Quick Questions about finding the right ring for my Price!

[DeeNogger]

I am saving up money to buy and engagement ring for my lady-friend and have spent the last few days reading about the different things that effect ring quality (the four C's as they are called). What I have taken away from my readings is that Cut is the most important, as a bad cut will make an otherwise great diamond look lifeless and bad. Further, that (for me at least) anything that is "eye clean" is all the same unless you are a diamond enthusiast or make a habit of examining your diamonds under magnification. My budget is between 3500 - 4500 for the whole ring.

Regarding Cut; there is the ranking of 'ideal' and 'excellent' followed by other rankings. Is it necessary to get an Ideal cut to get that all desired sparkle, or will an 'excellent' cut rating be fine? Regarding Clarity; at what rating will the diamond become no longer "eye clean". Will anything better than an SI2 be eye clean, or will some SI2's be eye clean and some not?

Finally, my parents have insisted that I only go to a "trusted" jeweler that they know in Chicago. The problem is that I live in Southern California and wont be through Chicago for several months and I kinda want to ask my girl friend to marry me sooner rather than later. How important is it to get your diamond from a trusted jeweler? Since pricescope referred vendors appear to offer a small discount buying my diamond online is appealing, but not being able to see the ring in person is concerning. Are the online vendors referred here (jamesallen.com, etc) trustworthy and give good representation of their diamonds in their pictures? My big concern would be completely emptying my pockets to buy a ring and have it show up with no sparkle and obvious inclusions.

Not being able to see the ring I pick out in person before I pay for it is a huge concern.

 

[yennyfire]

Re: Quick Questions about finding the right ring for my Pric

I'm pretty new here, so I hope that some of the more experienced folks will chime in, but so far, I think you've got it right...cut is the most important, because without a good cut, the stone will appear "dead". As I know from sad personal experience, it is hard (but not impossible) to find an eye clean SI2, but you'd for sure have to see the stone in person.

As for buying from a trusted jeweler, I've seen quite a few posts here from people who bought from "trusted" family friends, only to have problems. The PS vendors here seem to be excellent, from what I've read and I know that in more than one case, when problems arose, they do whatever they need to do to make things right. That counts for a lot in my book.

I know that GOG will send you videos of the stones that you're interested in (I don't know about the others).

All of this said, I do think it's super important to see a stone in person. My suggestion would be to work with one of the PS vendors, give them your criteria, and then have the send the stone you think is "IT" to you or an appraiser in your area for you to look at, with the understanding (in writing) that if the stone doesn't meet your expectations, you can return it without penalty (minus shipping costs).

Good luck and congrats on your upcoming engagement!

 

[stone-cold11]

Re: Quick Questions about finding the right ring for my Pric

Anyway, most vendors have a full refund inspection period, length varies so read each vendors policy carefully.

Most SI1 are eye-clean, SI2 has less chances of eye-clean, but still possible. Even some VS2 are not eye-clean to some with very good eye-sight. So ask the vendor to check for you to your specification.

https://www.pricescope.com/journal/what_eye_clean_diamond

 

[redyns]

Re: Quick Questions about finding the right ring for my Pric

In regards to clarity, others have it right when they say 'eye clean' does not have a limit. Some VS2s maybe eye clean, some SI1s maybe eye clean, it just depends on 1)the stone and 2) your individual perception on what is eye clean. The forum link above will help you out with that. Keep in mind that 'eye clean' SI1 maybe eye clean from the top but not from the side

Again, this 'trusted jeweler' issue is something that has been discussed here on PS with varying results. With some exceptions, a typical B&M (brick and mortar) store will not offer you the kind of deals you can get online. The vendors online though PS are EXTREMELY helpful in finding something within your budget that is the best possible under your criteria (which they are more than willing to educate/give their professional opinion on). Along with that, you are able (for most vendors) to see the Idealscope, ASET and things of that nature that give you a really good indication on the diamond's light performance and contrast amongst other things. My personal opinion is that by looking at diamonds online, I don't feel pressure/anxiety etc to buy right then and there and you can give yourself a second to objectively look at the stats / pictures /price of the diamond to see if that's the one you really want. The online diamond vendors discussed heavily in this forum (james allen, whiteflash, brian g, good old gold) have had nothing but good reviews (search the posts to get first hand accounts) and they are completely trustworthy (they are not trying to hose you because then they would get ripped on this forum and they would lose a lot of potential business...so they have an incentive to treat you well and give you an awesome diamond). As for the ring showing up being a 'dead' diamond if you buy it online...that is exactly why you look at the HCA, idealscope, ASET, AGS/GIA specs to help you get a really good feeling of how the diamond will perform.

Hope that helps a little, but my suggestion to you would be to look through PS/good old gold videos to get a really good idea of how these tools that I mentioned can help you feel comfortable buying a diamond online though a reputable dealer. Plus, if you have any questions, there are tons of members on here that would love to help you out!

 

[slg47]

Re: Quick Questions about finding the right ring for my Pric

Regarding Cut; there is the ranking of 'ideal' and 'excellent' followed by other rankings. Is it necessary to get an Ideal cut to get that all desired sparkle, or will an 'excellent' cut rating be fine?

it depends on what you mean by ideal and excellent cut rating. AGS top grade is ideal or AGS0, this is a narrower range than GIA EX so if you are getting a GIA EX stone you would want to check out on HCA/IS images/etc. Vendors sometimes will apply cut labels such as 'ideal' and 'excellent' that are only based on two numbers...so you would need to look at HCA (assuming you are buying a round), or ASET for fancies