Why is it so hard to find quality melee diamonds????????

[k7lb]

Hi Everyone!

I'm having the hardest time finding affordable clear, not gray, quality diamonds around 2mm (3-4 points). Online, I see plenty of merchants offering melee, but they are all SI1-2 and color G, H for ~25-30 each. I want at worst color F and clarity VS1. I can see imperfections in VS2...but then it all depends on whose grading them.

I've only seen 1 seller online offering higher graded stones but they want $60 each! Does anyone know why diamond chips being offered for sale are such bad quality? I just don't think its worth spending all this money for diamonds if they are going to be cloudy and gray and not sparkle.

For more background, I'm having an engagement ring designed in rose gold with a halo and twisted shanks (and bezel stones between the twisted shanks). The halo will be a line of diamonds and I would've liked the shanks to have diamonds halfway down, but it seems it may be too costly . If anyone knows of some way I can get discounted/wholesale pricing, please let me know! I will need 20 for the halo and bezel stones. For the shanks I would need another 20-30.

I'm near NYC, so I could venture down to the diamond district, but they are notorious for swindling people.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The maker of the ring should be sourcing the melee diamonds. It is not hard for them to access. You normally only supply the center stone when a ring is being custom made. (And incidentally, 2mm stones are pretty large for a halo.)

 

[Dreamer_D]

The maker of the ring should be sourcing the melee diamonds. It is not hard for them to access. You normally only supply the center stone when a ring is being custom made. (And incidentally, 2mm stones are pretty large for a halo.)

Ditto as usual

 

[k7lb]

Thanks. The thing is that I love the designers semi mount designs, but she sent me one of the rings she did and the melee was awful! They were so tiny and did not sparkle at all. She normally uses G-H SI1-2 in her rings and 0.01 ct and less. So, I am not sure I want to leave her in charge of choosing the melee. I saw the other posts about whiteflash and may try them.

 

[slg47]

sometimes you can ask a designer to use 'upgraded' melee? I know WF has their regular melee and their ACA melee diamonds

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Anytime you have a ring custom made you can certainly ask for the melee to be upgraded. I did that when I bought my Memoire diamond band as I wanted to upgrade from the standard stones. I think you might want to look a little more at some halo rings on the Show Me the Bling Forum, though, because most of the "best" halo rings are using somewhere around 1 pt. or even less. Take a look at Steven Kirsch rings in particular. In the past, WF would not sell melee stones. And you'd pay a lot more than your jeweler would to source them, probably.

This one says the halo is 1.5mm but does not give the size of the actual diamond melee (in the post that I read). It is also on a 2+ ct. stone, so you do have to think about proportions of your stone to the melee as well. If you aren't happy with your designer, you could go with someone else.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/show-me-the-ring/steven-kirsch-2-32ct-rb-halo-ring-tons-of-pics-t159649.html']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/show-me-the-ring/steven-kirsch-2-32ct-rb-halo-ring-tons-of-pics-t159649.html[/URL]

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The maker of the ring should be sourcing the melee diamonds. It is not hard for them to access. You normally only supply the center stone when a ring is being custom made. (And incidentally, 2mm stones are pretty large for a halo.)

Ditto as usual

We definitely think alike most of the time!

 

[kenny]

Low or high quality, melees are hard to find because they're so darn small.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I am just thinking ... if I did amazing quality work .. I would not be using crappy melee.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I am just thinking ... if I did amazing quality work .. I would not be using crappy melee.

And if they use crappy melee, I wouldn't trust the quality of their rings. Who would do that if they value their work and their
name. Run as fast as you can and find a vendor who will use beautiful melee as a standard.

 

[Gibson486]

you can see VS2 inclusions on a diamond that is a 3 pointer? You must have eyes that have a built in 1my 10X loupe....

Anyways, if they are not sparking, then they are badly cut diamonds (yes, there is cut quality on smaller diamonds).

I just got my ring designed and I got melee diamonds ( ranges from 1 - 3 pointers) that were VS quality and F color. The guy I went to ordered them with no issue at all. So I imagine that your difficulty is due to the fact that most buyers do not buy those diamonds and they are available through accounts only.

 

[stci]

you can see VS2 inclusions on a diamond that is a 3 pointer? You must have eyes that have a built in 1my 10X loupe....

Anyways, if they are not sparking, then they are badly cut diamonds (yes, there is cut quality on smaller diamonds).

I just got my ring designed and I got melee diamonds ( ranges from 1 - 3 pointers) that were VS quality and F color. The guy I went to ordered them with no issue at all. So I imagine that your difficulty is due to the fact that most buyers do not buy those diamonds and they are available through accounts only.

I agree with all Gibson said.

 

[k7lb]

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[k7lb]

diamondseeker2006 that is quite a beautiful ring!

For me 2mm doesn't look too large, its just my preference.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I think I will just trust her. I'm probably pickier than most

This is the design I'm going for except it will be all in rose gold and a single halo

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=2705893

 

[Haven]

That's a very interesting setting. I wonder why she chose to make a rose gold cup to sit beneath the stone. Experts--will that affect the center stone's color appearance? I know we often see yellow gold cups beneath a FY stone to enhance the yellow color, so that is why this setting has me wondering what the effect will be with a colorless diamond.

 

[k7lb]

I've had my ring made and it doesn't have a cup beneath the stone...and I actually wanted one. I have a pale pink sapphire and wanted the peachness of the rose gold to filter through the stone. But, it does sparkle a whole lot more than I expected and its probably because of the extra light that can get through.