Ready to Propose But Need Help With the Ring!!

[huesofblue]

After three and a half years, I couldn't be more certain about my future fiance. Her future ring is a different matter. After doing some research on my own and silently reading threads on this site for the past few weeks, I have some idea of what I'm looking for. With that said, I'm no diamond expert and can use all the help I can get. Generally speaking, I'm looking for an extremely well cut round diamond that's 1.7 carats or larger. Beauty is inifintely more important to me than rarity. With that said, I have no idea what to do about color and clarity or how much I should care. I thought I wanted at least F and VS2. But after walking through the diamond district of NYC, I realized I couldn't see any difference between a G and an F and couldn't make out a single inclusion in any of the stones in the windows (which were mostly SI1's and SI2's). Now, i'm sure I could notice these things in the right lighting, under the right magnification and compared side by side with other diamonds. But just standing alone, I couldn't see the difference (I alsorealized how big the difference is between looking at a 40x picture online and seeing the real thing in natural light). Anyway, I'm feeling more than a little confused now and I'd certainly appreciate the help. My pre-tax budget for the diamond itself is 17,500, but that's really at the edge of what I can spend.

I thought the two stones below from Blue Nile looked good, but I'll defer to your learned opinion. If you think I can do better (with BN or any other dealer), please let me know!!

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-2-carat-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01300591?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report

2.04 carat
Ex cut
G color
SI clarity
Ex symmetry
Ex polish
Fluorescence - none
HCA = 1.2
$17,200


http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-signature-ideal-cut-g-color-vs2-clarity_LD01389564?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0#grading_report

1.75 carat
BN Sig Ideal cut
G color
VS2 Clarity
Ex symmetry
Ex polish
Fluorescence - none
HCA = 1.3
$16,549

Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[stone-cold11]

You did your homework, both look promising by the numbers.

 

[Ellen]

Without any other info on cut, I much prefer the 1.75. Safer numbers, so that gets my vote.

 

[huesofblue]

Thanks for the insight, but what do you mean by safer numbers? Are you talking about the angles on the stone itself, or the fact that it has a higher clarity grade and we don''t have any pictures to go on? Thanks!

 

[stone-cold11]

How about this?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5022/

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/25/2009 7:22:43 PM
Author: huesofblue
Thanks for the insight, but what do you mean by safer numbers? Are you talking about the angles on the stone itself, or the fact that it has a higher clarity grade and we don't have any pictures to go on? Thanks!

Yes, those are really important to the light performance of the stone. The angles on the 1.75 are in a good place, though that's just on paper. Without an IS pic and/or Sarin, that's as much as we can say.

Also, BN has been known to say an SI1 was eyeclean when in reality it wasn't (in relationship to the SI1).

I would recommend, if it interests you, have the 1.75 brought home and looked at by an independant appraiser. BN has a good return policy, so if for some reason it didn't pan out, you can easily return it. Could be a lovely diamond.

And you're welcome!

 

[huesofblue]

The GOG diamond is an attractive option too. It certainly appears to be eye-clean. Is there anything in particular that leads you to believe it''s a better diamond? Or is there just more information available, making it a safer choice.

I notice that the GOG diamond doesn''t quite max out the brilliance scores. Should I be aiming higher? Or does this diamond offer exceptional performance and I''m nitpicking over numbers.

 

[stone-cold11]

Gemex score is iffy. It has been noted that the results are not repeatable, as in the same stone can get different results in each test.

GOG stone is safer for me as I have the images to work with instead of BN. Also it is a D color instead of a G, something to brag about...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/25/2009 7:12:41 PM
Author: Ellen
Without any other info on cut, I much prefer the 1.75. Safer numbers, so that gets my vote.

Ditto

 

[huesofblue]

After a couple hours of agonizing, I decided to pull the trigger on the 1.75 ct diamond. I''m not 100% sure about the decision even now (I feel a little like I''m paying for the BN Signature brand and for VS2 when I''d be happy with a comparably cut, unbranded and eye clean SI). But I think it should be beautiful nonetheless.

The deciding factor was that the couple we were going away with this weekend just canceled, so now it''ll just be the two of us. BN can get me the 1.75 ring by tomorrow morning, so I just decided to go for it Thanks for all your help.

Wish me luck!

One other thing, does anyone know how I''d go about insuring this thing? Thanks.

 

[stone-cold11]

Congrats and Good luck.

With BN you should be able to simply just get an insurance with Jeweler's Mutual.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/26/2009 1:33:53 PM
Author: huesofblue
After a couple hours of agonizing, I decided to pull the trigger on the 1.75 ct diamond. I''m not 100% sure about the decision even now (I feel a little like I''m paying for the BN Signature brand and for VS2 when I''d be happy with a comparably cut, unbranded and eye clean SI). But I think it should be beautiful nonetheless.

The deciding factor was that the couple we were going away with this weekend just canceled, so now it''ll just be the two of us. BN can get me the 1.75 ring by tomorrow morning, so I just decided to go for it Thanks for all your help.

Wish me luck!

One other thing, does anyone know how I''d go about insuring this thing? Thanks.

Good luck!

Insurance shouldn''t be a problem, here are some links for you.

www.touchstoneinsurance.com

www.chubb.com

www.jewelersmutual.com

 

[Ellen]

Congrats, and I hope everything works out! We'd love to hear back from you with your thoughts.


Also, if it's an entire ring you're insuring, many, including myself, have it put on a rider with their home ins. ploicy. Just make sure you get a thorough appraisal from an independant appraiser (one who does not sell jewelry), as the more info you have, the better chance you have of it being replaced with "like kind" from the ins. company in the event it's lost/stolen, etc.

 

[huesofblue]

Good news. I proposed last friday and she said yes!

I couldn't be happier with the ring. I've tried to attach a photo, but to be perfectly honest the pictures just don't do the ring justice. The ring looks absolutly stunning. It still manages to sparkle after we turn out the lights. If there's any light anywehere in the room, this ring is reflecting it. It also looks amazingly white and icy (this pic is taken under yellow lights, so again, it doesn't do the ring justice). I'm biased, but I honestly think it looks better than any of the rings I looked at in person.

Blue Nile was great. I don't plan on making this purchase again, but I would buy from BN again without hesitation.

 

[Ellen]

Yay!

It looks just gorgeous, and pics never do a diamond justice.

Congratulations, I''m so glad everything turned out well!

 

[stone-cold11]

Congrats.

 

[Lorelei]

Its beautiful, many congratulations to you both!!!

 

[D&T]

wow! it looks fantastic, congrats!