Need advice! (long-ish post)

[pursediva80]

Hello everyone

I am a LONGTIME lurker and drooler of all your beautiful rings on here and I need some help choosing a nice stone.

When my husband and I first got married we only could afford wedding bands because we chose to buy a house instead of an engagement ring. Now we''ve been married for 2.5 years and we''ve decided it''s time to get me some bling!

We still can''t afford a huge rock though but that''s okay with me because I''m very petite (5''2) and have really small hands. We''re looking in the 0.50-0.60 carat range and would like F-G/H and VS1-VS2 respectively. I''m okay with a smaller stone because I would like quality over quantity, if you know what I mean. I want this little sucker to sparkle like crazy!!

We''re working with a budget of around $2000...is this realistic? (that''s only the budget for the stone, not the setting)

Thanks for your input and advice everyone

And if you could post pics if you have a diamond in that range, that would be great!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, you will do fine with $2000 for a stone that size that is ideal cut! Use this price search tool. Put in excellent-excellent for cut, your size (try .55-.60), color, and clarity range, and check only AGS and GIA for lab. Leave the dots to include AGS0 and H&A.

https://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx

You''ll be able to get a high color in the .55 range or even go into the .60''s with an H color, but those are a little harder to locate.

 

[Ellen]

Hi Sarah,

How exciting!

Here''s one, and they don''t get any sparklier than this.

Assuming it''s eyeclean, which MANY SI1''s are, so don''t let that scare you. Also, there should be a PS discount on this, usually 5% on ACA''s, but with smaller sizes it varies sometimes.

This is a great company to work with also.

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-540878.htm#

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/31/2007 10:28:14 AM
Author: Ellen
Hi Sarah,

How exciting!

Here''s one, and they don''t get any sparklier than this.

Assuming it''s eyeclean, which MANY SI1''s are, so don''t let that scare you. Also, there should be a PS discount on this, usually 5% on ACA''s, but with smaller sizes it varies sometimes.

This is a great company to work with also.

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-540878.htm#

Dittoes and yum pick El !

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Welcome! How about these selections?

=337&src=loupe:2o8h065d]http://www.craftedbyinfinity.com/index.php?pid=63&lang=eng&sid[]=337&src=loupe

=376&src=loupe:2o8h065d]http://www.craftedbyinfinity.com/index.php?pid=63&lang=eng&sid[]=376&src=loupe

cheers--Sharon

 

[Regular Guy]

Yes, nice options in and out of the search by cut db...in & out of the constraints you posted, while still in budget.

Your problem is choices...not options...

 

[pursediva80]

You guys are great with all the options. Now I just got off the phone with my husband and he says because I want a platinum setting (the Legato Sleek Line by WhiteFlash) I have to scale back my diamond size to a around a 0.33, to accommodate the pricey platinum band. My wedding band is platinum, which is why I want my setting to be too. I don''t mind scaling back, I''m just not sure how it will look.

Question: Do you think a really well cut 0.33, with great colour and clarity will look nice in this Legato setting, or too small? I would prefer 4 prong over 6, as it is going to be a smaller diamond. All my friends have well over 0.50 diamond''s, so I haven''t actually seen a 0.33 in person, or close to it.

AHHHH.....decisions, decisions!

 

[Steel]

Date: 12/31/2007 2:39:21 PM
Author: pursediva80
You guys are great with all the options. Now I just got off the phone with my husband and he says because I want a platinum setting (the Legato Sleek Line by WhiteFlash) I have to scale back my diamond size to a around a 0.33, to accommodate the pricey platinum band. My wedding band is platinum, which is why I want my setting to be too. I don''t mind scaling back, I''m just not sure how it will look.

Question: Do you think a really well cut 0.33, with great colour and clarity will look nice in this Legato setting, or too small? I would prefer 4 prong over 6, as it is going to be a smaller diamond. All my friends have well over 0.50 diamond''s, so I haven''t actually seen a 0.33 in person, or close to it.

AHHHH.....decisions, decisions!

Hi PurseDiva,

I hope you reconsider this. If I were you I would buy the best biggest diamond I could with the cheapest setting possible, then when you have some cash in the future you can upgrade the setting. Please think about this...

 

[Ellen]

I''m not sure how it would look either...

Question, would you consider going down the color scale? It would allow you to get a bigger stone, and truthfully, at this size I really don''t think it would be a problem. I don''t know what your budget is now for the stone.

In looking, I''m not seeing much of what I had in mind. Here''s what I found.


http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-292645.htm 5% off w/PS discount

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-540927.htm# 2% off w/PS discount

I realize that second one may be too much, but pickins are slim....

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/31/2007 3:00:24 PM
Author: Steel

Hi PurseDiva,

I hope you reconsider this. If I were you I would buy the best biggest diamond I could with the cheapest setting possible, then when you have some cash in the future you can upgrade the setting. Please think about this...

Personally, this is what I would do too. Actually, I kinda did on my upgrade. Almost the entire budget went in the stone.

 

[pursediva80]

Thanks for all the help ladies. I''m going to talk with my husband tonight and look around for cheaper platinum bands so that I can get as close to a 0.50 carat stone as possible. It''s just hard because even bands at bluenile.ca (I''m Canadian) are over $500 for just a simple plat 4-prong. It''s insane!

 

[Rhea]

Even with the .548 from WF that Ellen posted and the fancier platinum ring you want it totals to right at $2,230 USD. Or has your budget changed? Because that''s not off of what you would spend for the original budget of $2000 for stone plus the added cost of the setting.

 

[pursediva80]

So we talked last night and he asked me if I thought I was settling for a smaller diamond because I liked the Legato setting so much and after much thought, I realized I was a bit. We''ve decided to save a bit more $$$ and that way the stone can be the best size/quality possible, and I can have the setting I want too!

Thanks for all your help though ladies, over the next little while I''ll be compiling "research" so that when the time comes, I will know exactly which stone I want and I won''t have to feel guilty about spending more money or sacrificing for the setting I like!

Cheers and Happy New Year!!!

 

[tourne]

Sarah,
I know you said you decided to wait a while and save more money and that you asked in another post about Niwaka rings, but I just thought I''d show you my 0.44 ct ACA in the Legato Sleek Line setting. Hopefully, this will give you an idea of what a smaller stone looks like in this setting. The stone is gorgeous and very sparkly and I love the setting as well.

 

[E B]

Hi pursediva,

The Legato in platinum is $1050, and with this diamond (.478 ct F, SI1 AGS EX/EX 1.2 HCA) at $982, you're only $32 over budget and just a hair under .50 ct.

ETA: I missed that the $2k was for the stone only.

 

[pursediva80]

Tourne:

Your ring is GORGEOUS! And totally reaffirms why I love the Legato setting Your stone is beautiful too. So elegant looking in that setting. Thank you for showing me your ring so I can see roughly what a diamond that size looks like in that setting. Do you have some hand shots I could see?? Pretty please ?

As for the Niwaka, as much as I love their style, I''m afraid I wouldn''t love it 5-10 years down the road. I need something classic because I''m a no fuss no muss kinda gal. And with a 18 month old, practicality (at this stage) is a must!

Honestly, you guys are all so great on here. I''ve been a longtime lurker like I said and I must check this page like 10 times a day. I swear my husband thinks I''m nuts because everytime I''m on the computer, it''s usually this website! lol!

Thanks again ladies and I''m going to check out some stones in the 0.44-0.55-ish range!

 

[tourne]

pursediva,
Thank you for your sweet comment about my ring. I''m sorry I didn''t post more pictures sooner, I''ve been out of town for a couple of days. I''m not the best ring photographer even using macro mode, but I have a few hand shots of it. Hopefully these will help you more in your search for your ring.

 

[tourne]

And one of my favorite views, the side shot.