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soon to be college graduate looking for some help

R

R_M

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 10, 2013
Messages
37
So I've got a year left of my Bachelor's and planning on going to Grad school.
Been dating my girlfriend for about a year and a half and we are moving in this Fall!
Followed by this big commitment will be her following me to wherever I end up going to school, and I wish to propose to her before we make the move after undergraduate graduation.

Here's my dilemma:

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?forceStep=BASKET_STEP&offer_id=20315&override=1&pid=LD02449327&ring_size=5.5


I am looking at:
Ideal-cut, D-color, VS2-clarity, Round, 0.37-carat Diamond. Stock #: LD02449327 $773
Petite Solitaire Engagement Ring in 14k White Gold. Stock #: 20315 $330
SUBTOTAL: $1,103

Since we are both students, the budget is limited, with hopes of upgrading later on in life.
But she is a very sentimental person and I wish to give her the best I can afford for the monumental part of our lives.

What I'm torn between is either deciding on this diamond, or choosing a bigger carat size (Heard .44 looks marginally similar to .5 when in a setting) but that will decrease the quality of the diamond while still increasing the price.

So, bigger carat? or smaller with better quality?


Thanks for the help in advance :)
 
For the majority of people, D VS2 is overkill. It's often recommended here to find a GIA or AGS-graded G, H, or even I color diamond with clarity SI1 or SI2 depending on if the stone is eye-clean or not. Especially with smaller carat stones, clarity flaws are harder to see.

What is your total budget?
 
looking to spend around 1000-1200 including the setting. I'm pretty set on this setting that's $330.
 
"quality" isnt necessarily as cut and dry as "highest color" and "best clarity".. these are things that look best on paper, but does that necessaritly mean its the best stone for you maybe, maybe not You don't wear the certificate on your finger. And i think thats an important thing to remember.

Cut is what makes a stone sparkle, and on this forum, most if not all would say its the most important thing.

color is subjective. I, personally, at your budget, see no reason to stay such a high color. J or high is considered near colorless, and at the size you are looking a the color will be hardly noticable whichever color you pick .


clarity grading is something you use to make sure you dont have visible inclusions, right? well, if you can get a stone with non visible inclusions at an SI level, then you are basically paying more for something you cannot see. however at the size you are looking at, there arent as many stones that are well cut , so its not as easy to say "i want a J SI1" and find a lot of good ones


remember, you want whats prettiest on her hand, not on the cert that youll tuck away in a drawer somewhere.

if you open to something thats non round, theres this
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/radiant-cut/0.50-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-144438

paired with this (and asking them for a ps discount and paying by wire) id bet the price would be close to the same as from BN

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/14k-white-gold-2mm-knife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-7115

and if shes sentimental, that would make a stunner pendent after an eventual upgrade.
 
Thanks so much for the reply.

That's exactly the answer I was looking for.
Though on paper it sounds nice, I wasn't sure if it would even be noticeable, and I really wanted to get her at least a 1/2 carat diamond.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Not sure about the links since she's dead set on a round cut,

plus I have no idea what the ps discount means.
 
That stone posted is BEAUTIFUL. That's a square hearts and arrows, so it's going to look a lot like round cut, except it's a cut-cornered square. Honestly, when it's set, the difference between a round and a cut-cornered square, especially at that size, isn't as noticeable as you would think. I have a cushion cut and a lot of people have trouble telling if it's round or square.

James Allen gives a discount to Pricescope members.
 
Half carat for this price range, you would be looking at J/K color in a round.

The H VS2 sq H&A is nice, it has about the same face surface area as a .4 ct round.
 
R_M|1373507133|3480744 said:
Thanks so much for the reply.

That's exactly the answer I was looking for.
Though on paper it sounds nice, I wasn't sure if it would even be noticeable, and I really wanted to get her at least a 1/2 carat diamond.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Not sure about the links since she's dead set on a round cut,

plus I have no idea what the ps discount means.
Click to expand...

oh, just means some vendors will give you a discount if you will tell them you are a Pricescope member.

dead set on a round, thats understandable. I would contact ID Jewelry. They work magic with peoples budgets. And i would contact them see if there is any way they could get you a stone to fit your budget. but it might be easier to reach .5 ct with a different shape. hmmm ill take a look :read: . would you be open to preloved?
 
How do I go about getting the PS discount?
 
Just inform your customer service representative.
 
I really do apologize for being a noob at this area, and appreciate your help very much :)


would you mind defining the pre-loved?

It is great to know that PS members get a discount on diamonds!

Learned new things today :)
 
R_M|1373507988|3480757 said:
I really do apologize for being a noob at this area, and appreciate your help very much :)


would you mind defining the pre-loved?

It is great to know that PS members get a discount on diamonds!

Learned new things today :)
Click to expand...


dont apologize! its great you are doing your homework, not just popping into the first Kays you find and getting something lack luster!

Its just a nice way of sayign "used" ;)
 
Oh i see. I would be opened to pre-loved as long as it wasn't noticeable that it was used.


and absolutely! the first time I learned about the 4 c's is when I decided I wouldn't purchase diamond rings from Kay haha.
 
 
You could pair this 0.41ct G-SI1 round brilliant from James Allen - http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-g-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-199894 - with the $180 James Allen 4-prong setting linked to earlier (http://www.jamesallen.com/engagemen...nife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-7115) - both combined comes within your budget at $1,190, plus it should total a bit less, as JA offers a 1%-5% discount on diamonds to PriceScope members.

The 0.41ct G-SI1 looks to be a beautiful, well-cut diamond - using the HCA tool it comes in at 1.5 - Excellent (Excellents on Light Return, Fire and Scintillation; and Very Good on Spread) and within the AGSO ideal table, and using the AGA tool it scores a 1A total (all 1A but crown angle is 1B).

And here is JA's upgrade policy, fyi: http://www.jamesallen.com/about-us/upgrade-policies.html
 
marymm|1373509565|3480774 said:
You could pair this 0.41ct G-SI1 round brilliant from James Allen - http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-g-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-199894 - with the $180 James Allen 4-prong setting linked to earlier (http://www.jamesallen.com/engagemen...nife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-7115) - both combined comes within your budget at $1,190, plus it should total a bit less, as JA offers a 1%-5% discount on diamonds to PriceScope members.
Click to expand...

This is a good option. G/SI1 is a good balance of color and clarity for the money.
 
R_M|1373510452|3480781 said:
http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-diamond-ring?action=add&forceStep=STYLE_STEP&pid=LD01162901


would the .41 from James allen be a better choice than this option?
Click to expand...

Buying an SI2 sight unseen is generally not recommended. Are you able to spend up to $2k?
 
I would prefer not to spend more than 1200, seeing as how I have a proposal idea in mind that will be quite costly as well...

Total budget is 2000 including the proposal. :(

I'm fine with the .41 from James Allen as long as it is a better rock than the one from Blue nile. :)
 
R_M|1373510873|3480789 said:
I would prefer not to spend more than 1200, seeing as how I have a proposal idea in mind that will be quite costly as well...

Total budget is 2000 including the proposal. :(

I'm fine with the .41 from James Allen as long as it is a better rock than the one from Blue nile. :)
Click to expand...

Now this is just coming from a lady who loves diamonds so take this question with a grain of salt; do you have to spend money on a proposal?

I've seen people here do it at a favorite (normally priced) restaurant, or an arboretum, or a hike. Relatively inexpensive, just as romantic, and boom, more bling for her finger.

And personally I still like the ritani options, even without seeing the si2, the first one nearly hits the 5mm mark.
 
I think it's really romantic that you have a particular proposal idea in mind. I'll just throw this out there -- the proposal is one moment. She'll be wearing the ring for years. Spending 40-50% of your entire budget on the proposal is something that you'll have to think about. Just looking quickly, funneling some of that money into the ring would bring you up to ~0.6 carats in an excellent cut, round H SI1.
 
R_M|1373510873|3480789 said:
I would prefer not to spend more than 1200, seeing as how I have a proposal idea in mind that will be quite costly as well...

Total budget is 2000 including the proposal. :(

I'm fine with the .41 from James Allen as long as it is a better rock than the one from Blue nile. :)
Click to expand...

I ran the HCA tool on the BN 0.37ct D-VS2 diamond - http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamo...ty_LD02449327?keyword_search_value=LD02449327 - it scored the same 1.5 - Excellent as the JA 0.41ct G-SI1.

With the AGA tool, the BN diamond scored a 1B Total, in comparison to the 1A Total score of the JA stone - the JA stone had one 1B score for the crown angle - and the BN also had a 1B for crown angle, but the BN's thin-to-slightly thick girdle took a 1B as well, so it's total score was 1B - so not quite as good as the JA 1A score but still above the vast majority of diamonds sold in stores.

The BN stone will face up apx 4.65mm, and the JA stone will face up apx 4.78mm - and although at these sub-carat weights smaller size differences can be noticeable, in this instance the apx 1.5mm difference I think would be negligible.

If you are choosing solely between the BN 0.37ct D-VS2 stone and JA 0.41ct G-SI1, honestly I'd probably go with the BN D-VS2 stone - I like the better clarity and the fluorescence of the BN stone. Plus, I have purchased from BN in the past and found their customer service to be excellent.
 
Pair this: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.62-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-233117

With this: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/14k-white-gold-2mm-knife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-7115

Total price: $1900 (pre Pricescope discount -- you'll get $19 to $100 off of this price I believe)

That leaves you $120-200 for a nice proposal which doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. My fiance took me fishing where we had our first date, took me out to dinner, and had some candles and champagne set up in my living room. It was beautiful and definitely cost less than $100!
 
I think the biggest reason that I am spending some money on the proposal (boat rental, floating lanterns, pre-dinner date, and etc) is because I am considering her personality. Unlike me, she is not very materialistic, and would be happy with anything I got her (meanwhile holding a great chance of smacking me for spending money for a ring that is out of our budget).

Secondly, the reason I prefer to use BN as the site is because I have sneakily made her choose the setting she liked as well as the cut of the diamond.


marymm, thank you for the most in depth comparison that I don't quite understand in detail, but your opinion on which would be better will help me choosing the right one :)


Thirdly, I am extremely open to upgrading in the future, as we will be very stable in finance once I graduate.

This ring is mostly to show her that I am committed beyond anything and to give her comfort in moving away from home with me.


Thank you all for the suggestions!

I'm still torn between the JA and BN, but hopefully I can decide which to buy soon.
 
So, just to play devils advocate, shed rather you spend money on a rental, something you'll only use once, over a ring shell wear for years? As a frugal* woman myself, I'd rather see money spent toward something I own, verses a rental. Plus, like I said, there are a million ways to do it for less money and still be romantic


*cheap ;)
 
Even if the rental boat and floating lantern is the most brilliant proposal idea taken from Disney's Tangled boat scene (our favorite movie as well as the movie we watched on our first date)?

:(

I do understand that the ring is special and should be of high quality
but I'm just not sure where to draw the line...
 
you are on a consumer diamond forum.

IMO experience>things.
 
Touche. I think I'll stick with the 1200 budget and pick one suggested from this forum and carry out the proposal plan :)

Thanks everyone.
 
R_M|1373513555|3480814 said:
Even if the rental boat and floating lantern is the most brilliant proposal idea taken from Disney's Tangled boat scene (our favorite movie as well as the movie we watched on our first date)?

:(

I do understand that the ring is special and should be of high quality
but I'm just not sure where to draw the line...
Click to expand...

Like I said, I think that is incredibly sweet. Not every guy spends time really thinking about the proposal. I just think that spending 40-50% of the total budget on the proposal itself is a little crazy. Then again, you're posting on a diamond forum, so we're all diamond crazy here. :lol:
 
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