Need help finding a round diamond for my engagement ring

[DiamondsAndHandGrenades]

I've narrowed down my selection to a 1.3-1.5 ct round diamond ideal or excellent cut, color between D-F, eye-clean, and HCA obviously as low as possible. I'm looking to spend less than $13.5k on the diamond. My girlfriend has slightly larger fingers and we've decided that a 1.3 ct is as low as we'd like to go and 1.5 ct is about as big as we want to go, but a 1.5 is preferred to a 1.3 ct. I have a few selections in mind and would like to know if I'm missing anything at all before I purchase one of the following. The first few have hearts and arrows and ideal scope images which makes my selection easier, bu some of the others don't have HnA, but I'm not sure if that's due to not having a published ideal scope. Thoughts?

B2CJewels

VictorCanera

BrilliantlyEngaged

EternityDiamonds

A few questions, when it comes to color, is there going to be a noticable difference between E and F? Also, is there a noticeable difference between an ideal cut and an excellent cut? I hear that cut reigns above all, but I have no perspective. If I'm making a sacrifice between an E/F grade to get ideal vs excellent cut, is this what I should be doing? Basically, I'm asking, am I doing this right? Will I be happy with the above selections?

If anybody has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

I'm not familiar with the process of buying a diamond and then having a different jeweler set it, as I have some settings in mind already. I'm looking into the U-113 vatche setting.

Thank you in advance!!

 

[nycspring]

If you are interested in the Vatche U-113 setting, I highly recommend ID Jewelry http://idjewelry.com/ - they have great prices and will help you pick a diamond that fits your budget. My center stone is not from IDJ, but they reset my diamond into the Vatche U-113 and the service, turnaround time and price was fantastic. I've heard great things about their knowledge and expertise with choosing diamonds as well.

 

[miraj]

For your own education you should go to a decent jewelry store (not high-end, not low-end) and ask to look at GIA-certified loose diamonds in a variety of colors D through J that are in the size range you are considering. You should call ahead to make sure that they have inventory at the store to show you what you want.

For D-F colors, you are paying extra for the rarity of the stone, not the beauty. By going with a near-colorless (G-J) stone, you can increase the size without sacrificing beauty (in the majority's opinion).

There will be a difference in each color grade, but whether it is "noticeable" and whether a degree of color sacrifices too much beauty is subjective and something you need to see in person to determine.

I would expect when looking at some H or I color stones at 1.5ct that the color won't bother you much. And when you look online for 1.5ct H-to-I VS2-to-SI1 that you will find them under your budget.


You probably don't want HCA "as low as possible"; you just want it below 2.0. When you get to very low HCA's the light performance is more appropriate for pendants than engagement rings.

 

[DiamondsAndHandGrenades]

Thanks for the info on Vatche! The whole process of finding a stone and getting it set is a little bit hidden even though I know tons of people have done it. Thank you thank you thank you!

 

[LLJsmom]

I definitely recommend looking at lots of stones to decide on what she likes. I guess I am in the "minority" because for an MRB I definitely prefer higher colors. I would be thrilled to get an E. I have an F MRB now. My GF has a D MRB and I find myself admiring it all the time. Many people say they cannot tell the difference between H, G, F and if they can they don't care. This is a very individual preference. You will want a well cut stone however. I would not sacrifice cut for color. No use to have a white, dead rock. If I had seen how much a difference a superb cut makes to the beauty and sparkle factor of a stone, I would have gone for a super ideal cut. But again, every person has different tastes and sensitivity. I saw a Crafted By Infinity MRB that was an L that blew my mind. It was soooo soooo alive and sparkly and the reflections and flashes were so sharp and bright. It demanded the attention of your eyeballs. Lol!

So look at lots of stones. If you really care about a super beautiful diamond, I add High Performance Diamonds which supplies Crafter by Infiniti stones. You can see a thread by cflutist who has one. Edge to edge crazy flashes of light. Also add Whiteflash ACA stones and Brian Gavin Diamonds as well. I have stones from both which are very very sparkly.

However there are tons of rocks out there so don't settle until you find one that meets all your criteria. Good luck and have fun with the search.