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Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please help!

L

lovetorenovate

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
40
I started out wanting an oval halo engagement ring a bit like this one (photo attached below). My ideal ring is 1.5 carats, eye clean, I don't know that I'm extremely color sensitive but in a halo, I guess I need to be careful based on the surrounding stones (G, H) - and I really like the elegant, elongated shape on an oval. My initial plan was to find a few stones I really like, then let my fiance surprise me and do the rest.

Unfortunately, I'm really starting to re-think the plan... I've been looking for weeks and haven't found any good stones. After having 4 stones reviewed - I got really negative feedback based on color (too yellow - these were mostly H or I with strong fluorescence), not eye clean (SI1s), shape issues or that the fluorescence made the stone hazy or cloudy and that they had a really strong bowtie. These were all stones that looked really good on paper. Maybe the guy doing the review was just too negative - but good ovals seem few and far between.

If finding a great oval is so hard - I'm now wondering if I should consider getting an elongated cushion. The AVC at GOG are gorgeous - but maybe out of my price range (was hoping to spend $6k on the stone). I could potentially spend a bit more and wait on a setting until we pick out wedding rings.

This is a second marriage for both my fiance and me. I had a very nice .91 carat RB for my first engagement ring and really want something different (and BIGGER) this time - but I had no idea how much harder it would be to find a fancy shaped diamond.... and my fiance has a smaller budget than I had hoped.... HELP. I'm open to any and all suggestions - point me to good stones, suggest some alternate shapes, setting ideas, etc. Should I give up on an oval and go with a smaller AVC? I suppose the halo is going to give it a bigger look anyway - but those seem so small for their carat weight.

I really appreciate your help and suggestions!

guinevereovaldiamondengagementring whiteflash custom design.jpg
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Fancy shapes are much harder to find (I feel your pain). Did you try looking at James Allen for ovals? On the other hand an
AVC would make it so easy but I'm pretty sure $6k may only get you a 1 carat. Let me look at JA and see what I can find
in the oval department.

Edit...this is about the best I saw in your price range. I'm afraid $6k wont get you a 1.5 (well not at JA anyway).
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS ... 212967.asp
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

This one doesnt look bad either but still smaller than you want. I think to get to 1.5 you are going to have to increase your
budget :(( . Remember that ovals tend to look bigger than rounds because they are longer and if you put a halo on it
it should give you some nice coverage.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VV ... 303732.asp
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Ok...I really like this one but you need to come up with another $845...a lovely AVC
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7385/

You could go with this nice large buttery AVC ...$7405 though
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7430/

Nice too...
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7447/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7449/

I dont know why I'm pointing out all these AVCs...I'm sure you have seen them all. I'm just lusting over all of them =) !
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Thanks for the good suggestions... keep 'em coming. I know I may have to go down in size - I'm ok going down to 1.2... but any smaller - well, I think I'll be disappointed. I have the money to augment his budget - but how fun is it to buy your own engagement ring? :rolleyes: I don't know if he'd be ok with that either - not sure how to suggest it - other than he buys the diamond and I'll buy the setting which would give me about $2500 more to spend on a stone.

It's james allen that pulled the 4 ovals for me and sent some pretty negative reviews via email. I also got an ASET image on one stone - although I should have waited for the gemologist comments since he said it had a really distracting bowtie.

I'm thinking that some of the fatter ovals are not all the different than some elongated cushions. Would a long cushion have a bowtie? I don't think so? Here are some examples (nearly the same ratio on these two stones):

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 160877.htm
ratio 1.26
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS ... 212967.asp
ratio 1.27
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

I think either of the ovals at JA look nice. I think if you have your heart set on an oval; I worry you would might not be happy with another shape. Also as Tyty mentioned ovals face up larger than a round and putting it in a halo will give you even more finger coverage. The setting you like is lovely.
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Beautiful setting!
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

lovetorenovate said:
I started out wanting an oval halo engagement ring a bit like this one (photo attached below). My ideal ring is 1.5 carats, eye clean, I don't know that I'm extremely color sensitive but in a halo, I guess I need to be careful based on the surrounding stones (G, H) - and I really like the elegant, elongated shape on an oval. My initial plan was to find a few stones I really like, then let my fiance surprise me and do the rest.

Unfortunately, I'm really starting to re-think the plan... I've been looking for weeks and haven't found any good stones. After having 4 stones reviewed - I got really negative feedback based on color (too yellow - these were mostly H or I with strong fluorescence), not eye clean (SI1s), shape issues or that the fluorescence made the stone hazy or cloudy and that they had a really strong bowtie. These were all stones that looked really good on paper. Maybe the guy doing the review was just too negative - but good ovals seem few and far between.

If finding a great oval is so hard - I'm now wondering if I should consider getting an elongated cushion. The AVC at GOG are gorgeous - but maybe out of my price range (was hoping to spend $6k on the stone). I could potentially spend a bit more and wait on a setting until we pick out wedding rings.

This is a second marriage for both my fiance and me. I had a very nice .91 carat RB for my first engagement ring and really want something different (and BIGGER) this time - but I had no idea how much harder it would be to find a fancy shaped diamond.... and my fiance has a smaller budget than I had hoped.... HELP. I'm open to any and all suggestions - point me to good stones, suggest some alternate shapes, setting ideas, etc. Should I give up on an oval and go with a smaller AVC? I suppose the halo is going to give it a bigger look anyway - but those seem so small for their carat weight.

I really appreciate your help and suggestions!
Click to expand...

If it was me, I would take my money + fiance money to buy what I like.
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

I actually think you should contact some antique stone dealers (ex. Jewels by Erica Grace, Single Stone, Old World Diamonds) to see what they can dig up for you. An Old Mine stone might just be what you are looking for ... and you might even be able to go bigger!
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

totally what Charmy says
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Here's an example of a cushion in a halo setting (a bit less square than some). This looks pretty similar to the original oval that I was looking at - a bit different but I still like it (although this isn't a chunky cushion cut). So, what are your thoughts... go for a cushion (more rectangular-ish) in a halo or stick with my original oval. I am concerned about the bowtie issue with ovals too - can't seem to find any with subtle bowties.

http://www.markbroumand.com/product/215 ... 75215.aspx

this AVC might be really pretty. I guess I'll need to ask jonathan about his "perfect halo" setting and see how much I need to up the budget.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7385/

Is the AVC going to be more brilliant than an oval?
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

lovetorenovate said:
Thanks for the good suggestions... keep 'em coming. I know I may have to go down in size - I'm ok going down to 1.2... but any smaller - well, I think I'll be disappointed. I have the money to augment his budget - but how fun is it to buy your own engagement ring? :rolleyes: I don't know if he'd be ok with that either - not sure how to suggest it - other than he buys the diamond and I'll buy the setting which would give me about $2500 more to spend on a stone.
It's james allen that pulled the 4 ovals for me and sent some pretty negative reviews via email. I also got an ASET image on one stone - although I should have waited for the gemologist comments since he said it had a really distracting bowtie.

I'm thinking that some of the fatter ovals are not all the different than some elongated cushions. Would a long cushion have a bowtie? I don't think so? Here are some examples (nearly the same ratio on these two stones):

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 160877.htm
ratio 1.26
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS ... 212967.asp
ratio 1.27
Click to expand...

Tell him you're not sure what kind of setting you want and you may want something a little over the top so you prefer that he
just deal with buying the stone and you'll worry about the setting. Besides...the main stone is the most important part, right?
Right??? Just make it sound like its no big deal really ...lots of couples do it this way...etc.

I like cushions but I'm not big on that one you picked. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the faceting pattern (to my
eyes). I'm sure ChunkyCushionLover can tell us what type of cushion it is. Most cushions due not have bow-ties but I have
seen some cushions that have a dark area side to side usually across the short side. (I just dont think they call it a bow-tie).

I'll also third what charmy said...it seems you might like an older cut.
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Hard to tell from the video and photos but I would say that is probably a modified cushion brilliant - yucky. Don't know what they did with their video environment setup but .. damm ... it's good in showing off all the sparkles.
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Hey charmy...do you know what kind of cushion this is? This is the one she posted earlier. I don't really like it though.
Maybe we can help her find a prettier version. There is no video (so I'm not sure what you were commenting on your
last post).

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 160877.htm
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

tyty333 said:
Hey charmy...do you know what kind of cushion this is? This is the one she posted earlier. I don't really like it though.
Maybe we can help her find a prettier version. There is no video (so I'm not sure what you were commenting on your
last post).

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 160877.htm
Click to expand...

This is a 4 main cushion brilliant but I am not loving the aset. I am a fan of clear virtual facet patterns and this one is all broken up. The numbers look fine but the picture and aset isn't doing it for me.

The video I was commenting on was the Mark Broumand video.

I am not seeing anything I would recommend in her size range and price. I really think she should consider a second hand or antique stone - she will be able to find this in her size range and price point. However, antique stones don't usually have all the inventory online for us to search. I looked quickly on eBay which is a great source if you know what to look for but I didn't see anything good in the few minutes I looked.

If she can raise her budget, CCL posted a nice stone from JA a few days ago but I can't find the post anymore. The forum search is just not corporating nor is the find posts by user functionality.
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Well, if I *had to* to get a 1.5 carat stone - I think I could talk him into spending $8k and then I can cover the setting.... I just posted for some stone suggestions. Tell me more about how to find an estate piece? Where should I start? Who could I contact? Thanks!!!!
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Hi lovetorenovate,

I just wanted you to know that the ring you posted is my ring. The center stone is 1.01 H VS1, so you know the specs. I worked with Wf to have it custom made with the oval my husband bought from James Allen. It's a great ring, very comfortable and really enhances the oval.

I love having an oval because it looks big for it's size and is almost as sparkly as an RB. James Allen was great to work with. I ended up buying 4 different stones and returning 3 of them. They made it so easy to pick a stone I liked.

I've also read other people's stories about working with Good Old Gold to find an oval. They have so many videos on how to pick a good oval, I'd really recommend looking at the videos to educate yourself on ovals, if you still want one.

I think picking an oval is almost impossible unless you see it with your own eyes and I bet it's the same way with cushions.

Good luck in your quest for an oval or cushion. You're in the right place for finding the prettiest stone and getting the best deal.
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

Start with these Jewels by Erica Grace, Single Stone, Antique Engagement Rings or Old World Diamonds.

If you are brave enough, try eBay too - there has been a ton of amazing finds but please make sure you post pics and details before proceeding.
 
Re: Oval, OMC, I'm not sure what I want anymore... please he

I would also recommend checking out

http://www.newyorkestatejewelry.com/eng ... ll/all/cat

http://www.doverjewelry.com/

http://www.langantiques.com/type/5/

http://www.antiqueengagementrings.com/

I've spoke with Leigh on the phone (antique engagement rings) and he has MANY things not on his sight. If you call him, give him your budget and tell him what you are looking for, he may well have it in stock!


I also suggest calling JBEG because they are amazing to deal with and have amazing pieces as well!

If you are into warmer stones here is a beautiful OMC that they have that is 1.68 carats and under your stone budget at about 5k
http://jewelsbyericagrace.smugmug.com/J ... 6249_AYBvP
 
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