Need Help Finding a Diamond Please!

[jonrandall]

Hello Everyone,
I could really use some help finding an engagement ring for my girlfriend and i'm having a really hard time figuring out what is a good deal or what is the best value for me. One of my friends recommended this forum because people here helped him through the process which he relayed to me was "invaluable" to finding the right ring.

I have a budget of $3,200 (including setting)(She would like a white gold or platinum setting, Classic Solitaire)
I would prefer something with at least .90 carat, the specs (not really sure what i should be looking for) should be good enough so that the diamond appears perfect to the naked eye, and of course has the maximum sparkle for what i can afford.

I would be very thankful for any recommendations, examples, rings you might have seen, or anything else.

So far i have found the two diamonds i think might be a good deal, listed below: (worried about the J color quality though)

Diamond 1
Price - $2,580 (+600 for Plat Setting)
Carat - .88
GIA Certified
Cut - Very Good
Color - I
Clarity SL1 (Eye Clean)
Depth 74.2%
Table 72%

Diamond 2
Price - $2,650 (+600 for Plat Setting)
Carat - .92
Cut - Excellent
GIA Certified
Color - J
Clarity - VS1
Depth 74.7%
Table 72%


Any help would be great!!

 

[Rhea]

Jon, both of those are very deep so will face up smaller than their carat weight suggests. They also have very large tables. What is the mm size on them? Either way, I don't think they are a good choice. Hopefully some others will chime in with suggestions. I'm off to hunt a couple myself.

 

[OCgirl]

Are you sure the table % is correct? These look like some really large tables...

 

[jonrandall]

Addy, Thanks for the info, here are more details about diamond #2 (don't have for diamond #1 right now).

Girdle - VTN-TK
Cutlet - None
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Excellent
Flur - None
Measurements - 5.15x5.14x3.84


For this size ring, what would you say are the ideal measurements?

Best,
Jon

 

[OCgirl]

The only stone I found (I used James Allen since their prices tend to be the most economical) that meets your carat requirement is a J I1. It looks VERY clean for an I1 but I would have them check out the listed "feather" inclusion. The cut checks out though. Scored a 0.7 on HCA. JA has a classic solitaire 18k white gold setting for $440.

0.90 J I1 HCA: 0.7 $2.9k after PriceScope discount. http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-I1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1463824.asp

There are a few other options under 0.90 ct in the .80 ct range.

0.81 I SI1 AGS000 $2.9K after PS discount http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1398077.asp

 

[OCgirl]

Addy, Thanks for the info, here are more details about diamond #2 (don't have for diamond #1 right now).

Girdle - VTN-TK
Cutlet - None
Polish - Excellent
Symmetry - Excellent
Flur - None
Measurements - 5.15x5.14x3.84


For this size ring, what would you say are the ideal measurements?

Best,
Jon

This is definitely way too deep. This stone faces up at 5.15 mm. The two stones I listed will both look bigger than the stone you listed.

0.90 J I1 6.28*6.26*3.83 (this is MUCH bigger than 5.15 mm)
.81 I SI1 5.94*5.98*3.68 (even the 0.81 ct faces up almost .8 mm bigger than the stone you listed)

You are paying for the carat weight but the stone will look smaller than a well cut 0.80 ct.

 

[Rhea]

I'm not the best person for this so I hope other people will chime in. I'm new - and very slow - at finding anything that might be good.

5.14 mm faces up like a .50 - .55 carat though. So you're paying for a 0.80+ and getting something that looking much smaller!

I like this one: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1393891.asp At 5.77 - 5.81 mm is faces up much larger than the ones you posted. I'll keep looking while I watch tv but hoping other faster people come along soon!

 

[OCgirl]

The scary thing is it appears the second stone scored a GIA Ex/Ex/Ex

Experts please chime in!

 

[jonrandall]

Thanks for the info OCGirl, did not realize how much of a difference the mm make on the perceived size of the ring, very important. Great info!

As for the GIA ratings of Excellent, Excellent, Excellent...I'm confused as well? Double checked all the specs including the depth% and table% and they are correct.

Best,
Jon

 

[Rhea]

I'm very slow to run them through the Halloway cut advisor, which is a fun tool. But the diamond I posted is the only one I've found so far in budget which also gets a great score on the HCA. https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

 

[OCgirl]

Thanks for the info OCGirl, did not realize how much of a difference the mm make on the perceived size of the ring, very important. Great info!

As for the GIA ratings of Excellent, Excellent, Excellent...I'm confused as well? Double checked all the specs including the depth% and table% and they are correct.

Best,
Jon

I mean it's mentioned time and time again on this forum that GIA has a more lenient grading system when it comes to cut. AGS is stricter on cut gradings. Do you feel comfortable looking/buying online? James Allen provides ASET and IdealScope images up to three diamonds that can help you/us ensure that the diamond is performing (in terms of light performance, light return). That way we can weed out the duds and pick a diamond that actually *performs*. At the end of the day "carat" is just a weight. You want your diamond to *look* as big as possible while having ideal cut (brilliance, fire).

 

[midorimonsta]

Thanks for the info OCGirl, did not realize how much of a difference the mm make on the perceived size of the ring, very important. Great info!

As for the GIA ratings of Excellent, Excellent, Excellent...I'm confused as well? Double checked all the specs including the depth% and table% and they are correct.

Best,
Jon

I mean it's mentioned time and time again on this forum that GIA has a more lenient grading system when it comes to cut. AGS is stricter on cut gradings. Do you feel comfortable looking/buying online? James Allen provides ASET and IdealScope images up to three diamonds that can help you/us ensure that the diamond is performing (in terms of light performance, light return). That way we can weed out the duds and pick a diamond that actually *performs*. At the end of the day "carat" is just a weight. You want your diamond to *look* as big as possible while having ideal cut (brilliance, fire).

I agree! The James Allen chat people have been exceptionally helpful and are around 24/7! I'm still waiting for my three diamond evaluation to be completed, but I think it really eases my mind about buying online. Plus, they have a 60 day return period which is awesome. Going to a reputable jeweler to take a look at different sizes, different colors, different clarity can really help you narrow down the field. I went and found out that I really could not tell between an I or G or sometimes F stone. I also looked at a stone that had great specs on paper but was cut too deep (like the ones that you posted originally), and in person, it just did not sparkle very well!

It's great that you found PS though! Now you're in excellent hands!

 

[slg47]

these are princess cut diamonds, correct? if so the table/depth measurements seem fine.

 

[Rhea]

these are princess cut diamonds, correct? if so the table/depth measurements seem fine.

Oh my god! I just assumed round. How dumb of me! I started looking for round because, well, I made an assumption. No excuses. Please ignore everything I said. I'm going to bed.

 

[OCgirl]

these are princess cut diamonds, correct? if so the table/depth measurements seem fine.

That would make a lot more sense. And the lower prices per carat

 

[slg47]

where are you getting the cut grades from? GIA does not grade the cut of princess cuts.

also I would not get a princess with a very thin girdle as it can be prone to chipping.

unfortunately I do not see many princess cuts in your budget/specs that look promising. what about going a little smaller in size? for example
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2327039.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/4-prong-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-for-princess-8.htm

 

[Amys Bling]

AGS is the only lab grading princess cuts-

 

[onedrop]

AGS is the only lab grading princess cuts-

Not quite. GIA does in fact grade princess shaped stones. At least there are princess shaped stones "out there" with GIA certs. However, (and if I am wrong please correct me) AGS is the lab that provides specific cut grades for princess shapes. It's probably just semantics, but I thought clarification would be helpful.

 

[Amys Bling]

I am referring to the grading of princess cut quality, AGS grades princess cut quality.

 

[jonrandall]

I can't believe I forgot to mention that I am looking for Princess Cut, sorry everyone
As for the GIA Cert, the diamonds come with a GIA Cert, I just assumed it was for the cut grades as well.

 

[onedrop]

I can't believe I forgot to mention that I am looking for Princess Cut, sorry everyone
As for the GIA Cert, the diamonds come with a GIA Cert, I just assumed it was for the cut grades as well.

No, like we said above only AGS graded stones will have all of the cut information for a princess. Not that you can't find a nice princess that is only GIA graded. It's just harder to find the best performing princesses with only the GIA cert info. Whiteflash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, and Good Old Gold, carry AGS certed stones.

Slg gave you a nice option for stone (AGS certed) and setting in this post:

where are you getting the cut grades from? GIA does not grade the cut of princess cuts.

also I would not get a princess with a very thin girdle as it can be prone to chipping.

unfortunately I do not see many princess cuts in your budget/specs that look promising. what about going a little smaller in size? for example
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2327039.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/4-prong-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-for-princess-8.htm

 

[slg47]

I can't believe I forgot to mention that I am looking for Princess Cut, sorry everyone
As for the GIA Cert, the diamonds come with a GIA Cert, I just assumed it was for the cut grades as well.

No, like we said above only AGS graded stones will have all of the cut information for a princess. Not that you can't find a nice princess that is only GIA graded. It's just harder to find the best performing princesses with only the GIA cert info. Whiteflash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, and Good Old Gold, carry AGS certed stones.

Slg gave you a nice option for stone (AGS certed) and setting in this post:

where are you getting the cut grades from? GIA does not grade the cut of princess cuts.

also I would not get a princess with a very thin girdle as it can be prone to chipping.

unfortunately I do not see many princess cuts in your budget/specs that look promising. what about going a little smaller in size? for example
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2327039.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/4-prong-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-for-princess-8.htm

yes, GIA does provide reports but there is no grade for 'cut'. So I was curious as to where the 'cut' grades came from in your original post...sometimes vendors will apply cut labels but many of these are meaningless.

There is nothing wrong with a princess cut with a GIA report but the only way to evaluate the cut is with images and ASET images...so I would look for a vendor who provides those.