Need help selecting diamond

[csriram45]

Hello all,

My sister in law is looking to get a ring and reached out to me. I figured I will ask the experts here.

Here are the requirements. Min 1 Carat, Round, Prefer hearts and arrows or equivalent. budget including setting is $10k and I believe setting would be about $2500 -$3000 so would like to keep diamond under $7k.

The one I was looking at is here
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3936463.htm
The setting that my SIL liked is
https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...ife-edge-pave-diamond-engagement-ring-712.htm

any ideas and thoughts? please provide additional options.

In past I purchased from JameAllen and have had no complaints. I have not ordered from WF. One thing that I tend to favor JA is because of their life time cleaning and polishing that I don't see WF offer. Any inputs on that front?

 

[tanalasta]

Whiteflash charge slightly more for the ACA - because they are a premium branded cut... and the market (and I also) agree it's worth the price. You won't have any complaints with WF.

That's a pretty clean SI-1 and you'd hope that the crystal on the edge could be dealt with by hiding it under the prong.

With WF - ask for advice. Get them to send you some sizing rings unless you're sure of size. They offer a white glove service. Don't worry about lifetiming cleaning- that's easy to do yourself really. Unless you lived in the area, would you put your e-ring at the mercy of FEDEX more than you have to? If the ring really needed servicing, you can ask your rep but I'm sure they can look after you.

Last I asked for anything, my rep said she'd cover cost of postage both ways and the servicing complimentary as a long time customer

 

[tyty333]

That is a beautiful stone...the only other options that may* be better is if she wants to go up in size (and of course cost) but still stay under
her $10k budget.
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3256265.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3935944.htm

Really, for the size and value, I think the stone you found is a great choice!

 

[rockysalamander]

Here's a really pretty CBI option (also super ideal).
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD8711

Can you post a picture of the setting? At the price you listed, I'm thinking it must be designer and or lots of melee diamonds.

 

[csriram45]

Thank you everyone. How do I go about getting to talk to a WF specialist. I tried via chat and the lady refused to consider any service post one year. BTW, my SIL was a bit unsure of ring size. How can I get a confirmation on ring size? Should I just ask her to go to a local store?

 

[tanalasta]

Hmm...

You can always ask for the cost of service. I have noticed differing service between different reps, although somewhat subtle. Usually you just go back to your email chain and hit 'reply' to whichever rep looked after you the first time! They have everything on your file.

Confirmation on ring size - ask WF to post you sizing rings. Otherwise, any jeweller will size you up if you're serious. I wouldn't feel bad about asking. It does mean you will expose your intentions to your intended. Or say you're shopping for a commitment ring or something. We did that. And then proceeded to have quite a lot of fun designing our ring together. We tried proposing with a sizing ring (the lady said no).

Also note ring sizes can change by 1/4 or 1/2 size in hot weather/cold weather and thin bands and thick bands can size differently. Whiteflash conform to the US standard so their '6' is the same as a Tiffany '6' - so we just went to Tiffany for sizing.

 

[rockysalamander]

Not every ring can be re-sized. The more diamonds and detail on the shank (the part touching her finger), the harder to resize. Some rings, like eternity settings (stones all the way around) can be near impossible to resize depending on construction and could require a full rebuilt. Pave is a PITA to resize and doing so puts the small diamonds at risk of loss. For a setting of the price you mentioned, I'm assuming this might be an issue.

So, have her visit a jewelry store and get her ring size sorted. Ask about how much her hands swell/change over the year. Do her rings feel tight in summer? Shoes? Has she had kids? If so, did they swell much during that time. She can also talk with sisters or mother, if they are available, to see how much their hands changed to get some guidance if her build is similar. It is easier to buy a ring slightly big and add sizing beads/bumps than slightly small and have issues with resizing.

FWIW...most find Tiffany measures small (or at least makes rings that run a bit small). So, if they say she's a 6...I'd assume 6.5 is her real size. The best thing is to find a ring that fits well (cheap silver and CZ is fine) and send that to the person making the ring.