Need help picking a diamond/ring

[flee]

Im only looking to spend in the $3-4K range, I noticed others on this site are in the $10K range so dont laugh at my meager finances.

I pretty much had a diamond and ring picked out at bluenile but upon further research and stumbling upon this website it doesnt look like Blue Diamond is the absolute best way to go.
I am looking for recommendations on which sites to go to that will have a better price than bluenile and if my specs below are in line with what I should be getting in this price range. Like is D color really necessary? Very Good Cut is just a step down from their best Ideal and Im hearing Cut is the most important other than carat. I think I want to stay in the vvs2 clarity or better, let me know if you think this isnt that important either.
If you think I could get say a .9 Carat, H Color, VS2 ring for the same price. Personally I think size might be the most important factor but how much do I lose getting a lower color and clarity.

The diamonds recommended should come from a reputable dealer with some sort of certificate that states their specs, I dont know if this is standard.

A princess cut diamond I have picked out from Bluenile it has to be a The specs I have are:
Very Good cut
D Color
VVS2 Clarity
.71 Carat
Total price is just under $2600 for the diamond minus whatever coupons(ex. 10% off the setting) and cashback(3%) incentives that are always available with bluenile. I am looking at a pave''-set 18k white gold $1060 setting so total price from blue nile factoring in cashback and a coupon would be about $3400

I appreciate any help as just like any of you but maybe to a lesser degree this will be a pretty big hit on my finances. This will probably be the only diamond I ever buy so I dont want to spend weeks and weeks researching just to save another couple hundred dollars but whatever tips I get will be noted and help form my decision.

TIA

 

[JulieN]

Sounds like you haven't read the tutorial yet? http://diamonds.pricescope.com/tolk.asp

Under most conditions (normal conditions,) a G SI stone is going to the look the same as a D VVS stone.

 

[tyty333]

Here is a pretty one from GOG...I dont know much about princess' so you will need one of the experts to comment on the numbers.
Anyway, it looks pretty to me...its .80, I, SI1 $2000..need to check if eyeclean.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond.php?d=4151&shape=128&clarity=56&color=120&priceMax=2800&resultsColumns=268435471&singleResult=1

Edit - here is another one to have checked out

Here is a .71 G SI2 (check for eye clean) at $2059
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5771/

 

[jstarfireb]

Julie is right - you can easily widen your color/clarity range and still get a beautiful, clear, white stone. My princess is I/VVS2 and cost just over $4000 - the I color is barely perceptible due to the excellent cut quality, and the choice of VVS2 could have easily been SI1-2; it just happened that the stone I loved and could afford was VVS2. Most people could comfortably go to H color in a princess without perceiving much tint; the less color-sensitive like myself could do I. Clarity isn't an issue as long as the stone is eye-clean. There are eye-clean SI and even I1 stones out there, but if you wanted to be absolutely sure and weren't buying from a trusted vendor, you could stick with VS2.

Additionally, while BN has a great variety with good prices, it's not the best vendor for princesses, because you get no info on cut quality (unless you stumble upon an AGS0 ideal stone, of which they have a few). It's impossible to judge princess cut performance by numbers - you need images at the least, and preferably reflector images such as ASET and/or Idealscope. Few vendors can provide these, but here are some of our favorites:

http://www.whiteflash.com
http://www.goodoldgold.com
http://www.highperformancediamonds.com
http://www.jamesallen.com - IS only upon request; no ASETs

For the following 2, you'd have to pick out a diamond by numbers first, then ask them for the ASETs - much less convenient for me than the first 3:
http://www.idjewelryonline.com
http://www.exceldiamonds.com

The stones tyty suggested are a great start. Top cut quality from a great vendor. But we can certainly suggest others if you're interested in getting more carat weight.

 

[Lorelei]

Add to Jstar's list www.niceice.com both ASET and Idealscope.

www.briangavindiamonds.com ASET/ IS.

 

[flee]

Thank you everyone so far, I appreciate you sharing any knowledge of diamonds that you have obtained and helping me pick a diamond. So it sounds like these other sites other than Blue nile give you nice zoomed in photographs to view the diamond? I will check that out, I mean eye view seems like the test that needs to be passed from watching movies and TV people are rarely getting their diamond magnified and graded at the jeweler its mostly from girlfriends checking out the rock etc and I cant imagine many people getting up that close and examining the diamond other than the woman wearing it.

 

[jstarfireb]

Date: 7/14/2009 8:54:11 PM
Author: flee
Thank you everyone so far, I appreciate you sharing any knowledge of diamonds that you have obtained and helping me pick a diamond. So it sounds like these other sites other than Blue nile give you nice zoomed in photographs to view the diamond? I will check that out, I mean eye view seems like the test that needs to be passed from watching movies and TV people are rarely getting their diamond magnified and graded at the jeweler its mostly from girlfriends checking out the rock etc and I cant imagine many people getting up that close and examining the diamond other than the woman wearing it.

Yes, but you really need to see the close-up photos to get an idea of whether the diamond is cut well or poorly. Especially with a princess, since their cutting is so variable. You need to look at the facet pattern for symmetry and light return vs. leakage. Blue Nile doesn''t give you ANY photos, zoomed in or otherwise.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/14/2009 9:23:31 PM
Author: jstarfireb

Date: 7/14/2009 8:54:11 PM
Author: flee
Thank you everyone so far, I appreciate you sharing any knowledge of diamonds that you have obtained and helping me pick a diamond. So it sounds like these other sites other than Blue nile give you nice zoomed in photographs to view the diamond? I will check that out, I mean eye view seems like the test that needs to be passed from watching movies and TV people are rarely getting their diamond magnified and graded at the jeweler its mostly from girlfriends checking out the rock etc and I cant imagine many people getting up that close and examining the diamond other than the woman wearing it.

Yes, but you really need to see the close-up photos to get an idea of whether the diamond is cut well or poorly. Especially with a princess, since their cutting is so variable. You need to look at the facet pattern for symmetry and light return vs. leakage. Blue Nile doesn''t give you ANY photos, zoomed in or otherwise.

Ditto