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Setting options?

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mski3812

Rough_Rock
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Jun 13, 2007
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I am in the process of finding an engagement ring!!! First time posting on this site, but I have read many post to gather some basic information. My criteria for a diamond is fairly simple, all my future fiancé wants is a 2 carat stone. She left me with the rest to decide. I have come up with these specs: VVS1-VS1 H-J and has to be below a 2.0 on the HAC tool. I have found plenty of stones in this range but the setting I like is this one
http://www.bluenile.com/product_details.asp?oid=6908&page=1&col=1&row=2&pos=4&set_shape=
Would this setting being so small in TCW look ok with that large of a center stone?
Any other suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Matt
Look forward to letting everyone know what I decide to do!
 
There is nothing wrong with the size of that setting for a 2 ct. diamond. But I''d think that you could get a much nicer quality setting that looks similar especially since you are getting such a nice diamond. And you didn''t ask this, but I''d definitley go for H color with VS1 or VS2 clarity over a lower color and higher clarity. You won''t see any difference in VS stones and VVS stones with your eyes, but you can see the difference between H and J. I''ll check out some other settings for you.
 
Yea, it isn't any of my buisness so ignore my post if you like, and I def. don't want to distract from the focus of your thread, but I was curious why you limited the color as low as H (really the minimum or below the minimum for most individuals I have heard from in a white setting) while raising your bar for clarity all the way into the VVS1 range. Not that one or the other is wrong, just my own curiosity.
 
Also I looked into Eightstar diamonds. Are they worth the increase in price in a similar stone? I am under the impression that anything that scores well on the HAC should have plenty of brilliance and fire.
 
I have no idea what I am doing. LOL I will take any and all advice to help me with this. All I know is that I hope I have given myself enough time to get this figured out.
 
Date: 6/18/2007 10:45:47 PM
Author: mski3812
I have no idea what I am doing. LOL I will take any and all advice to help me with this. All I know is that I hope I have given myself enough time to get this figured out.
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Actually, you are doing quite well so far! That diamond is very nice, but I personally would try to find an H VS1 over an I VVS2 if you possibly can. And a fine stone needs a little nicer setting.
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Awesome! Those both are great options. I think she will like the tiffany style one alot.
Is it wrong to have her(my future fiance) to help pick out the setting?
 
Actually, I think she should pick out the setting, or at least pick two and then you can make the final choice. The main thing you need to do is set the budget and choose the diamond. And of course, we love to help.
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I am going to keep looking. Everyone I have found in the H color is right out of my price range. I guess I will have to look at increases that in order to get the best I can. I sure thought I could find a good stone for 20000 LOL.
 
What is your total maximum for the ring? I see that it is quite a price jump to and H, and there aren''t a lot of them around. I saw this one at WF, just to see if there was one so that the stone and setting could come from the same place. This one is $24,198 with the wire discount. It is H VS2, but looks really clean.

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-69407.htm#
 
Sorry, you were answering as I was typing the same question! I''ll look a little more!
 
Max for the ring and setting 26000.
 
I like all these stones! This is going to be a long search.
 
She has not hinted at ALL about what kind of settings she likes?
 
I tried to convince her that 1.8 was fine but that is one thing I don''t think she will budge on. She wouldn''t care if the stone looked like dirt as long as she can say it is 2 carats. I am the one that wants it to shine. She is going to drive me crazy over this one. Thank god I have a few months.
 
I have to get off for now. Thanks for all the help. I will check back this topic and continue to post my quest for the perfect stone ( in my budget).

Matt
 
Date: 6/18/2007 11:06:01 PM
Author: mski3812
I like all these stones! This is going to be a long search.
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The stone you chose is fine if you are sure she is not color sensitive. The problem with buying from a vendor with no upgrade policy is that later if she decides she really wants a higher color, etc., you can''t trade that stone up. That''s why we bought my diamonds from Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash (one for a ring and the others for earrings). They give full trade-in value toward a higher priced stone at any time. But if you could swing the better color now, then she''d likely never want to change it. WF and GOG also carry nice quality settings.

But, if you do get the stone from BN, you can still have it set somewhere else. That would be a good idea anyway so that you could look at the stone and decide whether to keep it.
 
Hey, well, just to start out so you don't get surprised, I am looking at a SUBSTANTIALLY smaller purchase and I am new to this whole diamond purchase experience myself. However, I do have some experiences and since I am bored and watching tv I will share the little bit I can. Also, I understand how overwhelming this can be and hopefully I can expedite things for you rather than make them more stressful.

I started out looking at Blue Nile diamonds, and Blue Nile is a wonderful site with very wonderful employees--I know about half of them by name now and there is actually only one person I haven't talked to that works there. Lol, I believe I may be a very difficult customer. However, one of the first things I looked at when I went to blue nile was how low could I go to get the biggest diamond I could in my budget.

I came away thinking "I" was a safe bet, but possibly a J color, and H was going to be top of the line where there would be no visual difference in colors to most people. But this really isn't the whole story.

In the end do some research, but the general consensus is that G is the best choice for color and price balance, especially if you get a four prong where the sides of the stones are clearly visible as that is where the color is most evident in an ideal cut diamond--though I have found I personally demand higher in a four prong.

Clarity is an excellent place to save money and since I am bored I am going to get a little long winded here.


Pretty much everybody says that a diamond should be "eye clean." That sounds nice, but what it really means is that it should not have any inclusions that you can see when looking directly on to the top of the diamond. Those people who value "eye clean" diamonds will go as low as some SI2 clarity grades--though very rarely into the I's for a variety of reasons.

Then there are other people who prefer diamonds that have inclusions that can be hidden by a prong so that they are not very easy to detect from the sides, or that have particularly "nice" inclusions that are not very visible from any angle, though there will almost always be someone with great eyesight that can pick them out. Those people generally go with SI1's

Then there are people like me who are on a budget but don't want their woman to see any inclusions at all in their diamond no matter the angle--but they don't really care about how it looks under magnification. I hear there are some SI1's in this range, but I have never seen one , but from what I have learned on here and through other sources (I haven't gotten to see many of this clarity, though a few have been totally eye clean) is that the majority of VS2's are essentially eye clean from all angles of being viewed. Thus if you get a good totally eye clean VS2 then there is no way at all that your fiance or anyone else without mystical like eyesight could differentiate between that diamond and a "Flawless diamond." Afterall--if you can't see it, you can't see it. Without magnification anyway.

Then there are some people like diamond seeker who want a diamond that it is nearly impossible for an untrained individual to locate inclusions in even WITH magnification. Those people go for VS1. Nearly all of these should to totally eyeclean from all directions and impossible to differentiate between it and a Flawless diamond without magnification and usually a little training. Always ask though, because there are sometimes small black inclusions that could potentially be viewed from certain angles.

I understand it to be that anything above the VS1 is really just getting into a matter of "title," mind cleanliness, and appreciation for the rarity of it.

Thus you can raise color and go to the lower end of clarity, I say look for a totally eye clean VS2, but no higher than VS1--and you have it made.

Anyway, thats some food for thought at least.

Also, there are a lot of great business out here and a lot of great employees. However I have been working with Jennifer down at James Allen and I can tell you that she has bent over backwards for me and is very knowledgeable and helpful. And I am only getting a .61ct, yet she treats me like it is a 5ct, highly recommended.

Also, for a purchase this big you should probably pick a vendor that will give you more information. Real magnified images, Ideal scope images, and diamonds they can pull out and look at with you on the phone and that you can actually travel down to look at if at all possible. Its a big purchase, for a critical purpose. That is my opinion though after working with both scenarios.
 
On reading the conversation that you guys had and seeing that you really aren't set on a four prong my advice is to get a six prong, maybe even on that masks the side of the diamond a little. This will not affect the light performance of the diamond at all (the light performance you need to be concerned with is what comes in from the top and out the top), that will allow you to still really display your large diamond well but move down to an H color without much fear. The only problem with that is that you have to call to find out more, but looking at the initial search it looks like it would be worth it to call and find out more information on their selection. Hard to tell without more data than is listed though.

-EDITED -

White flash also has a couple that look nice like this one:

target="_blank">2ct, G, VS2--not in house you have to request for more information

But I am not seeing any Good old Gold or White flash ACA diamonds within the price range. Which even with all the work James Allen's employees have done for me so far, I would probably be inclined to go with myself if possible. Honestly, with a nice setting that somewhat masked a portion of the side of the diamond while still showcasing it well I think the James Allen one is the best deal so far. It is H color, which will face up totally white with a well cut diamond, and the side warmth will be MINIMAL. Not really even yellow, just.."warm." VS1 so almost NO question as to eye cleanliness (though I recommend always checking and being specific that you want it totally eye clean from all angles no matter how close you view it with your naked eye) it is listed as a hearts and arrows, AGS 0, but most importantly it is in house so they can give you a ton more information, plus being in house Hearts and Arrows it comes with a 5 years 100% purchase price toward an upgrade--which means if the slight warmth did bother her--which I really don't think it would for many women, especially if she has not spent a lot of time studying diamonds and was looking for it specifically and it was in the right setting, then you have 5 years to make enough money to get a D-G color. All of this is pending some expert analysis of the angles and numbers of course. This is just the first nights search though, happy hunting!
 
Oh geez, I am embarrassed and it won''t let me edit this, I was looking at like 15 diamonds at the time, and I crossed two of the JA diamonds, making a number of my points invalid. The diamond may not be in house, it may be. Basically it looks like you should call Angara, White flash, and James Allen and see how much information they can offer you about the diamonds in that range. You could also look for one within traveling distance. Otherwise you will have to raise your budget to hit the really super ideal in house diamonds. Ugh, I will email PS and see if they can edit that, sorry.
 
Diamonds have unique, individual personalities. No two J''s are gonna look alike. But it is entirely possible to go to a J/SI in the 2 carat range to get you what you''re wanting.

Mara''s ring is a perfect example:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-new-wf-es-2-32-j-si-at-last.44808/

Mara has much ligher color melee set in the band of the e-ring and her w-band with that huge J center stone. And it''s a totally eye clean SI1. So it is doable.

Mara even posted a thread about a GF of her''s going with a 1.8 ct. K color diamond as her center stone. And it looks fabulous.

Granted, in larger stones, SI inclusions can tend to become much more detectable. But it is doable. To go both lower color and clarity when the right stone comes along.

If it works out for you, you can certainly stretch your buying dollars and add to a much more elaborate setting or an eternity w-band when the time comes.

The best thing for you to do is to get out and look at diamonds live and in person your self. See what your comfortable with and what you aren''t. Work from there. You''ve got your budget, and you''ve got a size target, so you''ve just got to maximize the remainder of the details to get you where your GF wants to be.
 
I think this would be an excellent diamond selection as well. It may not be in house, but they might be able to get you a lot more information on it if you call and talk to them.

H, VS1, AGS 0 cut, All excellents on HCA, 20,900

right now that looks to me like the best pick, and with the pricescope discount it is only 20,900. Def. worth a call to see what all information you can get in terms of light performance and appearance. It has a very small depth percentage that will really help its face up appearance but I am not 100% sure how that particular crown and pavilion angle affects performance. Def worth finding out though.
 
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