Need help with Round diamond ring

[gps470]

Hi Fellas, I am following PS from past couple of weeks now and think it's time to ask for help. I am looking forward to buy a round diamond ring for my wife, with a total budget of $3-$4.5k
I have gone through lots of links to understand different terms, checked quite a few vendor websites, appreciated the pics shared by other forum members and seen some excellent advices from the Gurus here.

Can I have some suggestions around how to proceed ? I am more inclined towards a bigger/better centerpiece (~around .9 - 1.x ct) than the settings.

Thank you!

 

[VRBeauty]

First, recognize that most of the responders here are not "fellas."

Then narrow down your range in terms of color, clarity, and cut.

Then, use the diamond finder here, or go to one of the vendors you've read good reviews for here, and play with their diamond finder to identify some candidate stones. Use the finder to find diamonds within the price, color, cut, and clarity range you'd like to consider.

Use the HCA tool https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca to narrow your selections down to the most promising stones in terms of cut. We generally recommend that you stick with diamonds that have an HCA score of two or less, but if you truly are more concerned about size than performance, you might want to look at a larger range - for example, this diamond scores a 3.8 - "Very good, worth buying if the price is right."

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-j-color-vs2-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-683611

We can help you better if you first narrow down your parameters.

You can get a basic setting for less than $500, by the way.

 

[gps470]

Thanks VRBeauty. Here is the criteria I am playing with past couple of weeks -
Color - I +
Clarity - VS2 +
Carat - 0.9 +
HCA Cut - VG +
Flu - Faint to None

I am seeing lots of choices, and that's where I am lost. One day I like one, the other day another one. Most importantly, I am not sure which one is better value than the other - in other terms, when I should take the next step of contacting the Vendor.

Also, I am trying to search around the Multiple vendor quote. Is that worth exploring initially, or I should put it aside and concentrate only the pieces available publically on PS ?

Again, thanks for your guidance.

 

[gps470]

This is the one, which I have liked the most so far :

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-674889