Need Help............

[Illinifann]

I must say that I have learned more in the last couple of hours on this site than I had in the previous two months of shopping. Many sites, many jewelers, much reading, and I finally see the light. Now let me explain my delimma and why I just need a little more help. All my life my father told me that there are four rules:




1 - Buy as big of a house as you can afford at first because the mortgage you can barely afford today will be change in a few years.


2 - Drive the least expensive yet safest car you have to for you to afford that house.


3 - Pay off all other debts after you get the house - real estate appreciation outways managable interest.


4 - Buy your wife a big diamond so you NEVER have to clean that house.




The house is accomplished, I drive a modest car, am still working on a huge student loan debt, and am a clean freak so the cleaning is not the issue. My problem is that my girlfriend is 6''-1" tall, with larger than normal hands I would think. As part of her travelling modeling work she would wear a fake diamondengagement ring, her form of "pest" control if you know what I mean. A simple ring, I measured it to be roughly 7.25mm in diameter. Though it does look fine on her hand, I can''t bear giving her something smaller.




My question is how much can I sacrifice in quality to maintain something that size. I care little what it looks like under a microscope. I have read opinions about going all the way down to an "I" color, which I suppose I would be fine with but pricescope recommends not putting anything under "H" color in a platinum setting. So gold right? Well, she is one of those people who cannot wear gold, in any shape. Weird huh?




I have a budget of roughly $6K for the the ring, any thoughts?

 

[Patty]

Hi Illinifan! Good advice from your dad!

I think that you are looking for a well cut diamond of about 1.25 to 1.50 carats. Most people will tell you here that a very well cut stone can carry off a lower color because of the sparkle of the stone. I think you'd be fine with an "I" color, but that is a subjective thing. Some people pick up on color more than others. An "I" is still pretty white to most people.

As for clarity, most people here will tell you to go for as low a clarity as you can tolerate, as long as the stone is "eye-clean." That means an SI stone for the most part although a few of us have found I1 clarity stones that we are very happy with.

Your budget of 6K may be a little tight, but some of the pros here may be able to find some possibilities for you. As for your girl being allergic to gold, I assume that includes white gold, huh? I think the simple platinum settings are going to be about $500 at least, but I'm not sure about that.

You can search for stones on this forum using various variables. That should give you a good idea of what's out there that meets your budget. Welcome and enjoy the search!

 

[Patty]

Al, I'm DYING to see the pictures of the I1 stones that Superbcert has just gotten. (The pics and prices are not up yet.)

 

[fire&ice]

I have a large "I" stone set in platinum next to two f/g baguettes. Plenty white in that setting.

Like others suggested for clarity, try to go w/ an SI1,2,3 or clean GIA I1.

Also, don't shy away, in fact embrace, stone with med/strong blue fluor. The Fluor will make the stone face up much whiter. And, make sure you get a stone w/ a good make. Pay attention to the measurements & don't just focus on carat weight.

Good luck.

 

[Illinifann]

Thank you all for your help. Assuming I am looking at something in the G/H and SI1 -SI3 range, am I going to notice any difference should I choose very good cut opposed to an ideal cut?

 

[pqcollectibles]

Generally speaking, the average person does not see a color difference in adjacent color grades,....E/F, F/G, G/H and so on. It all depends on your own personal acuity.

If you have not done so, you should visit some local diamond brokers and view stones live and in person. You will get a better feel for your color preferences. If the brokers have varying levels of cut quality in one color grade, you would also get to see the difference in performance from lesser to well cut diamonds. The quality level of make impacts not only enhances sparkle and fire, it also brightens the appearance of a diamond.