small budget and want small diamond

[jenery]

New here! I''ve been reading for the past couple of hours and was wondering if anyone can advise me on the small end of the spectrum (size and price!).

My boyfriend wants me to pick out the ring myself, which is fine with me as I am picky when it comes to jewelry. So far I have tried a few local stores but have been disappointed with the service (one for example would not take me seriously as I was there alone and kept asking if they could call my boyfriend at work!!). I have small fingers (4.5 size) that are long and thin and I am pretty petite overall so that has me leaning towards something in the 0.5 ct range. I think I would feel selfconscious and awkward with anything larger especially as I am not used to wearing jewelry.

I have been doing some online windowshopping and was leaning towards Mondera before I found this forum. Quality is much more important to me than size and I am really looking to keep the total cost of the ring under $2K as we are both students and our ''2 months salary'' is negative at the moment!

Cut is most important to me but I would like to stick to F/VS2 which seems possible on my budget. Is it worth it to go for H&A in a small diamond? Are smallish stones more/less sensitive to color vs clarity?

I just saw a .49 ct ACA F/VS2 on whiteflash for $1495 which seems like a steal compared to BN or Mondera but I am not sure... plus I am a bit leery of buying online. Any help or advice would be appreciated, or what to tell my mom who has a 2ct tiffany ring on her finger!

 

[Stephan]

Go with Whiteflash.
They have a solid reputation, don't be afraid.
F is very nice, and VS2 also, especially for a little diamond.

Kind regards,

 

[Lynn B]

----------------
... or what to tell my mom who has a 2ct tiffany ring on her finger!

----------------

Well, I'll leave the real diamond advice to the "experts" here!

But I DO feel confident to reply to what you said above!

I wouldn't worry one bit about what to tell your "2-carat" mom!

I'm sure she'll be so happy for you and your engagement, and thrilled that you and your fiance are being sensible and reasonable and not going into big debt for your ring. PLUS, when she sees the gorgeous sparkler you choose, she will have to fall in love with it! And the Mom Motto (and I know this because I am a Mom!

) generally is, "If you're happy, I am thrilled!" And it's true; sometimes my daughter loves something that may not be my exact personal taste (that's called "variety and the spice of life"!) but I can still recognize the beauty of her choice, and I am just so happy that she has something she loves.

And one more thing... did Mom get that ring when she got engaged or has that been something she's acquired "through the years"? We all have to "start out"... so try not to compare your situation w/ your parents. They've had lots of years to accumulate what they have!

Enjoy this wonderful time of your life, and your new ring. And keep us posted!

Lynn

 

[WinkHPD]

It is rare to find a .49ct H&A cut diamond since it is more economical to cut a stone poorly to maintain the .50ct size. The difference in value for the size and quality of stone that you have talked about is 1495 at .49 and 2051 at .50, assuming the same markup used for the .49ct.

This allows you the look of the .50ct without the expense of the .50ct. A very nice savings given your budgetary constraints.

Wink

 

[sylvesterii]

Yeah, that does sound like a really nice diamond. Whiteflash ACA's are really excellent from what i have heard, and it does sound like a good price. buying online is of no worry, epsecially when it is form someone reputable like whiteflash. use a credit card, which will offer you a little more protection that wiring cash or sending a check if you are nervous. easy search for you!

 

[Giangi]

You simply can't go wrong with an F/VS from Whiteflash!

But let me play the devil's advocate for a second: are you sure you don't want to go with a 55-60pts stone in HIJ/SI 1 quality? At that size it would show up very nice and the price would be the same (or less) as the 0.49. Just trying to make sure you've explred all your options.

 

[hoorray]

wn as a reputable vendor with beautiful stones. You might check out their expert selection. These stones for some reason or another they don't feel are quite up to their ACA standards, but are usually still spectacular and a little less pricy. They have several good looking ones in your size range, all for a little less than the stone you are considering (which looks beautiful also). You can easily go to an SI1 clarity if Whiteflash confirms that the stone is eye clean and the inclusions do not break the surface.

Here are a couple os samples:

.53 F SI1

.53 E SI1

.5 G SI1

Another way to take the risk out of the transaction is to have the stone sent to a local appraiser before you pay for it. That way you can see it first and get an independent opinion.


Also, Whiteflash offers a Pricescope discount, so be sure to ask about that.


Good luck!

 

[valeria101]

A nice stone is just that

Can't see any reason not to go for your first find! And I would have Whiteflash set it and deliver the ring: sounds like the faste-cheaper-safer version of the process to me. This, unless you have a certain setting in mind that a local jeweler and not other can possibly provide.

I don't think changing color, clarity or cut for lower standards will gain anything stryking at this point

From 0.5cts on, it is weight that makes price jump most, not color, clarity or cut.


Just my 0.2, of course...

 

[sluke]

Jenery,

If you do go with Whiteflash, you should not have any problems. I got my diamond from their "Expert Selection" and it is beautiful. I'd worked with Leslie, she was very easy, very professional and always returned my calls.

 

[adillus]

Don't fear buying online. I'd be a bit leary buying an SI1 or lower online because of the possibility of visible inclusions (I'd still do it, but I'd check the return policy carefully), but with the diamond you're talking about from Whiteflash, you can't go wrong.

 

[jenery]

thanks so much to everyone for your opinions. i feel much better about buying online now and have spent FAR too much time shopping when i ought to have been studying. but hopefuly i will only have to do this once.

of course, we have been waiting on a reimbursement check from school (this is the $$ that will pay for my sparkly) and it has been delayed another week. this means i have had MORE time to poke around online and now i am waffling all over again as to size/color/clarity! i am going to try to foray back into a jewelery store this weekend to see which of color/clarity is most apparent to me... thanks to all of the resources here i have been able to find far too many >0.6 ct stones (all E-H) in my price range and am agonising over whether i should step down a grade or two in clarity (nothing below SI2) to get something an eensy bit bigger than the 0.5 cts i had originally aimed for. i've been looking mainly at dirtcheapdiamonds signature selections and whiteflash's expert selections since both vendors enjoy a good reputation here and offer settings that i like.

 

[Hest88]

Jenery, I could have written the same post you did when we were looking for my ring. I'm wearing a 4.25 wedding set, so it sounds like our fingers are about the same size. If you decide to go with something larger (and you certainly don't have to in order to find something that will look lovely on you!), don't worry about it looking too large on your hand. I have plenty of friends with the same ring size we do and anything up to about 1 carat looks proportional. It's only when you get over 1.25 that the stone starts looking like something large.