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New lady in (impatient) waiting

Fulvia

Fulvia

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
246
I've been with my SO for over three years now, and we're both young professionals in the career trenches trying to make a go of it. I'm hoping that a ring will be forthcoming soon, although this (extended) waiting period has given me time to troll the internet and really learn about diamonds (besides work at my career - ha!). Here's what I'm thinking. Input invited!

-oval cut solitaire set in a very simple platinum setting. I'd like a band that is less than 1.5mm. Possible? :confused:
-specs: c. 2 carats, colour H-I, clarity VS2 or eye-clean SI1 with the best cut I can get
-the budget is (give or take) $20,000 CAD which works out to about $15,000 USD in the current exchange

Thoughts?
 
UPDATE: Below is a picture of what I'm thinking. The band is slightly thicker than I'd like, and the diamond is bigger than 2 carats (3 carats, I believe), but you get the idea.

_35617.jpg
 
Have both of you discussed this budget? As a fellow Canadian, I almost hope that you guys aren't looking at a ring right now - such a terrible exchange rate! No idea if rates would go up anytime soon, but I always have my fingers crossed haha. We got so much more for the money only a year ago :(

Anyways, I think it's a lovely style. I'd be wary of having a larger diamond on such a thin band, but with no pave it might be okay.

Welcome to the forum :)
 
Dear Telephone89

Thanks for your thoughts and for this warm welcome! Yes we've discussed the budget and 20K seems to be the magic number we both feel good about (ok maybe I feel a bit better than him :angel: )

You bring up an interesting question about the exchange. Is the price of diamonds tied to the USD even if they are mined in Canada? In other words, will the weak CAD mean more expensive diamonds for us Canadians even if we're buying Canadian diamonds?
 
This is where you'll need to do some price checking. AFAIK, you can't just go to the mine and buy a canadian diamond. A lot of the typical retailers (ben moss, peoples, etc) sell canadian diamonds, but have a significant markup. Bluenile and James allen also sell canadian diamonds. You can check for your province here: http://www.canadiandiamondcodeofconduct.ca/EN_Csignregistry.htm and check out some of the places listed. I took a quick look, and the majority are mall stores. So, it might be worth it to still check out JA. Sometimes, even with the exchange rate you can still get a good deal online.

I think BlueNile will also charge you in CAD so no exchange fee and is duty free. I personally wouldn't want to buy an oval from them as they don't provide photos, but they could be an option as well.
 
15K for both the diamond and a setting of 2ct + and the specs you're searching for seems a bit tight. There are a few diamonds that fit your criteria, but the cut quality looks poor. Can you go down in size?
 
madelise|1450245097|3962159 said:
15K for both the diamond and a setting of 2ct + and the specs you're searching for seems a bit tight. . . Can you go down in size?
Click to expand...
That's the great thing abt an oval it faces up large I would be very wary of a band thinner than 1.5 . . . the chances of it going out of round might be high.

Welcome to LIW
 
Yes I'll size down: my priority is fire and sparkle not size. Here's precisely the problem Telephone89 brought up about the Canadian dollar: a year ago 20K CAD was almost equal to 20K USD which (it seems) is the price range of the stone I want. :wall:

And thanks for shedding light on the issue of the band.I guess 1.5 is the thinnest I can go
 
telephone89|1450229787|3962050 said:
This is where you'll need to do some price checking. AFAIK, you can't just go to the mine and buy a canadian diamond. A lot of the typical retailers (ben moss, peoples, etc) sell canadian diamonds, but have a significant markup. Bluenile and James allen also sell canadian diamonds. You can check for your province here: http://www.canadiandiamondcodeofconduct.ca/EN_Csignregistry.htm and check out some of the places listed. I took a quick look, and the majority are mall stores. So, it might be worth it to still check out JA. Sometimes, even with the exchange rate you can still get a good deal online.

I think BlueNile will also charge you in CAD so no exchange fee and is duty free. I personally wouldn't want to buy an oval from them as they don't provide photos, but they could be an option as well.
Click to expand...

James Allen charges duty for shipments to Canada, don't they?

Having been spooked by what I've read about buying diamonds online, I'm tempted to buy my diamond through a jeweller - I was thinking GOG or a Toronto jeweller several of my friends have used. Big mistake? I should say that I'm worried about the nitty gritty like getting a diamond that faces up as large as possible for its weight and making sure that the depth is right so that there isn't a bowtie. Besides I've read again and again that fancy shapes are quite hard to buy without seeing them in person.
 
I would buy an oval from GOG in a heartbeat, and you could have it set by your local jeweler if that's what you prefer. JA does charge duty, but BN doesn't. JA is just a nice option because they have photos.

When you guys get serious, you can even drive down and make a weekend out of it to actually see the diamonds (if you're in TO it's not crazy far). Especially with such a large purchase, that would likely set your mind at ease AND you'll get to experience the wonderful customer service.
 
telephone89|1450284183|3962284 said:
I would buy an oval from GOG in a heartbeat, and you could have it set by your local jeweler if that's what you prefer. JA does charge duty, but BN doesn't. JA is just a nice option because they have photos.

When you guys get serious, you can even drive down and make a weekend out of it to actually see the diamonds (if you're in TO it's not crazy far). Especially with such a large purchase, that would likely set your mind at ease AND you'll get to experience the wonderful customer service.
Click to expand...


Ditto. GOG can help you make sure the oval has no god awful bow tie effect. Your local jeweler may not know what that is.
 
Oooh! If you could make a weekend out of it that could be so much fun. :appl:
One of the aspects of ovals I have learned from reading rockytalky is it's important to look at the measurement/the size of the stone not merely the carat weight.
 
16ocean: Thanks for bringing this up! You're right that I should be thinking about finger coverage rather than simply carat weight. I'm thinking 9mm in width. My finger is size 5.5. Does that sound reasonable? :read:
 
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