What would you choose with my budget?

[way more stuff]

After some weeks perusing this forum anonymously and educating myself on diamond engagement rings I have concluded that there is no way I could, on my own, find a better stone than many contributors here seem to be able to do in no time. So, if you had a budget of $10,000-11,000 to buy a diamond for the greatest girl in the world, what would you choose?

I have been leaning toward a brilliant round diamond in the vicinity of 1.5 carats, G - H color, at least eye-clean clarity, with as high-quality a cut as I can afford. These preferences are based largely on what I''ve culled from articles and other posts rather than anything my girlfriend or I have our hearts set on, so if you think I am looking in the wrong direction please let me know. My girlfriend will tell me she loves whatever I select, and I doubt either she or I would be able to tell a very good diamond from a great one, but it is important to me that I do the best that I can. I intend to buy online from any of the several vendors that are consistently mentioned in this forum as being reliable.

I would greatly appreciate any general comments or specific advice regarding particular diamonds you think I should consider.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Hmmm, I''d choose something like this:

http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-2133646.htm#

 

[oneandahalfrock]

It sounds like you have some good ideas, but don''t forget about a setting in your budget!!!
Yes, you want an amazing diamond, but the setting is very important too- there are so many styles, so many options with where you place diamond

Do you have any ideas on what she would like? Solitaire? Three stone? Three stone with color sides? I''d start asking some questions

or maybe that''s something you can involve her in and you can go on your secret mission for the diamond

Good luck and let the fun begin

 

[way more stuff]

She likes solitaires and settings on the classic end of the spectrum. I''m thinking I will spend an additional $1,000-1,200 on a platinum setting.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/13/2009 10:36:15 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Hmmm, I''d choose something like this:

http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-2133646.htm#

Thats a great pick P, wms if you like this one check with WF that it is eyeclean to your standards and put it on hold if you are seriously interested.

 

[loveloveloveit]

Hi way more stuff, I would highly recommend you contact Lesley at Brian Gavin Diamonds as well. Everything I have seen that''s come from them is stunning, especially for a stone of that size. The settings I''ve seen on their blog also are classics. Good luck.

 

[way more stuff]

That Whiteflash H SI1 looks nice! How do these compare?

GIA
Ideal cut
1.50 carat
G
SI1
7.41-7.38-4.48
Depth %: 60.6
Table %: 58
M girdle
Culet: note
Polish: ex
Sym: ex
Flour: non

HCA: 1.4

$10,143


GIA
Ideal cut
1.50 carat
G
VS2
7.24-7.3-4.53
Depth: 62.3
Table: 56.0
polish: ex
sym: ex
girdle: medium
culet: none
Flour: none

HCA: 0.8

$10,900

Would the G-color of either of these put it in the same league as the H SI1 ?

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/14/2009 11:24:37 AM
Author: way more stuff
That Whiteflash H SI1 looks nice! How do these compare?


Would the G-color of either of these put it in the same league as the H SI1 ?

No, color isn''t near as important as cut. That''s what we really need to compare. Could you list the crown and pavilion angles for us please? Also, GIA doesn''t have an "Ideal" cut, so do you have the grading reports for them, as the vendor is just calling it that...

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 7/13/2009 10:36:15 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Hmmm, I''d choose something like this:

http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-2133646.htm#

Agreed, consider coupling with plan B (see below my signature).

 

[way more stuff]

The G SI1 posted above has:
crown angle: 34.5
pavilion angle: 40.8

The G VS2 has:
crown angle: 35.5
pavilion angle: 40.4

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/14/2009 4:15:38 PM
Author: way more stuff
The G SI1 posted above has:
crown angle: 34.5
pavilion angle: 40.8

The G VS2 has:
crown angle: 35.5
pavilion angle: 40.4

Those angle ranges look good, that would be the diamond I would be most interested in.

 

[way more stuff]

I should have Idealscope, Aset image, and Sarin report for the G SI1 tomorrow. I will try to post them.

 

[Regular Guy]

looks like the last several days have been productive for you.

If you''d like to share with us your process for identifying others to consider, I''d be interested, and others may too.

 

[way more stuff]

Thanks for the vote of confidence in what I found! I wish I could claim to have discovered some superior means of identifying nice diamonds but I did spend a lot of time searching online and checking stones. Searching was easier once I had some idea of what range of quality I could afford. I started with Pricescope''s cut quality search tool, which was helpful in focusing my efforts, but that seemed to exclude some stones I thought were still worth looking at so I also tried the regular PS search tool. I think it was a post from Lorelei on another thread that gave some very helpful ranges (depth 60-62, table 54-57, crown 34-35, pavilion 40.6-41) for stones that generally perform well, and enabled me to quickly scan large quantities of stones to pick out a few worth further inspection (which largely consisted of inputting numbers into the HCA).

I also had some success, once I decided what I was looking for with some specificity, just contacting vendors PS members trusted and inquiring. It doesn''t hurt to ask, and I have found everyone I''ve dealt with thus far to be very helpful and knowledgeable.

If any of that helps anyone I''ll be thrilled. Wish me luck closing the deal!