing broke and her having a ring )

[edit]
And yes i will try to make sure again about the size - as we all know size does matter however i understand her reasoning as well since she lead a relativly active life and a big stone tends to get stuck in/on things.
[/edit]

/Frallan

 

[justginger]

Well since I am quantity (size) limited I go quality instead.

Also I see it like an investment in her and in our life together as well as finacially. A High class diamond isn't likly to depreciate in value until the synthetics are perfect and indestingueble from naturals.

This means that if we in the future fall on hardships there is the choice to sell a diamond instead of something essential even if selling is the last resort in a desperate situation. And then I might as well go for broke (that is me beeing broke and her having a ring )

[edit]
And yes i will try to make sure again about the size - as we all know size does matter however i understand her reasoning as well since she lead a relativly active life and a big stone tends to get stuck in/on things.
[/edit]

/Frallan

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you're able to recoup what you spend on a diamond - at least not in the relative future. You're paying retail, but would sell wholesale. Most of the time you can expect to take a 30% loss on a diamond, regardless of its specs.

 

[Frallan]

Well since I am quantity (size) limited I go quality instead.

Also I see it like an investment in her and in our life together as well as finacially. A High class diamond isn't likly to depreciate in value until the synthetics are perfect and indestingueble from naturals.

This means that if we in the future fall on hardships there is the choice to sell a diamond instead of something essential even if selling is the last resort in a desperate situation. And then I might as well go for broke (that is me beeing broke and her having a ring )

[edit]
And yes i will try to make sure again about the size - as we all know size does matter however i understand her reasoning as well since she lead a relativly active life and a big stone tends to get stuck in/on things.
[/edit]

/Frallan

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you're able to recoup what you spend on a diamond - at least not in the relative future. You're paying retail, but would sell wholesale. Most of the time you can expect to take a 30% loss on a diamond, regardless of its specs.

True - I would also lose the cost of making the ring. However for me it doesnt matter if I lose 30% of a 0.8 ct H&A rinr I spent 5k on or a 5 2ct lower grade diamond I spent 5k on. I will lose the money either way. However that should under all normal circumstances be a purly hypothetical issue since I cannot forsee such a situation in the future from here on - but if hurricane Catharina the second comes our way who knows...

The true return on investment for me lies in smiling at my wife who smiles when she sees the stone sparkle for the rest of our lifes.

 

[Christina...]

JJ is right. Many people assume that diamonds are a good investment but they aren't. You posted to JA so I'll use them as an example, they have a buy back program which offers you 70% of the purchase price of the stone for a year should you need to sell you stone. Keep in mind that this is only for one year and your $4000 purchase just became $2800.

Most of us won't be carrying around a loupe showing everyone that our stones are flawless (although I may toss this in during conversation, but it's unlikely that the viewer will be quite as impressed as I am) and when a stone is set it becomes very difficult to differentiate color differences. The difference in the size of your savings account will be much more obvious then the color differences between a E and a G. An ideal cut G VS1 stone is a very respectable, quality diamond, even the trade members here would have a difficult time determining the stones color and clarity without the use of tools, and even then there would likely be disagreement between them.

Now obviously this is just my 2 cents and people have different opinions, but for me personally, I'd rather have a G VS1/VS2 and the matching earrings or pendant.

ETA: half the price

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1531419.asp

 

[TC1987]

There's nothing wrong with the diamond you picked. It will look great irl. E and IF will always have a resale potential to someone who wants "purity" and (not to make a racist comment or be derogatory in any way), Asia likes that and is a growing market, for certain. It's a nice size. I concur with up to about .8 is a nice daily-wear size. If you bezel-set those, they look huge anyway,

But you could go down to VVS or VS clarity. In the .8ct range, I think it would be difficult to see any VS-rated inclusion without a loupe. F or G color might be okay, too. H, unmounted, I can see tints in, but it looks white enough face-up. And I color is where most people start to see tint. If you have a good eye for color, I think you'd notice tint from the side view in even a .75 ct or .8 ct I color diamond.

Where to buy: I've bought from Good Old Gold, and I had Brian Gavin recut one of my diamonds that I bought from a pawn shop. Look at the return, buyback, and trade-up (upgrade) policies of the various vendors, as well as the diamonds themselves.

To help evaluate round diamonds sight-unseen, PE has various tools. Here's a starting point:

We have the Holloway Cut Adviser. (HCA) https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca
You can enter the numbers from the lab report or Sarin or the vendor's site and see if you get a score of 2 or less. Personally, I'd go for 2 or less HCA score, and a stone that falls squarely in the red zone that is fenced by both the AGS and the GIA fences. Reject anything over 2, since you appear to be going for top cut.

Pricescope has a general range of values to use as a starting point for evaluation diamonds. Some people will accept a table larger than 57% , say up to 60-62%. Or a lower crown angle.

depth 60 - 62% (some allow up to 62.4%)
table 54- 57%
crown angle 34- 35 degrees
pavilion angle 40.6 - 41 degrees
girdle: Look for thin to slightly thick, thin to medium, etc. (Avoid extremes)
polish and symmetry - very good and above

Note: With crown and pavilion angles at the shallower ends ( CA 34 - PA 40.6) and steeper ( CA 35 - PA 41), check to make sure these angles complement in that particular diamond - use eyeballs, Idealscope, trusted vendor input - check as appropriate!
A crown angle of 34.0, 34.5 or 35.0 is usually safe with a 40.8 pavilion angle. If pavilion angle = 40.6, lean toward a 34.5-35.0 crown. If pavilion angle = 41, lean toward a 34.0-34.5 crown

There are still individual nuances in diamonds. For example, how they are proportioned can result in a balance between fire and brilliance, or more bias toward either brilliance or fire. (You can search FIC, BIC, and TIC and read more in this forum.)
BIC Brilliant Ideal Cut -- Crown angle is less than 32.5° (has a shallow crown angle and probably a large table 58%-62% and might also be shallow like a 60/60 diamond 60% table and 60% depth)
TIC Tolkowsky Ideal Cut -- Crown angles between 32.5° and 35.5° (aimed for fire + brilliance, a good balance)
FIC Firey Ideal Cut -- Crown angle 35.5 degrees or greater (cut more for fire: small table, tall crown, might face up slightly small for it's weight and might appear "dark" due to more fire = less white light reflected back) [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/optimizing-fire-in-the-modern-rb-fiery-ideal-cut-fic-how-far-can-we-go-without-serious-detracting.134805/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/optimizing-fire-in-the-modern-rb-fiery-ideal-cut-fic-how-far-can-we-go-without-serious-detracting.134805/[/URL]

 

[Frallan]

JJ is right. Many people assume that diamonds are a good investment but they aren't. You posted to JA so I'll use them as an example, they have a buy back program which offers you 70% of the purchase price of the stone for a year should you need to sell you stone. Keep in mind that this is only for one year and your $4000 purchase just became $2800.

Most of us won't be carrying around a loupe showing everyone that our stones are flawless (although I may toss this in during conversation, but it's unlikely that the viewer will be quite as impressed as I am) and when a stone is set it becomes very difficult to differentiate color differences. The difference in the size of your savings account will be much more obvious then the color differences between a E and a G. An ideal cut G VS1 stone is a very respectable, quality diamond, even the trade members here would have a difficult time determining the stones color and clarity without the use of tools, and even then there would likely be disagreement between them.

Now obviously this is just my 2 cents and people have different opinions, but for me personally, I'd rather have a G VS1/VS2 and the matching earrings or pendant.

ETA: half the price

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1531419.asp

Thanks Christina - I had not thought about the earring and pendant angle of this...

So when trying to find out earlier in mortar and brick stores they said that F was the border of where it would be visible to the eye that it wasn't a "white" diamond. you say that I could go down to G even and still be in the whita range. and that VS1 is sufficient. Ive read up on it here i the forum earlier and it seems to be the concensus.

Now if I were to chose this instead of the other one http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1475312.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131 would there be a difference in "sparkle-factor". Reason beeing since Im size limited I want all the sparkle i can get from the stone Im allowed to buy.

 

[TC1987]

^ Do you need colorless, or white? Maybe some really sharp-eyed people can tell that a G isn't "pure white." When it goes over 1ct, that's probably true. But you are looking at .6ct - .8ct and I think G would be perfectly safe and H is probably okay. Unless you are really striving for colorless. The larger the diamond, the more it concentrates the tint. So, if you were looking at, say, a 1.00 or a 1.25ct F or G, yes, some people can tell in a split second that it's not absolutely colorless.

eta: I don't know everything there is to know about using the HCA. But that second diamond falls more toward the center of the "Young People's Rings" target zone. while the first one is up at the upper boundary. Maybe somebody more experienced can comment on that. But it looks like staying more toward the center of that oval means the best change for lots of fire. I like fire, so that's what I aimed for when purchasing my diamond.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor < is where I got that "YPRs" term. Shows those zones.

 

[Frallan]

^ Do you need colorless, or white? Maybe some really sharp-eyed people can tell that a G isn't "pure white." When it goes over 1ct, that's probably true. But you are looking at .6ct - .8ct and I think G would be perfectly safe and H is probably okay. Unless you are really striving for colorless. The larger the diamond, the more it concentrates the tint. So, if you were looking at, say, a 1.00 or a 1.25ct F or G, yes, some people can tell in a split second that it's not absolutely colorless.

Wow thank you and thanks for the different links in your earlier post. Ill do the HCA meassure and see what I get. U say a score below 2 and not in the red should be ok. is the stone Ive put in one of the areas or where do I see that? (sry for the total noobiness)

[EDIT] X Marks the Spot - right?

Well the perfect heart and arrows i linked to earlier i within the red-orange and with a 1.5 score but the performande within the TIC range.

hmm the more I read and think I get it the more obvious it is that I don't...

[{EDIT]

 

[justginger]

I disagree with a jeweler claiming that F is the point where people start seeing color. Diamonds are color graded from the bottom, where the concentration of color is more obvious and ideal cutting will not mask the tint - perhaps from that angle the tint of anything below F is visible. From the top? I'd say 80%, perhaps more, of people would believe a 1ct H (ideal cut!) is colorless, unless placed directly next to a whiter stone.

Unless it is a cultural value, to have a very 'perfect' stone, save yourself the money and get a lower color/lower clarity diamond. Christina is right on all counts - you won't see the difference in the stone, but you'll definitely see it in your bank balance!

 

[TC1987]

I ran them and both are good. But I put an "eta" on my post, above. ( "Young People's Rings") When I ran the HCAs, I was noting where the X fell on the chart, for each diamond. Gary, the inventor of HCA, used a 57% table for his YPRs and OPRs, and you're looking at 55% or 56% tables, which I prefer. But I'm wondering if the X falling at the upper boundary of "Young People Rings" means anything, or not. Or whether it means slight bias toward more brilliance. I picked a diamond that is squarely in the middle, in the reddest red. LOL.

 

[Frallan]

I disagree with a jeweler claiming that F is the point where people start seeing color. Diamonds are color graded from the bottom, where the concentration of color is more obvious and ideal cutting will not mask the tint - perhaps from that angle the tint of anything below F is visible. From the top? I'd say 80%, perhaps more, of people would believe a 1ct H (ideal cut!) is colorless, unless placed directly next to a whiter stone.

Unless it is a cultural value, to have a very 'perfect' stone, save yourself the money and get a lower color/lower clarity diamond. Christina is right on all counts - you won't see the difference in the stone, but you'll definitely see it in your bank balance!

There is no cultural value to it more than perhaps that my wifes ring looks better than the other wives (but that is just me not her) - bottom line is that as long as she is happy so am I. So then if I understand all of your advices together I should get a less perfect ston bc the difference would not be noted. Get better wine for the wedding and save a bit towards som earrings...

I cant say that I find any logical faults with that - I just have to come to terms with it myself which I will once it finally dawns on me that it will look the same to the naked eye (intelectually I see that ity must be so emotionally Im still not convinced LoL).

 

[Rosebloom]

I disagree with a jeweler claiming that F is the point where people start seeing color. Diamonds are color graded from the bottom, where the concentration of color is more obvious and ideal cutting will not mask the tint - perhaps from that angle the tint of anything below F is visible. From the top? I'd say 80%, perhaps more, of people would believe a 1ct H (ideal cut!) is colorless, unless placed directly next to a whiter stone.

Unless it is a cultural value, to have a very 'perfect' stone, save yourself the money and get a lower color/lower clarity diamond. Christina is right on all counts - you won't see the difference in the stone, but you'll definitely see it in your bank balance!

Exactly

 

[mandasand]

I also agree that you should drop the color and clarity a little, even if you don't want to increase the size. No point in paying an arm and a leg when you don't have to.

Also, diamonds are not investments unless you get a huge rock. So, you need to approach this differently. You may also want to look at Good Old Gold for H&A stones.

 

[justginger]

^ Do you need colorless, or white? Maybe some really sharp-eyed people can tell that a G isn't "pure white." When it goes over 1ct, that's probably true. But you are looking at .6ct - .8ct and I think G would be perfectly safe and H is probably okay. Unless you are really striving for colorless. The larger the diamond, the more it concentrates the tint. So, if you were looking at, say, a 1.00 or a 1.25ct F or G, yes, some people can tell in a split second that it's not absolutely colorless.

Wow thank you and thanks for the different links in your earlier post. Ill do the HCA meassure and see what I get. U say a score below 2 and not in the red should be ok. is the stone Ive put in one of the areas or where do I see that? (sry for the total noobiness)

[EDIT] X Marks the Spot - right?

Well the perfect heart and arrows i linked to earlier i within the red-orange and with a 1.5 score but the performande within the TIC range.

hmm the more I read and think I get it the more obvious it is that I don't...

[{EDIT]

You must remember that to some degree, there is personal preference still involved. Below a 2 HCA, check it out. Get an Idealscope image, or an ASET image. Evaluate for leakage, etc (post here, you'll get plenty of opinions). Some people prefer BIC, some TIC, and some FIC. I am a FIC fan. Honestly though? To a layperson, they're going to look very, very, very similar - perhaps indistinguishable. They'll be pretty and shiny. Don't wear yourself out trying to learn EVERYTHING now. If it's something that interests you, you have a lifetime to research and absorb. If not, rest assured that the <2 HCA plus good looking IS/ASET is enough.

 

[justginger]

I disagree with a jeweler claiming that F is the point where people start seeing color. Diamonds are color graded from the bottom, where the concentration of color is more obvious and ideal cutting will not mask the tint - perhaps from that angle the tint of anything below F is visible. From the top? I'd say 80%, perhaps more, of people would believe a 1ct H (ideal cut!) is colorless, unless placed directly next to a whiter stone.

Unless it is a cultural value, to have a very 'perfect' stone, save yourself the money and get a lower color/lower clarity diamond. Christina is right on all counts - you won't see the difference in the stone, but you'll definitely see it in your bank balance!

There is no cultural value to it more than perhaps that my wifes ring looks better than the other wives (but that is just me not her) - bottom line is that as long as she is happy so am I. So then if I understand all of your advices together I should get a less perfect ston bc the difference would not be noted. Get better wine for the wedding and save a bit towards som earrings...

I cant say that I find any logical faults with that - I just have to come to terms with it myself which I will once it finally dawns on me that it will look the same to the naked eye (intelectually I see that ity must be so emotionally Im still not convinced LoL).

Sometimes the very fact that higher color/higher clarity diamonds are priced more expensively makes them more appealing to consumers. We've been conditioned to believe that you get what you pay for. You quite obviously want a very nice ring for your wire, which is lovely. But in the case of diamonds, the pricing is not a function of "quality", but a function of rarity, Simply put, F/IF diamonds are far more rare in nature than an H/VS2. The pricing reflects that, not the actual QUALITY of the stones. I don't know any woman who could find fault with an H/VS2.

However, if the thought of dropping down in color/clarity genuinely bothers you, absolutely do not do it. Don't let strangers on a forum talk you out of what you WANT - you'll always look at that ring and think, "It's only an H/VS2." If you can't be happy with a diamond with those stats, stick with the F/IF.

 

[stargurl78]

Sometimes the very fact that higher color/higher clarity diamonds are priced more expensively makes them more appealing to consumers. We've been conditioned to believe that you get what you pay for. You quite obviously want a very nice ring for your wire, which is lovely. But in the case of diamonds, the pricing is not a function of "quality", but a function of rarity, Simply put, F/IF diamonds are far more rare in nature than an H/VS2. The pricing reflects that, not the actual QUALITY of the stones. I don't know any woman who could find fault with an H/VS2.

However, if the thought of dropping down in color/clarity genuinely bothers you, absolutely do not do it. Don't let strangers on a forum talk you out of what you WANT - you'll always look at that ring and think, "It's only an H/VS2." If you can't be happy with a diamond with those stats, stick with the F/IF.

I agree with the bolded statement above. My husband told me that he originally had bought me a larger G colored stone but sent it back for a smaller E colored stone to be set in my engagement ring because he noticed a tint in the G stone. I am glad he made this decision because I much prefer icy white stones and wouldn't want to go below F. But I am definitely not the norm, most people are fine with G/H/I stones. Have you gone and looked at stones of different colors and clarity grades in person?

 

[BeachGirlG]

My 2 cents....

I think you are wasting money if you buy a diamond of that size with specs of E/IF. In reality, NO ONE is going to look at your wife's ring and tell the difference between it and an ideal cut G-H SI1-SI2...and you would save yourself a lot of money. I am absolutely convinced that for the majority of people, the G-H SI1-SI2 is enough to WOW them. Don't believe me? Go to any other site besides Pricescope and see what people are talking about/selling...ebay (seach for previously owned), idonowidont, theknot, etc. You will see the "average" woman's ring is most likely a poorly cut K-M I1-I2. Same thing in real life...notice woman's rings (and most are dirty, too).

My avatar ring was a re-cut by Brian Gavin. After the recut, he sent it to AGS and it came back an Excellent cut H SI2. Lots of people on here would never give it a 2nd look because it's not an ideal cut. And also for the clarity grade of SI2. When they recut was done, I asked if it was eye clean, and they told me yes. I was a bit skeptical, but they were right.

But just about every day, I have someone stop me at work, traveling, shopping, etc to compliment me on my ring. And if I go into a "maul" jewelry store...they want to examine it...and they know it's better than 99% of the diamonds in their display cases.

I do think D-E-F IF-VS diamonds have their place. I think they are perfect for people with huge budgets (or no budgets), but I would never recommend them to an average person with an average (or low) budget, unless the fiancee/wife specifically requested those specs.

Oh, and one more thing, my diamond is eye clean, but I really love giving it a bath and taking out the loupe...call me crazy, but I like looking at inclusions through a loupe!

 

[Christina...]

Frallen, you've been doing your research so no doubt you've come across the term "mind clean' here. For some people an SI2 that's eye clean is enough, for others, they will always know that the inclusion is there even if they can't see it and they will look for it, taking the enjoyment out of it for them. Some wouldn't recognize a small inclusion if it was pointed out to them under a loupe, some would spot it instantly. When my husband and I shopped for my first upgrade he couldn't understand why I want to consider a stone that wasn't near flawless and colorless, he feels the beauty of a stone was indicative of not only it's cut but also it's color and clarity. We compromised and I got an I VVS1, but by the time the next upgrade came around, he had done more research and we purchased a J SI2. Now I would have preferred that it had been an I SI1 or better, but we were looking for very specific cut and well, this just happened to be it, but we are both very happy with it, as we were the I VVS1 and the H SI1 before that. I think all well cut diamonds are beautiful But I can honestly say that I noticed no color or clarity differences with my naked eye between the VVS1 and the SI2, I do see color differences between the H and the J but only when viewed through the pavilion. This makes sense though as this is where lay people will begin to notice variation of color I J K etc. But truly, anyone without a lot of experience would never be able to judge the color of my stone while viewing it on my finger and mine is a low colored stone. For *me* F and G look identical in a grading position, I can slightly see a color difference between G and H but they still both appear white to me and set they look identical. Good Old Gold has an excellent you tube video of stone in both the grading position and face up side by side. I'll go pull it for you to view. See what YOU think, I was a colorist and I've come to the conclusion that everyone sees color differently. What I call a shade of green my hubby calls a shade of blue, you really need to see for yourself.

BTW I love that you are doing all of this to make you wife smile!

edit grammar

 

[Christina...]

Here is the link to diamond color

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcmSj8dOLRI

 

[Christina...]

I thought that this one my be helpful as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vI3Tkd3VQU&feature=relmfu

 

[Gypsy]

Advice about the stone: Go for an super ideal round or a near ideal. Here is a thread that might help you decide if you want a near ideal or a super ideal. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/likelihood-of-finding-a-signature-super-ideal-diamond.174235/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/likelihood-of-finding-a-signature-super-ideal-diamond.174235/[/URL]

If you want a super ideal AND want a retailer that sells in Europe, I recommend Infinity Diamonds. Here are their retailers in Europe: http://www.infinitydiamonds.be/web/locations-europe/

Personally I'd stick to F-G and eyeclean SI1 and VS2 clarity. But light return is the most important attribute of a round brilliant.

Advice on retailers: In addition to Infinity I do recommend BGD as I have bought from them before. Personally, I'd go for the Blue Line. This stone in particular is lovely, and fits your budget perfectly. http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.732-g-si1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104061421013 I had a G SI from BGD and I can honestly tell you that I held it next to higher color and clarity stones and there was no difference. You will be very safe and happy going for a G SI. There is NO REASON to pay more. This is an intrinsic value thing. F/G SI or VS2 is the BEST balance of value and quality.


As for meaningful discussion about the diamond. It's something beautiful and once in a lifetime for a woman. It's something you smile at every time you look at it. And my husband even smiles as he looks at it in pride, and beams every time someone compliments it. There's no real life reason for it other than that though. It's like any other discretionary item. I can't give you anything than that. It has no intrinsic value. But it is something that makes a woman feel great every time she looks at it. Makes her remember getting the ring, all those feelings of love and acceptance and those memories. It's like little time machine. And it reminds her she's loved and appreciated. That's the value of it.

 

[GreenBling]

F is icy white. I'd consider H borderline but not F.

As to clarity, my view is if you can't see it, it's not there.

This is coming from someone who used to believe F VS is the absolute minimum requirement. Yes, I'm a convert.

 

[madelise]

The true return on investment for me lies in smiling at my wife who smiles when she sees the stone sparkle for the rest of our lifes.

WOW? Where can I buy that attitude for my SO? Romance in a can? Is that sold anywhere?

I have nothing helpful to add for your search but I must say that you are awesome to put in so much effort in surprising your wife! I know she'll love whatever you end up buying for her!!

 

[Frallan]

Here is the link to diamond color

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcmSj8dOLRI

That was a very good and informative video - Thank you!

For all Noobs like me who happens to stumble on this thread this is something to watch.

/Frallan

 

[LaraOnline]

I'm feeling a little lost in this conversation now.

I thought the point was that as Frallan's wife was a 'small is good' type of diamond lover, he was shooting for the stars and getting all the symbolism of a top, top quality diamond - E/IF is very romantic in my view.

If he goes for a G-H /SI in that size (and bear in mind the that there is generally an acceptance that D-E-F is a 'colourless' range, and G steps down a level, where's the symbolism of the quality gone? It's gone from great to gauche...?