Should I ever sacrifice Cut for larger Carat?

[msop04]

also theres this 1.64 ct (EGL graded) F. its listed at 7900
http://jewelsbyericagrace.com/loose_antique_and_vintage_diamonds_-_151_to_250_carats

This! Great find, Niel!

 

[luvsdmb]

also theres this 1.64 ct (EGL graded) F. its listed at 7900
http://jewelsbyericagrace.com/loose_antique_and_vintage_diamonds_-_151_to_250_carats

This would blow her cousins up. Sooo pretty!!

I had a "1.5ct RB"that was crap. I got it cause it was
bigger and better color and I ended up hating it. It
looked dead, no sparkle at all. And as mentioned it
was sold to me as a 1.5 but measured smaller.
I say get the best diamond you can afford and the
setting later. If she ends up getting on this site it's
very possible her taste will change, this way when
she does pick out the setting hopefully it will be the
one.

 

[ChristineRose]

People do it all the time. On PS it's pretty clear that the preference would be for smaller, but in the real world people notice size over cut. For decades the trend was towards big, flat, and flat-looking stones. The cousin's stone may actually face up very large.

I think the correct way to do this would be to call Whiteflash in adavance and have them present you with a variety of $7000 options. Ask them to be ready with four that sacrifice on one each of the Cs--a small one, an I1, an L, and a "good" cut. Then ask if they can show you some that are sort of in between, like the largest premium cut G SI1 they have in stock for $7000.

It would spoil some of the surprise, yes, but you could still make it a romantic thing. Book at table at a nice little cafe, go on a carriage ride, get tickets to a show, tour a brewery, go to a hockey game, make a day of it. Tell her to be ready at 8 AM and tell her how to dress but don't tell her where you're going. Show up with flowers and breakfast. And ask WF to have the setting in the building if possible.

 

[evergreen]

I totally understand, my ring is an EGL I VS2 but I'd happily have gone down in clarity AND color to get a bigger or cheaper stone. (I had some other requirements that made me stick with the one I have, though. ) Maybe your GF isn't color- or clarity-sensitive; many aren't! But as others have said, virtually EVERYONE is size-sensitive.

I recently bought, and ended up returning, a diamond from B2CJewels; they tend to be relatively inexpensive with a better selection of lower-clarity diamonds than other places. We didn't have any trouble with the return.

http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-4220176-1.53-carat-Round-diamond-G-color-I1-clarity.aspx
1.53ct G I1, but the inclusions are twinning wisps and you could get very lucky there. 55% table should give you nice fire, and although it is cut quite deep, the HCA is actually 1.2, within TIC range (only "good" spread). Since it's a highish prong setting, maybe a thicker girdle will provide some beneficial protection against chips. Wire price is $7,394.

http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-3922564-1.74-carat-Round-diamond-H-color-I1-clarity.aspx
1.74ct H I1, but HOLY MACKEREL the spread. Many of the inclusions are also twinning wisps, though there are some short feathers and a cavity that is diagrammed near the culet. You'd have to be careful that those aren't too noticeable and that overall the inclusions -- potential red flag, "clouds not shown" -- didn't interfere with brilliance. This almost certainly won't be as clean as the G, but it faces up HUGE -- 7.82 x 7.86mm. HCA is 2.0, with "good" light return. Wire price is $7,025.

But if it were me, I'd get the JBEG old cut.

 

[tweeter8177]

Hi - You have already been given good advice, but I thought I would share my story. When I first got engaged, we went to the jewelry store to pick out the diamond. We were given 2 choices and we went with the bigger 1.3ct. The other stone was more expensive but I didn't even bother asking why or anything else regarding the other 3 C's. (OMG, what a dummy!) It was perfect for a while until a friend got engaged and her diamond just sparkled like crazy!!! Mine didn't! I started researching and found out about cut. I ended up upgrading to a gorgeous, sparkely 2.3 ct GIA XXX with an HCA of 1.6 or something like that. The jeweler sent my old diamond to be certed and it came back very good cut. Both stones were color I and SI2s (eye clean to me). I have since upgraded again to an I SI1 3.25ct, but I blame that lack of sparkle in my first diamond for making me an upgrade monster! He he he!

My point is you don't want to skimp on cut otherwise your girlfriend may eventually realize that she wants a diamond that sparkles more. Cut is so important to the beauty of the diamond! Then one upgrade leads to another and more money out of the pocket...ok that may not happen with your girlfriend but it could! I would drop in color and clarity before cut. You are much smarter than we were by researching and asking the right questions now!!!

Good luck!

 

[arabon66]

Happy New Year to all, and thank you all very much for the wonderful insight and advice!

As much as I want to keep it a surprise factor, I think I will take my girlfriend to see what she is really okay with/not okay with.


The stones you all linked are great!!

You guys are truly experts and have helped me a great deal!


Once I find out exactly what she wants, I know who to turn to for great advice/stone selection!



Thank you all again!

 

[arabon66]

Hi guys, this is an update from last time. It's going to be a fairly long post!


So I did take my girlfriend to get a better grasp of what she is looking for in a setting and diamond.


I went to the hated Robbins Brothers because Whiteflash was not open on the weekend.

I found out that she wants a much simpler setting:

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagemen...-flat-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-2553.htm

which is good for me since it is less expensive than the original ribbon setting. It seems like she is still in love with Tacori settings though.



As for the diamond, I told the sales rep that I wanted to look at GIA and AGS certified diamonds. He laughed and said "Did you hear that on the internet?". And proceeded to ramble on about how that all diamonds they carry are excellent and blah blah. I was just going to use this as a learning experience anyways, so I just put on a smile and let my girlfriend try on different colors and sizes.

It seemed like she was comfortable with a 1.25 carat I color SI2 clarity (IGI certified so who knows what it really was). I didn't like it too much but I have not seen a AGS000 or GIA3X diamond in real life, so I didn't have anything to compare it to.


We were about to leave when the sales manager came and asked my girlfriend if she wanted to see the diamond set in the ring. They came back with the ring in a few minutes....


And my girlfriend started to cry.
Obviously at this point, the salespeople were licking their lips, thinking how easy this was.

I was urging my girlfriend to leave and come back next week, but she was so head over heels for the diamond in the setting combo, that we decided to buy the setting at that time. I was able to convince her to keep looking for the diamond, however.


At this point, I'm having buyer's remorse for even getting the Tacori setting at RB. I did get it at the same price as WF, but I would feel better if I bought both the ring and diamond at the same place. Does this matter or should I just keep the setting?


Also, since I do know what kind of diamond she likes for sure now, I was hoping I could get some help in searching for the perfect diamond...

Round

Color: At least I
Clarity: Eye Clean
Cut: Ideal
Carat: 1.25+
Cost: $7,000~$9,000


I really liked the JBEG 1.64ct OEC that was recommended (http://jewelsbyericagrace.smugmug.c...amond/24273206_jb6pgM#!i=2940834810&k=zszMd5S), but was turned off by the "poor to fair" symmetry in the EGL certificate. Is this nothing to worry about?

I also really liked the 1.53 I-SI2 Superior H&A (http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11293/) but it is a little pricier.

Could you guys give me pros/cons on the above 2 diamonds, and also any other round diamonds that would fit the bill?

Thank you guys very much!

 

[04diamond<3]

Would you be interested in something else?

This faces up like a 2ct:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.81-carat-k-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-273454


http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.63-carat-k-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-148191

You can request ideal scope images for these stones and JA also offers a 1-5% discount to PS members.

 

[Niel]

So you bought a setting? What size is it for?

Id return it. Get the setting after you know what the size of the stone is.

Plus if you can get the stone and setting in the same place, thats better.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Hi all,

First, thank you very much for the wealth of knowledge you guys provide.
I posted once before when I really had no clue about diamonds at all.


From lurking a little bit longer, I am a bit more comfortable with the diamond search, and THOUGHT that I had narrowed down what I wanted to buy my girlfriend.


I wanted to get her a Round diamond, Ideal Cut, G-I Color , At least SI1 Clarity (eye clean), and 1.0+ carat for around $7,000 (which there are many excellent diamonds in this price range that fit my criteria) I live in Houston, TX so I was primarily browsing through the Whiteflash site.

However, my girlfriend has recently told me that she would probably prefer a bigger sized stone (1.4-1.6... apparently her cousin got a 1.5 carat $8,000 ring at some mall jeweler) even if it is not as well cut. I emphasized that the cut is the most important of the 4C's but I guess she doesn't really care much for it..

I also asked about warmer colors (around L-M) but she's pretty opposed to that idea as well.


By the way, the setting I want to get her is the Tacori Ribbon Style #2573MDRD75.
http://www.tacori.com/engagement/2573mdrd75.html


Grr, what should I do?

Very late to the party.
Should you ever sacrifice cut for a larger DIAMETER OR SPREAD?
its a better question

 

[Sparklelu]

Can you return it, her none the wiser? You know what she wants, where to get it, and how to get the best sparkliest stone. That's what I suggest.

 

[JulieN]

IMO, IGI color is possibly one grade higher than a GIA. Nothing drastic like EGL Intl. 7-9K is reasonable for your specs.

 

[distracts]

If you want to shop at WF, I'd just get this one: http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2972960.htm
I think it would look huge & stunning in that setting.

I personally would return the setting and get it through WF to ensure perfect fit for your stone. Also I was under the impression that stones set in Tacori settings are set by Tacori, not the authorized dealer? I could be wrong about that though. Honestly I'd just see if you can reserve the WF diamond and take the setting to them and ask them about it - they'll be able to tell you whether the stone fits perfectly and know the Tacori warrantee.

 

[arabon66]

Hi 04diamond<3 , I think my gf said I was the highest she would like in terms of color. Although she did look at one "J" that she said looked whiter than the "I".

I think you're right Niel & Elisateach. They offer a 30-day return so I think I'll be returning it next weekend. They said the size fits .75-1.75 carat appx. I do want to get the stone & setting at the same place...but my resolve weakened after I saw my gf cry upon putting on the ring... .

Garry, yes I should have asked that question!!

JulieN, I didn't know that! I just felt offended when I as a consumer asked to see stones graded by certain labs, just to be greeted by a mocking laugh.

Distracts, I have actually been looking at that stone for awhile! It looks wonderful!


Seeing how she absolutely loved the Tacori ring, I'll be sticking with a Tacori retailer. I will probably take a day off this week to check out WF.


In the mean time, could you guys offer me your thoughts on the GoG stone linked below?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11293/

 

[GeorgeStevens]

Good call to return the setting. Sorry if I missed it, but nobody suggested getting a great rock and a cheap setting. If you believe DeBeers advertising, the rock is the symbol of your love and what people will notice. Diamond prices haven't run up the same way the prices of settings have; with prices of precious metals falling (and likely to continue to fall), you can get a better setting in a few years for less money than today. So get a simple solitaire setting as cheap as you can, then upgrade THAT. Or get a sparkly wedding band.

As for the stone, laugh right back at the mall jeweler. You went in knowing something and they're still trying to take advantage of you.

For the personal story - my wife wanted big above all else. She has an AGS0 SI2 J in a simple solitaire setting that cost $500, bought entirely online (from a PS sponsor). It gets noticed and commented on all the time - by store clerks, other women, random people. Nobody has ever noticed the little inclusion (can be seen if you look really closely at the right angle) nor the color. They do notice the size and the light reflection (i.e. the cut). She works on live TV and occasionally there's a great reflection of a studio light from the diamond straight into the camera. On planes in the morning it can light up the interior of the plane with little dots of light when morning sun hits it at the right angle. You don't get this with a suboptimal cut. I've seen some mall diamonds that could easily be confused with CZs because the cut is so poor.

P.S. with diamonds, everything is negotiable. Just like in a middle eastern bazaar, only fools pay the posted price.

 

[distracts]

In the mean time, could you guys offer me your thoughts on the GoG stone linked below?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11293/

I would be concerned about the twining wisps in that stone - it looks a little hazy in the picture (could just be the way the picture was taken) and I'm not sure if that would affect brilliance in real life. I'd call or email them to ask about it. I helped my brother buy an engagement ring and we purchased last week from GOG, the ring hasn't arrived yet so I can't offer full praise but so far it has been a wonderful experience and they were very helpful. (Coincidentally we are also physically located in Texas, albeit in Dallas.)

 

[04diamond<3]

In the mean time, could you guys offer me your thoughts on the GoG stone linked below?

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11293/

I would be concerned about the twining wisps in that stone - it looks a little hazy in the picture (could just be the way the picture was taken) and I'm not sure if that would affect brilliance in real life. I'd call or email them to ask about it. I helped my brother buy an engagement ring and we purchased last week from GOG, the ring hasn't arrived yet so I can't offer full praise but so far it has been a wonderful experience and they were very helpful. (Coincidentally we are also physically located in Texas, albeit in Dallas.)

I was also thinking it looks hazy....

some other options:

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.58-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-252900

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.51-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-very-good-cut-sku-251418