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Please help a newbie to purchase a pair of diamond studs.

Cancervive

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
12
Hi all!! I'm looking for a pair of diamond studs, preferably round. My current ones are 1ctw round but horrible quality, like I3. My poor hubby didn't know anything about cut, color, and clarity and he bought them from Burlington Coat Factory so needless to say he was ripped off. I wore those for a year but they have absolutely no fire in them. I tried James Allen and bought the 1ctw round in their signature basket setting. Absolutely beautiful and for $2200. I returned them because they were too "light" weight. I felt like the gold could bend too easily and diamonds would be at risk of falling out. Next I tried the auction site and bought a set of pre-owned 1ctw princess studs, good quality, clarity, cut. I think its SI, G-H. for $600. Awesome deal as the seller was really motivated. But alas, princess cuts are not as blingy as round. I'm going to sell those and look for round studs. I have my eyes on these 1.40ctw round SI, H-I in 14kt white gold. Question is, how much is too much? I was thinking max $1200. Non certified of course but it comes with an appraisal from the jewelry store that it was previously purchased. Any advice is appreciated. :)

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tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
27,204
Re: Please help a newbie to purchase a pair of diamond studs

For $1200 for 1.4 ctw you are not going to get well cut sparkly stones. You liked the 1 ctw from James Allen that were $2200.
(btw...they are now $3600) I dont see the logic in going down in budget and up in carat weight and still expecting nice stones.
 

footshooter5

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 2, 2011
Messages
30
Re: Please help a newbie to purchase a pair of diamond studs

Ditto to the above post. Also, you really shouldn't ever trust an appraisal from a store that is trying to sell you the stones...if you took them to an independent, well respected gemologist and they confirmed the quality, then bam! you are in business.
 

Cancervive

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
12
Re: Please help a newbie to purchase a pair of diamond studs

Yes I would definitely get another appraisal. I'm looking to buy from personal sellers not stores. I find that I get a better deal that way. I just purchased these 1ctw princess studs for $600 and the quality was as stated. Did I overpay? They are SI1-2, G-H. Look better in person.

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diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
58,547
Re: Please help a newbie to purchase a pair of diamond studs

If the stones don't come with grading reports from GIA or AGS, then you really have no idea of what you're getting. People can say color and clarity all they want, but without the report, it means very little. SI can mean an optimistic SI3, which equates to I1. Seriously, my first pair of 1.5 ctw studs was exactly like this...H SI, ungraded and I was dumb enough to trust the jeweler. Live and learn! Now I know better! Great stones of a half carat or more will almost always have a GIA report.
 
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