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Wanted: perfect diamond, posted by a typical male

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pinkerton101

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
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Ok so I don''t expect to purchase a perfect diamond, but I do have some newbie questions that only get further muddled as I educate myself. First and foremost.....BOY AM I GLAD I FOUND THIS PLACE!!!!! Everyone seems extremely knowledgeable and helpful as well.

Now on to the meat an potatoes....

I''ve decided that enough is enough and it''s time to buy a ring for my long time girlfriend and for ideas on her preference we took a trip to our local Zales. Typically big business and capitalism in general don''t aggrivate me much, but as we looked for rings I was a bit peeved that prices were slashed in half (but only if buy this week) and costly warranties were added. Needless to say there was immediately another trip, to a smaller, family owned (though more upscale) jeweler who was way more helpful and upfront......but my search continues.

My girlfriend has set the following criteria (with my encouragement) in the great ring search:

1) Size (where most people seem to start) 0.75ish carats up to and over 1carat (sure I would buy bigger if it was in the price range, but it''s really not oo much of an issue)

2) Clarity and color. So far we''ve looked along the lines of a VS1 VS2, with a color in the H to I range.

3) Cut: Radiant, this she is specific about

4) Setting, likely will be a solitare in white gold (though we did see a platinum fancy yellow radiant diamond mounted with smaller side stones that looked fantastic)

5) The typical killer....Price....though we do have the means to spend a bit more she has been pretty firm on the fact that she really doesn''t want me spending much over $3,000 for the whole ring!?!?!....simply because she really doesn''t wear much jewelery....and she would rather see me save $$$ (I guess I can''t argue)

Really is it at all reasonable to be looking in these categories while in this range? You see the thing is I have scoured sites such as white flash, blue nile etc....and really the more I look the more confused I become.....
Really what both of us want is a ring that comfortably fits in the outlined price range, is of good quality and will pass the judgement of some of her more "jewelry snobbish" friends and family.


I have pinned down stones such as http://www.whiteflash.com/radiant/Radiant-cut-diamond-172342.htm ...A 0.9 carat H color, VS2 Clarity, radiant cut with Good polish, good symmetry, no cutlet, and no flouresence.....but then I read more about depth etc and the value of 69.2% on this stone begins to make me wonder if this would be a nice buy or not.

From my experience in the jewelry stores the only thing I have been repeatedly told is to not "design my own ring" because I won''t necessarily pick a setting that highlights the stone etc... This does make some sense to me....so my intention at this point is to buy a loose stone and take it to a jeweler to have it fixed in an appropriate setting I believe she would enjoy.

Really I would have walked out of the family owned jewelery store with the 3 stone ring (with a .61 fancy yellow in the center), but I personally spotted an inclusion with my own two eyes.....I guess color and clarity to the eye is what is most important to me.

Help, Help, Help, Help
Please help.....even posting links to stones would be great, as I intend to buy something within the next week or two and at this point I really just need to make sense of it all.
 
OK, here goes:

1.11 H SI1 (similar depth to your WF stone -- I don't think you really have to worry . . . look at the pretty pic!)

0.85 H VS1 (with much lower depth if that was a concern . . . this stone has bigger dimensions than the one you linked!)

James Allen has a bunch if you select search by cut.
 
Does your girlfriend have any preference on the shape of the radiant? Does she want a square shaped one or a rectangular one?

As for price, I''m not saying to discount your girlfriend''s preferences or buy into the debeers 2 month salary BS, but at the same time it is your gift to her as well.

And what is setting this arbitrary $3k number? Is it the actual amount you have available to spend? Have you priced diamonds and rings enough to feel you can get something you are happy with for that price? Or is it just a number picked from thin air that you feel comfortable spending without really knowing what you are buying?

I ask because I had a similar instinct in budgeting my wedding - let''s just pick a number we feel comfortable spending first and then start pricing things and rule out stuff that woln''t fit in the arbitrary budget. Which is a fine way to go if you truly have a hard and fast number in the bank to spend, and are willing to be very adaptable in your plans to meet the budget. But my FI made the point that he actually cared about what we ended up doing for our wedding and wanted to price big items BEFORE setting the budget so that we could plan to accommodate certain items. Which is a reasonable way to go, sometimes, as I really had no idea what wedding things cost, just as I had no idea what diamonds cost prior to getting engaged.
 
Stick to your budget, but keep looking at other shapes of similar design to Radiant cut. There are quite a few other related variations and many of them may look better than the small number of radiant cuts you might find within the price point.

Don''t overdo the mounting side, but stick to a fairly simple design, not only to save some money, but so that the main stone is the best one you can afford. The main diamond is the real meaningful part. SIde diamonds and gingerbread mountings cost bucks, but don''t do as much for the wearer as a nice main stone.
 
Date: 8/7/2007 4:43:42 PM
Author: oldminer
Stick to your budget, but keep looking at other shapes of similar design to Radiant cut. There are quite a few other related variations and many of them may look better than the small number of radiant cuts you might find within the price point.

Don''t overdo the mounting side, but stick to a fairly simple design, not only to save some money, but so that the main stone is the best one you can afford. The main diamond is the real meaningful part. SIde diamonds and gingerbread mountings cost bucks, but don''t do as much for the wearer as a nice main stone.
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Well said!!
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See I''m being a typical male in that I just said radiant cut.......Really i think the "glitz factor" comes in more so than the shape. With that said she does show a liking for radiant cut diamonds that are not extremly rectangular, but rather sqare(ish) or slightly rectangular.

Really the 3k mark was set on the following factor (plus sprinkle in a little ignorance when it comes to diamonds)......We maintain shared accounts where the lump sum of our bills and spending money come from. The amount we both put into these accounts is not proportional to the bills we each generate, but rather our salaries. We also maintain seperate accounts sheerly for our enjoyment. Most of our frivilous expenses come out of our shared accounts, but the idea of our personal accounts is that we can buy whatever we like (without criticism from the other) as long as we contribute our share. The idea here is if I want to buy a stereo for $800 (even if she isn''t fond of the idea) it''s A OK, as long as it comes from the personal account. We also set a cap....anything over $3000 in our personal accounts goes into the shared kitty to prepare for our future. With that said my account usually hovers at the $3000 mark because I don''t buy much. She doesn''t feel it''s fair to crack the $3000 mark on me (by too much) when she really doesn''t care so much about jewelery.

PS Paul allen has some beautiful rings.......should I really be looking in the SI range for a stone with inclusions I can''t see with my eye at all?
 
pinkerton,

This is just a little bit smaller than your 'min' size, but it looks like something to call Whiteflash about:

.70ct, E, VS2 Radiant $2103

With the extra cash, you could put it into this gorgeous setting (if they can modify for a radiant):

WF Legato with pave $895
 
That is a very nice setting, though I did see a similar one on Paul Allen that is not only more her style, but half the price!

What other cuts may I expolre besides radiant that would be a better value. She was rather specific about the radiant cut, but initially she was stuck on princess.....she only jumped ship to a radiant cut because each example we''ve seen proved to "sparkle" much more than a princess of similar size and quality.

I guess one of my real hangups, other than funky items such as depth, table etc..... is what color and clarity to settle on. Originially we scoped out the VS range, though would there be a noticible difference with SI?

What worries me about SI is this: The ring we had looked at (it just caught both our eyes) had a .61ct Fancy Yellow, Radiant cut diamond with a clarity of SI2. It had two sidestones (.19ct total) that were VS clarity and G in color. The whole lot was mounted in a platinum band with nice filigree (sp?) details. Total price $3150 plus tax. The problem was that I could see an inclusion that looked like a hairline crack in the middle of the fancy yellow center stone (really I can''t remember well if it was apparent without magnification, but either way it concerned both of us). Though I considered buying a better quality center stone to do so would likely put it out of my imposed limits. Is this typical for SI clarity....or a fluke of sorts? Am I expecting a bit too much quality for SI, or should I truly be exploring the VS range to get what I want?
 
Date: 8/7/2007 6:51:15 PM
Author: pinkerton101
What other cuts may I expolre besides radiant that would be a better value. She was rather specific about the radiant cut, but initially she was stuck on princess.....she only jumped ship to a radiant cut because each example we''ve seen proved to ''sparkle'' much more than a princess of similar size and quality.
Click to expand...
I''ve heard a lot of really good things about Whiteflash''s X-Factor princess cut... it is square but has the corners clipped off. Every comment on here I have heard about it is that they sparkle like crazy. If she was stuck on princess but wanted sparkle, this type of cut might be an option... I''m sure some of the experts here could recommend a really nice stone.

Here is a pic of one of the stones: X-Factor
 
Also, if its the Princess cut she was initally drawn too but want more sparkle than seen in the mall jewellers then you could also consider one of the newer princess cuts thats graded AGS Ideal -
see the Whiteflash ACA princess''
or Infinity diamonds sold by Wink Jones,
or the hand selected princess'' from Good Old Gold (who last time i looked had a range of AGS ideal graded princess cut diamonds, and GIA princess diamonds judged to make the AGS Ideal standard, but havent got the cert to go with it.)
 
being basically in the same position as you - I have some advice. I was also looking for the "perfect" diamond.

I recommend shopping at a privately owned store that has been around for a long time. I have been finding that there are more knowledgeable people working there, and its much better and easier to negotiate a deal (there is a lot of markup on this stuff!). The only drawback is that the selection may not be there.

Get the best cut you can afford - that is most important. I wouldn''t go as low as a "J" for color, you can definately see the yellow. Clarity - Si 1 is good, usually not much difference than a VS2, and you save money. If you DONT want a Si 1 clarity, then look into VS1''s because only then will you MAYBE see a difference.

I am buying a round cut .85 carat H color Si 1 stone. The clarity is AMAZING aside from a feather that is barely noticeable by my naked eye. Fortunately I am 99% sure its not a surface reaching feather, and can be hidden along a prong.

That is something to consider - if the stone has inclusions, where are they? in the middle or can they be hidden under prongs? Your stone WILL have some inclusions at your price range, its just a matter of where they are and what kind.

I didn''t do enough homework on the different types of inclusions, I recommend you do so you dont run into something at the store that leaves you a bit confused. I researched a LOT though on cut and other things.

I wish I had found this forum before I purchased, but fortunately for me its still not too late.

Just remember - if you are looking for the perfect diamond, you are not going to find it. You will have to make some compromises. Each diamond has its own characteristics and differences, just like women. There is no "flawless" stone (ok, maybe for a LOT of cash) and there is no "flawless" woman. You know we as men sure aren''t perfect!!! But they are very small inclusions (flaws) in the big picture, and they make us who we are and are barely noticeable when you look at the diamond and person.

Finally - I would say buy what you can afford and what you like. I really don''t think when your girlfriend will mind a lot if you show her a ring that was over the $3000 if that is what you like and can afford. My girlfriend would never have wanted me to spend what I did on the ring, but she is worth it.

You should be able to do pretty good with $3000 though, especially in a solitare. good luck!!!!!
 
Date: 8/8/2007 11:03:08 AM
Author: mrquick
there is no ''flawless'' woman.
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Coor blimey...
23.gif
dont say that to your beloved... otherwise you may find you have a fairly worthless piece of carbon in a bit of metal....
31.gif


whats wrong with She Who Must Be Obeyed then?
 
Ok.....so i talked with my girlfriend a bit more and the subject of flouresence came up. Her thoughts were that a blue flouresence would actually be very nice. Since I had read elsewhere on the forum that a blue flouresence actually helps lower colored graded diamonds appear whiter....I''m thinking this may be a win-win situation. However I am a bit confused. Is flouresence simply the way in which a diamond refelcts light waves (i.e. tends to reflect one color more?) due to the stones given characteristics? Would there be a reason not to buy a stone with strong blue flouresence if this is a trait she might like. Really she is looking for sparkle.....but she loves the color blue
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!

Also do any of the below diamonds seem to be a good deal? They seem a bit cheaper to me, but is that simply a result of their flourescent characteristics.....or are there other factors driving the price? Any input you guys have would be most appreciated.

http://www.uniondiamond.com/diamonds/diamonds.php?context=&rb_flow_type=&rb_action_type_id=&action_type_id=7&item_id=AA483841&view_type=request_info&0.94ct-I-VS2-Radiant-Cut-Diamond#requestForm

http://www.uniondiamond.com/diamonds/diamonds.php?search_type_id=2&action_type_id=2&context=&rb_flow_type=&rb_action_type_id=&item_id=AA504632#

http://www.uniondiamond.com/diamonds/diamonds.php?search_type_id=2&action_type_id=2&context=&rb_flow_type=&rb_action_type_id=&item_id=AA513643#
 
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