Smaller carat size question.

[astraea]

I am replacing my original E-ring so I am on a tight budget, and am looking for a modest .40-.50 carat H&A diamond. The price jumps significantly once you reach the 1/2 carat. I know I could get a bigger diamond without the H&A, but I am firm on the cut because symmetry is very important to me.

I have very petite fingers, and wear a size 4.5. I'm trying to find pictures online of a .40 diamond next to a coin for reference, but haven't had much luck. If anybody can tell me that there is not a big difference between a .40 and a .50 with petite hands, then I may just go ahead and get the smaller size. I've looked at size charts, and there seems to be little difference to the naked eye. Of course, it could be different in real life, so I'm wondering what you think.

Thanks for any help.

 

[:)]

Smaller stones tend to show more of a difference in size for carat weight. I would suggest looking at the diameters on the stones you look at - looking for the largest diameter on a well cut stone in your range!

 

[astraea]

I never thought of this...it''s a very important point. Thank you!

 

[:)]

You''re welcome!

 

[denverboy]

for ideal dim''s, 0.5c will be approx 15% larger area than 0.4c, or in other words approx 0.35mm larger in diameter. definitely noticeable difference. if you go 0.45c its about 7% smaller than 0.5c in area and approx 0.2 mm diameter difference. calculate the cost diff b/n each and decide if the extra area is worth it to you. or go to stores and see those sizes in person - it can make a difference!

 

[mercoledi]

If you search ( sorry, I don''t have time to find it right now ) there are threads in SMTR where people posted their size 4 or size 5 rings, and a thread for stones under 1ct. If you have the time to slog through them you should be able to get an idea of how a .4whatever will look on your slim digits.

 

[astraea]

A few replies--

Looking at the numbers 15% does sound very noticable indeed; those charts will never tell you that...

.45 might be the way to go on my budget -- I'll have to keep my eye out for the middle range. It seems like a lot of my searches are bringing up .40's and .50's, and not so much in between. I wonder if that is due to more popularity..or perhaps it's lower in supply right now, I don't know. But I do have time, not getting married until next year.

I'll definitely do some searches on the boards for comparisons, merci for pointing me in the right direction. It's amazing how different diamonds look on different band sizes...!

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 9/10/2008 4:22:56 PM
Author:astraea
I am replacing my original E-ring so I am on a tight budget, and am looking for a modest .40-.50 carat H&A diamond. The price jumps significantly once you reach the 1/2 carat. I know I could get a bigger diamond without the H&A, but I am firm on the cut because symmetry is very important to me.

I have very petite fingers, and wear a size 4.5. I''m trying to find pictures online of a .40 diamond next to a coin for reference, but haven''t had much luck. If anybody can tell me that there is not a big difference between a .40 and a .50 with petite hands, then I may just go ahead and get the smaller size. I''ve looked at size charts, and there seems to be little difference to the naked eye. Of course, it could be different in real life, so I''m wondering what you think.

Thanks for any help.

You might want to call some of the vendors here and ask them what they might have that meets your budget. It may be that you can sacrifice a little color or clarity and still get the sizzle that you want in cut in a full half carat, and it might be that you can ask someone to take photos of a .40, a .45 and a .50 in your range.

You might be surprized at how little visual difference there is or you may be disappointed. It depends a lot on you and what you are wanting, and you should be able to visit a local jeweler and see these diamond sizes also.

Just my thoughts.

Wink

 

[glitterata]

Inclusions are generally smaller to see in smaller diamonds, so you might consider going down in clarity.

 

[swingirl]

What is your budget and will you be getting a new setting or using your original?

 

[astraea]

Great suggestions -- that's why I love this board.

Yes--I'm definitely okay with inclusions. I actually want to stay away from colorless and flawless or near-flawless due to the price, and I usually omit them in my searches. My original E-ring was an F and it looked just fine to me.

Budget-wise...I'm getting a new solitaire setting which is $390. I'd like to spend about $900-1.5k on my diamond. (Somewhat of a large range, but that's because of my indecisiveness with the size so far.)

From the looks of my searches, it is certainly the case of getting more size for less clarity. Even some .3X's were not surprisingly at the top of my price range because they had better clarity!

I did find a .52, SI1 for $1420. So maybe my ballpark figure is ok, just need to wait for the right diamond to come around.

 

[JulieN]

I think you should be able to get a near or over .5 ct I SI1 for that $

 

[stone-cold11]

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-j-color-vs2-clarity_LD01402290?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0

Found this one on BN.
A .64c RB, Ex for polish and sym.
Rated 1 on HCA.
J VS1 With Very Strong Blue Fluorescence only for $1285.

I like strong fluorescence.

Just something for your reference.

 

[astraea]

^^ that sounds really pretty! I wish BN had pictures.
I think slight blue tint is alright. I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but blue against white gold would seem to go together.

 

[mercoledi]

Under 1 ct eye candy

And show me your size 5''s.

There''s also a size 4 thread, but it has monster stones.

If you aren''t interested in upgrading, it may be worth looking at bluenile. They have gobs of stones in your size and nice search functions that let you weed out large tables and deep/shallow stones.

 

[astraea]

mercoledi, you rock! No pun intended I got distracted looking for those threads... there is SO much to read here, I''ve been glued to the site all day.

Anyway, time to focus! I''m going to check those out right now.

 

[stone-cold11]

Oops, astraea, sorry about that. Totally forgot you were going for a H&A. :p

 

[kcoursolle]

I have a size 4.25 and I think there is a pretty noticeable difference between a .4 and a .5. If you can swing it I definitely think it''s worth it to try to get to the .5 or larger.

 

[astraea]

I'd definitely love a 1/2 carat stone!

Might be a bit out of my league right now (I'm already in trouble for replacing my E-ring!), but I'll never say never.

I'm going to keep an eye on my search results...found a .44 ACA from WF that was below my budget (thanks to their PS discount!!) and I was pretty impressed by that.

Anyway, like I said before, I have time. But, hopefully I could have it on my finger within the next few months so I can admire some fire through the gloomy Pacific Northwest Winter!

 

[stone-cold11]

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1148637.htm

Foun this one, should be within your search criteria except maybe for the colour, I don''t think you specify that. :p
It is a .567c stone, J VS2, H&A, ideal for both polish and sym for PS price of USD$1229. HCA scored 1.3 but that''s expected of a H&A I think.

Good luck.