New ring shopper - would love some advice!

[lxa503]

Hello all -

I stumbled on this website shopping for engagement rings, and it appears that there are some really sharp people around these forums. I am just beginning to shop for engagement rings, and I don't really know what I want yet. I have seen plenty of things I like and don't like, but for now, I just have some basic questions. I would really, really appreciate any and all advice. Thank you so much in advance!

1. Ok, really and truly, what is the lowest I need to go on color and clarity? Obviously, jewelry stores want to sell you the nicest stuff, but with regards to quality, how low is too low?

2. I have shopped around a little bit, and I have gravitated towards nicer-brand settings beacuse of their look, not just because I want to buy something expensive. Everwhere I go I hear a lot about Tacori, and I have also seen some things that I like by a company called JB Star (even though they appear too expensive initially). Is it worth it to stick with a nice brand? Are they charging you more just for the name? Or do you really get what you pay for?

3. Is the difference in quality worth paying a little more for Platinum over 18K white gold?

4. I have heard a jeweler on the radio advertise that they have diamonds with more facets cut in them than standard diamonds. They claim to have diamonds with 80 facets, where traditional cuts have around 50-something. Is this true or bogus?

5. Where should I shop for loose diamonds? Online scares me quite a bit, I like to see what I am buying in person. However, I am open to suggestions.

Thanks so much in advance for your help! I hope that my lowly little questions are not below the expertise of you all!

 

[Gypsy]

http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/ You may know a little about the 4 C's (you questions show that you really don't know it all) ... but this lilnk will take you to the advanced version which is invaluable for anyone starting to look around. It will help you understand more about cut and color and clarity than you do now... and answer some of your questions.

With settings... it's a personal thing. You can find a 'style' you like... and yes find it less expensive with another designer.


For platinum v WG... I would do a search to find what other's have said on this issue before... it is a common question and has been well covered by others in the past.

As for where you should shop... it depends on what you want. I will say that goodoldgold is my favorite vendor on here... and you can do a search to see what other's have said about them.

ETA: WELCOME!

 

[lizzyd]

Hi,

The best tutorials (in my humble opinion) are on Good Old Gold and Nice Ice''s web sites.

Read them really well. It''s all about the Cut Cut Cut!

Study the pics on GOG and see if you can get a sense for what your tolerance would be for some of the characteristics.

What part of the country do you live in? There are good Pricescope vendors all over the place. It would be good if you could go see some really well cut stones, and figure out what your "low" is.

Personally, in a premium cut, hearts & arrows stone, my sweet spot is an I or a J color, eye clean SI1 or SI2, all set in platinum. The money I save by buying less than an F, VS1, I would rather put into the carat weight of what I buy.

Best,
LizzyD

 

[lxa503]

I am from Tennessee. Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I have had good communication with several of these vendors, but I am currently working with Good Old Gold to find my diamond. They are trustworthy and give more information about their stones than anyone else. The tutorial on the GOG site that Gypsy mentioned is excellent. You'll have to decide your own parameters on color and clarity. My personal limit is H and VS. But virutally everyone here will recommend ideal or excellent cut as the factor not to compromise on.

There are pros and cons to WG and platinum. I think there is a chart that explains it on the GOG site. I personally wouldn't care to pay for a designer name IF the design can be custom made or if there is a similar, less expensive setting available. But if you want something like Tacori, there is a vendor that has been mentioned on here that sells it at a discount (Sister's Jewelry).

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi Ixa503 ~

Welcome to Pricescope!

After reading to tutorials here, you will come to understand that "CUT" is the main factor in getting a glistening diamond!

Once you have the cut ... then you can start reading up on color and clarity.

There are some threads that feature J and K and I think L color graded diamonds.

As far as clarity ... a trusted vendor could be your eyes when it comes to the diamond being "eye clean".

I personally like a good SI1, however, I do know that there are some "eye clean" SI2's out there! Just put the info in the search bar and you will see other threads with lots of info!

Good luck and have fun!

P.S. edited to add, that most of us want to get the biggest most sparkliest diamond possible for our price range, and sometimes some of us will go as low as an "eye clean SI2" and as low as a J or K". It is possible to find the diamond of your dreams with a trusted vendor, and some patience.