Need help deciding between center stones

[jonbol]

I am suprising my girlfriend with an engagment ring, so I am picking it out the ring...(scary). I am going with the 3-stone design - Round center and two pear-shaped sides. The ring will look similar to this Tiffany ring (below), but in Yellow gold rather than platinum/white. http://www.tiffany.com/expertise/engagement/engagement.aspx?style=round_brilliant&ring=pear

I have narrowed down the center stone to a couple of different options. 1.05 Ct., Color - G, Clarity - VS2, Cut-Excellent. The other is a 1.14 Ct., G, VS2, Excellent. Basically, they are similar stones excelp the larger ct. is about $1100 more.
How much of a difference does .09 Carat make, visually-speaking. Given, my ring design with the 2 pear-sides (I think they are about .25 Ct ea)., can anyone advise whether one would be significantly better than the other to justify paying more?

Also, what price should I expect to pay for a GIA-certified round stone like these? I am real interested to see what some of you diamond aficionados think these 2 stones are worth.

Thanks

 

[oldminer]

I doubt it pays to pay $1100 more for a few points more when using other diamonds as side stones. The slight difference won''t be noticed.
Price comparisons can readily be made using the Pricescope automated search. You''ll know a lot after you look for similar ones.

 

[snlee]

Round with pear sides are beautiful! I love that look for 3 stones. For price, you can use this tool on PS to get a price comparison. There's not much of a visual difference between a 1.05 and 1.14. I wouldn't pay over $1,000 more for it. Have you considered going down to an eye clean SI stone?

 

[Hera]

You should look at the dimensions of the diamond that the actual carat weight. It may be closer than you think.

 

[jonbol]

Should yellow gold affect my choice of diamond size / quality in this case? I am wondering whether I should be looking for different grades to better complement the ring color. (I will be doing platinum setting prongs however). Also, it seems that the pear-shaped side stones come standard with the ring itself - does the quality of these matter less than the center stone?

Thanks.

 

[snlee]

You can usually go down in color if the diamond is set in a yellow gold setting because the warmer color won''t be as noticeable. It''s still up to personal preference though. You would still want the pear sides to have a good cut.