Purchased a setting, now for a stone

[msop04]

Okay... this is a thought...

http://www.bluenile.com/engagement-...sed-engagement-ring-details?ring_id=282227283 this setting
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.90-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-sku-234616 and this stone

Unfortunately, Blue Nile won't sell their settings alone -- you must buy a diamond from them.

A VS2 diamond should definitely be eye-clean. (There have been extremely rare instances that I've read of on Pricescope where that is not the case, but if it's a GIA or AGS-graded stone, VS2 should be eye-clean when set)

UGH!! Oh well... back to the drawing board...

 

[UberClaire]

If you like that 1/4 carat setting from Blue Nile, you'd have to buy the diamond from Blue Nile.

They only offer pictures of their "signature ideal" princess cuts -- a 0.9 carat I VS2 or I SI1 runs $4300-4450. A 1.02 I VS1is $4860. I'd be cautious about buying an I color princess cut because they tend to retain color more than a round for instance. The next one up is a 1.02 G VS2 for $5170. If you were willing to go down to 0.9 carat, the cheapest they have above an I color is a 0.9 H VVS2 for $4520.

If you were willing to chance it without pictures of the diamond (and you won't be able to get any information from Blue Nile about light performance unless you buy one of the signature ideals that comes with a GCAL report), I wouldn't go with a clarity below SI1. I don't a lot about the numbers of princess cuts, what makes a good one, etc, but the cheapest they have is a 1.00 H SI1 for $4000.

So to make a long story short, with some careful research it would be possible within your budget to get what you want, it just might be a little bit of a risk. Hopefully you could mitigate that risk by looking at the numbers and at the inclusion plot, trying to stay away from inclusions like crystals and favoring less eye-visible types of inclusions.

Based on the info here:
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/princess-cut-diamond

It looks like one of these two may be your best bet:
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?builder=BYOR&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&pid=LD01632991
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?builder=BYOR&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP&pid=LD03461216

But the inclusion plot on the H SI1 looks like it may have a visible crystal (hard to know without seeing it).

 

[diamond_concierge]

Princesses in a channel are sleek, icy, and stunning. I like your style.