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- Aug 18, 2013
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Hi Laura -
Thanks for stepping in and making alternate suggestions for your friend. The idea of a half ct princess cut from Jareds makes me shudder a trifle. Apart from anything else, pls let him know that Jareds is horribly overpriced, and that almost any diamond specialty store (as opposed to a mall jewelry chain) will give him much more diamond of a better quality for his money.
I think a solitaire would be wonderful, but I'd be going with Blue Nile. He'll get the most bang for his buck there. I'd be looking for an ideal cut stone (as opposed to one of the branded stones like Good Old Gold, White Flash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, HPD and so on, which are often referred to as SUPER ideal and would perhaps be, as Madelise mentioned) overkill for someone who may not be able to tell the difference anyway. Having said that, however, 'Very Good' cut, which you said your friend is considering, could be a lot better....
I agree with others; a solitaire for the engagement ring, three stone for anniversary or birth of first baby. Three stones ARE classic and have been around for decades and decades - but they're also a personal choice, and a solitaire is far safer.
Here's the diamond I'd be suggesting:
www.Bluenile.com
Go to that page, then, in the top right corner in the search box, enter this number:
LD08880500
It will take you to the page for a G SI1 .84ct stone. There is no video or photo for this, but he can request one. I've been buying from BN for years and years without photos, and with stones of this size, it's a straight forward procedure and a safe way to do things. At less than a ct, an SI1 stone will almost always be eye clean (but ask when you call BN and they will confirm or not - they're very honest this way). This is a LOT of diamond compared to what he was looking at; on a size 5 finger, it will look wonderful. It also has beautiful specs and, for people interested in these things, scores 'Excellent' and 1.1 on the HCA. It's $3239.67, wire price.
I see he was looking at a 14kt white gold setting. He could get the 14kt 6 Prong Low Dome Comfort Fit ring for $260. Unless he lives in WA or NY, he will pay no tax and no shipping - bringing his total in at 33 cents under budget. And it would get him a white, beautifully cut, substantial, classic ring which is about a million miles away from a 1/2 ct princess cut from Jareds. Thankfully.
Just to add; personally, I would pay the extra $110 and get the 14kt white gold Petite Nouveau 4 Prong Solitaire engagement ring. It's more delicate and, if you go to the page for that setting, (again, enter the name of the setting in the search box) and look at the examples of rings made with that setting (the examples are real life photographs under the main photo of the ring; click on any of the thumbnails and it will bring up a long line of different examples of stones using that setting), you'll see that setting with a .8ct stone. It looks beautiful!
Good luck to your friend, and keep him on track!!
ETA Pls tell your friend that spending that percentage of his budget on the 3 stone ring he's considering is not a good plan. The ring he's looking at is also a whoooooole lotta metal. If he ever upgrades the center stone, he will be forced to throw out the setting as well. If he buys a better stone to start with, he could one day put in side stones, have a substantial ring, and get to keep the center stone he proposed with. Also....(and looking for a delicate way to say this)...rings which are 'all setting' with non-ideal, small center stones, can tend to be a tad...underwhelming....
ETA 2 I just looked at the stone he was considering from JA - Good Lord, NO! I'm surprised that squeaked into the Very Good cut class!!
Thanks for stepping in and making alternate suggestions for your friend. The idea of a half ct princess cut from Jareds makes me shudder a trifle. Apart from anything else, pls let him know that Jareds is horribly overpriced, and that almost any diamond specialty store (as opposed to a mall jewelry chain) will give him much more diamond of a better quality for his money.
I think a solitaire would be wonderful, but I'd be going with Blue Nile. He'll get the most bang for his buck there. I'd be looking for an ideal cut stone (as opposed to one of the branded stones like Good Old Gold, White Flash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, HPD and so on, which are often referred to as SUPER ideal and would perhaps be, as Madelise mentioned) overkill for someone who may not be able to tell the difference anyway. Having said that, however, 'Very Good' cut, which you said your friend is considering, could be a lot better....
I agree with others; a solitaire for the engagement ring, three stone for anniversary or birth of first baby. Three stones ARE classic and have been around for decades and decades - but they're also a personal choice, and a solitaire is far safer.
Here's the diamond I'd be suggesting:
www.Bluenile.com
Go to that page, then, in the top right corner in the search box, enter this number:
LD08880500
It will take you to the page for a G SI1 .84ct stone. There is no video or photo for this, but he can request one. I've been buying from BN for years and years without photos, and with stones of this size, it's a straight forward procedure and a safe way to do things. At less than a ct, an SI1 stone will almost always be eye clean (but ask when you call BN and they will confirm or not - they're very honest this way). This is a LOT of diamond compared to what he was looking at; on a size 5 finger, it will look wonderful. It also has beautiful specs and, for people interested in these things, scores 'Excellent' and 1.1 on the HCA. It's $3239.67, wire price.
I see he was looking at a 14kt white gold setting. He could get the 14kt 6 Prong Low Dome Comfort Fit ring for $260. Unless he lives in WA or NY, he will pay no tax and no shipping - bringing his total in at 33 cents under budget. And it would get him a white, beautifully cut, substantial, classic ring which is about a million miles away from a 1/2 ct princess cut from Jareds. Thankfully.
Just to add; personally, I would pay the extra $110 and get the 14kt white gold Petite Nouveau 4 Prong Solitaire engagement ring. It's more delicate and, if you go to the page for that setting, (again, enter the name of the setting in the search box) and look at the examples of rings made with that setting (the examples are real life photographs under the main photo of the ring; click on any of the thumbnails and it will bring up a long line of different examples of stones using that setting), you'll see that setting with a .8ct stone. It looks beautiful!
Good luck to your friend, and keep him on track!!
ETA Pls tell your friend that spending that percentage of his budget on the 3 stone ring he's considering is not a good plan. The ring he's looking at is also a whoooooole lotta metal. If he ever upgrades the center stone, he will be forced to throw out the setting as well. If he buys a better stone to start with, he could one day put in side stones, have a substantial ring, and get to keep the center stone he proposed with. Also....(and looking for a delicate way to say this)...rings which are 'all setting' with non-ideal, small center stones, can tend to be a tad...underwhelming....
ETA 2 I just looked at the stone he was considering from JA - Good Lord, NO! I'm surprised that squeaked into the Very Good cut class!!
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he is still processing all there is to it, and he is trying to find more info about his gf preferences for the ring. Thank you all for the responses, will come back with an update as soon as I hear from him.
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