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Which pair of diamonds for earrings?

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Edster

Rough_Rock
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Sep 10, 2003
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Dear Folks,

I am trying to decide between two pairs of loose diamonds for earrings for a 10th anniversary present for my wife, and I''d really appreciate any advice you all might have on the following two questions. One, do these pairs seem like a reasonable deal. (I think they are, but I could be wrong.) The other question is that one set is slightly larger than the other and has a slightly better cut, but is the difference worth the price differential from a practical perspective? My wife is not really all that interested in magic numbers such as having a fixation on 1.0 total carat weight. She would just like to have a nice-looking pair of diamond studs.

In any case, I''d really appreciate any advice that you all might have. The stats are:

Pair 1 (.82 tcw)
Diamond 1 Diamond 2
Cut: AGS 0 H&A, HCA 2.2 AGS 0 H&A, HCA 1.7
Color: G G
Clarity: SI1 SI1
Carats: 0.415 0.402
Price: $989 $958
Note that the diameters are closer than the carat wgt might seem, being both 4.8 mm.


Pair 2 (.93 tcw)
Diamond 1 Diamond 2
Cut: AGS 0 H&A, HCA 1.5 AGS 0 H&A, HCA 1.7
Color: G G
Clarity: SI1 SI1
Carats: 0.463 0.464
Price: $1207 $1210

Again, I''d appreciate any and all advice you might have. My head is aching over this issue.

My thanks,

--Edster
 
Please post crown, pavilion and girdle details.
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Wow! Those are expensive. I'd go with non H&A and get .5+ carats each for that price. They'll still look really sparkly and great if you get a good cut. Just my 2 cents.
 
 
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On 9/10/2003 3:22:47 PM NewYorker wrote:

Wow! Those are expensive. I'd go with non H&A and get .5+ carats each for that price. They'll still look really sparkly and great if you get a good cut. Just my 2 cents.
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Where from, please tell me!
 
whiteflash.com or dirtcheapdiamonds.com
 
Okay, I just checked. I guess those are a good or normal price for that size in H&A. Sorry to mislead.
 
Actually, the diamonds quoted are from Good Old Gold. BTW: Thanks Tanya for the feedback in any case, because maybe H&A is overkill for earrings. What do other people think?

Best,

--Edster
 
I would never get H&A and pay the mark up price for them for earrings. Of course, I probably wouldn't want it for an e-ring either. I'd rather have something bigger that looks just as good but costs less. Maybe GOG could send you one of each (H&A and non H&A) and you could decide which you like and if you can tell the difference.
 
I also think that hearts and arrows may be overkill for ear rings.

What sort of cut standard would most people go for when buying stones for ear rings? I assume I/J colour and SI2 clarity would also be OK, especially if cost was an issue. Any comments?

Edited to add: I'd still like the diamonds to have a lab report, even if they aren't the top cut or colour grade.
 
Really, whichever. Both pairs seem very well matched given the info, but there is no replacement for actually seing the things.I do agree about what the others have to say about the price. It is alot. If you do not mind buying online, maybe try diamondsbylauren.com. I had a good little buy there and he does keep unusual things. Unless you have a special target to get H&A, the prices are much too much. Besides, even if you are not for magic numbers, you might want bigger stones? If the answer is no, than your choice is already very good.
 
I disagree with Bagpuss - I would never go as far as J color for earrings. My friend has J and it's very noticable that they aren't white. I'd go with H or higher.
 
i recently bought a set of diamond studs from jonathan at GOG. i bought H&A diamonds with similar hca numbers. yes, the H&A was more expensive but my wife does appreciate a great cut in a diamond and i wanted her to have the best, it was also an anniversary gift. i thought that buying diamonds off the net without seeing in person, by getting the best cut and good hca numbers i could eliminate the majority of not too great looking diamonds. after working with jonathan i'm sure he would tell you if in his opinion the diamonds did not look good and would also help you find a nice pair of non H&A diamonds that looked great at a lesser price. i just thought it was cool having H&A cut like a little inside surprise that only you and the wife know about. i would diagree with one of the other posters respectfully that you are wasting money on H&A diamonds for diamond studs. it is really a matter of what you want in cut and clarity and color to give you the most bang for the buck. let's face it though, when we buy diamonds for someone else, a lot of emotion and sentiment goes into that purchase that goes beyond the nuymbers. just my 2 cents worth.
 
I have to disagree with most of the posters and say that I think H&A for earrings is an excellent choice...I would love to have H&A earrings. Just because others do not have that or that is not the norm or 99% of the rest of the earrings out there are going to be non well-cut does not mean that you can't get something different. Many earring sets out there are low clarity, not great on color and not well cut...because earring sets normally are diamonds that they would not be able to really sell well as stones on their own.

GOG has excellent stones, as does some other vendors. I would definitely go the extra mile to get the well cut earrings and have something different. If your wife does not care as much about reaching the magic # markers then amaze her by telling her that her earrings are some of the best cut stones out there. That'd be fun. My earring set now is so much better cut than my original set and you can literally see the difference...they sparkle way more, look more white (well they are more white) and just look all around better. Compared to these, my old earrings were DOGS (and we thought they were pretty while we had 'em). So imagine H&A type earrings...that'd be swoonable. Plus you aren't paying much more of a markup really...esp online. We paid a retail markup that you aren't paying--lucky dog!
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I also wanted to note that the pricing you posted is pretty inline with other similar online stones. I have been looking at .40-.45c stones from WhiteFlash for a pendant (I like the A Cut Above brand) and your $900 is reasonable for a similar color/clarity. I would stick for under $1k for each of the stones, and stick with G or H and SI1 clarity (with no eye visible inclusions). I would definitely not pay for the $1200 stones of that size...that seems like too much of a markup for what... no real visible difference in the total ctw of the stones.

Good luck!!
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