YABDQ Yet Another on a Budget Diamond Question

[Patomaru]

I am hoping to propose to my girlfriend of 2 years soon (hopefully on Christmas if I have a diamond (ring) by then). I have been lurking on this website for a bit and trying to gather information and was hoping if anyone had time to help yet another beginner on a budget, that some might answer some questions I have.

I am actually currently living in Japan and my girlfriend is Japanese, but diamonds in Japan seem to be crazy expensive so I thought buying one from the states and having it sent to my home there and then having it sent to Japan would financially be the smartest move. But because I am in Japan, returning a diamond or visually inspecting it myself is rather tricky so I am hoping to find an online dealer with helpful (and hopefully honest and knowledgeable) staff who I can maybe talk to and where I can have confidence in my purchase. The two names I see most frequently mentioned here seem to be www.jamesallen.com and www.whiteflash.com

I have a budget between 2500 and 3000 dollars (though I guess a better way to put it is I have a budget of 2500 dollars though I could go up to 3000). While I would like a quality diamond, I am much more concerned that it is good quality to the naked eye as compared to under a microscope. I also figured I could get a slightly bigger diamond that way.

These are some diamonds I found through the search:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1110499.asp
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-471575.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-471580.htm

I was hoping some for comments or suggestions. Any advice would be really appreciated. If you need more requirements or information please ask.

Thank you,
Patrick

 

[Ellen]

Hi Patrick,

Both vendors you have listed are indeed good ones, and there are others as well.

One thing that struck me when I looked at these was the color and clarity. I only say this because of what I've seen from others from that region buying diamonds, and it seems high color and clarity can be an important issue/priority. Is this not an issue with your lady? If not, then please disregard!



Ok, the JA stones numbers are at what we call steep/deep. However, they are rounded, so they might not be as bad as they look, or, they could be worse. You'd definitely want them to look at it and see. Also, need to find out if eyeclean.


The first from WF looks great. The only issue would be if it's eyeclean, you've got a pretty noticable inclusion under the table area. It may be fine, but check on that.

The second one looks fine too, but again, need to check on eyecleanliness.

They are virtually the same size, so the only real difference is color, and price of course.

HTH!