newbie needs help buying a ring by june!

[deezy455]

Hey guys,
So glad a found this site, it's been so educational reading about everyone's experiences.
I am planning on popping the question in mid june, and am already starting my research. My 3 most important criteria are; I want most bang for the buck, a lot of sparkle, and not to see any inclusions with the naked eye.

The specs I am looking for are (are these good specs considering my criteria?):

round cut
~1.5 carat
i color
SI 1 clarity
very good cut
budget: $6k-$9k (preferably lowest price possible)
pave cathedral band

So far I've been to shane co, and asked about a diamond with these specs, and the lowest they said they could get it for was $13k. however when i checked bluenile i found about 8 different choices with these specs ranging from $7700-$9200. I also checked jamesallen (who i'd expect to be more competitive in price since so many people on this site reccomend them) and they only had 1 choice in my budget and that was $9800. Also, on the pricescope homepage, I entered my specs and found prices way less than even bluenile! about 20 choices ranging from $4700-$6700 on sites that i've never heard of, seems too good to be true, is it? So now i'm leaning towards getting it off bluenile unless you guys reccomend those sites that are so cheap listed on pricescope.

So my question is how do i narrow it down from those 9 choices from bluenile (i.e. using the measurements and other info, Should I get familiar with and use the HCA tool?) ?

I also had an idea to narrow it down to 2 rings, order both and pick the best one out of the two after seeing it with my own eyes. Is this a good idea?

I probably won't be ordering the ring until june, since I want to have time to return it within the 30 days in case she doesn't like it. But figured i'd start researching early, any help you guys can give me is greatly appreciated, thanks!!!

 

[Anjaani3]

Welcome Deezy!

I started my search with pretty much the same specs (ended up going bigger -- somehow convinced the fiance for a 2 ct!)

A couple notes to get you started:

- Si1 can often be eye clean but not always. Keep in mind that you will have to search a bit and ask if the diamond is eye clean and sometimes it might not be, so you'll have to keep looking. You should also define what "eye clean" means to you. To many sellers this can mean no inclusions at 8-10 inches away or sometimes even arms length. To many PSers, eye clean means no inclusions at even 2 inches away...so make sure you explain what you actually want when you ask a seller.

- Have you considered a J color? When I started looking I didn't think I'd consider anything below I until I saw a J...it's at the bottom of the near colorless spectrum but when I saw it in person, I was surprised at how white many J's faced up! I would definitely suggest stopping by a jeweler and taking a look at J's to see how color sensitive you are. I realized I was ok with J's and there is a pretty significant price reduction for that color. Keep in mind there are a few that will be a "lower j" and seem a bit warmer (i.e. have a tinge of yellow) but when you're buying online you have to ask a lot of these questions, so you can also ask sellers if it faces up white. If a stone has fluorescence, that can often make the J (or I) face up a bit whiter.

- If you want a sparkly diamond I'm pretty sure every PSer would suggest to stay at an Excellent cut and not venture to V.G cuts.

- I'd also suggest looking up the price of the band you like so you have a better idea of your actual budget for the diamond.

- You should get familiar with the HCA as an elimination tool. Diamonds under 2 are usually a good indication that they should be investigated further, so if you've got 9 diamonds and half of them are scoring 3's and 4's and 5's on the HCA, you can start to weed them out of your search.

- Diamonds move REALLY quick on here and there are a lot of buyers -- esp within the parameters that you're looking for. This is a good time to start learning about all the specs, but don't expect to find one you like now and be able to buy it a few months later... there's a good chance it'll be gone.

- A lot of PSers really like vendors like GoodOldGold, JamesAllen, WhiteFlash, BGD, etc. because they offer really comprehensive services with each diamond. They have pictures, idealscope images, and just a wealth of information about the performance of the stone. Other vendors like BlueNile and B2C are "drop shippers" meaning they don't have the diamonds in house, instead they work with diamond partners all over the world. For that reason, these vendors don't offer the same diamond info and analysis as the others, however, their prices are also definitely more competitive and lower as a result. I was personally trying to stretch my budget as far as I could go, so I decided to work with B2C and had a great experience. A lot more work went into it on my end and theirs in weeding through diamonds since they had to contact their diamond partners, but the $ savings was important to me. To many other PSers, the analysis and service are worth paying a bit more.

- Many of these vendors also offer a 1-5% pricescope discount so don't forget to ask for it! It can sometimes help put a diamond back in your budget that was slightly out of it.

Hope that helps to get you started!

 

[deezy455]

wow, thanks Anjaani3 for all the great info!

I think eye clean for me would be holding it 2 inches away from my eyes, it wouldn't by any means be that criteria before but now that I'm rapidly becoming a diamond expert im getting more picky.

Actually now that you mention it, I will start looking at J color. She has tan skin, so i think I can get away with J. I will also look for a diamond with medium flouresence (is medium a good amount if i get J?) to blance the color.

hmmm... excellent cut aye? ok, I'll add those to my perameters too, hopefully that won't up the price too much.

Oh cool, B2C jewellers, another competitor for bluenile. That will be good for price comparison. Looks like they have pretty similar warranty's (i.e. 30 day refund, free sizing, etc). Still think I'll buy 2 rings and keep the best one . Any yes, I'll definatley ask for the 1-5% pricescope discount!

 

[TC1987]

What are you setting it in? Designer settings take 4-8 weeks to be reviewed, approved, made, delivered. You are already heading into the wedding crisis months of May/June. Jewelers might need extra time to get a ring done. Don't rush the jeweler or it's hard to tell what you'll receive.

Very Good cut RB can still e very pretty. There are some Ideal cuts that are a bit bland, and some Very Good ones that are pretty. It behooves you to shop around, and to go look at some diamonds in person.

 

[deezy455]

Thanks TC1987 for your reply,
I was thinking setting it in one of the options on the sites, I like the cathedral, pave band like this one:

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-engagement-ring-setting-14k-white-gold_20309

is this considered a "designer" setting?

how long do ring's typically take to arrive from the time i put in my order to the time i receive it?
I'm planning on either ordering from bluenile, or B2Cjewels.com

Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I'd probably go with B2C over Blue Nile because B2C will sometimes provide a picture of the stone and an idealscope image. There is no reason at all to order two rings. You can order wisely the first try if you run the lab report numbers by us here, and then if the initial numbers look good, you request the stone photo and idealscope images and post them here. Don't even consider lower than GIA Excellent cut, because that is a broad category as it is.