Ready to buy, but need some suggestions

[fangtl]

Hi All,

I am getting ready to propose sometime in the next 2 months and I am ready to purchase "The rock." However, I am novice so I will need your assistance and opinions. My budget is right around $20k for the engagement/wedding band combo. So I figure around 16-17k for the diamond itself. So far I''ve narrowed it down to a few options, please offer your input.

1) BlueNile.com - http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00445888
2) Wherethediamondsare.com - http://wherethediamondsare.com/Details.html?item=inventory&diamondReferenceValue=4008
3) BlueNile.com http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00417713&filter_id=1
4) Bluenile.com http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00477238&filter_id=1

I''ve seen diamond #2 in person and the vendor is marketing it as excellent ideal despite the 11/2005 AGS001 grade. It didi look quite stunning in person and scored a 9.6/10 on their very impressive inhouse computerized "light/fire" machine.

The ones from bluenile.com are all very appealing especially considering the price(s). Although the downside is I cannot see them before I commit. I''ve done HCA tests on all these diamonds and #1 and #4 scored a 1.5 and a .07 respectively. #3 scored a 4.2.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, the vendors I have gone to do not have a vast variety of diamonds for comparison so I must rely on your experitise. Of course, if you know of something more suitable within my budget please make suggestions as well. Thanks in advance.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Hi, and welcome!

I would just suggest that you consider some of the vendors here who offer the superideal hearts and arrows stones such as GoodOldGold and WhiteFlash. They both have nice inventory of in-house stones. This means that they have information about the stones (pictures, etc.) and can physically look at the stones to answer your questions. I don't believe this is true of Blue Nile. They also have trade-up policies in the event you ever wanted to get her an upgrade in the future. When I came here, I knew nothing about hearts and arrows cuts and that sort of thing. I was just very glad I stumbled onto this site before we bought my anniversary ring!

You have a nice budget and should be able to get a 1.5 ct. F-G, VS hearts and arrows stone. Here are a few examples:

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/1898/

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-2167516.htm#

Let me also mention that they both offer a wire transfer discount, and WhiteFlash offers an additional small discount to people on PriceScope who pay by wire.

I highly recommend the diamond education portion of the GoodOldGold website:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/

Good luck!

 

[fangtl]

Thank you for the reply.

I''ll look into the vendors and diamonds you mentioned on Tuesday.