Need Help. Will work for diamond advice. God Bless. ;)

[dclenden]

I have never bought a diamond and am in the market now. Wow do I appreciate and respect the amount of information you guys know about these subject. I will be brief and to the point:

1. Im in no rush
2. I want a princess cut either alone or with two flanking diamonds
3. I can spend $2000-2200 (including setting)
4. I want a center diamond ~0.69-0.8 cts
5. White gold setting
6. Color G-H

My questions are these:

1. Outside of the stones color for this size what clarity level is ''stone'' appropriate? (silly question?)
2. What elements of the cut should I look for to maximize ''this'' stones effect?
3. Knowing Im using a white gold setting is the H rating and size rating detectable by the novice eye?
4. Lastly, would you recommend pricescopes prices as a trustworthy ''good deal benchmark''?

Thanks so much.

Dave

 

[Mara]

dlclenden...welcome...be patient for responses. Posting three times in an hour does not make anyone answer any more quickly--especially since you are in 'no rush'.




Would suggest running some searches on previous posts to see if you can get your questions answered. Many of these have been posed in the past.




Clarity is subjective and depends on you. Some would advise SI and some would advise VS in a fancy.


As for cut, read up some recent princess threads, cut is hard to judge in a fancy, you need to start educating yourself by reading previous posts.

 

[canadiangrrl]

I have never bought a diamond and am in the market now. Wow do I appreciate and respect the amount of information you guys know about these subject. I will be brief and to the point:

1. Im in no rush >>> Good.
2. I want a princess cut either alone or with two flanking diamonds
3. I can spend $2000-2200 (including setting)
4. I want a center diamond ~0.69-0.8 cts
5. White gold setting
6. Color G-H

My questions are these:

1. Outside of the stones color for this size what clarity level is 'stone' appropriate? (silly question?) >>> Not a silly question.

I would suggest trying to find an eyeclean SI1 or SI2 in order to save some $$, and maximize your carat weight.
2. What elements of the cut should I look for to maximize 'this' stones effect? >>> Fancies are apparently difficult to gauge based on numbers alone. Take a look at the following sites, they all appear to have nice princess cuts:

www.bluenile.com
www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com
www.superbcert.com
www.goodoldgold.com

3. Knowing Im using a white gold setting is the H rating and size rating detectable by the novice eye? >>> Don't know what you mean by "size rating"? As for colour, I would stay at G or better for a fancy. Just my personal preference, as fancies tend to show more body colour than RB's.

4. Lastly, would you recommend pricescopes prices as a trustworthy 'good deal benchmark'? >>> Yes, particularly for online vendors. Pricing at B&M stores will generally be higher.

Thanks so much. >>> You're welcome.

Dave

 

[valeria101]

0:02 PM dclenden wrote:
My questions are these:

1. Outside of the stones color for this size what clarity level is 'stone' appropriate? (silly question?)
2. What elements of the cut should I look for to maximize 'this' stones effect?
3. Knowing Im using a white gold setting is the H rating and size rating detectable by the novice eye?
4. Lastly, would you recommend pricescopes prices as a trustworthy 'good deal benchmark'?





Q1: Clarity...
Those stones are not huge, so inclusions will by no means stand out. So? SI1
Oh, and there is no such thing as a silly Q.


Q2: Cut...
In a princess cut, you would ned to analyze four different types of crown and pavilion angles to get a tentative idea about how it looks. These number may come from a Sarin report... which does not commonly accompany dimaonds (even online). Moreover, there are no hard rules set for how to evaluate these numbers. So? Forget it! Getting an Idealscope and/or Brilliancescope image of the actual stone will give a good report of how well it sparkles. if you do not know what those are, look at GoodOldGold for the whole course. The above seller, DBOF, Whiteflash and a few others will readili provide such analysis.
Another thing: at that weight, you don't want a deep cut because the stone will look small indeed. So, with light return in mind, you should look for one of those rather rare princess cuts between 60%and 70% deep.
The standard cuts for princesses cited under 'fancy cuts" on the first page here (the table) give a good idea what the industry standard is for a good cut, but do not guarantee light return (for that, see above)


Questions 3
H is very white. No idea what you mean. no professional would guarantee color grading in setting, novices may...


Q4rice...
Yes. You can definitely get a deal here. Better prices from honest sellers are hard to come buy, and that would likely still be online. The one way to get an even better bargain is to drop all requirements for cut quality and scoop a second-hand ring with a princess cut from an auction house or somewhere oline. Such stones almost (99.99%) never come with more than a lab cert for color and clarity (no specs about cut beyond, say, GIA's) and, under 1ct, finding a certified stone anywhere (aside online) will be a challenge. Also, I see that Niceice has a section for "consignment" rings which may yield a bargain. I like Diamondsbylauren online (not much discussion about light return there bu nice pricing). And the "discount" (ok, the word muct be taken with some salt) at Jonathan's could get you the thing.




Other comments?


The easiest to get a stone with guaranteed light return and great cut may be DBOF (they post those briliance scope pics, and may get them fast for another stone. Same about GOG, perhaps Whiteflash...)


Why not an I color?

The stone will be small and, hopefully, very sparkly. I would think 0.9-1ct, I-J, VS2-SI1 any day. Once mounted, you will need a high white D-E stone to make yours appear tinted somewhat. The comparison with a G-H should not reaveal a thing (usually 2 grades are easily detectable face-down and hardly face-up).

Size? This is very much a matter of cut in princeses, so, you are likely to create much confusion between your 0.8 and a 1ct with a well-cut princess (non-deap and sparkly, that is). Those are a rare sight, and anyone owning one of the standard, deep PS cuts, will tend to judge yours after theirs, of course.


Side-stones?
Let's leave them aside from now... For your stone, those are likely to be quite small, and the jeweler's worry. What type do you want? my favorite thing near a princess are tappered baguettes. What do you think?

 

[valeria101]

Oh, and you will have to work enough to get a nicely cut princess, no worries...

best of luck!

 

[dclenden]

You are truly the greatest. i dont know who you are but your advice is priceless to me. Thanks for your effort on my behalf. One last question, how to find a reasonably priced setting? Is it cheaper to find the stone separately, then find a similar ring setting and have a jeweler make it and put the stone in?

Youre the best!
Dave

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 12/16/2003 4:28:31 PM dclenden wrote:

Is it cheaper to find the stone separately, then find a setting and have a jeweler make it and put the stone in?
----------------

Most likely yes, and not by little. The shops (all those mentioned) selling diamonds would have some settings too, and since these people make money out of selling diamonds, not setting, you are likely to get a nice deal.

 

[dclenden]

Valeria,

One last question. Is there a big discrepency in depth of princess cuts. If there is what would your suggestion be as to the dimensions/etc that I should be looking for to maximize the size without washing out all the sparkle.

Thanks again.

Dave