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The right stone for me (her) ?

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ratbuddy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 14, 2014
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Howdy. I started out looking at a three stone ring with sapphire center from Blue Nile, but due to doubts about the quality of their colored stones, I'm switching gears to their http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/sapphire-diamond-18k-white-gold-engagement-ring_20327 setting, potentially with http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/diamond-details/LD05093561 for a stone.

I'd like to get this ordered today so it can be here before Thanksgiving - we're going to a wedding the following Saturday, having ring-on-finger by then would be a nice bonus, although not essential.

The questions:

Is this stone a decent balance of qualities for the price? Will .90 be 'big enough' for that setting, or will the sapphires make the diamond look small?* Does the indented natural on the GIA report require further scrutiny on my part? Anything else I'm overlooking?

Budget is ~$5k, of which $4k will be on a Blue Nile card.

Thanks for any advice you fine folks have to offer :)

*I know size is subjective, I'm just wondering about proportionality.
 
Is a 3-stone ring, with sapphire side stones, a must-have, ratbuddy? I know that mounting is the least expensive of its kind on the BN site, but TBH I don't like the gaps it seems -- based on the profile shot & the video -- you'll have on either side of the center diamond', between its head and the sapphires. So I'm wondering if you'd consider something else, like a solitaire mounting that could free up a bit more money for the diamond itself?
 
Actually wasn't even looking at price when I picked that setting - I really want to get some blue on the ring. Bearing that in mind, I'm open to anything.
 
I think a solitaire is a better idea too. As we mentioned on the CS board, BN's sapphires leave a lot to be desired. Likely invasively treated -- it's a waste of money imo since you can afford better (yet don't have the time). If you are open to anything then you can't go wrong with a diamond solitaire. Classic.

You mentioned that you were looking to upgrade down the line on your other thread. Hopefully by that time you could reuse this diamond as a mere sidestone for a dreamy 3 stone sapphire and diamond ring :praise:
 
With that in mind, how is the stone I linked? Can I do any better for the money? I don't want to go too much smaller than .90.
 
Stat by looking for diamonds with these cut proportions:

depth - 60 - 62%
table - 54- 57%
crown angle - 34- 35 degrees
pavilion angle - 40.6- 41 degrees
girdle - thin to slightly thick, thin to medium, etc (avoid very thin or thick)
polish and symmetry - very good and above

Once that is done, plug the numbers here and as long as the answer is > 2.0, you are good to go.
https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

The diamond you linked to isn't cut that well. HCA results: Total Visual Performance = 4.1 - Only if price is your main criterion
 
I don't usually post on RT but since you started on CS and not many seem to be online, I'll chime in. It's a bit scary posting here, I hope I don't talk rubbish and don't get judged. If I make a mistake, let me know and be polite about it. Thanks.

Chrono's advice is spot on. Generally HCA is a rejection tool and not a selection tool. An ASET image in rounds aids in judging light performance. Unfortunately BN doesn't offer ASET images. Good news is you should get a well performing stone if you stick within the ranges posted by Chrono and an HCA score of under 2. It's ok to sacrifice on the other C's... but cut is very important.

Different people have different sensitivities to colour. This is really something you have to see in person to judge. From what I've seen in person, H-I is plenty white for me. If your lady has sharp eyes you could go higher. I don't recommend a J or lower (unless she specifically like warmer diamonds, but you don't know that) because that is where you pass into 'tinted' territory (in my eyes at least).

Generally, clarity wise, I see that Si1 and sometimes Si2's that are eyeclean are recommended here. Personally, clarity is a bit more important to me, and I am willing to sacrifice a bit on size or colour to get VS2. If you get an Si1/2, even a Vs2 or Vs1, do ask BN if it's eyeclean and from what distance (i.e. if you can see the inclusions with your eyes). I would avoid carbon inclusions (little black spots). I suggest you also avoid 'clouds not shown' on the GIA report. This can mean a cloudy diamond.

Sacrificing colour and clarity like this will allow you to get a larger stone or spend less money. A larger stone is not everyone's priority, of course, but if it is this is a good way of working.

Since you don't have time to see fluorescence in person, avoid it. Faint fluorescence is ok as it won't impact the diamond at all.

Think for a while on what's important to you and her.

And I'm out.
 
LoversKites|1415997709|3783685 said:
I don't usually post on RT but since you started on CS and not many seem to be online, I'll chime in. It's a bit scary posting here, I hope I don't talk rubbish and don't get judged. If I make a mistake, let me know and be polite about it. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Me too, LK, me too. Worse yet, I'm a step cut person, not RB. If you want to be super safe, stay in the G/H range, SI1. I would not do SI2 without pictures of the actual stone.
 
Chrono|1415997870|3783690 said:
LoversKites|1415997709|3783685 said:
I don't usually post on RT but since you started on CS and not many seem to be online, I'll chime in. It's a bit scary posting here, I hope I don't talk rubbish and don't get judged. If I make a mistake, let me know and be polite about it. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Me too, LK, me too. Worse yet, I'm a step cut person, not RB. If you want to be super safe, stay in the G/H range, SI1. I would not do SI2 without pictures of the actual stone.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's probably a good idea to stick to Si1 and above for peace of mind.

Same here -- it was someone (in real life) who insidiously made me fall in love with step cuts. Rounds are very boring to me now.
 
ratbuddy|1416008249|3783792 said:
About ready to pull the trigger on this little fella, how's that seem? Should I worry about the 'needle, cloud' part of the GIA report?

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/diamonds?stockno=LD05032293
Click to expand...

We won't be able to tell you much about BN stones.

They don't provide any of the necessary images or light performance data to judge a stone's performance (the most important component). It is largely a crapshoot, based only on rounded GIA numbers.

The good thing is they have a return policy, so I would be sure to have the stone analyzed prior to final purchase.
 
Well, I called and they said it was eye clear, so I went for it. Worst case scenario, I'm out a months pay, best case, she likes it :)
 
ratbuddy|1416054270|3784035 said:
Well, I called and they said it was eye clear, so I went for it. Worst case scenario, I'm out a months pay, best case, she likes it :)
Click to expand...

Ok, I hope it meets/exceeds your expectations.
 
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