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What is wrong with this rock?

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vashts85

vashts85

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Messages
39
Hey everyone. I am really, really new to diamonds but just started shopping for my gf.

I am trying to read through the advanced tutorial and some of the "helpful links" that are posted around here to learn as much as possible. Who knew there was so much about diamonds! I''m kind of a nerd so I am fascinated by all this research and want to try and get a really good deal on a very nice diamond.

Right now we already know the setting. It''s a Tacori and you can see a picture of it.

I have a budget of about 20k for everything (setting and stone). I think the setting ranges from $2300 to $4300 so that leaves about $15k for a stone. My gf doesn''t necessarily want a big rock but I''d like to get her something nice that stands out really well.

I was thinking between .9 to 1ct would be sufficient? I''ve seen this setting before and I think it was with a 1 or 1.2ct display stone and it looked ok, but i was wondering if people are familiar with this setting and know if one needs a bigger or smaller stone.

My MAIN point is that I found this one stone and it looked just really perfect. I honestly cannot find anything wrong with it (thanks to my limited knowledge) and wanted to know if people here could help point maybe some things I wasn''t seeing. Basically it just looked too cheap to be true. Here it is:

Stone

Can someone tell me if I am missing anything? The stone looks nice and symmetrical, good angles and depth, looked really good on Ideascope, and looked to have a really good table too. (I am kinda throwing some terms that I don'';t know a lot about! :P Apologies if i am stupid).

If it matters, i am trying to find a round stone that would be very brilliant. My budget as you can see is well, somewhat modest, but i definetely want something that is......well forever!

So, I''d appreciate any help, and expect me to be popping up sooner with better knowledge!

2620RDMDP_multi.zoom.jpg
 
You mentioned that 15k was your budget for the center but then linked a stone that cost half that... what is the actual amount you would like to spend? For 15k you can go much larger.

Also, what is your color and claritu preference? You can easily go VS2 and G color and have a WHITW and totally eye clean stone. But if you want higher color and clarity for a particular reason, that is of course fine too.
 
Looks good, why do you think there is something wrong with that particular stone?
 
I think you have a great budget but I too am confused why you are looking at stone in the $7-8k range. I have one question....when you looked at the setting you said it had a 1.2 c stone in it? Is that how your gf saw it as well? I wonder if she would be disappointed with a smaller stone that what she first saw when she fell in love with the ring? Just a thought. Maybe try on rings with her of different carat size to she what she responds to on her hand. I think it is best to get the most info out of her as possible. It is a big decision to make and I know you want her to be thrilled.
 
Date: 4/4/2010 8:53:36 PM
Author: cemrn
I think you have a great budget but I too am confused why you are looking at stone in the $7-8k range. I have one question....when you looked at the setting you said it had a 1.2 c stone in it? Is that how your gf saw it as well? I wonder if she would be disappointed with a smaller stone that what she first saw when she fell in love with the ring? Just a thought. Maybe try on rings with her of different carat size to she what she responds to on her hand. I think it is best to get the most info out of her as possible. It is a big decision to make and I know you want her to be thrilled.
Click to expand...


Hey everyone thanks for all the replies!

Let me try and make some things clear...My budget is about 20k. I figure i will spend about 5k on the setting alone.

I was looking at that stone in particular because I couldn''t find anything wrong with it and the low price surprised me. So I was wondering if there was something wrong with it that I missed in particular and that I should keep an eye out for when shopping for diamonds.

Since the setting is solitaire I guess it would make sense to get a bigger stone than 1 ct right? We looked at a 1.5ct stone. She doesn''t want anything bigger than that because it would be "too showy". And that is great for my wallet, haha.

To answer the more specific questions:

- Her ring finger is about a 6.5, she is not sure. She wears a 7 and that ring is always "a bit loose".
- I don''t want to sacrifice color or clarity. I really want that moffo to shine. Does that mean I need to be thinking of a larger budget for 1.5ct? She is not crazy color sensitive but I really want top performance.

Any suggestions of some rocks to look at or how to strike the right balance?

Thanks for all the help. I''ll really try and get some more knowledge before annoying people with more questions!
 
color has nothing to do with performance. Clarity as long as it is eye-clean and no performance degrading inclusions, even SI1 or lower will not have an effect on the performance.
 
I personally think G VS2 is the sweet spot for awesome white color and totally eye clean. I know you want a sparkly diamond, but cut determines that, not higher color or clarity.

This will sneak in at your budget with the PS discount: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6986/ Good old gold also carries Tacori.
 
Date: 4/4/2010 9:22:01 PM
Author: dreamer_d
I personally think G VS2 is the sweet spot for awesome white color and totally eye clean. I know you want a sparkly diamond, but cut determines that, not higher color or clarity.


This will sneak in at your budget with the PS discount: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6986/ Good old gold also carries Tacori.
Click to expand...


Thanks a lot for that link! That one really does like a keeper.

If cut determines performance (and performance sorta means how much it shines right?), then how do i determine a good cut?

I guess i have to look for the heart and arrows and check the Idealscope? Or is it just about the angles and making sure it is in the right area of that fancy colored chart I''ve seen floating around?
 
Date: 4/4/2010 9:22:01 PM
Author: dreamer_d
I personally think G VS2 is the sweet spot for awesome white color and totally eye clean. I know you want a sparkly diamond, but cut determines that, not higher color or clarity.

This will sneak in at your budget with the PS discount: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6986/ Good old gold also carries Tacori.
Click to expand...
Ditto to the sweet spot (G/VS2). For someone who has to be more budget friendly they can drop down to H/I/J eye-clean SI1 but
you dont need to worry about that. You have an excellent budget. I would not consider that original stone you found to be
cheap. Almost $8k for less than a carat is a lot to me. It is a rarer stone though becaues of its color and clarity.


Like Sc said, its the cut that makes the difference between a dull stone and a stone that is really brilliant.

You can use the Cut Quality Search at the top of the page to lead you directly to well cut stones OR you can use
the Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA) to help you determine if a stone is worth further investigation. Any stone that
scores 2 or under is worth a further look. Lower is not better (1.1 is not better than 1.8) so dont get stuck on that.

HCA

EDIt - just saw your last message...these are the numbers that a lot of people use to find a well-cut round stone. Some have
numbers a slight bit different.

depth 60-62 %
table 54-57%
crown 34-35 degrees
pavilion 40.6 - 41 degress

Edit again -
To easily locate some well cut stones you can look at Brian Gavins H&As
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/brian-gavin-hearts-and-arrows/?dia_page=2&order_by=sell&order_sort=DESC
Whiteflashs ACAs or Expert Selections (which are usually close to ACAs but didnt make it for some reason
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/search.aspx
Good old gold - you have to look at the images provided or the numbers to make sure a stone is well cut
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamondSearch.php
 
I am emphatically not a "bigger is better" person but I think that with your budget, you can afford to get your girlfriend exactly the size she wants. So I''d find out from her what size she wants, whether it''s closer to 0.9 or 1.5... because there is a really big difference between the two!
 
Date: 4/4/2010 9:22:01 PM
Author: dreamer_d
I personally think G VS2 is the sweet spot for awesome white color and totally eye clean. I know you want a sparkly diamond, but cut determines that, not higher color or clarity.

This will sneak in at your budget with the PS discount: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6986/ Good old gold also carries Tacori.
Click to expand...
That stone has Strong Fluorescence.
 
Date: 4/4/2010 9:47:35 PM
Author: tyty333
Date: 4/4/2010 9:22:01 PM

Author: dreamer_d

I personally think G VS2 is the sweet spot for awesome white color and totally eye clean. I know you want a sparkly diamond, but cut determines that, not higher color or clarity.


This will sneak in at your budget with the PS discount: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6986/ Good old gold also carries Tacori.
Click to expand...

Ditto to the sweet spot (G/VS2). For someone who has to be more budget friendly they can drop down to H/I/J eye-clean SI1 but

you dont need to worry about that. You have an excellent budget. I would not consider that original stone you found to be

cheap. Almost $8k for less than a carat is a lot to me. It is a rarer stone though becaues of its color and clarity.



Like Sc said, its the cut that makes the difference between a dull stone and a stone that is really brilliant.


You can use the Cut Quality Search at the top of the page to lead you directly to well cut stones OR you can use

the Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA) to help you determine if a stone is worth further investigation. Any stone that

scores 2 or under is worth a further look. Lower is not better (1.1 is not better than 1.8) so dont get stuck on that.


HCA


EDIt - just saw your last message...these are the numbers that a lot of people use to find a well-cut round stone. Some have

numbers a slight bit different.


depth 60-62 %

table 54-57%

crown 34-35 degrees

pavilion 40.6 - 41 degress


Edit again -

To easily locate some well cut stones you can look at Brian Gavins H&As

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/brian-gavin-hearts-and-arrows/?dia_page=2&order_by=sell&order_sort=DESC

Whiteflashs ACAs or Expert Selections (which are usually close to ACAs but didnt make it for some reason

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/search.aspx

Good old gold - you have to look at the images provided or the numbers to make sure a stone is well cut

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamondSearch.php
Click to expand...

What about this moffo?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1197029.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

Scored a 1.2 on the HCA....i am going to read up some more on stones in geenral and try widening my search to G and VS2 while keeping really cut dimensions....it''d be really nice to hit the 1.5ct spot and get some real shine on it.


Thanks for all the help guys!
 
looks good.
 
I would def drop the clarity to a VS1 or VS2- I understand how you feel wanting the most perfect diamond- but you can get a great stone at your price point in VS1 and will not be able to see the inclusions- Most people will be happier with a little bit bigger stone- ever hear some one ask "what is the clarity of your diamond" NP1 But WOW how big is that- YES. I just bought a JA stone and was very happy with them- they have a ton of FVS1''s right now that are right in your budget. GL and congrats.
 
Your budget is awesome, by the way. I say go bigger, unless you want her to start looking at larger stones in less than 5 years time.

I''m a frugal bitty. If my husband ever overpaid on a piece of jewelry he would get a scathing scolding from me!
She''s okay spending all that money just on the engagement jewelry alone? Lot''s of women would love it! A few like me, would be uncomfortable with it.
 
I have to agree with the previous poster, your budget is excellent and I wouldn't call it modest by any means although I guess it depends on what circles you run in.

Just a quick suggestion, I am not sure how much of a surprise this is, but if you can try to get out to a jeweler and have her try on different sizes from 0.9 to 1.5 carats in .10 carat increments to see what she prefers most...

My girlfriend thought .75 carat looked pretty big and she would probably be upset if I gave her something that was 1 carat as this was 'far too large'. This was a matter of her own personal preference regardless of our budget... Thankfully I was blessed with a girlfriend of simple and modest taste =)
 
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