Who''s the most patient online vendor?

[abbey]

I have been a pricescope lurker forever and love reading about and seeing everyone''s new treasures!
Right now, I am now on the hunt for a new set of diamond studs for my mother''s day gift and I am looking for some advice!
This is going to sound a little corny, I know, but both of my boys who are 2 and 5 now were born in January so I thought it would be fun to get my diamonds to conicide with their birthdays.
This means I''m looking for a 1.10 and a 1.14 set (2.24 ctw). 
I''m hoping to get an ideal cut, G color or better  and completely eyeclean?  I would love to have them be decent quality so that I can later give them to my respective future  DIL''s.....

My budget is ~10K for the diamonds.

I have done some searches and found some possiblities. I talked to one vendor who has helped out, but still insists that I will need to go at least to an SI1 (throws me over my budget) to have a chance at eyeclean. (see her message below)

My quesiton is should I try another vendor who maybe has easier access to stones? Or should I just bite the bullet and go SI1 or VS2. How do you find an eyeclean SI2 without all the trouble of shipping stones in to check them out?

Thank you all so much for any advice that you can give me!

Vendor Message Below:
Lisa,
Thank you so much for getting back me. I wanted to touch base and let you know that SI2 diamonds will not be eye clean, very rarely will you find one. Some SI1 diamonds are not eye clean as well but, you are more likely to find an eye clean SI1. I hope that I can assist you with this diamond search. Please contact me at XXXXXXXXX. I look forward to being of assistance to you. Have a great day!

Kindest Regards,
Diamond Consultant

 

[Mara]

what a cool idea!!

that said, i love a good SI2! my old stone was a 1.6 J SI2 and it was totally eye-clean, one small black inclusion when you put the diamond very close to your eye and focused in.

also there are plenty of people here who have 1c+ SI2's by reputable labs who love their stones and swear they are eye-clean.

i totally agree with an SI grade to save $$ and get the most bang for your buck. i would say that the best way to find out what is truly eye-clean is to work with a vendor who carries in-house diamonds rather than shopping for virtual stones that people have to 'call in' to find out more information on.

but since you are looking for very specific ct weights, it may take a bit of patience to come up with in-house stones that match what you want. are you willing to wait long term on the project based on inventory?

just some initial thoughts! i would assume you want an excellent or ideal cut but without paying a premium for a brand or similar?

ETA I did a PS search and only came up with 1.11 and 1.20 and in between, no 1.10 or 1.14s right now for any in-house in the PS search. which is why i say with such specific requirements you may have to be patient. i think vendors can be patient if their client is too.

 

[abbey]

Thanks for the reply Mara.
I know that the size restriction was going to make this a little more difficult but I think it may be fun too.
I was wondering if I should try to call someone like Mark at Engagement Rings Direct as he is closer to where most of the diamonds are and can go do a visual without the shipping. Is this a dumb idea.
There is an amazing GVS2 at whiteflas, but would send me about 4K over my budget if i were to do two stones like it:
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-2323740.htm
Is it worth the extra money to do an expert selection for earrings?
Thanks again!

 

[Mara]

I think calling someone like Mark, telling him about your project and asking if it would be something he would be willing to help you with would be a great idea. It is true that he can eyeball stones locally more easily than most, being in NYC.

That said, I have a pair of WF ACA earrings and I love them. I know that not everyone believes in getting super well-cut stones for earrings, and I don''t believe in paying for a brand name for earrings, but I do love a well-cut excellent stone...I think if you could find ES stones for the earrings it''d be fab. Or consider buying one stone from one vendor and another from another if two different ones have what you want. There are a few people on here who have done that and it worked out great. aka if one stone becomes available, buy it and hold onto it loose, so that when you find the other, you can have them set together. I''d just make sure that the cut-quality of the stones are on par to match, aka you don''t want an icky cut stone and a superideal or something, try to get two well-cut stones so that the sparkle and quality looks similar.

 

[Gypsy]

Oh I was just giong to post about Mark when I saw the request for a patient vendor I thought of him immediately... I''m talking to him now and he''s amazing!! So patient and wonderful. I totally second that recommendation!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would definitely want well cut diamonds in earrings. Once you see some H&A stones, it is hard to go backward! But you are going to be looking at a much higher price if you want G SI1 ideal cut 1.1 carat stones. I personally would not want SI2, but some people do not care about inclusions at all. You can go to under a carat or go down in color. I''d hate to see you sacrifice cut. You have to balance out your priorities. But I think it is going to add a little stress to the process to try to match two stones with the carat weight being exactly 1.14 and 1.10!

 

[abbey]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I really don''t want to change the carat weight as somehow my non- diamond-loving diamond husband seems to "get" the desire for this exact weight. I don''t want to "mess with success" in the diamond negotiations. I "can" up my budget, just not sure if it makes sense to do so for earrings. I''ve also thought of getting one now and then one later, but I can''t say that "I''M" very patient.

 

[belle]

i totally ''get'' wanting that carat weight... very cool. i would keep your options open. the great thing about well cut superideal diamonds is that they are soooo sparkly that it is much harder to see inclusions and they face up soooo white! i would highly recommend going down in color as well as clarity. you don''t need a perfectly eye clean stone. no one will ever get close enough to your ear to see any inclusions. if you could find some j/si stones, you could stay closer within your budget.
best of luck to you!

 

[abbey]

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-2408705.htm

What do you guys think of the above ES diamond from Whiteflash. I have a call in to see if it''s eyeclean given the SI2 label and no photos on site. Also, what about the J... can you see color on the ear. My ERing is a D so I''m a little worried that by contrast you''ll be able to tell if I go this low in color...

Thanks againg for all your help! It''s so fun when the person searching is yourself!

 

[Sundial]

I think it is worth the money to go with ideal cut diamonds for earrings. You want your ears to be just as sparkly and brilliant as your hand. I have H SI2 ideal cut 2.5 ctw. studs and I adore them. My e-ring diamond is F in color and it didn''t bother me at all to drop to H for earrings. I would have even considered J if that had been available. Both my studs are eye clean so it can be done with SI2, you just need a vendor with inhouse stones who is willing to check them out for you. The diamond you have shown on the link looks pretty good. I hope you have fun with your search!!!

 

[glitterata]

Plus, what wonderful rings they''ll make for your daughters-in-law someday--after you upgrade to 4 ctw earrings, of course.

 

[sunkist]

Date: 5/19/2006 2:11:55 PM
Author: Abbey
Thank you all so much for the advice. I really don''t want to change the carat weight as somehow my non- diamond-loving diamond husband seems to ''get'' the desire for this exact weight. I don''t want to ''mess with success'' in the diamond negotiations. I ''can'' up my budget, just not sure if it makes sense to do so for earrings. I''ve also thought of getting one now and then one later, but I can''t say that ''I''M'' very patient.

Abbey I think this is a very cool idea! Love it! I''ll keep my eyes open for you as well

It will definitely take lots of patience I''m sure. And yes I''d definitely buy one of them if you find it first. Then just wait for the second one to come around. good luck!

 

[abbey]

Thanks for all your help!
OK, so if were to blow the budget (by at $3500) would it be worth it for these two diamonds or should I stick to my budget and keep looking for some eyeclean SI2''s?
Do these 2 diamonds "match" enough? I''m a little worried about the color difference and the .10 mm difference. Will this be noticable on the ear?
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_details.aspx?idno=2323740 (GVS@ 1.10 Expert Selection)
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_details.aspx?idno=1177154 (HSI1 1.14 H&A ACA)
Sorry I can''t seem to get it to do active links
I''m so confused!

 

[lizz]

Who is the most patient online vendor? For a round, I would not go anywhere other than www.exceldiamonds.com. Barry is wonderful. He has a large selection, and may have the carat weights you're searching for. Good luck!

 

[Mara]

no you will not be able to see color on your ear vs your ring hand unless you walk around with your ring hand up against your ear all the time.

if you have a D ... i don''t know if you''d be that loving a J stone esp in a 1c+ size. not everyone loves the near colorless. i would totally get I/J earrings (in fact i do have I SI ACA earrings) but i know many times people have a mental block on color even though with an exceptionally cut stone it can face up whiter.

that said, i think that G and H would be a great combo for earrings if possible. good luck!

 

[WinkHPD]

Many many many SI2''s are totally eye clean. This should not be a problem for you. Finding the exact wights should only be a matter of time and patience.

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

P.S. It should not be a problem especially if you use more than one vendor.

 

[abbey]

so... is the expert selection and a cut above overkill on earrings??
What's the consensus?
I do want a nice cut but not sure I have to pay for the name...I would prefer higher color and lower clarity too if possible
PS-sorry for all my typos.... I'm checking pricescope in the middle of running around after my two little devils..

 

[Lynn B]

Just chiming on to say that there certainly ARE eye-clean SI2s out there... I own one! What hogwash! Strike that dumb-banana vendor off your "to call" list!!!