Need help picking a 1.5 carat H&A!

[airgc30]

I started looking at engagement rings a few months ago for my girlfriend of 5+ years and was lucky enough to come across pricescope. I''ve spent hours reading but I am still very much a newbie in terms of diamond knowledge, but I''m looking for a diamond that is:

- 1.5 carats or slightly more
- Best cut (H&A, AGS Ideal, GIA Excellent)
- H or G in color
- VS1 or VS2 in clarity
- Set in a classic tiffany 6-prong platinum setting
- $15000 is the most I can spend including the setting

I am hoping that someone can give me their opinion on a few that I''ve been looking at, and/or any recommendations on other sites I can explore as well:

1. James Allen 1.55 carat H&A H VS1 - $12,256
2. GoodOldGold 1.59 carat H&A H VS2 - $13,931
3. Blue Nile 1.50 carat H VS1 Signature Ideal - $12,197

My main concern with the Blue Nile pick is the cut. Otherwise their price is the lowest and I think there is also a 10% coupon floating out there. They don''t offer any idealscope or microscopic pictures like GOG/James Allen. Has anyone been able to verify their claim that all of their signature ideal diamonds are H&A?

As for GOG, I''ve read great reviews on here about Jonathan and the service they provide. Their buy-back and trade-up policies are great as well. And it seems like everyone on here agrees BN is overpriced. But I''m hesitant in paying $1700 more purely for the extra 0.04 carat over JA and 0.09 over BN, unless there is something that I''m missing. For me having guaranteed ideal cut is the most important, but most other things being equal I would like to have the best price.

Basically, my question is what are some of the important factors that you would consider if you were in my shoes and weighing beteween these choices?

 

[stone-cold11]

For H&A, you will have to look at the Hearts and Arrows image to determine for yourself if it is one.

GOG's H&A is good. JA, you will need to request the Hearts image for it in order to compare apple with apple. BN, not enough info.

The price difference is also due to the service provided, which comes at a cost to the vendor, so you will have to take into account of the trade up policy, buy back policy if available.

 

[melz]

Also, have a good look at that BN coupon. The ones I''ve seen only apply to preset jewelry or to just the setting, not the loose diamond.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/23/2009 6:17:27 PM
Author:airgc30
I started looking at engagement rings a few months ago for my girlfriend of 5+ years and was lucky enough to come across pricescope. I've spent hours reading but I am still very much a newbie in terms of diamond knowledge, but I'm looking for a diamond that is:

- 1.5 carats or slightly more
- Best cut (H&A, AGS Ideal, GIA Excellent)
- H or G in color
- VS1 or VS2 in clarity
- Set in a classic tiffany 6-prong platinum setting
- $15000 is the most I can spend including the setting

I am hoping that someone can give me their opinion on a few that I've been looking at, and/or any recommendations on other sites I can explore as well:

1. James Allen 1.55 carat H&A H VS1 - $12,256
2. GoodOldGold 1.59 carat H&A H VS2 - $13,931
3. Blue Nile 1.50 carat H VS1 Signature Ideal - $12,197

My main concern with the Blue Nile pick is the cut. Otherwise their price is the lowest and I think there is also a 10% coupon floating out there. They don't offer any idealscope or microscopic pictures like GOG/James Allen. Has anyone been able to verify their claim that all of their signature ideal diamonds are H&A?

As for GOG, I've read great reviews on here about Jonathan and the service they provide. Their buy-back and trade-up policies are great as well. And it seems like everyone on here agrees BN is overpriced. But I'm hesitant in paying $1700 more purely for the extra 0.04 carat over JA and 0.09 over BN, unless there is something that I'm missing. For me having guaranteed ideal cut is the most important, but most other things being equal I would like to have the best price.

Basically, my question is what are some of the important factors that you would consider if you were in my shoes and weighing beteween these choices?

The GOG diamond looks great, the JA stone you would need to request hearts images as it is sold as h&a. BN do not offer images at all so no way to tell if the diamond is in fact h&a if that is important to you. The BN diamond appears to be an excellently cut stone but no way to judge any patterning without images.

 

[airgc30]

Thanks for everyone''s replies so far. I have requested the hearts image from James Allen and will post it when I get it. GOG just dropped the price of this particular stone so now I''m really considering it, although JA is still a few hundred dollars cheaper and is VS1 instead of VS2. One question about the GOG stone - in the AGS report it mentioned "surface grain lines not shown", are they refering to scratches on the diamond and should I be concerned about this?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

At $12,450, I''d definitely get the GOG stone. Even though you will likely never need the trade-in or buy-back, it is absolutely wonderful to have the option. I didn''t think I''d ever change my stone from GOG, but now that they have those signature cushions, I am very tempted!

 

[Dancing Fire]

couple of nice looking H SI1...

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6053/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5945/

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/25/2009 5:33:22 PM
Author: airgc30
Thanks for everyone''s replies so far. I have requested the hearts image from James Allen and will post it when I get it. GOG just dropped the price of this particular stone so now I''m really considering it, although JA is still a few hundred dollars cheaper and is VS1 instead of VS2. One question about the GOG stone - in the AGS report it mentioned ''surface grain lines not shown'', are they refering to scratches on the diamond and should I be concerned about this?

Shouldn''t be an issue with VS clarity.

 

[tulips]

i will go to GOG''s !!!

 

[airgc30]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

I am no longer considering BlueNile. I just can''t decide between GOG and JA! If I go with the GOG stone, I will probably want to have it sent to Brian Gavin to be set in the knife-edge Tiffany 6-prong setting, since I don''t see a similar setting on GOG''s website. I wonder if that''s something I can do. I called the number on Brian Gavin''s blog but no one picked up, it is Saturday afternoon after all. It''s a bit more to coordinate but if this can work it''ll be fantastic.

I am still waiting on the hearts image from James Allen. I''m still tempted to buy from them as well, since the stone is similar in every aspect except it''s one clarity rating higher and about $400 to $500 cheaper. The setbacks I can see are less information and no buy-back policy, I''m indifferent about the 0.04 carat size difference. If I buy from JA they do have a Tiffany knife-edge solitaire setting available though so it''ll make things a bit easier.

It''s so hard to decide

. I think it may come down to whether I can get GOG to send the stone to Brian Gavin to be set.

 

[stone-cold11]

Call GOG up to see what is the best way to do that.

 

[Fly Girl]

I''d call GOG and see if they can get you the setting you want. It would be better to have them set their own stone because then you are completely protected in case anything should go wrong during the setting process.

 

[airgc30]

I just had a chat with Jonathan, he said I can either have Brian Gavin send them the setting (it''ll cost $150 to set it) or have them send the stone to Brian. I''ll wait until I talk with Brian Gavin before I decide which way is better.