What do you think of this small budget diamond?

[Icarium]

I wanted to first of all thank the forum in general for all the help it has given me. After tons of research, I now know what it is I am actually looking for.

My budget is fairly limited in that my girlfriend and I would rather spend lots of money on traveling than on the ring (trip to Africa coming up!). However, I KNOW that she will never want a ring upgrade, because she is very sentimental about things like this.

I had really wanted to find a 3/4 carat stone for her around $2000 to $2250, but was fairly shocked at the price scaling from 0.5 to 1ct. Price per carat sky-rockets the higher you get towards 1ct.

People here have drilled into me that cut is everything; therefore, to that end, it seemed that H and I colors with an ideal cut were my best bet. The B&M jewelers always wanted to lay out their E-F diamonds right next to the I''s on a white strip, which makes it fairly easy to tell. However, I kind of feel that by itself an ''I'' diamond can look really beautiful.

Anyway, this is the diamond I found. My major concern will be how eye clean (mind clean) it is in person. I figure there is always a 30-day return policy, so it is no big deal. What do you think? Thanks!

Shape: RB
Weight: 0.75ct
Measurements: 5.82 5.84 3.62
Certificate: GIA
Color: I
Clarity: SI1

Cut: Ideal
Depth: 62.1%
Table: 55.0%
Crown: 35.0° (15.5%)
Pavilion: 40.8° (43.0%)
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Medium
Culet: None
Fluor: None

What is standard procedure once you order and receive a diamond online? Should I immediately find an appraiser to take a look?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/6/2008 1:22:14 PM
Author:Icarium
I wanted to first of all thank the forum in general for all the help it has given me. After tons of research, I now know what it is I am actually looking for.

My budget is fairly limited in that my girlfriend and I would rather spend lots of money on traveling than on the ring (trip to Africa coming up!). However, I KNOW that she will never want a ring upgrade, because she is very sentimental about things like this.

I had really wanted to find a 3/4 carat stone for her around $2000 to $2250, but was fairly shocked at the price scaling from 0.5 to 1ct. Price per carat sky-rockets the higher you get towards 1ct.

People here have drilled into me that cut is everything; therefore, to that end, it seemed that H and I colors with an ideal cut were my best bet. The B&M jewelers always wanted to lay out their E-F diamonds right next to the I's on a white strip, which makes it fairly easy to tell. However, I kind of feel that by itself an 'I' diamond can look really beautiful.

Anyway, this is the diamond I found. My major concern will be how eye clean (mind clean) it is in person. I figure there is always a 30-day return policy, so it is no big deal. What do you think? Thanks!

Shape: RB
Weight: 0.75ct
Measurements: 5.82 5.84 3.62
Certificate: GIA
Color: I
Clarity: SI1

Cut: Ideal
Depth: 62.1%
Table: 55.0%
Crown: 35.0° (15.5%)
Pavilion: 40.8° (43.0%)
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Medium
Culet: None
Fluor: None

What is standard procedure once you order and receive a diamond online? Should I immediately find an appraiser to take a look?

Welcome!

Your diamond looks very promising! With SI clarities, they are not created equal, some may be eyeclean to your standards and others may not. It is best if you have a trusted vendor who has in house diamonds look at the stone for you and tell you whether it is eyeclean according to your comfort level or not. Which vendor has this diamond?

You can certainly get the diamond appraised if you wish during the return policy. It depends on your comfort level, but a good appraisal can be very useful for insurance purposes and your own peace of mind, here is a tool you can use to find an appraiser in your area.

https://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

Also I had a quick look and found this one, a new item from Good old Gold by the look of it, no images yet, but with the info given it is likely to be a beauty if eyeclean!

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4593/

 

[Icarium]

Thanks for the reply.

I shield away from a couple I saw on GoodOldGold, because their prices are very high. They do of course have a great deal of test data and stones with near perfect cuts. I just feel that the 500$ premium (at around 0.75ct range) is too much for me. Stones from other vendors with carefully considred geometry seem good enough for me if you look hard enough to find the good ones. The stone I saw is from James Allen. I think I am going to go ahead and get it so that I can see it for myself. The return policy these companies have is very reassuring. This is probably a bad comparison, but I do the same thing when I buy shoes from Zappos... haha.

I think my best option with a stone of this value would be to simply verify the stone matches the report. I hear that can be done for 25$. I trust the vendor, but it doesn't hurt to make sure, if nothing else than for my piece of mind.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/6/2008 2:32:00 PM
Author: Icarium
Thanks for the reply.

I shield away from a couple I saw on GoodOldGold, because their prices are very high. They do of course have a great deal of test data and stones with near perfect cuts. I just feel that the 500$ premium (at around 0.75ct range) is too much for me. Stones from other vendors with carefully considred geometry seem good enough for me if you look hard enough to find the good ones. The stone I saw is from James Allen. I think I am going to go ahead and get it so that I can see it for myself. The return policy these companies have is very reassuring. This is probably a bad comparison, but I do the same thing when I buy shoes from Zappos... haha.

I think my best option with a stone of this value would be to simply verify the stone matches the report. I hear that can be done for 25$. I trust the vendor, but it doesn''t hurt to make sure, if nothing else than for my piece of mind.

James Allen have a great rep here, so you can proceed with confidence. If you feel better having the verification done, then that is fine and if it gives you peace of mind then worth doing. Let us know how you get on!

 

[heb1976]

Date: 7/6/2008 1:22:14 PM
Author:Icarium
I wanted to first of all thank the forum in general for all the help it has given me. After tons of research, I now know what it is I am actually looking for.

My budget is fairly limited in that my girlfriend and I would rather spend lots of money on traveling than on the ring (trip to Africa coming up!). However, I KNOW that she will never want a ring upgrade, because she is very sentimental about things like this.

I had really wanted to find a 3/4 carat stone for her around $2000 to $2250, but was fairly shocked at the price scaling from 0.5 to 1ct. Price per carat sky-rockets the higher you get towards 1ct.

People here have drilled into me that cut is everything; therefore, to that end, it seemed that H and I colors with an ideal cut were my best bet. The B&M jewelers always wanted to lay out their E-F diamonds right next to the I''s on a white strip, which makes it fairly easy to tell. However, I kind of feel that by itself an ''I'' diamond can look really beautiful.

Anyway, this is the diamond I found. My major concern will be how eye clean (mind clean) it is in person. I figure there is always a 30-day return policy, so it is no big deal. What do you think? Thanks!

Shape: RB
Weight: 0.75ct
Measurements: 5.82 5.84 3.62
Certificate: GIA
Color: I
Clarity: SI1

Cut: Ideal
Depth: 62.1%
Table: 55.0%
Crown: 35.0° (15.5%)
Pavilion: 40.8° (43.0%)
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Medium
Culet: None
Fluor: None

What is standard procedure once you order and receive a diamond online? Should I immediately find an appraiser to take a look?

Hi Icarium, The specs on this diamond look very good. Just check for eye cleanliness b/c of the SI1. I wouldn''t consider this a small budget diamond though! It''s a fantastic size with a great cut! You did well!

 

[jstarfireb]

Date: 7/6/2008 1:22:14 PM
Author:Icarium
People here have drilled into me that cut is everything; therefore, to that end, it seemed that H and I colors with an ideal cut were my best bet. The B&M jewelers always wanted to lay out their E-F diamonds right next to the I''s on a white strip, which makes it fairly easy to tell. However, I kind of feel that by itself an ''I'' diamond can look really beautiful.

I chose an I diamond for the same reason and have absolutely no regrets. I think I in particular is a great way to save money, since the price jump from I to H is pretty substantial (it was a cool $1000 on the stones I was looking at). I have an I e-ring and a J necklace, and I''m very happy with both! Well-cut stones will look white at I-J colors. Also, if you happen to find a stone with some fluorescence, that helps lower-colored stones look whiter.

With regard to the upgrade, you''d be surprised at what we ladies want.

But by buying an inexpensive stone now, you''re actually doing pretty well for JA''s upgrade policy, which is that you need to buy something double the original price. Even upgrading to 1ct later (and maybe bumping up the color) would satisfy that.

 

[Icarium]

Date: 7/6/2008 3:17:10 PM
Author: jstarfireb

I chose an I diamond for the same reason and have absolutely no regrets. I think I in particular is a great way to save money, since the price jump from I to H is pretty substantial (it was a cool $1000 on the stones I was looking at). I have an I e-ring and a J necklace, and I''m very happy with both! Well-cut stones will look white at I-J colors. Also, if you happen to find a stone with some fluorescence, that helps lower-colored stones look whiter.

With regard to the upgrade, you''d be surprised at what we ladies want.

But by buying an inexpensive stone now, you''re actually doing pretty well for JA''s upgrade policy, which is that you need to buy something double the original price. Even upgrading to 1ct later (and maybe bumping up the color) would satisfy that.

Haha, you''re right - you never know. My mother still wears her 1/3ct or so e-ring after 30 years of marriage. My dad keeps tryings to get permission to buy her a new one, and she keeps turning him down. At the time he bought it, he could barely afford his rent and food let alone a big diamond! Thanks for the good comments - I am fairly excited. If I can sneak some pictures maybe I will post them. My photography skills may leave something to be desired though when it comes to jewelry.

 

[Lorelei]

When taking pics, use macro mode ( flower icon) on the back of the camera. Keep the ring and your hands as steady as possible, don''t use a flash, and try for outside with the sun behind you for lighting.

 

[Icarium]

I got the ring yesterday... finally got a chance to look at it. The diamond is incredible! In the beam of sunlight coming through my window here, it is so fiery it almost hurts my eyes to look at it. My little point and shoot digital is not being cooperative though. I have no manual focus, and the macro mode is refusing to focus on the diamond. Eventually I''ll have a Nikon D40 digital SLR; but, until then, I''m stuck with this thing. If anybody has any tricks to make this work, I could get some pics up here.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[RxTechRN2b]

I can''t wait to see a photo of your ring! You did your homework well and searched out the best diamond you could -- and it''s certainly a great size (my personal favorites are 0.75 to 1.5 carats). An SI1 is also great when eyeclean, and the awesome cut will mask the lower color -- very very good choice! This is a great example of balancing and compromising the "C''s" in order to maximize the diamond to the budget.

 

[Rhea]

I don''t think .75 is small at all! I can''t wait to see photos of it.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 7/12/2008 12:48:29 PM
Author: Icarium
I got the ring yesterday... finally got a chance to look at it. The diamond is incredible! In the beam of sunlight coming through my window here, it is so fiery it almost hurts my eyes to look at it. My little point and shoot digital is not being cooperative though. I have no manual focus, and the macro mode is refusing to focus on the diamond. Eventually I''ll have a Nikon D40 digital SLR; but, until then, I''m stuck with this thing. If anybody has any tricks to make this work, I could get some pics up here.


Thanks again for all the help.

photo help

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/bling-pictures-understanding-focus.75890/

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 7/12/2008 12:48:29 PM
Author: Icarium
I got the ring yesterday... finally got a chance to look at it. The diamond is incredible! In the beam of sunlight coming through my window here, it is so fiery it almost hurts my eyes to look at it. My little point and shoot digital is not being cooperative though. I have no manual focus, and the macro mode is refusing to focus on the diamond. Eventually I''ll have a Nikon D40 digital SLR; but, until then, I''m stuck with this thing. If anybody has any tricks to make this work, I could get some pics up here.

Thanks again for all the help.

Looking forward to seeing pictures. Glad to hear that you like the diamond!

 

[Icarium]

Link to the pictures!