shape
carat
color
clarity

Need Advice buying Diamond online $5800 budget

YellowSapphirelove

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
12
Hello PSers,

I am trying to help my brother choose a diamond for an engagement ring. He is not very informed and I must admit I have a yellow sapphire engagement ring and have not looked at many loose diamonds. He went to Robbins Brothers with his girlfriend and they looked at diamonds, they showed his two I1 stone and one I2 stone both graded from IGI. Color ranged from J-G and carat ranged from .99-1.03. The lowest price stone was 4200 and highest was 5400. He said that she would be happy with these but I think he could do better. I know she would really like something slightly larger and GIA certified...if possible. After seeing I1 stones he thinks that as long as the stone is eye clean she will be happy.

He is open to purchase online although is skeptical, he would like to stick to the large players such as Blue Nile and James Allen. I am trying to help him find great options. Below are some that I have found online in the 1.3 carat range. I would greatly appreciate opinions and other options.

All of the below stones have been confirmed by blue nile as eye clean (to blue nile's credit they did tell me about 5 other SI1 & SI2 stones were not eye clean).


LD06275666 (blue nile number) http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD06275666
1.30
7.01 x 6.98 x 4.33 mm
I
SI2
2.8 HCA
1B AGA
$5304

LD04641381 http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD04641381
1.30
7.11 x 7.12 x 4.23 mm
I
SI2
1.7 HCA
2A AGA
$5431


LD06404400 http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD06404400
1.35
7.15 x 7.11 x 4.33 mm
I
SI1
1.7 HCA
1B AGA
$5784

I appreciate all the help!
 

Niel

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
20,044
i would not buy an SI clarity stone without photos. Not all inclusions are created equal. Some are more visible than others

is this value jsut for the stone, or for the setting too. what setting did she like?
 

Niel

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
20,044
Ok.

I really do t think that's eye clean.

Why aren't you looking at k color, totally eye clean ones?
 

YellowSapphirelove

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
12
My brother said that she could not see inclusions in the I1 or I2 stones but she did see yellow color of the J. These were IGI stones so I was thinking a GIA I color would be ok. My brother said he really could not tell the difference between any of the stones and they were all "sparkly" so he was no help.
 

Niel

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
20,044
YellowSapphirelove|1446167562|3943671 said:
My brother said that she could not see inclusions in the I1 or I2 stones but she did see yellow color of the J. These were IGI stones so I was thinking a GIA I color would be ok. My brother said he really could not tell the difference between any of the stones and they were all "sparkly" so he was no help.


I guess I don't get why , if she was happy with a one carat obviously included diamond (which Franky, it is. An igi i is going to be obvious out in the world when she wears it for years and years. )

Can we do a 1.15 ct? I mean, she was happy with a 1 ct
 

YellowSapphirelove

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
12
I guess, I knew she would like a larger stone. I was trying to maximize size while staying eye clean (I agree that I doubt that the stones she was looking at where even eye clean). It seemed as though there were options within the $5800 budget but maybe there aren't and we need to go smaller. I am just looking for options to recommend and get opinions.
 

Niel

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
20,044
YellowSapphirelove|1446168620|3943677 said:
I guess, I knew she would like a larger stone. I was trying to maximize size while staying eye clean (I agree that I doubt that the stones she was looking at where even eye clean). It seemed as though there were options within the $5800 budget but maybe there aren't and we need to go smaller. I am just looking for options to recommend and get opinions.


You're very sweet to help. I just think, was this the first time she looked at diamonds? It's easy to not get the full experience. One, you're in fancy jewelry store lighting. Two, like you probably noticed when shopping for sapphires, you don't automatically have an "eye" for gemstones. But, the thing is, she's going to look at this every day for years in all sorts of lighting. And when she sees a diamond that is eye clean , is well cut, she will notice the difference between that and a stone that's not well cut, not eye clean, and possibly so included that it negatively affected the performance of the stone.
 

WillyDiamond

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
1,452
Just a word of caution on grading labs, they are not the same. If IGI has it graded as an "I", GIA would probably grade it 2-3 shades lower. Is that what he wants?
Perhaps you could reach out to some of the PS vendors on this forum with your budget and specs to have them help you, then post the stone here and the experts will help you run the ball into the end zone.
Best of luck.
 

YellowSapphirelove

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
12
That is exactly what I was thinking about IGI, she did not like the color of the IGI J stone so I figured GIA I would be safe, but maybe even a GIA J may be ok. We live in Houston so I was trying to avoid whiteflash and BGD...they seem great but it would lower the budget to $5350 for the stone due to taxes. Maybe I can reach out to GOG.

This stone is $170 over budget with the wire discount, but may be a possibility. It is also sold at B2C jewels but for $150 more, maybe they would match. Any glaring issues?

http://www.zoara.com/diamonds/p_round_excellent_cut_i_vs2#p=6210263
http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-7672120...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com

6210263_round_excellent_cut_i_vs2.jpg
 

wildcat03

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Apr 11, 2011
Messages
904
I would probably stick to I or higher. The tint in a J becomes pretty obvious at 1 ct.

Why not call ID Jewelry? They have found some great stones for people on Pricescope (myself included) and are known for very competitive pricing. They will be closing shortly for the Sabbath but will be open on Sunday if you want to call. Ask for Yekutiel.
 

YellowSapphirelove

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
12
Neil, that is definitely an option! I forgot to add that we can get 4% cashback at Blue Nile on purchased $7500 and under using dollar dig, so that is also appealing. If going with Blue Nile it seems like the strategy is better safe than sorry and upping the clarity grade.
 

motownmama

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
Messages
8,207
She could see color in an I stone; however, a REALLY well cut stone will look whiter - just sayin'
 

pearaffair

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 15, 2015
Messages
3,445
motownmama said:
She could see color in an I stone; however, a REALLY well cut stone will look whiter - just sayin'

I have experienced this! Comparing a "good" cut "I" to an excellent cut "K" really blew my mind!!
 

WillyDiamond

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
1,452
speak to Chris at Brilliantly Engaged, he can source stone for you, and do wonderful setting.
Best of luck
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top