UK-London Engagement Rings

[LucaM]

Wow,

thanks everyone! I'm amazed by the amount of suggestion i received.

To give a bit more details, my girlfriend has a size 6.5/7 (estimate, need to make sure and double check next week when she is not aware) and I am more leaning toward a 0.7 carat diamond; i don't want it to be more big actually as i personally don't like when a ring as a big big diamond (don't laugh at this ), so i rather focus on getting a nice quality diamond rather than reducing some of the other Cs for a bigger stone.

I would still stick to something uk based (better if London based) as I'd rather avoid dealing with return/shipping/import-tax issue. If I was in the US i would probably go straight to JA or WF.

This website that was posted above seems to be quite a good one actually, i missed that, really great amount of good reviews on TP and a nice range of diamonds to choose from (https://www.qualitydiamonds.co.uk/)

Today i went to visit the diamondringcompany and they showed me three diamonds (I'm not going to post 1 as it had bad proportions)

0.61 E VS2
GIA: 2326916612

0.7 F VS1 (quite a good price overall 3450£)
GIA: 5346503444

Both looked nice in the office before, and i tried different light condition as suggested, but i didn't get the wow effect let's say.
They both score 2.3 HCA i think.
I asked if they could source some other diamonds with better proportions and I gave this range as a guidelines, let's see what they come back with.

Table 54-58
Depth 60-62.3
Crown angle 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown can work sometimes with a 40.6 pavilion angle)
34 crown pairs better with 41 pavilion and 35 crown pairs better with 40.6.

Regarding the setting style i'm really into simple 6 prongs platinum settings, based on the website above, I quite like this options (I'm not really into too much knife edge):

In other of preference:

Option 1: nice thinner prongs
Option 2: Prongs a bit too thick maybe
Option 3: I don't really mind the twisting actually
Option 4: might be a bit too knife edgy

I quite like this one from JA as well in term of style: JA-six prongs

Feel free to give me suggestion on the setting style as well so i can take some inspiration

In term of budget i would keep it around 3500£ + 5%

Thanks for there replies everyone!
I'll keep you posted

 

[Lykame]

Wow,

thanks everyone! I'm amazed by the amount of suggestion i received.

To give a bit more details, my girlfriend has a size 6.5/7 (estimate, need to make sure and double check next week when she is not aware) and I am more leaning toward a 0.7 carat diamond; i don't want it to be more big actually as i personally don't like when a ring as a big big diamond (don't laugh at this ), so i rather focus on getting a nice quality diamond rather than reducing some of the other Cs for a bigger stone.

I would still stick to something uk based (better if London based) as I'd rather avoid dealing with return/shipping/import-tax issue. If I was in the US i would probably go straight to JA or WF.

This website that was posted above seems to be quite a good one actually, i missed that, really great amount of good reviews on TP and a nice range of diamonds to choose from (https://www.qualitydiamonds.co.uk/)

Today i went to visit the diamondringcompany and they showed me three diamonds (I'm not going to post 1 as it had bad proportions)

0.61 E VS2
GIA: 2326916612

0.7 F VS1 (quite a good price overall 3450£)
GIA: 5346503444

Both looked nice in the office before, and i tried different light condition as suggested, but i didn't get the wow effect let's say.
They both score 2.3 HCA i think.
I asked if they could source some other diamonds with better proportions and I gave this range as a guidelines, let's see what they come back with.

Table 54-58
Depth 60-62.3
Crown angle 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown can work sometimes with a 40.6 pavilion angle)
34 crown pairs better with 41 pavilion and 35 crown pairs better with 40.6.

Regarding the setting style i'm really into simple 6 prongs platinum settings, based on the website above, I quite like this options (I'm not really into too much knife edge):

In other of preference:

Option 1: nice thinner prongs
Option 2: Prongs a bit too thick maybe
Option 3: I don't really mind the twisting actually
Option 4: might be a bit too knife edgy

I quite like this one from JA as well in term of style: JA-six prongs

Feel free to give me suggestion on the setting style as well so i can take some inspiration

In term of budget i would keep it around 3500£ + 5%

Thanks for there replies everyone!
I'll keep you posted

Thanks for all the information! I agree quality not quantity.

How stretchy on colour and clarity are you? A better-cut lower-coloured stone will face up whiter. Depending on how colour sensitive your other half is and the setting she may see colour from the side view or not. This may bother her or not. Basically I ask because although you don't want to be too stretchy on the other Cs, you're really at a tight limit with your budget and it would be helpful to know what you want to give more wiggle room on first if something had to give.

E.g. would you consider an eye clean SI1, an H, etc? What would you be willing to drop first if you had to? Bearing in mind cut trumps everything it would open up your options and give you a range to consider.

To highlight this, the thing that makes the diamonds you saw speak to you or not is cut. I haven't even bothered looking at the GIA reports because they didn't speak to you so you shouldn't get them regardless of the price.

I'm so pleased you challenged them with the ranges, well done!

Please answer my questions above, it would really help us help you find something worth it.

I'll come back to the rest of your post in another comment as I'm doing this on my phone and it's problematic.

 

[Lykame]

Wow,

thanks everyone! I'm amazed by the amount of suggestion i received.

To give a bit more details, my girlfriend has a size 6.5/7 (estimate, need to make sure and double check next week when she is not aware) and I am more leaning toward a 0.7 carat diamond; i don't want it to be more big actually as i personally don't like when a ring as a big big diamond (don't laugh at this ), so i rather focus on getting a nice quality diamond rather than reducing some of the other Cs for a bigger stone.

I would still stick to something uk based (better if London based) as I'd rather avoid dealing with return/shipping/import-tax issue. If I was in the US i would probably go straight to JA or WF.

This website that was posted above seems to be quite a good one actually, i missed that, really great amount of good reviews on TP and a nice range of diamonds to choose from (https://www.qualitydiamonds.co.uk/)

Today i went to visit the diamondringcompany and they showed me three diamonds (I'm not going to post 1 as it had bad proportions)

0.61 E VS2
GIA: 2326916612

0.7 F VS1 (quite a good price overall 3450£)
GIA: 5346503444

Both looked nice in the office before, and i tried different light condition as suggested, but i didn't get the wow effect let's say.
They both score 2.3 HCA i think.
I asked if they could source some other diamonds with better proportions and I gave this range as a guidelines, let's see what they come back with.

Table 54-58
Depth 60-62.3
Crown angle 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown can work sometimes with a 40.6 pavilion angle)
34 crown pairs better with 41 pavilion and 35 crown pairs better with 40.6.

Regarding the setting style i'm really into simple 6 prongs platinum settings, based on the website above, I quite like this options (I'm not really into too much knife edge):

In other of preference:

Option 1: nice thinner prongs
Option 2: Prongs a bit too thick maybe
Option 3: I don't really mind the twisting actually
Option 4: might be a bit too knife edgy

I quite like this one from JA as well in term of style: JA-six prongs

Feel free to give me suggestion on the setting style as well so i can take some inspiration

In term of budget i would keep it around 3500£ + 5%

Thanks for there replies everyone!
I'll keep you posted

Regarding settings - your JA link was a duplicate of that knife edge one by the way.

The clever thing about knife edge is that it makes the band look thinner without affecting integrity and that helps the diamond pop.

Most of those settings are Tiffany-like (ish) settings, you would find them from most places. I can see you still have chosen platinum, fair enough. Has your other half expressed a setting preference?

ETA my favourite is option one, it still has a knife edge and also a taper. All nice features. There will be a gap against the wedding band, something to think about. With a really thin band and larger fingers that might look proportionately strange... Or the wrong size... Perhaps that is what @mrs-b was meaning with proportions - you can get like... Er... Someone recently described it like string around meat, which I thought was a brutal but understandable and meaningful description!

 

[LucaM]

I don't know how colour sensitive my girlfriend is and i would not ask as it would give hints (sometime i wish in my culture we could go shopping for e-ring together to avoid all this uncertainties).
If I had to compromise i think i would probably downgrade to G colour i guess, id like to stick to all the other properties if possible.

 

[LucaM]

Regarding settings - your JA link was a duplicate of that knife edge one by the way.

The clever thing about knife edge is that it makes the band look thinner without affecting integrity and that helps the diamond pop.

Most of those settings are Tiffany-like (ish) settings, you would find them from most places. I can see you still have chosen platinum, fair enough. Has your other half expressed a setting preference?

Not really, but obviously she loves tiffany and that's what i like in term of style as well so that's why i'm going with this.

Since I'm choosing everything by myself i kind of like going with something I like and that i think she also will like. Before starting to look for e-ring i didn't even imagine that it would have been such a wide area of detail...I've always thought you would go in a jewellery store, get a setting that you like and then you just choose the size of the diamond

This is the JA diamond (I'll edit the post above): platinum-2mm-comfort-fit-solitaire-engagement-ring-six-prong-item-7994

 

[Lykame]

Ok I'm going to show you a diamond to make a point:

https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9824

It's a G 0.61 VS1. It's a super ideal. Watch the video. On my phone the video makes it look quite yellow, I don't know what your screen will look like but in real life I really think this would be a safe choice. I know there are some cultures where really it needs to be D (or maybe E). If you're not from one of those cultures, I think in England G and even H would be more than safe (G would be better, I am very colour sensitive and I can barely see tint in G barely but I can, and can see the tint in H quite easily).

I know the amount is in dollars but there are two London shops who would sell you THIS diamond and do all the tax etc and it's likely to be approximately your budget.

Still totally happy to look elsewhere too, I think you could probably get slightly bigger for your budget and maybe a grade better colour but not by much, unless you buy that very first diamond you posted that scores very well on the HCA and if it's pretty and brilliant and sparkly you may have found a bargain!!!

 

[Lykame]

I can't open any GIA reports on my phone, it's killing me.

Bearing that STRONGLY in mind:



I know it's a bit over budget, and I chose an ASTOR because I can't open the reports and you probably could find a decent diamond without it needing to be ASTOR but... You can kind of get what you want for a touch over your budget but looks like there has to be compromise somewhere... There an F VS2 available too but it's a bit more again in addition.

If you want to upgrade with Blue Nile you can but you have to spend double the price of the diamond. Pretty sure they have a great returns policy however.

I would actually be interested myself to know how much to buy into ASTOR, I often see crown angles around 33.5 in that range, which has made me dubious in the past, although I've always been willing to pay a bit more to KNOW I'm getting a great cut... Perhaps @OoohShiny would know?

It might be a good half way house between flying blind on cut and a super ideal.

 

[OoohShiny]

Link to that Astor option:

0.71-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile AU

www.bluenile.com

An interesting stone - lower crown angle than some (33.5 degrees) which might suggest more white light return than coloured fire, but the small table (55%) means the crown is still quite tall (15%) (because the crown facets have to be longer to reach the smaller table), so I think it should still be quite a fiery (fire-y?) stone.

41 degree pavilion matches the crown angle well (IIRC) and 80% LGFs should balance against the small table, meaning under the table is not all dark / obstructed at the same time.

Scores well on the HCA tool:

Light Return: Excellent
Fire: Excellent
Scintillation: Excellent
Spread: Very Good
HCA Score : 0.9 - Excellent - within TIC range
Looks Like size (Beta) - 'Big'

That suggests it would be a bit spread and still perform very well, within Tolkowsky ranges.


Overall, it looks like a great option for consideration

G VS1 is also (IMHO) a good sweet spot - colourless enough to only look tinted to the very eagle-eyed (and the smaller size helps reduce tint levels because the light paths within the material are shorter than a larger stone), and VS1 should be eye-clean to everyone but Superman


Pull up some options using the Search bar tool near the top of the forum and compare pricing and other options before committing to anything, but I personally think it's a great option

 

[LucaM]

I can't open any GIA reports on my phone, it's killing me.

Bearing that STRONGLY in mind:



I know it's a bit over budget, and I chose an ASTOR because I can't open the reports and you probably could find a decent diamond without it needing to be ASTOR but... You can kind of get what you want for a touch over your budget but looks like there has to be compromise somewhere... There an F VS2 available too but it's a bit more again in addition.

If you want to upgrade with Blue Nile you can but you have to spend double the price of the diamond. Pretty sure they have a great returns policy however.

I would actually be interested myself to know how much to buy into ASTOR, I often see crown angles around 33.5 in that range, which has made me dubious in the past, although I've always been willing to pay a bit more to KNOW I'm getting a great cut... Perhaps @OoohShiny would know?

It might be a good half way house between flying blind on cut and a super ideal.

I spent some time on quality diamonds website (i booked an appointment for saturday as well), and I selected this setting (just for the sake of diamonds screening on the website) Option 1: nice thinner prongs

I had then used F (or above) VS2 (or above) tiriple exc. no fluo, with depth and table ranges as per tables above. Now i screened the above selection further based on the gia report crown-pavilion angles and ended up with this range (which should give HCA <2.0):


The 0.77ct at 2940$ seemed interesting and has this proportions:





HCA 1.3

For a total of 3485£...seems to good to be true!

Also probably all the other should give quite a good HCA score for example F VS1 at 2855£, another 1.3



I' ve put all those diamond in my wishlist and I've an appointment on saturday there, maybe i can ask to show some of these if they have it there.

Should I also look at other elements in the GIA report? (like clarity characteristics?)

 

[OoohShiny]

Assuming £3500 includes 20% VAT on an import, that leaves £3k or so.

Assuming USD1.2 to GBP1, that brings it back up to $3500 in total.


Assuming $500 for a setting, there's quite a few options up to $3k on the Search tool, including some Whiteflash ACAs

Diamond Search Results | Real-time Information on 1,000,000+ Diamonds | PriceScope

PriceScope's Diamond Search is the best place to find the best diamond prices. Search and compare over a million natural, lab and fancy color diamonds.

www.pricescope.com

 

[Lykame]

@LucaM ... That 0.77 looks on paper amazing... It makes me wonder what the catch is!!! You would need to see it in person but it has real potential. Are you able to see pictures, video, ASET, idealscope? Maybe put it on hold whilst you work that out if there is a catch? (Amazing deals may risk being snatched from under you).

 

[Lykame]

@LucaM clarity characteristics at VS1 level tend to not be an issue but it's definitely worth looking at the plot. Also worth remembering it's worth avoiding fluorescence at these high colour grades because [incorrectly] industry opinion on it can make your life more difficult than it needs to be.

 

[LucaM]

@LucaM ... That 0.77 looks on paper amazing... It makes me wonder what the catch is!!! You would need to see it in person but it has real potential. Are you able to see pictures, video, ASET, idealscope? Maybe put it on hold whilst you work that out if there is a catch? (Amazing deals may risk being snatched from under you).

Yes that's why I won't buy now but i rather wait to go in the shop on saturday, I'll send them an email with the diamond i selected that on paper have HCA < 2 and ask if they have some of them in store to show me.

There is just this image



it seems there is a crystal in the centre maybe that's the catch..dunno if you can see it with the naked eye.

anyway I'm quite happy with the diamond options i got above tbh, wasn't expecting that

 

[Lykame]

Link to that Astor option:

0.71-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile AU

www.bluenile.com

An interesting stone - lower crown angle than some (33.5 degrees) which might suggest more white light return than coloured fire, but the small table (55%) means the crown is still quite tall (15%) (because the crown facets have to be longer to reach the smaller table), so I think it should still be quite a fiery (fire-y?) stone.

41 degree pavilion matches the crown angle well (IIRC) and 80% LGFs should balance against the small table, meaning under the table is not all dark / obstructed at the same time.

Scores well on the HCA tool:

Light Return: Excellent
Fire: Excellent
Scintillation: Excellent
Spread: Very Good
HCA Score : 0.9 - Excellent - within TIC range
Looks Like size (Beta) - 'Big'

That suggests it would be a bit spread and still perform very well, within Tolkowsky ranges.


Overall, it looks like a great option for consideration

G VS1 is also (IMHO) a good sweet spot - colourless enough to only look tinted to the very eagle-eyed (and the smaller size helps reduce tint levels because the light paths within the material are shorter than a larger stone), and VS1 should be eye-clean to everyone but Superman


Pull up some options using the Search bar tool near the top of the forum and compare pricing and other options before committing to anything, but I personally think it's a great option

All I will say is this:



ETA: to be clear I was aiming that at you @OoohShiny rather than at the stone...!

 

[Lykame]

You definitely have choices and I'm really pleased you will see them in real life.

That crystal is obvious in the image but it's a VS1, so in real life you may not be able to see it at all.

Remember once you see an inclusion with your naked eye it's usually impossible to unsee.

Eye clean is usually from 10 inches away. Some prefer 6 inches. I'm very short sighted without my contacts in so I prefer 2 inches. I have a VS2 that is still perfect in that regard. Some people have problematic VS2s. This is a VS1 so hopefully it's fine. If it's well cut then the inclusions are further disguised.

 

[LucaM]

@LucaM clarity characteristics at VS1 level tend to not be an issue but it's definitely worth looking at the plot. Also worth remembering it's worth avoiding fluorescence at these high colour grades because [incorrectly] industry opinion on it can make your life more difficult than it needs to be.

Yes I'm always going for fluo. none just to be safe.

The 0.77 is actually VS2 so that could potentially be the issue with that one (the image is not best quality).

I'm not sure how many of these diamonds they have in store, they might ship it once bought, but if that's the case i could ask for pictures, video, ASET, idealscope (not that i can tell any differences having those

 

[OoohShiny]

All I will say is this:



ETA: to be clear I was aiming that at you @OoohShiny rather than at the stone...!

I may be completely wrong, of course so I would always recommend deferring to the experts on here!


Luca - make sure you know (and have in writing?) the Returns T&Cs and the general T&Cs of the place you are buying

Also make sure that if they are writing out an order ticket after you've chosen a stone, that they include the GIA grading report reference on it - we've seen complaints on here where people have got a random stone of similar carat/colour/clarity because the shop has decided 'it is close enough' and didn't specify on the receipt/ticket the exact stone!

 

[Lykame]

@LucaM was just thinking about you and wondering if you were around to provide an update.

 

[LucaM]

Hi Lykame,

yes Wednesday I'll go and check two stones with qualitydiamonds, one 0.7carat F VS1 and the other 0.74 F VS2, both triple excellent with no fluo.

The first has HCA of 1.4 and the second 1.6 or 1.7, I don't recall.

I might be able to see other options as well but i think this is a good starting point also price wise, both below 3000£.

I'll also be able to check the diamonds with ideal scope and other tools.

Looking forward to it!

 

[LucaM]

Here the GIA certificates

0.7 F VS1: GIA 5201765295

And some pictures from the other day





0.74 E VS2: GIA 2344535047

 

[Lykame]

I can't download the PDF on my phone (argh, why, it used to be possible!)

GIA: 5201765295



5.70 - 5.76 x 3.52 mm

I'm rubbish at interpreting those pictures so although I want to say oooh, pretty, I won't comment. I think the most useful picture is the ASET, which is most difficult to get and not one you have. However I really think this stone has promise, and you get to see it in person against another contender, so that's good. It sounds like you have already seen it in person in fact?

GIA: 2344535047



5.77 - 5.81 x 3.59 mm

It's a fraction bigger but not anything you would really be able to see with your eyes I don't think, so see what you think about their light performance in person. You know to look at them both in different light sources (including under the table), not just the shop's fancy lighting. Try taking some photos and videos of both of them separately and then together and then go away and think about it. I find these things help a lot especially with remembering what they're like (although it is hard to photograph diamonds I admit). Also I have a tendency to get both over-excited and also to feel pressured into buying so having a blanket policy of walk-away-first saves me from myself sometimes.

 

[LucaM]

Hi everyone,

I went to see the diamonds listed above and to be honest they both look really nice! I really can't seem to decide, price is almost the same for both.

Below you can see a video for both options:

0.7 F VS1:

0.7 FVS1.mp4

drive.google.com

0.74 E VS2:

0.74EVS2.mp4

drive.google.com

I'm slightly leaning towards F VS1 0.7 ct but it's a tough choice to be honest.

 

[OoohShiny]

Is one calling to you more than the other?

 

[LucaM]

Depend on the moment, sometimes the 0.7 other times the 0.74. The VS1 factor could also come into play as a safer choice. Are Cloud and feather going to be an issue with VS1?
Can you spot any difference in term of brilliance, fire and light return?

 

[Tartansparkles]

A point to note re Blue Nile UK, they are based (or at least ship from) Dublin. So technically, for UK peeps, they are 'international' from a shipping point of view. ( I learned the hard way. Returns are not free. Cost £50ish to return a ring.)

 

[Lykame]

Just based on the video there's something about the 0.7 F that I prefer. It seems perhaps more scintillation-ey than the E. Obviously it's only one video and videos struggle to capture diamonds.

VS1 inclusions are really safe, you wouldn't have anything to worry about there. To be honest VS2 is almost always safe but there have been some people with eagle eyes who have seen the inclusions in their VS2. However that's unfortunate and very rare. I had an SI1 and could see the inclusions but in my VS2 even from extremely close I cannot.

Let us know what you choose!

What is this place's returns policy like and is it in writing?