Need help for round cut

[Ross]

Well its getting close to time to propose for this diamond noob

I've been doing quite a bit of research and shopping online, and been to two local stores (jareds and Thacker). It seems that the prices I have seen online are quite a bit cheaper than the prices the sales people in the stores have provided. Here is what I am looking for:

Carat: 1-1.3 carat
Cut: Ideal or very good cut (round)
Color: Next important. No color to the naked eye, but thats all i care about
Clarity: Least important to me. I looked at a bunch of stones in person and even under 10x I couldn't notice much on the VS1 and VS2's i looked at.

Setting:

She doesn't want anything other than the one diamond in the setting. On the band she wants it either blank or set with small diamonds. Something like this:

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/petite-micropave-diamond-ring-platinum_48630

White gold in 14k would be perfect.

Budget: Maximum 7K out the door. Less would be even better!

A guy at one store was trying to sell me on a Pure Grown Diamond, which he said are real diamonds and come with a certification, but made in a lab. He said I would save approximatley 30% and get the same quality stone. I looked at comparable stones under 10x and didn't notice a difference, other than the 'LG XXX" I would like to get some feedback on these vs natural stones.

I am doing my best job to do my homework and make an informed decision, and yall folks here seem to know whats going on. I'd like some third party opinions from folks that aren't trying to sell me something!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Welcome! We all came here just like you when looking at diamonds, so we can make this a lot easier for you!

Get a real diamond. The price differential is not enough to make it worth buying the lab diamond, in my opinion. I just would stick with a real, natural diamond for an engagement ring.

You want either GIA Excellent cut or AGS Ideal cut. I'd say around H color will give you a good balance for price and not show obvious color. We'll aim at VS2 but you likely will have to consider SI1 with your budget.

I recommend platinum for the setting because white gold has to be replated.

It's going to be challenging to stay under $7000 including the setting and be over a carat at H VS2.

http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-8137842-1.03-carat-Round-diamond-H-color-VS2-Clarity.aspx?sku=8137842&utm_source=pricescope.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/Round/GIA-Certified-1-01-Carat-H-Color-VS2-Clarity-Diamond-GU6BWB

These are all superideal cuts (some are I color):

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-search/1.04-Round-I-AGS-I-SI1-diamond-stock-13352-cert-104077051026

https://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds/va17zp-0.938-h-vs2-ideal-hearts-arrows-round

https://www.victorcanera.com/diamonds/kj152l-0.910-i-vs2-ideal-hearts-arrows-round

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3449650.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3590805.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3597960.htm

 

[Gypsy]

I recommend a real diamond as well. And these come with an upgrade policy.

I think an I color stone will be fine. But I found a G and an H in budget that are great with perfect spread.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.08-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1069222 If not overblue, this one with it's prongable inclusion (can be hidden under a prong) would be a REALLY great deal in your budget.

Personally, this one is the one I'd go for: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.04-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1071374

Or this one, if you want a larger setting budget: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-892705

Or this one (only with an idealscope image): http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-703899


There are any number of settings in white gold that would work for you on JA. Make sure you look at the real life pictures of the rings, not just the CAD images. This one is nice and works all of the stones above: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/james-allen-exclusive-engagement-ring-item-49507

I wouldn't personally stretch the budget for a platinum, if you can get a nice setting in platinum without stretching, great, but I think white gold is fine. You can deal with re-plating a white gold setting every 2 years. But if the budget allows, this is the one I'd pick in platinum at JA: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/platinum-petite-diamond-accent-engagement-ring-item-50319

 

[Queenie60]

Hi Ross: You have the best of the best prosumers helping you out - Gypsy and DS2006 can help you to get the most bang for your buck! Work with what they recommend and you can't go wrong. Good luck - and again, you're in great hands! Can't wait to see what you choose.

 

[Ross]

Wow!! Thank you for the great replies. I looked at each diamond and they are all impressive. I liked the James Allen website. I assume by the recommendation they are a good reputable site.

Here is a setting i found on their website that is very similar to what my girlfriend has been pinning.

http://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/engagement-rings/halo/14k-white-gold-flush-fit-pave-engagement-ring-east/-west-item-56253

On the last diamond that was by far the cheapest, I noticed a small inclusion in the middle. Other than that it was the same size and color as the ones that were 1000 more. Would that be noticeable to the naked eye? What did you mean by idealscope image?

 

[msop04]

Wow!! Thank you for the great replies. I looked at each diamond and they are all impressive. I liked the James Allen website. I assume by the recommendation they are a good reputable site.

Here is a setting i found on their website that is very similar to what my girlfriend has been pinning.

http://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/engagement-rings/halo/14k-white-gold-flush-fit-pave-engagement-ring-east/-west-item-56253

On the last diamond that was by far the cheapest, I noticed a small inclusion in the middle. Other than that it was the same size and color as the ones that were 1000 more. Would that be noticeable to the naked eye?

Hey Ross! I don't think there is any way you'd see the inclusion. Notice it's on 20X magnification... change it to 10X... then to 5x (which is still WAAAAYYYY larger than they stone will be in real life)... can you see anything? Nope!

 

[Ross]

I have been doing more research and it seems like the type of diamond I am looking for there are plenty of on multiple sites, so I'm going to concentrate on a setting that I really like. What mm band width would be good for a 1 carat stone? I'm thinking something a little under 2 mm for a nice thin look to make the diamond look bigger. Would this be a good option? And would the wedding band sit flush against this setting? I definetly want a setting that would allow the 2 rings to sit flush together.

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/halo/14k-white-gold-petite-pave-engagement-ring-item-56255

Are the extra diamonds on this one worth the price? I'm not sure if it would add more sparkle or take sparkle away by blocking the light around the center diamond.

http://www.jamesallen.com/wedding-rings/hidden/14k-white-gold-petite-pave-diamond-engagement-ring-item-53057

 

[ringo865]

From your original post, you said she'd like the stone in a band maybe with little diamonds in the band. The petite pave is nice. The one with diamonds up the prong stems is $500 more -- that you could put into the center diamond. A plain shank will be less $ than pave.

Meaning more $ for your center stone. You can bling it up with a diamond wedding or stacking band(s) later.

Either of those pave ring will rub and leave small gap between it and the band. If diamonds rub against metal, they'll chew it up. Lots of us have tiny spacers (like 1mm, no stones) to wear in between.

 

[Ross]

What do yall think of this one:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.02-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-924124

Looks really good to me.

Also here is another

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-1086597

 

[farrahlyn]

What do yall think of this one:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.02-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-924124

Looks really good to me.

Also here is another

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-1086597

no to both. There are much better options out there.

If you want to select a diamond yourself, please check out gypsy's post here, you'll have to scroll down a few posts. Lots of good basic info to arm yourself with:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...earch-continues.222510/#post-4024452#p4024452

If you're going to stick with JA, a few of the diamonds gypsy posted above are still available and are better performers than the two you posted.

 

[Ross]

Thanks for the reply. What is wrong with those two? The 4 C's looked good to me. I'd like to spend under about 5400 on the rock and go a little bit better on the ring.

 

[teobdl]

Ross -
The first one you posted is all kinds of whack. Some terms we would use are steep deep, large crown, facet yaw, unbalanced symmetry. I won't define them all but if you're interested you can just google them.

Second one-totally insane dimensions, and even if the crown and pavilion angles were better, short lower girdle facets, might have obstruction problems, worrisome inclusion on the edge, too thick girdle.

Brah, those diamonds were bad.

This is alright, not the best tho:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.96-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1052327

Good one:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.92-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1093906

I think it's eyeclean
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.91-carat-e-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-686581

Picking is not great right now.

 

[Ross]

I have been reading into lab made diamonds, and my gf specifically mentioned she wouldn't mind one. Which makes me think she wants something a little bigger. I went to a local jeweler and looked at a bunch of stones in person (both lab and mined). This one particularly stood out to me for the price. $4250 out the door with a little negotiating. I have not bought the stone as I want to get some input.

Please keep in mind I am not a diamond expert, and I just want a good bang for my buck. I plugged the numbers into the HCA on several different stones. I couldn't tell the difference with my eyes between a 2 and a 4. I asked them to have their gemologist look at this stone and give me his input and they should call me this week. I would appreciate any input. I have read and undestand that GIA is the best certificate and IGI is not as reputable.




I also looked at this one, but it didn't have as much sparkle. I noticed the HCA score was much higher but to me it didn't look as good. The salesman also agreed. The inclusions were also much more noticable even though they were both SI1.