Would love you to help me find a diamond...help needed please

[ShellyS]

I am looking for an engagement ring (my original was lost back in March).

I have a budget of 14, 000 total (we have decided to go ahead and upgrade). This iincludes the setting, so I guess I should say we have approx, 10,000 for the center stone. If I could find a nice diamond of 1.5 carats for less that would be absolutely great.

I would like a round center stone at least 1.50 carat
I would like to get the best diamond for our money. I am having trouble understanding the "cut" and dimentions when reviewing online diamonds.

Please feel free to post any links that you may feel would work for me.

Also, when looking at stones:
Would F-G color be a good choice
Is SI1 ok for clarity
What should I look for in cut?
Please let me know if I should upgrade in either of these areas

PLEASE feel free to let me know what round center diamond would be my best bet for my price range of 10,000 (or less) if I would like a 1.5 carat diamond.


ANY links to online reputable vendor''s actual diamonds would be SO appreciated. Also, I would appreciate any contact names within the vendors if I need to call.

As I mentioned, I lost my engagement ring in MArch and have been going without since. We are getting ready to celebrate our 12th year anniv. and would love to have our rings blessed then.

Thank you for your time, Shelly

PS I am traveling to Atlanta , GA on Thurs. iif this might help with any suggestions.

 

[mercoledi]

Welcome to Pricescope! Sorry you lost your ring,

This one at WF looks pretty good. It scores a 0.8 on the HCA (under 2 is good, under 1 is very good). It''s lower color than you asked for and it''s a bit over budget, but 1.5 is a popular size. There are larger options at James Allen, but most are SI1/SI2 and you''d have to call to find out if they are eye-clean or have visible inclusions.

Surely other will chime in. Good luck on your quest!

 

[Allison D.]

Hi, Shelly; welcome to Pricescope.

At $10K, you can hit the 1.50 mark if you go into J/VS2 or I/SI1 territory. As long as you select a well-cut AGS or GIA graded stone, these combinations should be just fine; they''ll face up without body color and sparkle well.

Cut refers to how well the facets of a stone are aligned; this is the most important factor as it dictates light performance (sparkle).

Most SI1s are fairly eye-clean; just work with a reputable vendor and you''ll be all set. Most of the reputable vendors here will tell you straight up if a stone is eyeclean or not and what their definition of eyeclean is. (Eyeclean means not being able to see the inclusions in a stone without a loupe under specific conditions.) Some SI2s are eyeclean, too; I own several. If you aren''t clarity sensitive, this might be a great way to stay within budget and get up to a G color in the 1.50 range (if that''s your preference.)

The dimensions are measurements that give you some clues as to how well a diamond will perform. The relationship between the crown/pavilion angles, along with table, depth, and girdle info, impact light performance; this data will help you narrow your search to well-cut stones.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

Haven't you already posted several times on this subject? Four times, to be exact? If you stick to one post, you might get more responses. Since the Whiteflash people cannot suggest their own diamonds, I will do it. Their "A Cut Above" diamonds are the best. Sorry, I don't know any names at WF. Here's some diamonds:

$9569 http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-703281.htm

$9999 http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-906730.htm

$11505 http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-922673.htm

From GoodOldGold.com

$9098 http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4044/

Nothing wrong with SI diamonds provided they are eye-clean. If you want G-H colors, you will have to go up in price.

 

[ShellyS]

Thanks all for your advice. Very helpful and I plan to print some of the information out.

NeverEndingUpgrade, you are right-guess I have posted four times already. I didn''t realize I was asking about the same questions. Guess I am getting a bit excited to replace my lost ring.
You are kind to point that out and offer me links to some great looking diamonds.

Thank you,
Shelly

 

[honey22]

What type of setting are you looking for? $4K is quite a large setting budget, so depending on what you want, you may be able to get it for less. If we could narrow down the setting first, that would give us a better idea of how far we can stretch the budget to accomodate a 1.5ct stone.