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Newbie Need Help to Decide the E-Ring

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happybird

Rough_Rock
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Apr 16, 2009
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I''m new to this board, browsed several threads and find the information is very useful but too overwhelming. I would like to take a short cut to just post my questions directly, hopefully can get some good advices.

Here is my situation: my boyfriend is still in school so his budget set at around $2000 for both the stone and the setting. $200-300 more is acceptable if there is a really good one. I''m not a jewelery girl, so I would like something very simple but elegant, most important, I want to get his money the best value. I searched around and got some basic knowledge for choosing a diamond. Blue Nile is my no. 1 choice since it has a quite a lot selections, reasonable priced and it carries the classic setting I like. Other site seems more expensive.

I have a very slim finger and with the limited budget, I would like a diamond within 0.60-0.75 range, I heard that for a smaller size diamond, the cut and color is more important than clarity. I want to know what is the best combination for cut, color and clarity in this range. Should I go for a Ideal Cut, H color, SI2, or Very good cut, G color and VS2 etc. Also in terms of fluorescence, I heard someone said, some blue will make a H color diamond brighter, so does it mean I should choose a maybe medium blue if I choose a H color one? I learned something about the ideal range for depth and table, but in here, people seems talk a lot about the pavilion angle and crown angle too. Now I''m totally get lost which combination is the best choice for my money.

Regarding to the setting, I prefer the 6 prong tiffiny style at blue nile, but someone mentioned it''s too high, so I guess the 4 prong is OK too. But what metal to choose? 18K White gold or platinum? white gold is cheaper, but people said it is too easy to get scratch and will change color a couple years. Platinum (950)is stronger but more expensive, which means I have to get a smaller stone. What your expert''s thought on the setting choice? Maybe a 14K white gold is a good choice? But too bad, Blue Nile doesn''t carry 14K. Also, anyone knows if there is any place sell platinum 900pt?, seems pt900 is stronger than pt950.

Any suggestions on the stone and setting or a new vendor to look at is greatly appreciate! A link of the choice is even better!

Thanks in advance!!!
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
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42,064
Welcome!

Concerning the diamond, cut is the critical factor which can make or break a diamond for beauty. So it is very important to evaluate each diamond on its proportions such as depth, table and so on rather than rely on cut grades such as Very Good cut, Ideal Cut and so on, as these are not always a guarantee of a well cut diamond.

What I would do is to look at the best cut GIA or AGS graded H colour diamonds, and VS2 to SI clarity if verified eyeclean by a trusted vendor. This will give you a very white and clean diamond if the cut is great - if you can find medium or above blue fluorescence then this might be a nice benefit.

The best way is then to work with vendors who have in house diamonds with all the info provided to help you find a well cut and eyeclean diamond. Look at GIA Excellent and AGS0 cut grade to concentrate on the best cut diamonds to make your search easier. You can browse these using the search by cut tool above, enter the size and specs and that will bring up diamonds in these categories. With GIA Excellent cut grade particularly post the proportions here, or use the Holloway Cut Advisor to help you, then you will be able to find the best ones out of this cut grade.

In order to evaluate a diamond with the angles etc, this is probably the easiest way!

Look on the grading report and note the -

depth%
table%
crown angle
pavilion angle
girdle thickness
diameter measurement
polish and symmetry grades.

Enter the depth, table and angles into the HCA. https://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp

See which diamonds score below 2. These are the ones to concentrate on to put on your shortlist. In some cases diamonds which score below 2 and 3 can be contenders if they have top symmetry. Once you have your diamonds which score below 2, ask the vendor for ASET or Idealscope images as this will give more info on each diamond.

Here is more info on ASET and Idealscope.

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=education-performance

Also if you would like us to suggest any diamonds which might suit you then just let us know and we can look to see what is out there which might work.

You can browse through these vendors also who have in house diamonds to check out settings. Platinum is a popular choice these days but it is more expensive than white gold. Some find WG needs replating every so often however I have owned some WG pieces for years and not had a problem, it depends.

www.highperformancediamonds.com

www.goodoldgold.com

www.whiteflash.com

www.exceldiamonds.com
 

happybird

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
5
Thank you very much Lorelei! You are always so nice to answer our newbies questions. I will follow your instructions to do more search and will post my candidates later on for your review.

Have a nice day!
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
42,064
Date: 4/16/2009 2:07:49 PM
Author: happybird
Thank you very much Lorelei! You are always so nice to answer our newbies questions. I will follow your instructions to do more search and will post my candidates later on for your review.

Have a nice day!
Oh you are very kind, thank you!!
35.gif
I hope the above helped and when you have some diamonds in mind, post the specifics and we can go from there!

You have a great day too!
 

happybird

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
5
How about this one:

Carat weight:0.64
Cut:Ideal
Color:H
Clarity:VS2
Depth %:61.4%
Table %:57%
Symmetry:Excellent
Polish: Very good
Girdle: Medium
Culet:None
Fluorescence:None
Measurements:5.52 x 5.55 x 3.40 mm
Crown angle: 35
Pavilion angle: 40.8
price: $1551

this is from Blue Nile, so there is no real picture to see. What do you think of this? A good one?

Thank you for looking!
 

stone-cold11

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
14,083
Looks good from the numbers.
 

AmberGretchen

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 6, 2005
Messages
7,770
Date: 4/16/2009 6:24:33 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Looks good from the numbers.
Ditto - looks beautiful based on the numbers.
1.gif
 

happybird

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
5
After seeing a video comparing the color on different grades, I feel I''m not that color sensitive, color I looks pretty good to me too. So, I decide to go down one grade on color to get bigger stone. Plus, this stone has strong blue, that will make I color whiter, right? Here is the basics, seems to me a good choice, isn''t it?

Carat weight:0.71
Cut:Ideal
Color:I
Clarity:VS2
Depth %:61.9%
Table %:56%
Symmetry:Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence:Strong
Measurements:5.69 x 5.74 x 3.54 mm
Crown angle: 34.5
Pavilion angle: 40.8
HCA: 1.3
Rated: GIA
price: $1733
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
42,064
Date: 4/16/2009 5:53:18 PM
Author: happybird
How about this one:

Carat weight:0.64
Cut:Ideal
Color:H
Clarity:VS2
Depth %:61.4%
Table %:57%
Symmetry:Excellent
Polish: Very good
Girdle: Medium
Culet:None
Fluorescence:None
Measurements:5.52 x 5.55 x 3.40 mm
Crown angle: 35
Pavilion angle: 40.8
price: $1551

this is from Blue Nile, so there is no real picture to see. What do you think of this? A good one?

Thank you for looking!
I would prefer to see an Idealscope image for this angle combo but BN do not offer them.
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
42,064
Date: 4/17/2009 12:20:16 PM
Author: happybird
After seeing a video comparing the color on different grades, I feel I''m not that color sensitive, color I looks pretty good to me too. So, I decide to go down one grade on color to get bigger stone. Plus, this stone has strong blue, that will make I color whiter, right? Here is the basics, seems to me a good choice, isn''t it?

Carat weight:0.71
Cut:Ideal
Color:I
Clarity:VS2
Depth %:61.9%
Table %:56%
Symmetry:Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence:Strong
Measurements:5.69 x 5.74 x 3.54 mm
Crown angle: 34.5
Pavilion angle: 40.8
HCA: 1.3
Rated: GIA
price: $1733
This one looks good. Check the strong blue fluorescence isnt'' causing the diamond to look cloudy in some lights, if not then you are fine.
 

happybird

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
5
Thanks again, Lorelei!

this stone again is from Blue Nile, I don''t think I can get any more information about it. I guess, I will just have my boyfriend buy this one for me and I will see it in person. If I don''t feel anything bother me, I will keep it.
 
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