New Earring Purchase, How Did I Do?

[JPUMPKIN]

Hi,

I''m new here, so pardon me if I do not get all of this quite right. I just upgraded my wife''s princess cut stud earrings. Before she had .25 carat each for .5 carat total weight. One was E in color, I1 in clarity, good cut, and good polish. The other was F in color, SI2 in clarity, and good in cut and polish. This pair is IGI certified.
Recently, we decided to reset her wedding ring. Her original center stone is a princess cut,1.01 carat, D in color, VS2 in clarity, good cut, excellent polish, no flurescence, no culet. We reset it in a new setting and mounted the earring diamonds on each side, so that she could have a three stone ring. Well it turned out great! If I can figure out how to post pictures here, I''ll try. Both the earring diamonds and her original center stone really sparkle.
So then I got to thinking that she needs some new earrings. So I did some shopping at the local jewlers around town and I found a pair of .5 carat each princess cuts. One stud is E in color, I1 in clarity, good cut and polish. It is pretty sparkly. There is really only one inclusion in it that is visible under the loup that the jewler showed me. It is a feather in the upper corner of the diamond. When I first saw the diamond I did not see the inclusion. After the jewler showed it to me under the loupe I did see it. He said that it would not affect the integrity of the stone. Anyway, that is the first stone.
The second stone is F in color, SI2 in clarity, good cut, good polish. It is also very spakly. I looke at it under the loupe and there were a couple of very small black inclusions, both close to the mountings (prongs?), and there were two crystals. That is all that I saw, and the jewler said that it was eye clean. Indeed it is eye clean. The inclusions make no difference to me since I cannot see them with the naked eye.
My only real questions are this: The first stone...now that I know where the feather is, I can see it in certain lights, and at certain angles. It is not a huge glaring inclusion, but it is not like my wifes center stone on her wedding ring. I''ve read alot of the posts on this forum and it seems like most people agree that it is ok to go with a lower color/clarity/cut on earrings. Naturally I agree, since people are not going to be getting as close to my wife''s ears as to her wedding ring. So is it ok that there is an inclusion that I can see now that I know where to look, and is it really going to be noticable to anyone else? I know that it''s basically all in my head, but I hope I''m not being too OCD!
Second Question: Christmas is coming up. Her birthday is also two days after Valentines Day. So, when do I suprise her with them, Christmas or Valentines Day/ Birthday?
BTW...this is the same jewler that I originally got the first earrings from, and the one who reset the diamonds into a new wedding ring. So, he gave me a deal on the new earrings for $1900. I''ve sent many of my friends his way...he know this...and that is why, I think that I got such a good price...so how did I do? Thanks for reading my post, and thanks for any comments that you will post.

Sincerely, JPUMPKIN

 

[mrssalvo]

only you can decide if knowing/seeing the inclusion will bother you or your wife. I probably wouldn''t like to be able to see anything even on earrings personally. Also, you can sometimes drop color/clarity on earrings but I really wouldn''t sacrifice cut too much. that is what is going to make the earrings really sparkle. oh and I vote give them too her for Christmas..sooner is always better

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think you''re a great husband! But I''m not too sure about your jeweler giving you a "good deal".

Here''s a .5 E I1:

0.50 E I1 72.3% 68% EGL tn-tk no gd gd no 4.76x4.11x2.97 $691*SP

And an F SI2 will run about $1000.

So allow $100 for the settings, and he''s charging about average price.

I am probably pickier than most people on clarity, but I would not want I1 for my diamond jewelry. I think SI1 is a good balance between quality and value and there are some good SI2''s with white inclusions.

I''d give them to her for Christmas. Life is short...let her enjoy them!

 

[JPUMPKIN]

I forgot to mention that they are set in 18 carat white gold baskets. Other mall jewlers and some B&M jewlers were charging as much as $2600 for H to J in color, with the same clarity''s between SI2 and I1, that is why I thought that I got a pretty good deal. Oh, they were actually $1896.00 with tax. Before tax they were 1762.90. So that is $881.45 each before tax. That''s not bad right?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

No, not bad...you''re right that you could have easily done worse at many stores.

 

[JPUMPKIN]

These are also IGI certified. I just searched for IGI, and from what I found they are not favored on this forum. I went to the actual IGI website and IGI seems to be pretty legit. Any Comments?

 

[JulieN]

It's like EGL level.

 

[JPUMPKIN]

Can you please be more specific. I''m not familiar with EGL. I know that my wife''s center stone is GIA...that''s good right? I did not know that there was a big difference between certifications....doesnt that mean that if one certification is valued more than another that you could be getting the same or similar stone, but since one is certified by one lab or another that it will be worth more or less even know it is the same or a similar stone? Can anyone clarify this question for me. Thank You

 

[JPUMPKIN]

Also, how do I post pictures. Thanks

 

[jaz464]

Well, I am not sure if you are looking for reassurrance or honest opinions. I will give you the latter. I would not consider IGI graded diamonds. The gradings are very often not accurate. The tend to be exaggerated. Also, while I would go down in color/clarity in earrings (GIA or AGS only) I would never get anything less than the best cut. Excellent cut diamonds look bigger, hide inclusions better, look whiter, and have more sparkle and scintillation than diamonds with a "good cut." Cut is king. Don't consider a "good" cut to be a desirable thing.

IGI and EGL diamonds are generally cheaper than GIA or AGS diamonds. Diamonds with desirable characteristics are generally sent to the best labs where they will get accurate gradings and can then go for a higher price.

 

[JPUMPKIN]

ok, so to get a better cut..do you have to spend a lot more money...if so should I bring these back and ask him for excellent cut stones...my budget was $2000, so that is why I did what I did. Also, I''m not looking for reassurance...I''m not unhappy, I just like geting others opinions and I think that this forum is neat, so I''m just asking questions for curiosity sake and to educate myself more on what diamonds are all about. Thanks.

 

[JulieN]

Date: 10/16/2006 9:44:18 PM
Author: JPUMPKIN
since one is certified by one lab or another that it will be worth more or less even know it is the same or a similar stone?

Yes, exactly.

We don't know anything about them, so I'm not going to guess what they're worth or if you should return them.

How to post pictures: https://www.pricescope.com/forum/faq1/how-to-upload-reduce-pictures-for-posting-t41381.html

http://www.exceldiamonds.com/diamond/29187.html
http://www.exceldiamonds.com/diamond/29185.html

Or if you don't want to select your own: http://www.whiteflash.com/Fine-jewelry/Diamond_Studs/Four-Prong-Princess-Cut--READY-SET-TO-GO_821.htm

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, truthfully...you can get better quality than those if you want to. The IGI cert doesn''t mean a lot. Yes, GIA and AGS are favored as the most reliable. I am not sure if the WhiteFlash Ready-Set-Go earrings are certified or not, but they select very well cut diamonds for their earrings. They have a 10 day return policy, so you''d only be out the shipping charge if you returned them. But I am betting they''d be better quality than the ones you have now. Oh, and ask for the PriceScope discount..if you pay by wire they''ll tak a little off the price posted.

 

[jaz464]

Without seeing what you have, I will guess that you would see quite a big difference if you tried a pair from WF. I don''t think you would be dissapointed.

 

[Phoenix]

Well, I agree with what has been said already. How about going for a lower colour, say F, for both stones and raise the clarity to SI2? I grade clarity tend to be quite obvious and not eye-clean; and even for earrings, I wouldn''t go for something that has obvious inclusions. I would also definitely go for excellent cut.

Similarly, I wouldn''t buy an IGI stone. My husband bought me an IGI stone for my original e-ring (it is now part of a pair of earrings) and my e-ring has been upgraded. I was very thrilled at the time (obviously, as I was getting engaged!!

). I subsequently found out that the cut is not very good and the stone certainly does not sparkle as much as my other diamonds which all have GIA certs (and I would also buy AGS). I still love my original e-ring stone, but mostly for sentimental reasons, but would not touch IGI with a barge poll. Ditto EGL (esp. EGL Israel).

Btw, give her the earrings for Xmas. Better to have the bling sooner rather than later!

. You can always give her another diamond for her birthday/ Valentine''s! Never too soon, and incidentally never too much bling!

Only kidding....no, I am not...yes, I am... no, I am not!