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NEED HELP! Asscher Diamond Engagement Ring Advice ...

M

mappdaddy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 10, 2015
Messages
13
OK so here it goes ... I know almost absolutely nothing about diamonds. I have done some minor research online and that's it. The only thing that I do know a little about is what she wants and I have narrowed that down to the following criteria:

- Budget = $6000.00 (+/-)
- Shape = Asscher
- Size = Would like this to be 1.0 carat or greater

I have now narrowed this down a bit further.

The setting that I really would like to go for is (she really wants platinum):
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/channel-set/platinum-bow-tie-channel-set-round-shaped-diamond-engagement-ring--item-812

Not knowing what to do I stumbled upon a few of these different "diamond advice experts" websites. They apparently offer up free advice so I started emailing back and forth with them. From this experience I am more and more confused. Everything they have told me has been contradictory to each other. Some of the things they say match up with my research and then some contradict that as well. I don't know who/what to believe anymore and I am starting to think maybe they are all getting some sort of kick-backs off of whatever diamond they push me to buy. To this point they have helped me to narrow down to 6 choices:

#1 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.02-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-sku-273640?a_aid=GrayMatte
#2 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.00-carat-f-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-566285?a_aid=recommended
#3 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.01-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-486135?a_aid=GrayMatter
#4 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.00-carat-f-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-535839?a_aid=GrayMatter
#5 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.08-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-sku-260143?a_aid=recommended
#6 http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.09-carat-g-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-457011?a_aid=dmnd1357&chan=x

All of these seem reasonable and to be honest to my eyes I couldn't pick one from the other. Unfortunately, of those 6 choices only #1 and #2 are eligible for inspection by James Allen (JA). No one has recommended any other sites and that might be fair because as I understand it the Asscher is a fairly rare shape and JA or Blue Nile would have the most stock. What I am really looking for is an unbiased opinion from some people who know what they are talking about and possibly have experience with JA or any other site they can recommend. I really want to get this right and get her something nice that she will be happy with. Thanks to anyone who can spare a little time and help me out in my search.
 
My first question would be did she pick that setting? It's a tad old school. Some may say "dated" , also, it seems an odd juxtaposition of that setting and an asscher cut. If she picked it, then you should go for it , but if she hasn't it might be worth exploring other options.
 
No she did not pick the setting ... I did from what I thought was a nice Asscher ring made by Tiffany's I thing :(.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/27936460158982911/

I am definitely open to any sort of recommendations. Like I said, I really know nothing about this stuff and I want her to be super happy with it.
 
mappdaddy|1436539290|3901273 said:
No she did not pick the setting ... I did from what I thought was a nice Asscher ring made by Tiffany's I thing :(.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/27936460158982911/

I am definitely open to any sort of recommendations. Like I said, I really know nothing about this stuff and I want her to be super happy with it.
Click to expand...

Yes thathat setting is beautiful, but I don't think it has the same design elements .

Ill look to see if any others fit the bill. Of the stones you posted I like the g, SI1
 
I'm not an asscher expert so I'll leave stone suggestions to Niel (you're in good hands... with Niel :D). I have a couple setting suggestions (JA really has a lot of pretty settings, and if your future fiancee doesn't love the setting, you could have it switched fairly easily, I think).

Some ideas that I think would look lovely with a 1 carat asscher and keep you within budget:

Kind of antique feel in the basket, but could be paired with a diamond wedding band and be really classic with a twist: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/designer-engagement-rings/platinum-four-prong-cathedral-arch-engagement-ring-item-7229 and a similar setting: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/platinum-james-allen-exclusive-engagement-ring-item-50015

Another antique feel with a nice detail: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/platinum-etched-profile-solitaire-item-9205

Very classic solitaire basket: www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/platinum-2.2mm-wire-basket-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-156

Lovely basket with antique looking pave: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/platinum-pave-knife-edge-lotus-basket-engagement-ring-item-9309

Pave shank with move of a classic basket: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/platinum-pave-cathedral-claw-prong-engagement-ring-item-851

Okay, that's enough for now. :lol:
 
For that setting, I think you'd be better off going custom. The closest I could find on JA was:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/side-stones/18k-white-gold-graduated-pave-swirl-engagement-ring-item-22562
But its not as delicate, and is lacking the nice basket detail.

I think someone else had a similar setting designed custom and it turned out great. I will look for that thread.

actually someone tried to custom the exact ring!
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/custom-setting-vendor-needed-for-1925-tiffany-asscher-er.200882/page-4']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/custom-setting-vendor-needed-for-1925-tiffany-asscher-er.200882/page-4[/URL]
In the end they went with erd/brilliantly engaged. Looks great.
 
Wow! Thank you guys so much for all the suggestions ... looks like I was way off base with that original setting :). You guys have showed me some really beautiful stuff. To answer you questions no she did not ask for that ring in particular. She has had basically zero input except for the fact that I know she really wants platinum and she likes the shape of an Asscher. She doesn't even know what ihe shape is called I just found it from google searches. Then I found that Tiffany Asscher and thought it looked nice. Was just looking around on this site (just joined about 2 hours ago) and saw this [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/2-47-f-if-asscher-leon-mege-split-shank-setting.62768/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/2-47-f-if-asscher-leon-mege-split-shank-setting.62768/..[/URL]. What do you guys think of that ring? I really like it. I don't think that would work well with only a 1ct diamond though. Thanks again for all the help. I am going to get something good now I know it. Thank god I found this site.
 
Hey Niel ... thank you so much for all your suggestions/help so far. I am quickly becoming your biggest fan. I have not had an inspection performed by James Allen yet and my understanding is I can have this done on up to 3 diamonds. Now that you have shown me this, I plan to put this as one of them:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/platinum-tailored-diamond-engagement-ring-item-41126

I have asked JA about this one (the other diamond of the lists you liked):
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.08-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-sku-260143?a_aid=recommended

I was told that it cannot be inspected by JA because it is out of their NY district. I was reading somewhere that sometimes they can "call a diamond in" and have it for inspection. Have you ever heard of anything like this?

Anyways, if not could you give me some other suggestions of Asscher diamonds that are in my price range. Most likely anything from JA would be good and if they can be inspected would be extra helpful to give me a better level of comfort. Thanks, again.
 
To your question about JA calling in stones, here's how they work lately....

They get their diamonds from a few different vendors. Some in NY, some, apparently, overseas. If they are not in new your JA will not pay to have them flown over just to get ASETS and possibly be pi ked for your consideration... If you think about it, that makes sense. Even if it makes us sad :lol:

So if you find some every so often they won't get ASETs for, that would be why
 
Ok so I was doing a little more browsing around this site and I found this thread:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/asscher-cut-opinions-would-be-lovely-please.205501/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/asscher-cut-opinions-would-be-lovely-please.205501/[/URL]

and I took note of a couple of Gypsy's postings (apparently a very well respected member here):
"...I am going to strongly suggest you consider going down to I color and going up in size to at least 5.3 mm if we can get you there. And I am going to suggest you put all your money in the stone, and get a very expensive (but pretty) solitaire setting for now. And reset later on down the line with tapered "

"...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. With Fancies that means getting the nicest stone in terms of faceting and light performance."

In light of these comments, I think that i may need to switch gears now to follow a little closer to what she is advising. Basically, put all the money into the stone rather than the setting. While 1.00ct may be OK for an Asscher it seems to be the very minimum of acceptable size. I am afraid that won't be what she wants. What I am now looking for is the biggest diamond I can get (face up dimensions) with the best cut. This seems to be quite a challenge for me to identify. I am willing to sacrifice on color and go down to an I. I am willing to sacrifice on clarity as long as it is eye clean.

I would love to come in around $6000 total but if I have to come up to get just the right combo I will. I am thinking I could get a pretty nice platinum setting for less than $1000.00. That leaves me anywhere from $5000 to $6000 for the stone. So far the following settings have been recommended to me and they seem pretty close to fitting that bill. Hopefully somebody can do even better. Would like for it to have some stones on the shank but that may not be possible.

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/platinum-etched-profile-solitaire-item-9205
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/platinum-etched-profile-solitaire-item-9205
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/platinum-pave-knife-edge-lotus-basket-engagement-ring-item-9309


Up to this point the only site that I really have been searching is James Allen and they seem to come pretty highly recommended. I also like the idea that you can get an inspection. Maybe someone knows of better? Thanks again to all who have helped so far. I really am in over my head trying to determine this so I really need your help.
 
Rather than searching by color/clarity I search by price for fancies. My diamond is an EC, set E-W so it gives the appearance of an asscher. I love step-cut diamonds but was disappointed in the size of a 1ct asscher when seeing my first one at a jeweler.
I ended with a 1.11 ct EC, it's a much shorter length to width ratio than the majority of EC's.

Anyway, I'm linking my threads for you. Perhaps reading them will help you in your quest.
First is my diamond/ASET thread and then my completed ring thread.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/aset-photo-of-emerald-im-considering-step-cut-lovers-help.177801/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/aset-photo-of-emerald-im-considering-step-cut-lovers-help.177801/[/URL]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/aset-photo-of-emerald-im-considering-step-cut-lovers-help.177801/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/aset-photo-of-emerald-im-considering-step-cut-lovers-help.177801/[/URL]


I really like this diamond: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.10-carat-f-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-39896

Hope this helps
 
There is a thread in Show Me The Bling of rings with center stone 1ct or less. You might browse through that to see what others have done with their Asscher of similar size. Lauren the Partier had one with a metal halo around it, and a plain shank. (eta: Oops. Bezel.)
LaurenThePartierAsscher.jpg

Engraved shank might be another possibility. I don't have any idea of prices, but David Klass in Los Angeles makes gorgeous settings and does beautiful engraving. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pls-help-needed-with-choosing-beverley-k-setting-for-assche.212345/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pls-help-needed-with-choosing-beverley-k-setting-for-assche.212345/[/URL] David Klass Jewelry on Facebook -- he posts his creations there. There is a David Klass thread on here, someplace, but I'm not sure what part of the forum.
image_3389.jpg

I like the faceting in that G SI 1 J.A. stone, depending on how eye clean it is. I find the Asschers in I/J/K color interesting. I actually like their warmth. Something about the emerald/Asscher being an old cut style and the tint lending additional vintage feel. Asscher faceting shows up more in larger stones. But Asscher is a deep cut, and it might concentrate color more than, say, a J or K modern RB will. Take a look as AsscherHaloLover's ring. It's a diamond halo setting, but her center stone is an L, a pale yellow.
 
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