Suggestion for center stone in Verragio setting

[honugirl]

Hi all,

I'd appreciate your input please! I am loving the Verragio Couture 0426 two-tone engagement ring...
http://www.verragio.com/Verragio-Engagement-Rings/Couture-Engagement-Rings/COUTURE-0426R-TT

What minimum attributes should I be looking for in a center stone for this setting? One salesperson advised me that I wouldn't need a high-clarity stone due to the halo. Is this true, or is she trying to sell me a dusty rock?

Thank you in advance!

 

[foxinsox]

That's such a weird thing to tell you - I think she's trying to sell you some random stone. Surely you want to get a beautifully cut stone if you're going to put it in such an eye catching and lovely setting?
I'd prioritise quality of cut over colour and clarity - the cut is the primary determiner of how well the diamond reflects light and sparkles.
Post your budget and desired specs and people here should be able to find you a stellar stone to do that setting justice.

 

[tyty333]

Not sure what your jeweler is trying to say. High clarity would be in VVS1, VVS2 type range. Low clarity would be in the SI, I range. We recommend a lot of eye-clean SI1 stones for the value but its nice to have a VS.
Depending on your budget we usually recommend VS stones or eye-clean SI1 stones. A typical middle of the road color/good value
for the $ is a "G" color. Color sensitive people may want to bump it up to E/F and people who are looking to gain size in a tighter budget
(and not color sensitive) may choose to go down to I/J range. At I/J you will start to see tint from the side and may see some color difference
between the center stone and the halo (this doesnt bother a lot of people but YMMV depending on your color sensitivity. )

Whiteflash sales Verragio settings and Super Ideal Branded AGS000 H&A stones if you decide you dont want to go with your local jeweler.
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/search.aspx

 

[honugirl]

That's such a weird thing to tell you - I think she's trying to sell you some random stone. Surely you want to get a beautifully cut stone if you're going to put it in such an eye catching and lovely setting?
I'd prioritise quality of cut over colour and clarity - the cut is the primary determiner of how well the diamond reflects light and sparkles.
Post your budget and desired specs and people here should be able to find you a stellar stone to do that setting justice.

Thank you, foxinsox. Budget-wise, I'm thinking at least $4000, since the setting alone cost $4050. As far as specs go, the only requirement my future fiancé set is that it be at least 1 carat, and I'm thinking I should get a GIA-graded stone.

The rest of the C's, I don't know...I just didn't feel right about putting an EGL-graded SI2 or SI3.

 

[honugirl]

Not sure what your jeweler is trying to say. High clarity would be in VVS1, VVS2 type range. Low clarity would be in the SI, I range. We recommend a lot of eye-clean SI1 stones for the value but its nice to have a VS.
Depending on your budget we usually recommend VS stones or eye-clean SI1 stones. A typical middle of the road color/good value
for the $ is a "G" color. Color sensitive people may want to bump it up to E/F and people who are looking to gain size in a tighter budget
(and not color sensitive) may choose to go down to I/J range. At I/J you will start to see tint from the side and may see some color difference
between the center stone and the halo (this doesnt bother a lot of people but YMMV depending on your color sensitivity. )

Whiteflash sales Verragio settings and Super Ideal Branded AGS000 H&A stones if you decide you dont want to go with your local jeweler.
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/search.aspx

Thank you, tyty333! The stones one jeweler was showing me were EGL SI2 and SI3. Another jeweler showed me an I2. Felt like bad to worse!

I really appreciate your input. I will keep your notes in mind during my search!