Newbie looking for help w/engagement ring.

[SWVADiamondShopper]

I''ve been searching for an engagement ring for about a month and pretty seriously for about 2 weeks which is about when I found PriceScope. Just reading through the threads and info on the site, I''ve learned a lot so thank you for that. Now to my question/story.

I thought I had figured out where I was going to get my diamond last week and was just waiting for the right diamond to catch my eye. The place I had decided on was James Allen. But, over the weekend, they have more than doubled their ring setting prices and the diamonds I was looking at will now be over my budget which is $3,500. So I''ve gone back to the drawing board and have been looking at three companies. If you know of any others who have a similar ring setting and diamond prices, I am more than willing to look at them as well. What I''m looking for is a 1.0 carat princess cut diamond and a white gold ring setting with the center diamond flanked by two rubys. Here is an image of what I''m talking about:

http://www.jamesallen.com/products/item_382-1735_build.asp?module=setting

Most of the shops on here do not have a similar settnig on their websites so I have not considered them. Who I have looked and compared is Blue Nile, James Allen and Amazon. As I said before, I am open to all suggestions, companies and advice.

Here is the info I have on the three diamonds I am comparing:

































































































$41.40 off for bank wire

















If you have any questions for me, I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Skippy123]

I love the setting but I don''t see the info? Did it not attach?

 

[E B]

SWVA,

To be completely honest, it''s going to be hard to find a great 1 ct. stone AND a setting with ruby sidestones for $3500. You''ve got a nice budget, but I think you''ll have to shoot for either a ~.90ct in a simple setting or a .75ct in the ruby setting. A really nice, 1 ct. ideal cut princess is going to run you ~$4000+ for the stone alone.

 

[E B]

Here''s an idea...

.791 ct I, VS2 "A Cut Above" Princess (A hair under .80 ct, $2111)

After the diamond purchase, you''ve got $1389 for the setting. I''d ask Whiteflash what they can do in terms of a custom, 14k WG setting with princess cut ruby sidestones. I can''t imagine it''d cost more than $1300 (though I could be wrong, so see what they can do in your budget).

 

[SWVADiamondShopper]

Sorry my HTML table didn''t work. Attached is an image of the comparison from the three suppliers.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome!

Unfortunately you can't judge a Princess by the numbers, you need detailed pictures and an ASET image to be able to get an idea of cut quality. It can be advantageous to stick to vendors who have in house diamonds where the cut analysis has been done in some cases. Try Good old Gold, Whiteflash, Wink Jones and James Allen who are specialists and experts with selling diamonds. Otherwise buying by the numbers, you could be buying an unknown quantity, numbers are no guarantee with Princess that you will get a pretty diamond.

 

[chrono]

With princess cuts, numbers help to get one started but that''s it. You will need magnified pictures and at the very least, ASET pictures to gauge how well cut and sparkly it is. Since Blue Nile and Amazon do not provide these (I''m not sure JA even provides ASETs but they do have idealscope pictures), and you want to open up your options to other vendors, I highly suggest shopping for stones with AGS certs and with the AGS0 cut rating where you KNOW 100% that it passed the ASET test with flying colours.

 

[Lorelei]

I would recommend with expert vendors such as Good old Gold and the folk at WF, Wink Jones etc, if you are unsure of what to look for, the best thing might be to tell them what you are looking for and your budget, and let them suggest some well cut stones for you to consider. This they would gladly do I am sure, and it could well make finding a lovely diamond easier with their skills put to work for you.