Well, the journey begins...

[codex57]

To be honest, I''d avoid the D. I''m pretty color sensitive, but the premium for D just isn''t worth it. I''d drop down to the F or G level (maybe even H depending on how sensitive you are) to up the carat amount. The size is what people see first. As long as you stay with the round shape and a great cut, that''ll mask the color some. I''ve seen some scary inclusions so I''d stick with S1 as the absolute lowest, preferring to be in the VS2 range. I know everyone hounds about cut on here. I do too. I mean, I bought an IdealScope and went hopping from store to store just testing it out and seeing what different stones looked like. In the end tho, I think the size of the stone trumps all unless you run into a bunch of diamond nuts like us.

One of the greatest enjoyments I get is hearing the compliments my wife''s friends (sometimes strangers) give her regarding her ring. As a whole, the size of it seems to get the most compliments (it''s not that big, but my wife has small fingers and a skinny band which makes the stone look bigger). How sparkly it is (the cut) comes second. No one has mentioned how white it is cuz the lighting and stuff can change a stone''s look so much, most regular people won''t see a difference.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Hi, Ashland, I remember you!

I feel so much safer with either a GIA or AGS certification. I know it''s a little trouble to order a stone and return it if you don''t want it, but I''d take that chance if it were me to get a higher quality stone. I do think you should go to G or H, though. You are paying such a price premium for D-F and you could get a slightly larger stone if you went with G or H. I have an F now and am getting a new H, and the color difference is hard for me to even see. Otherwise I wouldn''t do it! You can get closer to a .75 in an H SI1, for example. And a white gold solitaire setting is only a couple hundred dollars.

 

[Ashland]

Date: 5/10/2006 9:15:03 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Hi, Ashland, I remember you!

I feel so much safer with either a GIA or AGS certification. I know it''s a little trouble to order a stone and return it if you don''t want it, but I''d take that chance if it were me to get a higher quality stone. I do think you should go to G or H, though. You are paying such a price premium for D-F and you could get a slightly larger stone if you went with G or H. I have an F now and am getting a new H, and the color difference is hard for me to even see. Otherwise I wouldn''t do it! You can get closer to a .75 in an H SI1, for example. And a white gold solitaire setting is only a couple hundred dollars.

Good info thanks. Maybe I should drop the color slightly? I trust everyone here''s opinion I just want it to be clean and beautiful. I originally thought D but realized F looked the same to me...

 

[Ashland]

Ultimately, I would like a diamond that is between D-G and I would like it to be Hearts and Arrows. H&A is the most important part to me.

I have to stay at about 2500 total including setting. i know thats not much but hopefully I can pull it all off.

 

[JulieN]

.551 G SI1 1594: http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-1958325.htm
.558 G SI1 1565: http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=AGS-7088809 <<a little bigger for a little less, but it's a different style

Plain platinum setting makes it 2000...now you can get her a really nice wedding band.

 

[esp102]

H&A are nice to say but nobody sees them...

D, E, F color will look the same with hand cream, chicken grease and Aqua net sprayed on it.

Check out this guy:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=130&item=569331

 

[Ashland]

Date: 5/11/2006 3:53:31 PM
Author: esp102
H&A are nice to say but nobody sees them...

D, E, F color will look the same with hand cream, chicken grease and Aqua net sprayed on it.

Check out this guy:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=130&item=569331

Are you saying H&A is not worth it? I''m just confused now. THe next level down is not noticeable?

 

[esp102]

H&A could be a better cut (but sometimes it''s not) and if it is the better cut you might not be able to tell the different.

They might be very close. One diamond might be bigger and people see size - so you might spend the money on getting a premium cut but bigger than a smaller diamond but H&A.

Just a thought - if the Premium cut is a very very good cut but didn''t make the Ideal range for some reason - and have nice light return.

Get an IdealScope image of the diamond before buying and put it online here for everybody to see. Get a few of them in your price range. That will be a lot of help.

 

[esp102]

Read this:

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/hna.asp


H&A''s shows a diamond has been given a better cut, but not all H&A''s have optimum light return. You can use HCA or an Ideal-Scope to confirm that a H&A''s diamond will not have leakage just inside the table.

Peter Yantzer, the director of the AGS lab, maintains that AGS will not grade the quality of the H&A''s pattern because they are not satisfied that H&A''s diamonds are more beautiful. GIA''s 70,000 observation survey also concluded that diamonds with ''optical symmetry'' were not necessarily preferred by its participants in ''blind testing''.

 

[Ashland]

Ok so I am going to loosen my perimeters a little. I just don''t want anything I buy online to come to me looking dull.

I thought I knew what I wanted but now I need to rethink it.



THanks for your help.

 

[JulieN]

May I suggest you go with what your lady wants? Those WF ones look great, btw, that you had picked out.

Anyway, here are some HandA: .7 H SI2, .71 I SI1, and .7 J VS2 http://www.winkjones.com/specials/diamonds.php in the H&A rounds graded by PGS. You can have ideal scope pictures sent to you, have someone talk to you about each one.

Good luck!

 

[codex57]

Date: 5/11/2006 4:46:16 PM
Author: Ashland
Ok so I am going to loosen my perimeters a little. I just don''t want anything I buy online to come to me looking dull.

I thought I knew what I wanted but now I need to rethink it.

Yeah, I would loosen the parameters a bit. It''s always good to have an open mind. Realistically, people look at size first. An ideal cut or just under ideal cut will look just as sparkly in real life, especially once some dirt or whatever gets on the ring. Not having the H&A name premium can save you quite a bit, allowing you to bump up other categories.

We get all caught up in numbers and specs and stuff here, but it''s important to take a step back and look at the big picture. A diamond is a sparkly thing. The most valuable tool to judge a diamond is your eye. If your eye can''t detect a difference btw one level and the next lower level, maybe you can relax your standards a little.

Eye clean can rarely ever match up with mind clean, but the most important thing is to make sure the person wearing the stone loves it. If she''s not too picky or knowledgeable about diamonds, maybe you should concentrate more on the eye clean part rather than the mind clean part.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Ashland, I am with you on being a little confused as I am having trouble deciding what I want! But I think you are fine with F and G for color. I would go with G to give you a little more size, to be honest (maybe .6 or so). You want the diamond to be Ideal cut regardless of whether it is H&A. I have just seen my first H&A today, and it is beautiful, I''ll have to say. I am sort of particular about clarity, but I don''t recall you parameters for that. Vendors like WF get new stones in every six weeks or so, so it pays tp watch the site closely to see when new stones come in. When I looked for you yesterday, there just weren''t many to choose from with the features you want. But there will be more if you aren''t in a big hurry.

 

[dbgaap]

Any chance you will take your GF out to look at diamonds? HAndled well, it can make for a nice evening...

the thing is that she is the one who will wear the diamond every day. Yes, that is obvious.

You see, she might or might not care about the size, the color, inclusions, etc.

The main reason to get a great cut is for the sparkle factor- everyone likes sparkle.

But some people TRULY do NOT notice the difference between D or J. Wouldn't it be nice to find out what her preference is?
Same thing with clarity - a sparkly stone will hide a lot of little imperfections and some SI2 stones look GREAT.

Maybe you could get one of her girlfriends to take her shopping - just go to the mall and study colors, study clarity and make the friend report back to you.

Then you'll know whether you want to search out a J SI2 .75 ct or an F VS2 .5 ct.


AND finally, you don't have to get WF "A Cut Above" to get a beautiful diamond. The "Expert Selection" diamonds are still VERY fabulous, as are many of the stones floating out there in the databases.

I have dealt with Jim Schultz (at JAmes Allen) and he is very straight-forward. You can call him and ask him to help you find a stone, and mount it in a setting. I have also talked to Pete at Quest Jewelers in Va.
Pete can also source a stone and mount it in an affordable solitaire for a very competitive price.
They are great people who will walk you through the purchase and provide everything you could need to feel confident.

I just don't think that deal at the B&M is really the best you can do.
Best to you & your girl!!!