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so what''s the damage honey.. proposal price tag

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sapient007

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 5, 2008
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so i''m looking to drop to my knees.. ~cry~ and have finally my search on the web and some B&M stores for some info. I think i want to spend ~6-10k setting included for the largest stone that i can buy with those funds while not sacrificing too much on the color and grade. The B&M prices seems to be much higher than using the price scope search engine and i was wondering realistically what i should be looking to get since i have NOOOO idea what type of stone to get.

i have to add i did liked the princess cut since the similar sized stone looked bigger. also i did like a very clean setting without other smaller diamonds on the ring itself. we are both very practical ppl so i don''t think i need to venture out of the way for some exuberant ring. help.. much tx
 
Date: 5/6/2008 10:42:57 AM
Author:sapient007
i have to add i did liked the princess cut since the similar sized stone looked bigger.
Click to expand...
Compared to what other shapes? I thought princess stones faced up smaller than rounds.
33.gif
 
Date: 5/6/2008 10:42:57 AM
Author:sapient007
so i''m looking to drop to my knees.. ~cry~ and have finally my search on the web and some B&M stores for some info. I think i want to spend ~6-10k setting included for the largest stone that i can buy with those funds while not sacrificing too much on the color and grade. The B&M prices seems to be much higher than using the price scope search engine and i was wondering realistically what i should be looking to get since i have NOOOO idea what type of stone to get.


i have to add i did liked the princess cut since the similar sized stone looked bigger. also i did like a very clean setting without other smaller diamonds on the ring itself. we are both very practical ppl so i don''t think i need to venture out of the way for some exuberant ring. help.. much tx
Click to expand...

The internet is definitely the place to get a great diamond at a great price. And Pricescope is a good place to educate yourself first. You have a great budget, so I know you can get something beautiful very easily. As for where to buy from, I highly recommend Whiteflash.com. Their service is great, they have a huge selection of AGS 0 diamonds, and they also do great custom work. I got my engagement ring from them and I love it!

What shape diamond does your girlfriend like? Princess cuts are popular, but if she is dreaming of a round diamond, a princess cut isn''t the right choice! Also, ideal cut princess cut diamonds do face up a bit smaller than ideal cut rounds. Again, for an ideal cut princess, I''d go with Whiteflash. They have their own line of ideal cut AGS 0 princess cut diamonds called "A Cut Above" that are extremely well cut.

Give us some more details and I''m sure we can help you find a great diamond and setting!
 
Date: 5/6/2008 10:48:18 AM
Author: gwendolyn
Date: 5/6/2008 10:42:57 AM

Author:sapient007

i have to add i did liked the princess cut since the similar sized stone looked bigger.
Click to expand...

Compared to what other shapes? I thought princess stones faced up smaller than rounds.
33.gif
Click to expand...

You know, Gwen, I realize it goes against the pop theory on here, but I know a few people who insisted on their princess cuts because they thought they looked BIGGER than the rounds. I know, strange, but true.

I would think with your budget, Sapient, and with a simpler setting, you should be able to get a pretty good-sized stone! Good luck in your search!
 
thanks for all the replies. i''ve actually replied this thread 2ice but i''ve justed figured out that i''ve been clicking on the "report" button.

as for the rings, the more i research the more i''m unsure as what to get. things like the diamond prices are always fluctuating, so should i get after v day or before?? i still have about 4-5 months to decide on a ring so i think time is one my side.

just for my ref can someone telll me why these diamonds are priced the way they are?
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Compare_Diamonds.aspx?idnos=906733,636635,608074,906717,608073
especially the 1.27 vs 1.20 seems to be only a $500 difference

lastly. what''s a good way of getting her finger size?? she doesn''t wear any.. i mean any jewelry and i sorta want to surprise her on this.

tx
 
Date: 5/7/2008 9:12:14 AM
Author: sapient007
thanks for all the replies. i''ve actually replied this thread 2ice but i''ve justed figured out that i''ve been clicking on the ''report'' button.

as for the rings, the more i research the more i''m unsure as what to get. things like the diamond prices are always fluctuating, so should i get after v day or before?? i still have about 4-5 months to decide on a ring so i think time is one my side.

just for my ref can someone telll me why these diamonds are priced the way they are?
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Compare_Diamonds.aspx?idnos=906733,636635,608074,906717,608073
especially the 1.27 vs 1.20 seems to be only a $500 difference

lastly. what''s a good way of getting her finger size?? she doesn''t wear any.. i mean any jewelry and i sorta want to surprise her on this.

tx
Click to expand...
I''m not sure i understand the question. You won''t notice a difference by eye between the 1.27 and the 1.20, so I wouldn''t be inclined to spend the extra $$$ unless of course the more expensive one was more eyeclean that the others. With SI1 clarity you need to check these stones on a case by case basis, as they might not all be eyeclean.

You will more than likely be able to tell the difference between the smallest and largest one. Check out the thread at the top of the rocky talky page regarding actualy diamond sizes, you can see some pics of stones around these sizes and see how different they look.

By the way, you have picked some great stones, they are all ACAs so you really can''t go wrong with these. She will love it!

Good luck with the search.
 
A bit of friendly advice - if you start of new thread with a different title, you may get some more help. Us 'honey's' might take a little offense at the tone you have used, I understand you are kidding around and personally don't have a problem, but my experience is that men who come on here sarcastic or begrungingly spending their money on an engagement ring don't get too many replies from the women around here
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I''m going to be very interested in this thread, and your journey, all the best Sapient!
36.gif

Hmm, ring finger... I know you mentioned she doesn''t wear much jewellery, but even if she does have a ring that fits...say, a grad present from her mum or something... unfortunately finger size varies a lot from hand to hand and finger to finger, so it has to be the correct finger size you''re talking about here!
Maybe you are determined to catch her completely off guard with the ring, maybe you could try to *aim* in the general direction of her size, and then resize once the deed is done?
If you are talking a solitaire, with no other diamond decoration, that should be relatively easy to resize, right girls? More complicated, multi diamond or ornate rings can be difficult to resize - and full eternity rings - well, don''t even go there!
So, does she have super skinny fingers, or really fat, chubby cute ones?
27.gif
haha , you get my drift? Mabe you could make a game of it, or somehow measure her finger while she slept? I mean, this is not going to be perfect by any means, because there is still the knuckle to consider, and thicker rings may sit differently on her to thin bands.
Hm.. not sure how measuring with tape/ string would work
5.gif
But where there''s a will there''s a way, right?!
There is a downloadable ring measure on a lot of jewellery sites that I have seen, maybe that would be of use to you? You print it out on a piece of paper, and measure her up with that. Don''tget her hands mixed up!
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Date: 5/6/2008 10:57:58 AM
Author: tberube
Date: 5/6/2008 10:48:18 AM

Author: gwendolyn

Date: 5/6/2008 10:42:57 AM


Author:sapient007


i have to add i did liked the princess cut since the similar sized stone looked bigger.
Click to expand...


Compared to what other shapes? I thought princess stones faced up smaller than rounds.
33.gif
Click to expand...


You know, Gwen, I realize it goes against the pop theory on here, but I know a few people who insisted on their princess cuts because they thought they looked BIGGER than the rounds. I know, strange, but true.
Click to expand...
Hmm, interesting. I wonder if that''s because the width is more obvious, since it''s a straight line? Curiouser and curiouser...
 
well, seems like i can''t change the title so i''ll just keep on going and hopefully ppl can overlook the off shot humor.
1.gif


in regards to price, everyone would obviously want to best bang for the buck. So not having had any exp in looking at diamiond prices, are they like a volatile stock market or more stable. the reason i''m asking is that i still have some time left for the ring. since valentine''s day is coming up and i''m a little afraid scared that the price might be inflated with the approaching holiday. maybe i''m wrong and it doens''t fluctuate all that much.
 
If you buy online or from local stores with an online presence like www.goodoldgold.com and some other upper scale local jewellery stores, the prices are constant throughout the year, barring the usual yearly increases. It''s the mall variety that runs specials on their originally inflated goods.
 
I thought Valentine''s Day was in February? Are you somewhere else that celebrates valentines day differently? So while it is technically coming up I wouldn''t expect there are any pricing differences yet due to a holiday that is 9 months away. Now mother''s day might cause a price change and that is coming up soon.

As for ring sizes I think even if you were to get the exact diameter of your gf''s finger you still would have trouble sizing. At least with my wife sizing is somewhat subjective as she has worn anything from a 7 to a 8 1/4. I''d almost say your best bet might be to get a cheap ''throwaway'' setting with a really nice diamond. Then you could surprise her with a ring, but then she can pick out the setting/size soon afterwards.
 
Date: 5/6/2008 10:57:58 AM
Author: tberube




Date: 5/6/2008 10:48:18 AM
Author: gwendolyn




Date: 5/6/2008 10:42:57 AM

Author:sapient007

i have to add i did liked the princess cut since the similar sized stone looked bigger.
Click to expand...

Compared to what other shapes? I thought princess stones faced up smaller than rounds.
33.gif
Click to expand...

You know, Gwen, I realize it goes against the pop theory on here, but I know a few people who insisted on their princess cuts because they thought they looked BIGGER than the rounds. I know, strange, but true.
Click to expand...
Here''s an interesting thread from the archives that deals specifically with this subject. I found it just yesterday when I was doing some similar research on this site. It has some very useful info and Garry throws out some nice pics that illustrate the size differences between the round and square cuts.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-princesses-or-rounds-look-bigger.23394/



Here''s one of the pics from the above thread:



storecomp1.jpg
 
I have an idea. Why don''t you get her an inexpensive ring just for a fun gift. It''ll either be too big or too small, and you can exchange it for the right size. Definitely make it something that is not like an engagement ring to confuse her. Just know that the right and left ring fingers aren''t always the same size!
 
With regards to the size difference I think technically rounds will face up larger than a princess of the same size.

From Whiteflash samples

1.02 ACA H&A 6.46x6.47mm = (6.46/2)^2*pi = 32.78mm2
1.02 ACA Princess 5.36x5.34 = 28.62mm2

However on a per Caret basis Princesses are normally cheaper. So it might be worthwhile to compare stones of the same price not the same caret weight.

0.900 H/VVS2 ACA H&A $5760 6.15 x 6.19 = (6.17/2)^2*pi = 29.9mm2
1.028 H/VVS1 ACA Princess $5808 5.46 x 5.45 = 29.757mm2

So these are just about identical in face up surface area. Of course once your factoring in $$ per sparkle I could concede rounds should be the winner again, especially as I have never actually seen a princess up close.
 
There is no question that a carat is a carat as far as the weight of the stone. However, I always look at diameter or L&W mm measurements when I''m evaluating stones. If I''m paying for a carat, I want it to face up like a carat. It''s mostly for that reason that I don''t care for princess cuts.
 
Date: 5/8/2008 4:25:02 PM
Author: purrfectpear
There is no question that a carat is a carat as far as the weight of the stone. However, I always look at diameter or L&W mm measurements when I'm evaluating stones. If I'm paying for a carat, I want it to face up like a carat. It's mostly for that reason that I don't care for princess cuts.
Click to expand...

It seems though a princess is cheaper per caret so it makes the difference a wash. Who cares what the caret size is if you have a budget of $6K for a diamond if you spend that on a princess or a round you could end up with the same face up size all other things being equal. (See my above example) or even a little bigger

from GoG:
Princess 1.27ct G VS2 None $7,583.45 5.87x6.05 = 35.51mm2
Round 1.01ct G VS2 Negligible $7,558.50 6.45x6.48 = 32.83mm2


Im not sure I like princesses either but not because of the size difference.
 
Date: 5/8/2008 4:25:02 PM
Author: purrfectpear
There is no question that a carat is a carat as far as the weight of the stone. However, I always look at diameter or L&W mm measurements when I''m evaluating stones. If I''m paying for a carat, I want it to face up like a carat. It''s mostly for that reason that I don''t care for princess cuts.
Click to expand...

And I agree! I also don''t prefer princess cuts, for their lack of face-up size as well as their crushed-ice look and sharp corners. But, as I pointed out in my last post, there are many women out there who love them, despite all of that. Or, perhaps, out of a lack of knowledge of all that.
 
You know, letting her pick the permanent setting is really fantastic advice...
I have a hard enough time working out what I want, let alone having my man work it out!!!
Let her worry about the setting!
And worry she will!!!
4.gif


although...I would still totally prefer a ring I could wear straight away after the proposal, so perhaps you're not totally off the hook, sizing wise, anyway, even if she does get another setting for the wedding band!
 
sry for the late post. i only post from a work computer so there are less chances of getting caught. i''m going to goto a jewler to see some more cuts this week but i hope they don''t send me anything via mail since we do live together. and in terms of finding a diamond front, after reading some of the threads, i thinking i''m swaying back to the round cut. still staying in the 6-10k range and will pick out something simple for a setting.

still several questions as i get more familiar with diamonds. on top of my mind is what are these mean? i''m perfticularly interested in measurements as what type of measurements should i be looking for?? or rather what measurements are ideal for a round/princess cut?

Gdl Cul Sym Pol Flr Measurements


2ndly after many pricescope searches, it seems that these 2 stores always come on top. any feedbacks as to how they are?

http://www.usacerteddiamonds.com/

http://www.abazias.com/builder/builder.asp?view=diamondsearch&flag=ps&selectedDiamond=46058044
 
Date: 5/8/2008 1:02:45 PM
Author: jsu1995


Date: 5/6/2008 10:57:58 AM
Author: tberube






Date: 5/6/2008 10:48:18 AM
Author: gwendolyn






Date: 5/6/2008 10:42:57 AM

Author:sapient007

i have to add i did liked the princess cut since the similar sized stone looked bigger.
Click to expand...

Compared to what other shapes? I thought princess stones faced up smaller than rounds.
33.gif
Click to expand...

You know, Gwen, I realize it goes against the pop theory on here, but I know a few people who insisted on their princess cuts because they thought they looked BIGGER than the rounds. I know, strange, but true.
Click to expand...
Here's an interesting thread from the archives that deals specifically with this subject. I found it just yesterday when I was doing some similar research on this site. It has some very useful info and Garry throws out some nice pics that illustrate the size differences between the round and square cuts.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-princesses-or-rounds-look-bigger.23394/



Here's one of the pics from the above thread:



storecomp1.jpg
Click to expand...
Wow,that is awesome picture and helpful!!!
 
Date: 5/12/2008 12:41:07 PM
Author: sapient007
sry for the late post. i only post from a work computer so there are less chances of getting caught. i''m going to goto a jewler to see some more cuts this week but i hope they don''t send me anything via mail since we do live together. and in terms of finding a diamond front, after reading some of the threads, i thinking i''m swaying back to the round cut. still staying in the 6-10k range and will pick out something simple for a setting.

still several questions as i get more familiar with diamonds. on top of my mind is what are these mean? i''m perfticularly interested in measurements as what type of measurements should i be looking for?? or rather what measurements are ideal for a round/princess cut?

Gdl Cul Sym Pol Flr Measurements
You want these:
Table%
Depth%
Crown angle or %
Pavilon angle or %
Girdle
Culet
Polish & Symmetry
Physical dimension in millimeters

2ndly after many pricescope searches, it seems that these 2 stores always come on top. any feedbacks as to how they are?

http://www.usacerteddiamonds.com/

http://www.abazias.com/builder/builder.asp?view=diamondsearch&flag=ps&selectedDiamond=46058044

They are known to be drop shippers; they will send you the stone without ever looking at them. I might buy from them if I''m only shopping for rounds and don''t plan to upgrade at all. Princess cuts cannot be bought by the numbers unless you get an AGS0 princess cut. With rounds, at least you can use the HCA to help weed out the poorly cut diamonds. I don''t think they have any upgrade or buy back policies although I think they have a somewhat decent return policy. They also do not provide any further info than what the cert has - no idealscope, sarin, magnified pictures, and wonderful info to help make a confident decision that you are getting THE diamond.
Click to expand...
 
from the de beards website looks like i want the table to be in the 53-64% range while the depth to be at 57-64% range.


in which direction are the numbers better or is it really from stone to stone?? ie 53%> 64% table etc etc
 
Date: 5/12/2008 2:22:18 PM
Author: sapient007
from the de beards website looks like i want the table to be in the 53-64% range while the depth to be at 57-64% range.


in which direction are the numbers better or is it really from stone to stone?? ie 53%> 64% table etc etc
Click to expand...
Rounds are easier to shop for by the numbers:
table 54-57%
depth 60-62%
crown angle 34-35
pavilion angle 40.7 to 41
polish and symmetry should be at least very good to excellent
Avoid "very" and "extremely" thin/thick girdles

For princess cut, I''d stick with AGS0 stones.
 
Sapient, you have the table and depth a little larger than desired.
depth - 60 - 62.4 ( NOT AS LOW AS 57%, NOT UP TO 64%)
table - 54- 57 (NOT UP TO 64%)
crown angle - 34- 35 degrees
pavilion angle - 40.6 - 41 degrees
girdle - thin to slightly thick, medium, avoid extremes such as thin to thick, very thick etc.
polish and symmetry very good and above.
 
hey that price scope tool is very useful. tx much

back on the diamond subject? in the pricing faq, there are mentions of under sized diamonds may be hard to find but best value? so is a 1.19 an odd sized diamond? or if 1.08 is an undersized 1.10?? or are they even more rare. there seems to be a lot of sparklers'' carets seems to be under or over by just a little bit. would be great if someone can explain a little more in depth.

tx again
 
Undersized would be a .98, .99 in lieu of 1.00, or 1.95 in lieu of 2.00. That''s where you would see the savings because the stone hasn''t met the magic one carat, or full two carat mark. Obviously it would still look like a one or two carat.

There may be similar savings at the "half" marks, but I don''t know. Experts, are there savings at 1.48 in lieu of 1.50 ?
 
or savings on 1.99999999999 instead of 1.2

wishful thinking more or less..
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