Need help on a $5500 budget

[lukey1980]

Hi all,

I've heard great things about the members here helping out newbies find good stones and I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking to purchase an engagement ring this week and I'm working with about a $5500-6000 budget. I'm in Canada so the price would have to include taxes/duty which from my investigation runs about $500-600 dollars.

I'm looking for a round diamond solitaire and it would be great if it hits that magical 1 ct mark, but I'm open to any compromises you more knowledgeable folks can give me.

I've been mainly looking on Blue Nile and James Allen as they make it easy to shop in Canadian dollars, but if there are any other sites you recommend I'd be happy to look there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Luke

 

[lovedogs]

Hi there
I assume that the 5,500-6,000 is in CDN?

The site will probably be quiet today bc of the 4th of July in the US, but I'd also throw in WhiteFlash and maybe Good Old Gold as vendors to check out. Not sure you can change the currency to CDN on those sites, but it looks like 5,500 CDN is about 4,278 USD so you could just set that as the upper price limit and search that way.

ETA: is the budget above for both stone + setting? Or just stone?

 

[lukey1980]

My budget is actually $7000 CDN which converts to roughly $5500 USD. I'll update my original post so it's a little clearer. Thanks for the reply though.

EDIT: Actually it doesn't look like I can edit my original post, but as stated above in this message my budget is $5500 USD and was hoping to include the ring within that budget as well. There is some flexibility for the right stone however.

 

[lovedogs]

My budget is actually $7000 CDN which converts to roughly $5500 USD. I'll update my original post so it's a little clearer. Thanks for the reply though.

EDIT: Actually it doesn't look like I can edit my original post, but as stated above in this message my budget is $5500 USD and was hoping to include the ring within that budget as well. There is some flexibility for the right stone however.

Awesome, it's nice that you're able to be flexible In terms of solitaire style does your lady like 4 prong settings, 6 prong? And platinum or gold for metal? All these things will be good for the veteran posters to know

 

[lukey1980]

I'm looking for a 4 prong setting in white gold.

In particular something like this would be ideal:
http://www.bluenile.com/ca/build-your-own-ring/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-white-gold_20372

Edit: Doesn't seem like that link is directing to the proper page, but the setting I was trying to link to is the Classic Comfort Fit 2.5mm ring on Blue Nile.

 

[fair75]

I have searched James Allen and Whiteflash for the ideal-cut diamonds using the following criteria but I was having a hard time finding the ones that I think are eye clean, under $5200, over 0.9 ct and have medium fluorescence that will generally make the diamonds whiter.

Search criteria:

Table: 54 - 57%
Depth: 60 - 61.9%
Crown angle: 34 to 35 degrees
Pavilion angle: 40.6 - 40.8 degrees
Lower girdle length: 75 - 80% (75 to 77% would have bold fire while 80% is optimized for pin-fire)
Star length: 45 - 55%
girdle thickness: Thin-Medium


However, when I searched on Brian Gavin's web site, I found a diamond that you could consider.

0.911 ct H SI1 with medium fluorescence: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.911-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104087405001#!prettyPhoto[gallery2]/2/

One of the good things about diamonds in this lineup is that according to the vendor, these diamonds are personally selected by Brian Gavin to make sure that fluorescence won't make diamonds look cloudy or milky. Brian Gavin is a very reputable vendor and regarded as one of the best H&A sellers. Here is the link to some more information about Brian Gavin Blue on their site.---> http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/news/brian-gavin-blue-vs-hearts-and-arrows/

And this diamond has medium fluorescence, which usually makes lower color stones look whiter than the actual graded colors.

Based on what I can see on their site, the diamond should be eye clean. However, you should contact the vendor to make sure that it is indeed the case.

 

[fair75]

Although Bluenile has the largest inventory of diamonds to choose from, it doesn't have high-definition pictures or idealscope/ASET scope images for the diamonds. If you are considering stones that are colorless (D, E or F), clarity VS1 and above, and are comfortable buying solely on numbers in the grading reports without idealscope/ASET scope images, then buying blind on Bluenile is not as risky. However, if you are looking to purchase lower color diamonds, such as H or lower (to some extent, G color), lower clarity but yet eye clean (VS2 to SI2), and want to ability to judge light performance using idealscope/ASET scope images, Bluenile wouldn't be an ideal place to buy your stone from.

Based on what I know, the color grades in the grading report can represent a range. For example, the two G color diamonds will sometimes look different if you view them from the side or the bottom. The primary reason for the difference is the body color. Some G color diamonds will be high G, meaning they will look whiter and are actually closer to the F color. Others G diamonds may have more yellow tint, making them look more like H colors. Moreover, many lower color diamonds will have grey or brown body color instead of the usual yellow. Therefore, if you buy from Bluenile, it's almost impossible to know what you are getting before you make a purchase.

Furthermore, the ability to judge the eye-cleanliness of diamonds is also a big problem. Since there are no high-definition pictures or videos, you won't know what the inclusions look like and the locations if you are buying diamonds under 1 carat. Even if you are buying diamonds that are at least 1 carat, you won't know for sure if the stones are eye clean. For example, the grading report of a diamond may indicate that there is only one inclusion, leading many people to believe that it is eye clean. However, in reality, that inclusion could be located in a spot that is reflected many times in the diamond. So when you look at the diamond, you may think that there are multiple inclusions. Hence, the diamond will most likely not be eye clean.

I would suggest sticking with vendors like James Allen, White flash, Brian Gavin, High Performance Diamonds, GOG and other reputable vendors so you can get as much information and data as possible to make your decision.



If other people on the forum have more information/knowledge about this, please feel free to share!

 

[E B]

0.911 ct H SI1 with medium fluorescence: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.911-h-si1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104087405001#!prettyPhoto[gallery2]/2/

This is pretty!

I'd also ask about this one: http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-8476940...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com

And this one, too: http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD00198177?click_id=754886708 (copy and paste link)

 

[lukey1980]

Thanks for the suggestions. Just looking through these options this morning.