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Newbie, Buying Engagement Ring, Need Help :)

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mrjonesandme

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Hello all,

First off, please forgive my naivety in regards to diamonds. Second, I am buying an engagement ring for my girlfriend of 4+ years and need some help/advice. Ok, now the questions...

1) Has anyone has had good experiences with jamesallen.com? Of course, I''m hesitant to make such a large purchase online without actually seeing the product for myself. However, a friend of mine recently purchased his engagement ring and seemed to pay quite a bit more than a similar diamond online. I''ve heard some good things about the site but I figured there would be people on this forum with some first hand experience.

2) Both myself and my girlfriend picked out this setting...http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-2828.asp. My biggest concern with such a setting is getting lower quality diamonds on the band. Obviously, I don''t think cut or clarity would come into play with such small diamonds, but color may. Do you think that''s a valid concern considering they list the "average color" to be F-G?

3) After looking through some pictures, my girlfriend decided on a Radiant cut diamond. However, after reading through the forums I''m a little concerned about them. Can anyone support such a cut or offer up similar alternatives? I''ve also read there is no such thing as an "Ideal" cut for a radiant, is this true?

4) For a radiant cut diamond, would I be better off going for higher quality (D-F, IF-VVS2) and lower carat (.80-.99) or lower quality (G-I, VS1- SI1) and higher carat (1-1.1)?

5) Does anyone have suggestions on radiant cut diamond depth, table, polish, symmetry, girdle?

I think I want a slightly rectangular shape to the diamond, and after an initial search I came up with these 2:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VVS2-Premium-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1140024.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1083436.asp

Again, any advice you all have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!!
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Date: 9/15/2009 10:04:18 PM
Author:mrjonesandme
Hello all,

First off, please forgive my naivety in regards to diamonds. Second, I am buying an engagement ring for my girlfriend of 4+ years and need some help/advice. Ok, now the questions...

1) Has anyone has had good experiences with jamesallen.com? Of course, I'm hesitant to make such a large purchase online without actually seeing the product for myself. However, a friend of mine recently purchased his engagement ring and seemed to pay quite a bit more than a similar diamond online. I've heard some good things about the site but I figured there would be people on this forum with some first hand experience. I worked with James Allen on some diamonds and was very happy with everything. I ended up not purchasing from them, but that was just because another vendor had a setting that I liked more. There are many here on PS that have purchased from JA, do a search and read the reviews.

2) Both myself and my girlfriend picked out this setting...http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-2828.asp. My biggest concern with such a setting is getting lower quality diamonds on the band. Obviously, I don't think cut or clarity would come into play with such small diamonds, but color may. Do you think that's a valid concern considering they list the 'average color' to be F-G? That's a beautiful setting. F-G, VS1-VS2 is pretty high quality melee (small diamonds) Most mall jewelers use H-I color, SI or I clarity melee in their settings. Nothing to worry about there.

3) After looking through some pictures, my girlfriend decided on a Radiant cut diamond. However, after reading through the forums I'm a little concerned about them. Can anyone support such a cut or offer up similar alternatives? Diamond shape is very much a personal preference and there is no wrong answer. If your gf likes a radiant, then that is the right shape for her. I've also read there is no such thing as an 'Ideal' cut for a radiant, is this true? Yes, there is no real ideal standard for fancy shapes as there is for rounds. Dave Atlas has a chart that is very useful for eliminating stones so that you can spend more time evaluating diamonds with a higher chance of being great.

4) For a radiant cut diamond, would I be better off going for higher quality (D-F, IF-VVS2) and lower carat (.80-.99) or lower quality (G-I, VS1- SI1) and higher carat (1-1.1)? Once again a lot of personal preference. Radiants tend to show color more than some other shapes, so if you want a white diamond, you might want to stay G and higher. As long as you are working with a vendor who will look the diamond over for you (and James Allen will), you can definitely go with VS1, VS2 or possibly SI1 clarity.

5) Does anyone have suggestions on radiant cut diamond depth, table, polish, symmetry, girdle? I'll see if I can find Dave Atlas's chart and link it for you.

I think I want a slightly rectangular shape to the diamond, and after an initial search I came up with these 2:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VVS2-Premium-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1140024.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Radiant-Diamond-1083436.asp

Again, any advice you all have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!!
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Welcome to Pricescope and no worries on the naivety or questions. We all started right where you are now.

Here is the thread with the screening parameters for fancy shapes.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/guidance-by-parameters-initial-screening-tools.118881/
 
Many price scope users have had a great experience and end product with James Allen. Your ring that shopping for an engagment ring online you are more likely to pay less for it then you would going to a shop.

As said above, that melee is above agverage quality and I would be happy with that in such small stones.

Why are you concerned about radiant cut diamonds?

As said abouve, radiants do tend to show more colour then round stones which is why it''s a porplar shape in fancy coloured stones. If you want the stone to be white don''t go too low in colour but I feel that as long as the stone is eyeclean you should go as low as you are comfortable to save $ on somthing you can''t see with the naked eye. This would allow you to mazimise the size of the stone which I think is important in a radiant because they do face up a bit smaller then the same ct weight in a round.
 
So as far as radiants are concerned, the last thing you want to sacrifice is color, correct? If I didn''t want to see any color what should be my bottom? G? F?

According to most parameters, an ideal cut radiant would table between 68% to 59%, a crown height between 16% to 11%, and a depth between 65% to 60%...what am I likely to see if the table and depth are slightly higher? An example is the one I linked to above...

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-2828_design.asp?module=diamond&item=1140024

Also, are the pictures on jamesallen.com misleading? For example, the one I just linked to looks A LOT better in the picture compared to something like this...

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-2828_design.asp?module=diamond&item=1259912

Which has a better "cut" by those parameters standards. Should I be going by those pictures or rely more on the cut (table and depth)?

Thanks again!
 
The IS image for the first stone looks to be a different stone. Aspect ratio is not correct.

The images could be different because different image set up.
 
I can't advise on the other things, but my setting and stone are from James Allen, and I am completely in love with my ring. It's just gorgeous, and I get so many compliments on it. The quality is great and the people there are so friendly and helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to go with James Allen.
 
So is it better to rely on the image or the actual cut (table, depth)? I''m really surprised how different the diamonds look in the pictures.
 
With fancy shapes, you can use the cut parameters to narrow down the search choices, but the actual selection needs to be made by photos and ASET images if the diamonds cannot be viewed in person--the numbers only get you so far.
 
Just to clarify, when I go to a site like jamesallen.com and see ideal, premium, or good cuts, that is THEIR OPINION based on the table+depth, correct? For example, I found a diamond with a "good" cut rating on their site but has a table and depth that fit into the "ideal" depth+table ratings I found on this forum for a radiant (in the link listed above).
 
Date: 9/16/2009 11:13:51 AM
Author: mrjonesandme
Just to clarify, when I go to a site like jamesallen.com and see ideal, premium, or good cuts, that is THEIR OPINION based on the table+depth, correct? For example, I found a diamond with a ''good'' cut rating on their site but has a table and depth that fit into the ''ideal'' depth+table ratings I found on this forum for a radiant (in the link listed above).
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Correct that it is their opinion and how they want to market the stone. The vendor is free to chose their own criteria for advertised ratings--it may or may not be based on table/depth, actual visual examination or something else.

Priorities are somewhat a personal choice. Some value high color over clarity and size, others want the biggest stone they can find and are willing to sacrifice in other areas. Only you and your gf can decide what is important to you. Keep in mind that the numbers are to be used as a screening tool only--they can help to narrow your search quickly, but are not to be used to blindly pick a diamond. To muddy the waters slightly, there are gorgeous stones that fall outside those parameters, just that in using the numbers can help save you time by increasing your odds of finding a great one. Polish and symmetry--the naked eye cannot really tell the difference between Excellent and Very Good, or even Good in many cases--especially in fancy shapes, you will see a lot of Good and Very Good symmetry that doesn''t affect the overall beauty of the diamond.

For the ERD diamond, call Mark and talk to him about it. I see no reason from the numbers to eliminate it from consideration. Let Mark talk you through what he sees in the stone and go from there.
 
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