Pro's, I need some advice here >>

[flash4cash]

Hi,

Yep I'm another one of those newbs ,
who has learned more about Diamonds in the past 36 hours than I ever thought I would.
trying to find the right ring for my girl , and am looking for some advice ..

I do not have a large budget, including the setting 1500-1800 is kind of the target range for me.

I looked in a jewler in town here (Montreal) to get a basic Idea. I then found Blue Nile and other on line stores,

and noticed online prices are much cheaper, but they do not provide photo's or the grading charts on blue nile.

I was pretty much set on H or G with VS2 or SI1 . looking for around .50-55 carats.

I'm slightly nervous about the sliding scale of " eye clean" on a SI1 ..

On the blue nile site I don't see any mention of Hearts and Arrows. I would like for sure to have that extra sparkle factor ,
since that's what she will notice most I think. what on they're charts would I need to look for for this?


these are a few I am looking at , wondering if you experts can tell me what are good signs in these ones ,
or signs I should be weary or stay away from them.

1- this one looks like a good over all deal.
I called and had them get someone to pull the stone and check.
they said "yes Eye Clean"
http://www.bluenile.ca/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-h-colour-si1-clarity_LD01595978 ( this seems like a good deal, but maybe i'M missing something here..)

2- http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring?&pid=LD01542256&builder=BYOR&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP

3- http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring?track=image#diamonds_forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD01596294


Also I noticed this one on another site:
4- http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7513/
(could I not get request that the prongs of the setting cover the inclusions? which are on the side? the middle of it looks very nice..)


I then wonder , If I dig a little deeper , and go for ones in this class is the difference going to be remarkable?

5- http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2398105.htm
6- http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring?forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&track=tab#diamonds_forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD01537103
7- http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring??track=image#diamonds_forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD01121823




is it better to have excellent symetry and polish with an sI1 , than very good symetry and polish and VS2
or is the vg VS ex negligible when looking at the stone unaided?

I think that's enough initial questions. thanks for bearing with me

-F

 

[yssie]

Hi,

Yep I'm another one of those newbs ,
who has learned more about Diamonds in the past 36 hours than I ever thought I would.
trying to find the right ring for my girl , and am looking for some advice ..

I do not have a large budget, including the setting 1500-1800 is kind of the target range for me.

I looked in a jewler in town here (Montreal) to get a basic Idea. I then found Blue Nile and other on line stores,

and noticed online prices are much cheaper, but they do not provide photo's or the grading charts on blue nile.

I was pretty much set on H or G with VS2 or SI1 . looking for around .50-55 carats.

I'm slightly nervous about the sliding scale of " eye clean" on a SI1 ..
will be easy to find an eyeclean SI1 in this size range

On the blue nile site I don't see any mention of Hearts and Arrows. I would like for sure to have that extra sparkle factor ,
since that's what she will notice most I think. what on they're charts would I need to look for for this?
H&A is a reference to optical symmetry and commands a premium, will not give you visibly extra sparkle esp in these sizes where virtual facets are mostly small/very small anyway. BN does not sell H&A - to confirm H&A you need to see hearts through the pavilion through a hearts viewer. If you want a H&A stone there are several boutiques that offer these precision cut stones


these are a few I am looking at , wondering if you experts can tell me what are good signs in these ones ,
or signs I should be weary or stay away from them.

1- this one looks like a good over all deal.
I called and had them get someone to pull the stone and check.
they said "yes Eye Clean"
http://www.bluenile.ca/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-h-colour-si1-clarity_LD01595978 ( this seems like a good deal, but maybe i'M missing something here..)
I don't see the cert? or where's/what's the GIA cert number? how did they pull this stone, it's not an in-house BN sig?

2- http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring?&pid=LD01542256&builder=BYOR&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP
cert is hard to read, if crown/pavilion is 34/41.2 could certainly work w/ the larger lgf

3- http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring?track=image#diamonds_forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD01596294
no diamond - just takes me to the build your own homepage?

Also I noticed this one on another site:
4- http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7513/
nice stone, can def ask about pronging the girdle inclusions
(could I not get request that the prongs of the setting cover the inclusions? which are on the side? the middle of it looks very nice..)


I then wonder , If I dig a little deeper , and go for ones in this class is the difference going to be remarkable?

5- http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2398105.htm nice stone
6- http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring?forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&track=tab#diamonds_forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD01537103
would want a pro to inspect for leakage under the table that's visible w/ stereo vision
7- http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring??track=image#diamonds_forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP|builder=BYOR|pid=LD01121823
I think this is the link you mean to the stone: http://www.bluenile.ca/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-h-colour-vs2-clarity_LD01121823
promising from the numbers, numbers don't always tell the full story so now need more info & inspection




is it better to have excellent symetry and polish with an sI1 , than very good symetry and polish and VS2
or is the vg VS ex negligible when looking at the stone unaided?
pol and sym are different things- clarity, polish, symmetry are graded independently. wouldn't see the diff btwn vg/ex pol w/ the naked eye.

I think that's enough initial questions. thanks for bearing with me

-F

 

[swingirl]

Hi,
Also I noticed this one on another site:
4- http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7513/
(could I not get request that the prongs of the setting cover the inclusions? which are on the side? the middle of it looks very nice..)

I then wonder , If I dig a little deeper , and go for ones in this class is the difference going to be remarkable?

5- http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2398105.htm
-F

I like both of these stones. With GOG and WF you have images and real people to check out the stone for you. Not so with BlueNile. The GOG stone is well within your budget.

I wouldn't worry too much about the inclusions. These vendors can tell you exactly how obvious the they are. Prongs can cover something off to the side. Unless something was smack dab in the middle you probably wouldn't notice but that's the beauty of having a vendor who can look at the stone. These folks are honest and will let you decide if its up to your standards or not.

 

[flash4cash]

thanks for replying quckly !

I see, since it's a smaller stone generally not to worry on the SI1 inclusions, makes sense.

I gather it's just not worth in on BN since you really don't have the images or someone to talk to thats analyzed it..


I have another question on settings,

with a .5 carat is it better to go with a 4 prong since there is less covering the diamond since it's not so large?

will an I color stone look much more noticably yellow in a white gold band also? ( my girlfriend wants white gold, kind of wondering if it's going to make a noticable difference with this size also , to switch from I to H or G..

 

[flash4cash]

or more specifically, is there a type of setting / settings that will typically look better to enhance the smaller .5 stones ?

 

[yssie]

a 0.5 is a great size

I would not discount BN - they're good at what they do: drop-shipping to the mass-market. The PS vendors are fantastic if you want a H&A stone or a personalised shopping experience, but if you're looking to maximize a budget a H&A isn't the most efficient way to do that. The last BN you linked is promising by the numbers and I didn't look at the prices but if it comes in significantly lower I'd consider pursuing it and planning to take advantage of BN's generous return policy if you don't like it/the appraisal doesn't come through clean..

That said, I personally don't care about hearts but I do care about customer service quality and vendor knowledgeability, and WF & GOG and others have BN beat hands down in this dept.

I think you'll be fine w/ an I in wg, but again best to look at some well-cut 0.5ct stones of different tints in person and find out what *you* prefer - do you have a HoF dealer or a Jared nearby?

4 prong vs 6 - people tend to strongly prefer one or the other, so you're unlikely to get objective opinion on this I'm afraid! Your stone will be perfectly safe in either style, if that's a concern.

 

[pancake]

I have no useful advice to add, but wanted to say that I recently bought 2 AGS 0 RBs for my mother in law - they were each 0.44ct, I VS2. One was H&A, one was not but I couldn't see the difference and both were really white. Personally I would not pay the H&A premium (although that said, the premium in this size range is not that much/ct) and would go with ~H-I VS2-SI1.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would go with 4 prongs, personally, on a stone that size. For an SI1, I would go with a vendor who can personally inspect the stone for you. I've dealt with GOG and WF, and they absolutely tell you how eye clean stones are. I even ask how they look with a 10 x loupe because I don't like to see bad inclusions then, either!

 

[flash4cash]

so I decided to go with this one ,

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2398117.htm

only slightly different than the one I posted earlier from whiteflash,
but without that inclusion in the middle.
i know u wouldnt really see it but for .02 less carat , i just rather it not be there.
feel like after almost 6 hours straight of looking at pictures and hearts and arrows and charts, it is a good one.
looks clean and clear for the range anyway
and it seemed worth stretching my budget as far as I could in the long run..




btw the people at whiteflash are really nice and I like the lifetime upgrade option..

 

[flash4cash]

oh and I did go with the 4 prong , indeed seemed to make sense for this size.

also really nice to not worry about the whole " eye clean" or not . with VS2 , I know it is.

 

[swingirl]

I think you made an excellent choice. You did a great job shopping and are going to have a beautiful ring within your budget!! And you don't need to spend any money on an appraisal. An ACA is top of the line.

 

[yssie]

congrats!

 

[JulieN]

Congrats, great job!

 

[flash4cash]

if that's your opinions, with over 2000 posts between you , I feel reassured

I'm excited to see it , but I'm sure my lady will be even more so. haha

I'll post a follow up when I get the ring.