Newbie looking for a diamond.

[Iloveher]

Hello all.

I have been looking for a diamond for two days now (most of those two days), so I guess I am just a beginner. I am looking to buy a diamond in the next month or so.

I am looking for:

1.0c
I
SI1 eye clean
The best cut and polish.
Or better of course

I saw a J in a store today and it was too yellow for my tastes. I have not seen an I.

I am trying to keep the total cost of the ring under 8K, which is real a stretch of the budget. If I could go less it would be much much better.

I am not sure what kind of ring style she would like because we have not been shopping for rings or anything and she wears very little jewelery. I will be working on shoring up this lack of knowledge.

Without predetermining my actions without the above knowledge, I am leaning towards putting the money in the diamond and buying a simple solitary setting, perhaps to be upgraded later, or purchasing a wedding band with some sort of wrap around diamonds, if she likes that.

What do you think of this, assuming it is eye clean:
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1445149.htm#

Thanks to this site, a guy like me, who has ZERO experience buying or wearing jewelery(except two watches I received as presents), can learn enough about diamonds to make a decent purchasing decision. Thank you all so much!

 

[Mrs W]

I think the diamond you posted is great....Now did you say you want an I http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1204643.htm

 

[Iloveher]

I have not seen an I in person, so I am not sure. Do you personally think that is a better diamond? It also has a medium blue fluorescence.

 

[Mrs W]

I think its as good a diamond, i cannot really see color in I stones but that is just me.....some people are color sensitive tho, The diamond i posted gives you more size and since the Med. blue floro and good cutting it will face up whiter than a regular I

 

[swingirl]

Iloveher, the stone you picked is a very nice choice. WF seems to have quite a few in the range you are looking at. You can''t go wrong with their ACAs so it''s up to you if you want to spend a little more or a little less. G''s are usually quite white for most of us without any noticeable color unless you are comparing 2 stones side by side.

The Expert Selection stone picked out my Mrs. W is another nice one and you get some extra weight for the same price!! You might see a little color in an I so that would be your personal preference. But with an ideal cut the amount of color you see is much less than in a poorly cut stone.

The next thing to do is to call WF and ask them to compare a few of your favorites and let them tell you about the color and inclusions. They are very helpful and honest.

 

[Iloveher]

What about this guy:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1466970.htm#

It's a bit pricey for me, but looks nice, I think. With the Pricescope discount and a simple solitary setting I could just squeeze under 8k maybe.

Does anyone know if there 2% wire transfer discount will stack with the Pricescope discount? Not like the couple hundred dollars will matter much. Just good to know.

I do like the one posted above by Mrs. W. It is not a H&A ring though. Does that really matter?

Thanks again for everyone's help!<a href="http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1466970.htm#"

 

[swingirl]

If you can swing that with your budget you'd have a gorgeous stone!!

The one posted my Mrs W is an Expert Selection which are stones that miss the highest rating of A Cut Above. So most of them are very close and still are AGS Ideal cuts. They usually do show a H&A pattern.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 10/28/2008 2:17:25 AM
Author:Iloveher

I saw a J in a store today and it was too yellow for my tastes. I have not seen an I.

Which lab grade this J stone that you mention? Most store stones are EGL graded and they are likely to have a lower color grade if graded by AGS or GIA, thus you may be looking at a J/K stone instead. Also, an ideal cut stone face up whiter, so if the stones you see is not ideal cut but just the bottom of the pile junk you might get the wrong impression on your color tolerance.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 10/28/2008 3:52:13 AM
Author: Iloveher

I do like the one posted above by Mrs. W. It is not a H&A ring though. Does that really matter?

That stone is most likely drop as a ACA candidate because of it''s MB fluor, and WF do not list fluor stones in their ACA. That said, without a look at the hearts pic, I cannot be really sure why it is drop, it could be it''s Hearts pic fails to measure up to what WF deems to be ideal hearts. H&A could improve performance a little, but mostly it is a personal preference, ie.. for showing off how well cut it is. Most likely you will not be able to see the hearts picture once the stone is mounted only the arrows.

 

[Lorelei]

It is best to ask WF concerning ES diamonds why they didn''t make ACA if they appear to be close, it could be a few reasons if the buyer wants to know. Some may be near ACA others will not be, it depends. ILH you could contact WF, tell them what you are looking for and they could suggests some diamonds you might like.