question for you upgraded girlies

[CareBear]

I recently looked through all the rings in the Eye Candy thread of Show me the ring (again) It seems a couple year ago the ~1 carat F-H VS were most popular. But nowdays, especially this year, it''s all about SIZE. But people are going lower in color/clarity (H-J SI). I also noticed that whenever someone here on pricescope upgrades their rock, they most always go down in color and clarity. keeping the cut quality the same of course I have a G VS1, and i would definitely tell new buyers that anything higher in color and clarity is really unnecessary, unless it makes u feel better mentally. but I wonder if even my color and clarity is necessary? So my question is, in case I ever upgrade, does the lower color/clarity ever bother you even the tiniest bit?

 

[jenna_g]

That is a really good question... I''m very interested to find out about this. If it were me, because I tend to be totally anal about visual things, I would notice the difference...if not in reality, at least in my mind! And that would drive me crazy. I tend to be a bit obsessive about these sorts of things.

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

For me personally, I have come to adore and appreciate all colors of well cut stones. Prior to finding Pricescope I would've thought it necessary to stay in the D-F range and VS in clarity to have the "perfect" stone, because that is always what I was told in jewelery stores. Every single one I had been to equivocated an "ideal" stone with having those color/clarity parameters. After discovering PS, I came to realize that what makes a stone beautiful is truly it's cut. I have seen a beautiful 'M' colored stone on here! Yes, it wasn't crystal white, but did that neccessairily mean it was yellow or unattractive? Not to me! It just had a different character to it. So with that I stopped limiting myself to just "colorless" stones and began truly searching for one that "speaks" to me irregardless of whether it was a "f" or a "j". As for clarity, personally I feel as long as the inclusions aren't affecting the integrity or brilliance of the stone and I can't notice it in every day viewing or it is "eye/mind clean" to me, then why not go with a SI1/SI2 over a VS or VVS? To me my perfect upgrade is a combination of things not just singling out one specific characteristic over the other...as long as the cut is A+, I let my eyes do the rest!

Edited to fix typos.

 

[Mara]

I think some of it has to do with the fact that many people seem to err on the side of higher color/clarity the first time around or hubby bought the first rock or something, aka and went with E VVS or E VS or something like that. I seem to see alot of gals who are taking the upgrade reins in their hands on here, who once they are actually EDUMACATED on diamonds are able to go down a bit lower than they originally had and still be happy. Of course there is no cut and dry rule for any one person, some people swear by D VVS and others swear by J I1 or similar...but IMO I think we do see alot of people who started out thinking E/F VS and then go to G/H VS or SI or even lower. And for the most part people seem happy with their final choice...so I figure do what makes you happy. It doesn't have to please anyone else!

That said, my first stone was a G VS1 and then I went to an H SI1 and now to a J SI2! I loved all my stones but to be really honest I am just as fine with my J SI2 as I was with my G VS1 because I am not easily bothered by any stone color and I can't see inclusions to save my life for the most part, but if I had the extra cash given to me for free, I would get something like a H SI2 because that's my sweet spot for color and clarity. But since I am a size girl, I like the J's for the value they represent. I wouldn't mind an I or J with some strong blue fluor , yum!

 

[jenna_g]

You are so right that they steer you towards clarity and color in so many jewelry stores. In the past I was very influenced by that as well. But when my fiance was shopping for my ring, the jeweler explained (and proved!) to him that cut is so much more important as far as the beauty of the stone is concerned... And now I have the most beautiful I colored stone in the world... To me, it looks completely colorless...but even if it weren''t, nothing could take away from the way that it sparkles.

 

[Sundial]

I am not as size conscious as many of the ladies here on pricescope and I rather like the fact that my new ring is an upgrade all the way. I upgraded in size (1 carat to 1 1/4 carat), I upgraded in color (G to F), I upgraded in clarity (SI2 to SI1), and I upgraded in cut. Of course all these upgrades were pretty modest. That being said if what I really wanted was a big honking diamond then I would jump on an eye clean SI2 in I or J color in a heart beat as long as it was well cut!

 

[laney]

Well I upgraded - due to an accident.

I went from a F SI 2 to an H SI2

As you rightly guessed, to go from a 1.5 ct to a 2.0 carat I had to make sacrifices.. and that for me - was in color. I was already fine with SI2 - I too feel that you don''t need to pay for what you can/cant'' see.

So - after wearing an F - I certainly did notice the color. And the new.. bigger size. And after about a week the size won out. I was perfectly fine with my very nicely cut - sparkely H color stone.

Hubby thinks the larger stone looks better with my setting (who am I to say no!).

I also think that the ladies that you see here that upgrade are pretty comfortable with diamonds - and once you get comfortable I think you also loosen what your specs will be. It''s all a balance I guess.

Last week, I was at GOG - and jonathan showed me an impressively cut K stone. It looked amazeing -- and probably nothing like people would assume a K looks like.

 

[glaucomflecken]

I''m so excited to just OWN a diamond that truly, my H SI doesnt bother me in the least! LOL For me its a "sweet spot" so long as the other specs pertaining to the cut are darn near close to ideal. Its colorless enough to look "colorless" and the inclusion is invisible enough to look "flawless" but cost sooo much less than something that is truly flawless and colorless.

My old tag line used to be "my favorite color is sparkle" which is so true for me. When I look at my stone I notice the sparkles and the rainbows, not the slight hint of warmth from the H (which is pretty much in my eye and to others I have shown, non existent).

Im a big bargain hunter too, so for me the biggest prettiest well cut rock for my money that has no obvious defects to others is my most important "mind clean" factor (my mind would be cluttered with money worries if we had spent a lot for diamond qualities I could not even discern!).

For others, they may require something that is perfect on paper or colorless/flawless in order not to bother them. That I think is the biggest lession I have learned in my e-ring trials and tribulations...lean towards whatever sings to your heart, because if you get something that bothers you in the least, there will be no convincing yourself that it doesnt.

 

[lumpkin]

I just love almost all diamonds that sparkle pretty, LOL! I have a size 8 finger and when I got married I wore a size 6, so not only did my diamond appear smaller just due to 15 years of shrinkage, but also because it looked smaller on my hand (although I did upgrade my original diamond before my last upgrade).

When I upgraded I changed shape and went way up in size and clarity, but way down in color. I went from a .57 H VS round to an 2.00 M IF pear. I didn''t set out to get that high of clarity, it just pleasantly worked out that way. To me the biggest issues were shape, size, proportion and that I didn''t want a big bow tie in the middle of it. I''m extremely happy with my M colored pear and doubt I will ever upgrade again. I may change the setting several times

, but I love the stone itself.

 

[anika]

Hi there,
Interestingly we always assume an upgrade is about a bigger stone. My engagement RB was a mediocre cut 0.65ct which was graded something like G-H-I in colour, VS2. I don''t think I even used a good lab to do the grading. Okay so my upgrade was bigger..1.23ct, FSI1, very good cut. So my answer is happy to go down in clarity but I specifically wanted a white stone that sparkled a lot. but thats just me. If you upgrade several times and are already have an SI2, there comes a point that you can''t mentally go any further down in clarity and can only go down in colour if you''re after size and on a budget.

 

[jadeleaves]

My ''upgrades'' ('''' because I keep my old stones as opposed to trading it in) have so far stayed at G Si1, but having read so many posts abt happy H/I/J owners, I wouldn''t rule out going lower on color next time in a RB.

I can''t tell the difference between F VS(my old stone) & G Si1 (new ones).

Having said that, I think everybody has their own ''comfort zone'' with regards to how far they want to go with regards to color/clarity. Pricescope certainly played a huge part in re-educating me about what I want in a diamond. I think the issue here is bang for the buck, not necessarily size

I won''t say no to a bigger rock though!

 

[Laralooblue]

I am a novice here and not nearly as educated as many of the folks here. Having said that, I''ll throw out that I agree with Mara. As uneducated diamond buyers, we''re taught that the rule of thumb is the closer to D color, the better and try to be in the VS category. That''s basically it.

After spending some time here, I''ve learned that clearly, this is not the case (at least for *me*, someone who is not bothered by the different close grades of color.) I don''t consider going down a color grade for a bigger stone a big sacrifice since it wouldn''t matter to me. This would not have been the case a year ago, being a bit more ignorant on the subject!

 

[moremoremore]

My first upgrade went from a 1.77 H VS2 princess....down in size and up in color and cut to an awesome 1.6+ F VS2 (I think it was a VS2) princess! My next upgrade (which is skipping a few that lasted only about a day or two lol) is to my present stone, which is a jump to a 2.14 E VS2 modern cushion... My first stone was horribly tinted to me (fancy shape + Isr. EGL) and I love colorless stones.... The benefit of going down in color is that you can increase your size without spending a lot of money which is what the upgrade brings...I still want an E or F but I'd go G next time to get a bigger stone...but G is as far as I go even if it means no upgrade or a smaller upgrade..That's just my comfort zone...I do look at larger stones of lower colors and I truly covet...I just can't get over *me* seeing a teeny bit of color even though I'd be the only one seeing it. It also does give me smile to see how truly white the stone is ... but I bet it'd make me smile just as much if it was bigger

 

[s95]

I went from an E vs1 to and H vs2. I was still a little hesitant about venturing to the SI land, but now I wonder what I could have gotten had I been more open to an H SI2. I love my ring and upgraded from 0.74 to 1.24 so that is definitely enough. I always thought I''d just upgrade to a 1.0 and that''d be it, so by coming out of the color/clarity shell that I''d put myself in, I got more than I bargained for and had I come out further, perhaps I could have been in 1.4-1.5 land.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

I went from a F/VS1 Marquise (1/3 carat) to a 1.03 carat E/VS1 Emerald Cut...I really did try to go lower, but since ECs don''t have the facets that many others do, I couldn''t bring myself to getting lower than a VS2. If I would''ve gone round or princess, I probably would have, but I just love dem step cuts and had my heart set on an EC. I saw lower than VS2''s and either the cut wasn''t right or it didn''t "sing" to me as my own EC did...

 

[hoorray]

I went from a K/L VVS pretty good cut to an E/VS2 Ideal cut, so I upgraded color and cut, and downgraded clarity. I could never notice the clarity change, and would go even lower if I found the right stone. I do notice and enjoy the color and cut upgrade. I love my original stone. It has lots of personality, and the color makes it unique, but I''d rather wear it on my neck than on my finger. I personally love the icywhiteness of my new stone, so am glad I went that route.

 

[KristyDarling]

I haven''t upgraded yet, but hubby and I are planning to do so in early 2006. I currently have a 1.37ct RBC E/VS1/good cut. I''m hoping for a 2.5ct RBC G or H color, VS1 or VS2, ideal cut. Like others here, we paid almost no attention to the cut quality of my stone when we were ring-shopping years ago. What we thought at the time was that if we went with higher color and higher clarity, we''d have a sparkly stone. And the lazy (clueless?) jeweler salesgirl did nothing to enlighten us beyond that!

I''ve learned a lot lurking around here, and now I am definitely comfortable with going with lower color and clarity in order to get an incredible cut. And it doesn''t hurt that I''ll also be able to get a bit more in the size department too.

 

[DonaBella]

Date: 9/1/2005 6:08:59 PM
Author: KristyDarling
I haven''t upgraded yet, but hubby and I are planning to do so in early 2006. I currently have a 1.37ct RBC E/VS1/good cut. I''m hoping for a 2.5ct RBC G or H color, VS1 or VS2, ideal cut. Like others here, we paid almost no attention to the cut quality of my stone when we were ring-shopping years ago. What we thought at the time was that if we went with higher color and higher clarity, we''d have a sparkly stone. And the lazy (clueless?) jeweler salesgirl did nothing to enlighten us beyond that!

I''ve learned a lot lurking around here, and now I am definitely comfortable with going with lower color and clarity in order to get an incredible cut. And it doesn''t hurt that I''ll also be able to get a bit more in the size department too.

Hi KristyDarling!

I, too, plan to do a major upgrade so that it is done either just before the New Year or closer to February 2006. We will celebrate 25 years of marriage and that in itself is cause enough for a major celebration. I currently have a .71 tcw princess cut, VS2 with G color which has 4 diagonally cut baguettes SI2 clarity with G color(lifeless to me, but I had no clue what to look for at the time) and the ring also has 2 .05 pts of rounds on either side of the baguettes SI2 clarity. This is a replacement ring bought in 1992 for my actual wedding ring that was accidentally lost by my two oldest kids who played house with my wedding set the one and ONLY time I took it off to do deep cleaning when we moved from one house to another in 1990. I have all the original paperwork from the jeweler and now, since coming to PS, know better.

My question to you is how do I get my hubby to see that it would be nice and thoughtful even to award me a nice--not super huge--upgrade in size of stone and in a platinum setting this time? We have a family of 9 kids--7 boys and 2 girls--and I have not pushed the issue of jewelry due to family obligations financially. I am leaning towards a jubilee or rectangular cushion cut around 1.55+ in size but I would love a 2 carat for once in my life...your know? Anyways...if you can help...that woiuld be great!

 

[jadeleaves]

Date: 9/1/2005 6:22:52 PM
Author: DeannaBana

Date: 9/1/2005 6:08:59 PM

Author: KristyDarling
..My question to you is how do I get my hubby to see that it would be nice and thoughtful even to award me a nice--not super huge--upgrade in size of stone and in a platinum setting this time? We have a family of 9 kids--7 boys and 2 girls--and I have not pushed the issue of jewelry due to family obligations financially. I am leaning towards a jubilee or rectangular cushion cut around 1.55+ in size but I would love a 2 carat for once in my life...your know? Anyways...if you can help...that woiuld be great!

Hello!

Hubby was never into diamonds as much as I am, but he tends to 'indulge' me with regards to what he calls my 'diamond addiction'. We don't have kids yet, so it's easier to spend up on seemingly frivolous things at this point. However, he's always said that I'll have to go to 'diamond rehab' once we start havin kids

Ever since he realized that this obsession with sparklies is not going anywhere, he's devised a "If you get to have more diamonds, I get to buy boy toys too." plan. Basically, he gets to spend the same amount we spent on my "girl toy" on a "boy toy" of his choice. For my recent purchase, he is getting a little boat

I doubt that we will be able to do things like that once we have more family obligations. I don't have any good advice on how to convince your hubby to buy you a 2 ct stone, but I'm sure you certainly deserves one [, being a mother to 9 kids!! If an upgrade to that size is not possible due to family obligations, maybe you can discuss putting away a little bit of money regularly towards that 30th anniversary present!

 

[Maxine]

Date: 9/1/2005 7:04:08 PM
Author: JadeLeaves

Date: 9/1/2005 6:22:52 PM
Author: DeannaBana

Date: 9/1/2005 6:08:59 PM

Author: KristyDarling
..My question to you is how do I get my hubby to see that it would be nice and thoughtful even to award me a nice--not super huge--upgrade in size of stone and in a platinum setting this time? We have a family of 9 kids--7 boys and 2 girls--and I have not pushed the issue of jewelry due to family obligations financially. I am leaning towards a jubilee or rectangular cushion cut around 1.55+ in size but I would love a 2 carat for once in my life...your know? Anyways...if you can help...that woiuld be great!

Hello!

Hubby was never into diamonds as much as I am, but he tends to ''indulge'' me with regards to what he calls my ''diamond addiction''. We don''t have kids yet, so it''s easier to spend up on seemingly frivolous things at this point. However, he''s always said that I''ll have to go to ''diamond rehab'' once we start havin kids

Ever since he realized that this obsession with sparklies is not going anywhere, he''s devised a ''If you get to have more diamonds, I get to buy boy toys too.'' plan. Basically, he gets to spend the same amount we spent on my ''girl toy'' on a ''boy toy'' of his choice. For my recent purchase, he is getting a little boat

I doubt that we will be able to do things like that once we have more family obligations. I don''t have any good advice on how to convince your hubby to buy you a 2 ct stone, but I''m sure you certainly deserves one [, being a mother to 9 kids!! If an upgrade to that size is not possible due to family obligations, maybe you can discuss putting away a little bit of money regularly towards that 30th anniversary present!

LOL, Jade Leaves, that used to happen with my parents....Whenever my dad bought some expensive part for his classic BMW motorcycle, my mom would fo out and get a new sofa or something....Too bad for me she didn''t get diamonds!!!!

 

[jadeleaves]

Hehe Maxine,

Hubby is spewing that he didn''t SPECIFY that he gets to buy something equal to the final cost of the jewelry piece I''m getting. I''m arguing that we agreed that he gets to have something of equal value to the original purchase price of the stone, NOT the final price after the stone has been shipped to Australia (add 10% goods & services tax, and customs handling fees) and AFTER the stone has been set in whichever type of jewelry I chose to set it in. He forgets that just because I am not a practicing lawyer, it doesn''t mean that I have *forgotten* how to argue a point

It''s never too late to convince mum to buy diamonds instead of sofas

 

[Maxine]

Date: 9/1/2005 7:50:43 PM
Author: JadeLeaves
Hehe Maxine,

Hubby is spewing that he didn''t SPECIFY that he gets to buy something equal to the final cost of the jewelry piece I''m getting. I''m arguing that we agreed that he gets to have something of equal value to the original purchase price of the stone, NOT the final price after the stone has been shipped to Australia (add 10% goods & services tax, and customs handling fees) and AFTER the stone has been set in whichever type of jewelry I chose to set it in. He forgets that just because I am not a practicing lawyer, it doesn''t mean that I have *forgotten* how to argue a point

It''s never too late to convince mum to buy diamonds instead of sofas

Ummmm..it sort of is too late.......

 

[windowshopper]

i am a color freak....................I went from a 3 carat E to a 3 carat D --however i dropped from a vvs to a vs becasue i realized that clarity in some regards is one of the least important factors (imo...)

 

[diamondlil]

Date: 9/1/2005 6:08:59 PM
Author: KristyDarling

Like others here, we paid almost no attention to the cut quality of my stone when we were ring-shopping years ago. What we thought at the time was that if we went with higher color and higher clarity, we''d have a sparkly stone. And the lazy (clueless?) jeweler salesgirl did nothing to enlighten us beyond that!

I spent more than 16 years and 2 upgrades thinking the same thing. There was no Internet to learn from, so we went with the information that we were told by our *trusty*

jeweler. Better color & better clarity = better stone . . . how sad. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people purchasing diamonds today are going on that same information. I think we are a very, very small percentage of consumers who know better.

 

[Demelza]

Date: 9/3/2005 9:31:22 AM
Author: diamondlil

Date: 9/1/2005 6:08:59 PM

Author: KristyDarling


Like others here, we paid almost no attention to the cut quality of my stone when we were ring-shopping years ago. What we thought at the time was that if we went with higher color and higher clarity, we'd have a sparkly stone. And the lazy (clueless?) jeweler salesgirl did nothing to enlighten us beyond that!

I spent more than 16 years and 2 upgrades thinking the same thing. There was no Internet to learn from, so we went with the information that we were told by our *trusty*

jeweler. Better color & better clarity = better stone . . . how sad. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people purchasing diamonds today are going on that same information. I think we are a very, very small percentage of consumers who know better.

I agree. My first significant diamond purchase was a 1.5 F, Si1 round brilliant. I thought that as long as the color was in the colorless range and the stone is eyeclean (that part is true), that the stone would be beautiful. I was never really happy with that diamond and could never understand why. Well, once I was enlightened about the importance of cut, I looked at the cert only to see that the diamond had 66% depth and a 63% table! No wonder it looked dark in the center, no wonder there was very little fire!!! Needless to say, I got rid of that diamond fast and it's been ideal cuts every since!

 

[Shay37]

My first diamond was a marquise. (odd symmetry) It was appraised while set as an I, SI2. After it was pulled, it was closer to an i1

. So for my upgrade, I went to an ideal round, .76 (original was .65) still an I but with MB. Also it is VS1. I am mucho happy.

Shay