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What would you do? Help appreciated!

C

Circus

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 21, 2014
Messages
4
Hi,
I'm helping my brother find an engagement ring and we're struggling. I have some pricescope knowledge, but it's nothing compared to you all! Any help would be much appreciated! What would you suggest for the following requirements:

- Budget of $2600 USD - we're in Australia and the exchange rate isn't kind!
- round diamond, eye clean (Si1 is fine), near colourless (Up to J is fine, as long as it's fairly white), ideally a minimum of point 0.7 carats with a decent spread.
- Set in a simple, 6 prong solitaire, 14 k white gold. He likes this one: https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...-six-prong-diamond-engagement-ring-item-49506.

He's looking at both MRB's and OEC's - the difficulty is finding a well performing stone in budget! Do you think we need to sacrifice size? Thank you!!!
 
Hi, fellow Aussie here.
Is that $2,600 all up or just for the diamond? The setting he likes is $600.
Also, don’t forget you’ll have to pay 10% GST import tax.
Has your brother seen a .70 carat diamond? Just so he knows what to expect (they always look bigger in photos).
Diamonds start “showing colour” around an H so at J it can be quite yellow toned if your brother fiancé to be is colour sensitive. I can’t really notice yellow toning until it’s a fancy yellow!
I’m not a PS diamond guru so hang around for an expert to chime in.
On James Allen there’s a nice J at .73 for $2,000 (SKU 5072024).
Don’t know if fiancé to be is liking halo rings, but James Allen has a lovely subtle halo (set slightly under the girdle) which will “amp up” the visual size. It’s $820 and is SKU17155W14.
 
JA 5072024. The crown angle is lower than recommended and you can see it looks kinda squat.

Diamonds move fast, so put any of these under consideration on hold ASAP. Ask for a IS and ask about the details noted below. I'm not putting the full link as it the middle of night in Australia and I don't want these scooped up. JA only gives 3 IS images when they have them, so if you ask for 3 and your brother asks for 3...

JA sku-5327341 {60/60 style diamond with a lot to like. Needs an IS, but looks very pretty in the video. This will tend to have more white light than fire, but look at that size at 5.79 mm. Lovely color. There is an inclusion at noon that needs to be covered with a prong, so have this set on the arrows, but its a nice diamond} 5.79 mm

JA sku 4686116 {the GIA lists a chip. I love a lot about this diamond, but contact JA and ask details about the chip. This is a huge discount because of that chip. I'm hopeful it tiny tiny and might be able to place a prong over it. I} 5.76mm

JA SKU-5045312 {cloud listed is right on the center of the table. This may be off putting to some, but at this size is might be hard to see. Nice stone and angles.} 5.71mm

JA SKU -5102148 {nice angles. Looks like a higher J color, but this appears to have a brown body color over yellow. I like brown body tint quite a bit, but its a personal choice.} 5.70 mm

JA SKU-4706969. {nice color and angles. The SI2 rating is likely due to the visible inclusion on the girdle than then dives into the diamond. But, if you have them set the stone with a prong on that feather (or next to if preferred), it might be very hard to see. I'd recommend a different setting for this stone, see below. This won't be eyeclean, but offers a nice high color and could be advantageously set} 5.72 mm

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3970248.htm {smallest of the above, but as a super-ideal it will provide a lot of fire and beauty. WF has a better tradeup/in policy than JA}5.61 mm

https://www.jewelsbygrace.com/0-86ct-old-european-cut-gia-k-si2 {largest stone both in weight and spread. Ask Grace if this is eyeclean. My hesitation is simply that her return policy is very short and that is hard for international buyers.} 5.77 mm

https://www.augustvintageinc.net/co...ct-i-vs2-august-vintage-european-cut-74549295 {Top of budget, but its a lovely newly cut old European cut, so will have high performance. Nice I color} 5.46mm

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/v/187627679
{Don't panic at the price. They will give you $1000 off your first purchase. Look at the popup when you first got to the site - so turn off popup blockers. Nice color and beautiful clarity. ASET good, though not perfect.)5.72mm

Better for the SI2s to make it harder to see inclusions. https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...dern-tulip-diamond-engagement-ring-item-50671

I generally prefer this setting for a soli.
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...e-flower-solitaire-engagement-ring-item-50125
 
Thanks guys!

@Bron357 it's $2600 USD all up. We know about the 10% tax so are factoring that into the max price as well.

@rockysalamander thank you so much! I prefer the James Allen settings you linked as well, but they strictly don't want anything floral. I'm going to speak to my brother about putting the first three JA's on hold.
My brother's gf doesn't seem to be particularly colour sensitive but wants something that appears fairly white, so we're ruling out the JA diamond with the brown body colour. I'm a bit hesitant about the Jewels by Grace K for this reason, but it's a great spread, hmm.
We're keen on the enchanted diamonds stone, but the settings don't look to be what they're looking for and are quite expensive (and the custom route will be more so). We could think about getting it set elsewhere.

Any thoughts on this stone? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE...NTIQUE-3-4C-/153092249250?hash=item23a50256a2
It looks very fiery, although we're concerned that it's a bit wonky (but it could be disguised with a six prong) and that it's a bit shallow which could affect performance? Thank you!
 
Circus said:
Thanks guys!

@Bron357 it's $2600 USD all up. We know about the 10% tax so are factoring that into the max price as well.

@rockysalamander thank you so much! I prefer the James Allen settings you linked as well, but they strictly don't want anything floral. I'm going to speak to my brother about putting the first three JA's on hold.
My brother's gf doesn't seem to be particularly colour sensitive but wants something that appears fairly white, so we're ruling out the JA diamond with the brown body colour. I'm a bit hesitant about the Jewels by Grace K for this reason, but it's a great spread, hmm.
We're keen on the enchanted diamonds stone, but the settings don't look to be what they're looking for and are quite expensive (and the custom route will be more so). We could think about getting it set elsewhere.

Any thoughts on this stone? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE...NTIQUE-3-4C-/153092249250?hash=item23a50256a2
It looks very fiery, although we're concerned that it's a bit wonky (but it could be disguised with a six prong) and that it's a bit shallow which could affect performance? Thank you!
Click to expand...
I vote No to the OEC, it looks like it’s girdle has been chipped in a few places meaning it’s probably a really thin girdle (that the edge section) and that makes it hard to set (more chipping possible).
OEC also perform differently to a RB and you really need to see it in person to be sure it sparkles as you like. With RB (round brilliants) there’s a tool and a formula for accurately determining whether or not it will be a beautiful sparkler or a “dead in some parts” one.
The benefit with getting both the diamond and the setting from the same vendor is that they look after and take responsibility for the setting process.
Though I will add that Diamond Zone or Ivy & Rose are PS recommended vendors.
And as for having a ring made here in Australia - waaayyyy too expensive.
 
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