need advice please

[mshaf]

Looking to buy a ring soon. The more I read on here the more comfortable I get with purchasing online. However, you all give great advice so I thought I would give it a shot as well.

My budget $7500-9000

Some settings I like include:
http://www.tacori.com/engagement/ht254515rd65.html

If I go with the Tacori it leaves about $5000-6000 for a diamond.

For the diamond I would like something that is at least 1 carat, round, eye clean, G color, and preferably excellent cut. I've visited a couple local jewelers and they all have tried to talk me out of spending so much for the Tacori setting. Every jeweler keeps telling me to invest it into the diamond. I just think the setting is really beautiful and fits the the simple style my girlfriend has told me she likes (small ring with Pave diamonds on the side). I know she'd be more than happy with just a 1 carat too. I live near the LA jewelry district which I haven't tried yet. Do you think it is worth it to see if a jeweler could come close to reproducing a similar style ring to the Tacori?

Am I approaching this all wrong? Some of the jewelers come on so strong it is difficult to tell what is truth and sales pitch sometimes.
Recommendations on a diamond here?
Recommendations on similar setting?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and give advice!
-mike

 

[Gypsy]

Do you have to have that setting? I think it's a waste of money. You can try to get something custom made similar to it... for MUCH less. Engagement Rings Direct has made settings similar to the Tacori before.

Unless your girlfriend specificially asked for a tacori setting I would not spend that much of your budget on that setting. Plus that head on that setting is just BEGGING to be snapped off like a twig. I can't see how that's going to wear well. AND she won't be able to wear a band right next to it with all that work on the side. (I don't care if Tacori has a matching band). She'll need a spacer unless she wants to damage both rings.

A one carat G eyeclean diamond that you actually WANT to buy is going to cost you 8k. You can go down to H Si eyeclean safely. But that's not a huge savings.

About diamonds.

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough.
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. Over 2.5 is a no. No score under 2 is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. James Allen and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.


About color:
It is important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. So... no. Not really. Within 2 color grades it is hard. Not impossible. But very hard. And it gets harder once set. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

Generally we say to be conservative stay above H.

If you are talking fancy shapes without ideal light return (because there is no 'ideal' for EC's Radiant, etc) it's a bit different.

This is how I think of it.

Ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. One there's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really. They are all white?

Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great.

And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.


YES. If you have an accurately graded F and an H THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white.


I want you notice all the qualifiers thought. I'm talking about stones with the SAME performance. An ideal H will out white an F that has compromised light performance from a poor cut.

NOTHING impacts the appearance of a diamond as much as cut. CUT is king.

You want the shinest whitest and brightest diamond out there: Cut is King. No other factor, not color or clarity or anything else impacts how white bright an shiny a stone is.

 

[Gypsy]

Here are a diamonds and settings from our best vendors that I would suggest you consider:


Diamond:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.002-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-104064813009 $7,227
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.017-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-104067973011 $7,299
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.010-g-si1-round-diamond-ags-104064814001 $7,523

Settings:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/lace-platinum-5934p-1 (GORGEOUS)
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/fishtail-pave-with-straight-head-platinum-5354p
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/truth-micro-pave-eternity-platinum-5473p
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/fishtail-pave-with-truth-head-platinum-5360p

 

[mshaf]

Thank you Gypsy. I'm gonna study the info you gave me like it's my job. My gf is definitely not asking for a Tacori. She just prefers something simple (solitaire style with pave diamonds on the side). I just really liked the Tacori but you give me a lot of great things to consider besides price like the wedding band issue and the structural integrity of that setting. Thanks for your help!
-Mike

 

[mshaf]

WOW that lace one is gorgeous. Do you think it would still have the same issue of needing a spacer given the intricate design on the side?

 

[Gypsy]

Yes, I do think to be safe you would need one. But at least it doesn't cost the earth like that Tacori setting!