seekandfind
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2010
- Messages
- 3
Hello all-
Hope everyone is well! I've spent a bunch of time on this site and can't tell you how helpful I've found all of the thoughtful comments and posts. Now that it's my turn to buy a ring, I figured it was worth consulting the experts
To give you some background, I'm aiming to spend ~$7000 on the stone (although I'm also seeking to get the best value for my money and can be flexible on either end). Based on my research so far (which consists of a lot of online searching and a few visits to local jewelers), I've come to the following conclusions:
1) A size of 1.20kt - 1.30kt is a reasonable range given my budget..
2) Cut is by far the most important of the other metrics- I'm going to go for an Ideal cut at the very least, and hopefully have a table of 55%-57% and depth of 60.1%-61.8%. I'd also like to see an HCA score of below 2.0.
3) I didn't find myself particularly sensitive to color and had trouble distinguishing between F, G and H stones. As such, it seems like an H stone should serve my purposes fine and provide the best value.
4) Clarity seems like a complete mixed bag to me: not all SI1s are created equal (in fact, I saw some SI1s that seemed better than VS2s). It seems like the best outcome would be to find a really "good" SI1 stone, which offers great value while still being completely eye clean.
5) In terms of vendors, I've heard a lot of good things about Quest Jewelers and they are local to me. Of course, Blue Nile or other Price Scope vendors could be options.
Based on the above comments, I'd love to get the following input from people:
1) Do you think my approach of going for a 1.2-1.3kt, H color, Ideal/Sig Ideal Cut, eye-clean SI1 stone makes sense given my desire to strike the best balance between size, quality and value? If not, do you have other approaches you might suggest?
2) Is there a big enough difference in long-term value between G and H color or VS2/SI1 to justify the large price premium (especially given that I don't think my prospective FI will care at all)?
3) How can one tell what is a "good" SI1 (i.e. multiple vendors offer SI1s that are "eye clean," but how should I think about "eye clean" SI1s that have a few large clouds vs. "eye clean" SI1s that have smaller but seemingly more pernicious inclusions like crystals or indented naturals.
4) Do people have an opinion of Quest Jewelers? I'm particularly interested in the quality of the stones they offer and any specific information on experiences people may have had with them.
5) I'd welcome any suggestions of specific stones or other advice you might have
6) Rather than overwhelm this topic, I will start a new thread with a few specific stones that I'm looking at- I'd love to get your comments on those.
I'd be incredibly grateful for any advice/help you might have to offer.
Thanks!
Hope everyone is well! I've spent a bunch of time on this site and can't tell you how helpful I've found all of the thoughtful comments and posts. Now that it's my turn to buy a ring, I figured it was worth consulting the experts
To give you some background, I'm aiming to spend ~$7000 on the stone (although I'm also seeking to get the best value for my money and can be flexible on either end). Based on my research so far (which consists of a lot of online searching and a few visits to local jewelers), I've come to the following conclusions:
1) A size of 1.20kt - 1.30kt is a reasonable range given my budget..
2) Cut is by far the most important of the other metrics- I'm going to go for an Ideal cut at the very least, and hopefully have a table of 55%-57% and depth of 60.1%-61.8%. I'd also like to see an HCA score of below 2.0.
3) I didn't find myself particularly sensitive to color and had trouble distinguishing between F, G and H stones. As such, it seems like an H stone should serve my purposes fine and provide the best value.
4) Clarity seems like a complete mixed bag to me: not all SI1s are created equal (in fact, I saw some SI1s that seemed better than VS2s). It seems like the best outcome would be to find a really "good" SI1 stone, which offers great value while still being completely eye clean.
5) In terms of vendors, I've heard a lot of good things about Quest Jewelers and they are local to me. Of course, Blue Nile or other Price Scope vendors could be options.
Based on the above comments, I'd love to get the following input from people:
1) Do you think my approach of going for a 1.2-1.3kt, H color, Ideal/Sig Ideal Cut, eye-clean SI1 stone makes sense given my desire to strike the best balance between size, quality and value? If not, do you have other approaches you might suggest?
2) Is there a big enough difference in long-term value between G and H color or VS2/SI1 to justify the large price premium (especially given that I don't think my prospective FI will care at all)?
3) How can one tell what is a "good" SI1 (i.e. multiple vendors offer SI1s that are "eye clean," but how should I think about "eye clean" SI1s that have a few large clouds vs. "eye clean" SI1s that have smaller but seemingly more pernicious inclusions like crystals or indented naturals.
4) Do people have an opinion of Quest Jewelers? I'm particularly interested in the quality of the stones they offer and any specific information on experiences people may have had with them.
5) I'd welcome any suggestions of specific stones or other advice you might have
6) Rather than overwhelm this topic, I will start a new thread with a few specific stones that I'm looking at- I'd love to get your comments on those.
I'd be incredibly grateful for any advice/help you might have to offer.
Thanks!
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