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Need some advice - Requirements listed

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diamond noob from novi

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 7, 2009
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25
Hi everyone,

Initially I had thought I would get a princess cut diamond. However, after reading additional information on the differences between a round and princess, I''m starting to look at round cuts. I think I would prefer more of a ''fiery'' and sizable look on the diamond.

In essence, here''s what I''m looking for:

Type – Round or Princess on Pave. She wants shiny and size so I was thinking round although I was convinced a Princess Cut was the way to go.

Cut – Absolutely, must be ideal and top notch. (i.e. BN Signature, etc)
Clarity – VVS2 minimum and may go up to IF depending if I can tell the difference
Color – G or D to F (will depend if I can even see the difference
Carat Weight – Looking for at least minimum 1.1 carats to 1.5 maximum.

Setting – Decided on micropave look. Her ring finger is 5.5 so I’m thinking a small ring should suffice. Probably 2.0 to 2.6 mm. I haven’t figured out where to get it but it seems like a hassle to get the rock and setting from different vendors. I really like what I see on Michael B and Leon but then it''d be a hassle for me to get it all done if say I bought the diamond at BN....

Considerations:
In store: Would like to look at Jared''s

Online: BN (several million times), JA (just started), WF (not much selection of diamonds within my criteria)

Any other personal suggestions online and instore? All comments are welcome.

Thanks in advance!

E
 
What shape does SHE prefer? Most women have a preference for which they would want to wear every day as an e-ring. Most women that prefer princess would not be happy with a round and vice versa.

Once you figure that out, on clarity you can certainly drop to VS2 or SI1 if the vendor can confirm eye-clean. Remember that clarity is graded at 10x magnification, so IF or eye-clean will look the same to the naked eye.
 
What''s your budget?

Do you have a setting picked out?
 
Shape - If you're going for size, and she has not voiced a preference, princess is not the way to go. If you're going for fiery, princess is not the way to go. Look for a round with a high crown and compatible pavilion.

Clarity - ditto jet2ks - if you're on any sort of budget, anything above VS1-VS2 is complete overkill, and I'd happily go down to SI2 myself if vendor can confirm eyeclean to my standards.

Colour - in sub-1.5 ct stones I sincerely doubt you'll see a difference between H and above face-up or from the side - esp. since you're looking at brilliant cuts. For many G is a sweetspot, you get a visibly colourless rock without paying the premium for one.

Vendor - sometimes PS vendors have access to the same stones listed on PS, I'd call one of them first, as you'll be able to ask a live person to scrutinize the stone for you before you buy; BN will not do that, and while I'm pretty sure they have a good return policy it would still be that much of a hassle. No ideas on Jareds, but their store lighting is awesome.


ETA: FWIW I don't think BN Sig. diamonds are anything other than all AGS0 or equivalent and all in-house, though I'm not sure. Either way, they're not a branded CUT known for quality like WF's ACA, so I don't think they're worth the premium as you can go through the listings and find your own AGS0 without the "BN Signature" addendum.
 
Here is a stone that fits the bill but if this isn''t the price range you were looking for you''ll need to come down in both color and clarity.

1.31ct E IF
 
Everyone,

I went to Jared''s today and received a pretty good idea of what to expect when shopping in store. I thought the customer service was great but the way they explained some of the terminology was dodgy in my opinion. One of the reps said "the polish is very good on this diamond and the polish means, well, when you polish your shoe and how it shines" - Is that supposed to be an accurate statement?? It was also pretty neat seeing the hearts and arrows on their peerless cuts. Overall it was a good in store experience.

As an attempt to solidify my requirements, here would be my update:

Type – Round hands down after comparing the princess and round. If I know my gf, she''ll likely want the more "sparkly" one.

Cut – Absolutely, must be ideal (i.e. Jared Peerless, WF ACA, BN Sig Ideal, etc)
Clarity – VVS2 minimum or even VS1/VS2 if I can confirm how to verify eye clean.
Color – Minimum F.
Carat Weight – Looking for at least minimum 1.1 carats to 1.3 maximum.

Setting - Going with the micropave or pave. or something similar to the tiffany novo and bn nouveau. When I was at Jared''s they showed me some new rings which were all pave.

-------

jet2ks - Round is probably what she wants. She has mentioned ''sparkly'' many times. For instance if I order from WF, how can I confirm eye clean with an online vendor?

thelvyn123 - My budget would be 15K max and I''ve decided on some micropave or pave look. She has mentioned pave as her favourite ring.

yssie - It''s funny you mentioned the size because the Jared''s rep told me the princess has a ''bigger'' look and that most girls nowadays want the princess. Similar question from above - how do I get an online vendor to confirm eye clean? Also, thanks for the info on BN sigs.

swingirl - This would be outside my budget
8.gif
. I did notice some brown/khaki reflective colour on the diamond 1 pic. What is that? Is it the same as those two brown spots found on this diamond: http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2199898.htm#

I guess as a side question for all of you, what do you think about the diamond I just posted from WF?

E
 
That diamond would be beautiful! It has perfect numbers by any standard here on PS. The browny-orangy spots are reflections of something, not spots on the diamond itself - probably the photographer was wearing an orange shirt.

I don't think the polish comment was meant to be misleading - it really is exactly what it sounds like
1.gif
. I also don't think a layperson (pretty much anyone but some of our experts, I'd guess) could see the difference between GIA/AGS's VG and EX/ID polish without a loupe, even if he or she knew what he or she was looking for.

I really do think rounds face up bigger, but I, too, have heard the opposite. They certainly sparkle more boldly and brightly compared to the princess twinkle effect; I prefer it, but that's just that - preference.

To confirm eyeclean -- just ask your sales rep, you can expect an honest appraisal from someone working for a PS vendor, I've no doubt. I've had very good experiences with WF. Your first step would be to determine exactly what eyeclean is to you: nothing visible face up from 12in away? 5in? loupe-clean? clean from the sides?

ETA: I really, honestly think VVS is overkill, you'll pay for something you can't see to appreciate. You're not going to see a darn thing from front or side in a VS1, even if you put the stone right up to your eyeball, and the vast majority of VS2s - even some SIs meet this expectation.
 
I suppose the Jareds rep had a point when referring to polish on a shoe as an analogy, but polish in diamonds refers to the polish or finish given to the diamond crystal to smooth the surface as much as possible. Not all diamond crystals will take an excellent polish, one example is if there is an area of surface grain lines ( see link), sometimes these won't polish out totally and can lower the grade - but the owner of the diamond might not ever know or be able to see why their diamond got good for polish!

More on polish here.
 
Date: 10/9/2009 12:46:41 AM
Author: diamond noob from novi

swingirl - This would be outside my budget
8.gif
. I did notice some brown/khaki reflective colour on the diamond 1 pic. What is that? Is it the same as those two brown spots found on this diamond: http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2199898.htm#

E
Click to expand...
The stone you are looking at would be a beautiful choice. You can't go wrong with the ACAs. The colors on the photos are reflections of the surrounding environment most likely the camera.

Most would agree IF or VVS is way overkill because you can't see anything in there without magnification.
 
You still have not said anything about your budget???
 
sc - My budget would be 15K max (includes setting) and I''ve decided on some micropave or pave look. She has mentioned pave as her favourite ring.

yssie - eye clean to me would be 3-4 inches up close. can''t see anything with the naked eye from front or the sides.

lorelei - ah ok, so her statement wasn''t dodgy haha.

Thanks to all for the feedback! So now that I''ve somewhat determined what I want to get, I''d like to move forward by thinking about vendors. Here are my thoughts at the moment:

- Should I think about getting the diamond and ring at different vendors? (i.e. ring at WF and pave setting at leon mege) Would this be too much of a hassle?


- Here are some vendors I''m definitely thinking of:

BN
JA
GOG
WF
Brian Gavin
Jared''s (maybe)


In terms of style, here''s what I think I want to get: http://www.artofplatinum.com/4images/data/media/6/r968_010Ww.jpg

Something similar to the tiffany novo/nouveau but with diamonds around the entire ring. I''ve read that it''s not practical because the stones may fall off. Any suggestions? Ideally I''d like to purchase the diamond and the setting from the same vendor but I''m not sure if I can find that same setting with the vendors I''ve listed.

E

 
If you like Leon's ring design, go for it--he has a reputation of doing great pave work. The vendors you list are used to working together, you would just need to make sure the diamond is insured during the setting process in the unlikely event it got damaged (very rare, but does happen). If the same vendor supplies the diamond and setting they will cover it. This is not the case when the diamond is supplied by one vendor and set by another.

3-4 inches is awful close for to examine a diamond with the naked eye--the eyes can't focus well at that distance. 6-8 inches is a more "real world" close viewing distance.
 
Maybe the OP is short-sighted?
 
Jet2ks: Ah ok, didn''t know what was a normal distance - my lack of knowledge is clear here.

So it seems that no matter which vendor I go with I''m pretty safe going with an AGS0. I think I''ll search around for a round - AGS0, 1.2-1.3 carat, VS1, F.

Thanks to SC for providing some links to JA diamonds!

Is AGS0 > GIA Excellent?

E
 
Date: 10/10/2009 2:01:17 PM
Author: diamond noob from novi
Jet2ks: Ah ok, didn't know what was a normal distance - my lack of knowledge is clear here.

So it seems that no matter which vendor I go with I'm pretty safe going with an AGS0. I think I'll search around for a round - AGS0, 1.2-1.3 carat, VS1, F.

Thanks to SC for providing some links to JA diamonds!

Is AGS0 > GIA Excellent?

E
Click to expand...
AGS0 should be well cut diamonds and be great performers, however it is always good to confirm with an Idealscope or ASET image. AGS0 can be the preferred cut grade compared to GIA Excellent, GIA round the numbers and their cut grading is proportion based whereas for AGS0 grade it is performance based. GIA Excellent can allow for some less desirable proportion configurations such as what we call steep deeps on Pricescope, steep deep angled diamonds can leak light and not be great performers. Rather like a bucket with a hole in it which leaks water, a steep deep diamond can leak light, this is obviously undesirable as you want the light bouncing back out of the diamond to your eye as sparkle.
 
Date: 10/10/2009 2:01:17 PM
Author: diamond noob from novi

Is AGS0 > GIA Excellent?
Click to expand...

Not necessary, if actual IS/ASET image of the stone is provided by the vendor. GIA Ex cut can just be as good as AGS0.
 
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