Newbie: Where should I post?

[About2Plunge]

Hello all,
I''m BRAND NEW to this site. I''m starting to ring shop and this is by far the most overwhelming thing I''ve ever encountered. WOW. I''m pretty knowledgable about the 4 C''s and some of the other basics. I''m most interested in the best balance of price and quality and a ring size/weight of probably around 1 carat, most likely Princess or Round.

SO, first of all I realize I probably shouldn''t be posting in here, but this site doesn''t have a beginners section or anything so feel free to move me (moderators) to a more appropriate board if you need to.

I''m not even totally sure what questions I have, just trying to get a foothold somewhere. I feel comfortable spending between 5k–7k total for the ring. I''d like something certainly sparkly and a decent size, although she is small and has thin fingers so nothing huge. I''m sort of bored with the majority of stuff I''ve seen online and would really prefer to do something unique and special.

Anyway I guess this is sort of my "hello" message. Perhaps some kind soul can start to guide me in the right direction for narrowing things down a bit?

thanks in advance!

 

[pricescope]

About2Plunge, welcome to the forum

You might want to check what Cut Nut (Garry H) wrote: "Should you surprise her?" Check also this huge E-RING FOLDER/Eye Candy but be strong ''cause it''s 60+ pages long

I''m sure ladies and gents here will give you some ideas.

 

[JulieN]

oh, yes, the "eye candy" folder is a good place to start. read everything under knowledge. there''s also an eye candy folder in the Colored Stones forum for more ideas. swing by "Ladies in Waiting" and " Proposal Ideas" for pre-proposal angst, and should you need a break during this arduous journey, rest your bones in "Hangout" for off-topic sort of things.

 

[jaz464]

Welcome

!

So, has your GF dropped any hints as to what she would like? Will it be a complete surprise? You mentioned probably a round or princess. Do you know if she prefers one over the other, or even if she likes either of these 2 cuts?

 

[About2Plunge]

hmm... i dont think she''s interested in princess, and i favor the round anyway. im almost positive she wouldnt be interested in any of the other fancy ones, so im sure round is it. seems lke the rounds appear larger to the eye too, which i guess is a good thing. i guess i need to see them in person but thats a little tough because i dont have a ton of time for that during the week. i was pricing rings between .9 and 1.2 carats, Very Good—Ideal, H color, VVS1/2, etc...

i guess i just wish this was a little easier but im guessing it won''t be. and im sure plenty of jewelers like it to be as confusing as possible for the majority of guys. i feel like i just keep going back and forth on so many aspects of the buying process and am having trouble figuring out which elements are most important to me (size, color, clarity, setting, price, etc)

 

[jasontb]

Date: 4/24/2006 12:36:16 AM
Author: About2Plunge
i feel like i just keep going back and forth on so many aspects of the buying process and am having trouble figuring out which elements are most important to me (size, color, clarity, setting, price, etc)

You forgot the most important factor of all...the cut. And if it were me, I''d stay under 1-ct. because prices jump a lot once you hit the magic number. Obviously just an opinion. Downside is there aren''t a lot of .9-.99-ct stones out there to choose from.

 

[About2Plunge]

I think thats great advice... I need to go see how big .9–1 carat is in a round stone. i dont want huge, but i want something that she''ll feel special in. so i agree, cut is most important to me because i want it to REALLY sparkle. how''s this one im looking at?

Carat weight: 1.00

Cut: Very Good

Color: G

Clarity: VS1


Depth %: 64.4%

Table %: 55%

Symmetry: Good

Polish: Very good

Girdle: Slightly thick to thick

Culet: None

Fluorescence: None

Measurements: 6.25x6.30x4.04 mm

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

It is a classic example of a (probably) cheap 1-Ct-stone, which is not worth half its price.

It has the diameter of a 0.90 (or lower), is extremely deep, and probably has lousy light performance. If cut-quality is of any importance to you, this is not what you are looking for.

Live long,

 

[About2Plunge]

very interesting... this is exactly the sort of thing i''d like to learn... that was a ring from a popular online retailer.

this is a pretty discouraging process. i despise being taken advantage of and im getting the feeling this industry is as crooked as any i''ve ever come across. every jeweler seems to tell the same story, that they are the only honest guy in the biz, and everyone else is selling crap. how is that possible? and i thought buying a car was tough...........

 

[Small]

Date: 4/25/2006 12:28:48 AM
Author: About2Plunge
very interesting... this is exactly the sort of thing i''d like to learn... that was a ring from a popular online retailer.

this is a pretty discouraging process. i despise being taken advantage of and im getting the feeling this industry is as crooked as any i''ve ever come across. every jeweler seems to tell the same story, that they are the only honest guy in the biz, and everyone else is selling crap. how is that possible? and i thought buying a car was tough...........

LOL...try not to get discouraged it''s a fun yet daunting process. Paul is right about that stone being deep (Paul knows his stuff and cuts excellent diamonds to boot

)...I have a .92 (coincidentally cut by Paul) and it has measurments bigger than the 1ct you posted.
Have you gone through the diamond tutorials? That''s a great place to gain knowledge. If you are going for Round I think we all suggest you make cut your top priority. Get the best cut diamond possible for your budget. You won''t be disappointed. I really wanted a 1ct diamond but the price jump wasn''t something I wanted to pay. I waited very patiently for something to jump out at me in my price range and I can say with 100% confidence the stone I got was worth the wait. I learned so much just by reading other peoples thread and looking at the ideal cut parameters.

I''m just going to throw out an example of a diamond by numbers and IS that SHOULD be a good performer.
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=GIA-14324509#

Now there is a crazy pattern to the inclusion on the GIA report so I have no idea what that is about but the numbers on depth/table/crown and pavillion angles look pretty good. I am an SI clarity gal myself but if you think you''d like to stay in the VS clarity range then here is another that looks good on paper and IS

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=AGS-5884901

Again...just some examples not knowing your budget. Cut is important so just start looking at ideal cuts and learning about the depth/table/crown pavillion angle combos and also check out the HCA and how it can help in ruling in or out the diamonds you are searching for.
I''m getting examples by putting in parameters in the ''pricescope my diamond'' search tool above. It''s excellent and playing around with it will also help you learn about the numbers.
Welcome to PS...good luck in your search