searching for a 1.6-1.9 princess diamond....

[sundevil16]

.....and don''t know what to pay!

I am new to the board and I don''t even know if this is the place to ask this question, but here goes....

I am looking for a 1.6-1.9, G, VS-2, princess (1A or 1B cut) stone.

I am not sure what I can expect to pay or if it is really that safe to buy online, but every jewelery store I walk into has 1 or two diamonds in that range A TON more expensive than what i am pulling up. Are some online sites more trustworthy than others? Any helpful hints would be much appreciated!!!

 

[Skippy123]

Hi, Sund, I bought my diamond from Whiteflash and like their upgrade policy, here is a lovely stone http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-67218.htm

 

[tennessee615]

Sundevil,

I''m kinda in the same boat as you...I have been looking for a while diamonds with about the same C''s, except I took one grade lower in color (I) and clarity (SI1). I actually bought one yesterday on bluenile.com, so now I have to wait about a week to find out if I''m a real dumbass!

I got a pass to AmericasMart in Atlanta and went there on wed (1/9), and their prices were decent, but not like the hype I had always heard.

I figure if this diamond comes and looks like frozen pee with a fly trapped inside I will eat the return shipping cost and send it back. Otherwise, its going to be set in a ring and never to be thought about again.

I''ll let you know how it turns out......Good Luck searching.

 

[sundevil16]

Skippy,

Thanks for the response, I was hoping I could keep it below 15K.... it seems as soon as you hit the 2 carat level it jumps a bunch.... problem it there is a lack of options in the range just below. Thanks again!

 

[sundevil16]

Tennesse,

I couldn''t agree more with you, especially about the SI1... I can''t tell the difference at 10x, but I don''t think my girl would be happy with anything but a VS-2 and above stone. The only time I could tell color was when the stones were all lined up next to each other. And for what it''s worth, all the EGL stones I looked at were WAY off when it came to the color grading scale. Right now I am at the point where I don''t want to do anything except a GIA cert.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.... and please keep me posted on yours, GOOD LUCK!

 

[N2D-986S]

I would look at the following stone:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1120854.asp

I don''t know much about princess cuts but this one appears to look good and is in your price range. Make sure James Allen is able to get you Aset scope pics for it.

 

[Ellen]

You might ask for an Idealscope pic of this one. Looks promising, but numbers are a smaller part with fancies. Also, you may want to loosen up your specs, you''re really limiting yourself.

And AGS actually grades Princess for light performance, so they can mean more than a GIA grading report. But what you really need is a trusted vendor (of which there are many listed here) that can eyeball it and give you pics on it, regardless of which graded it.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1120019.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

Also, the one N2D picked looked good, until the very thin girdle. I''d want to know exactly where/what that means on a Princess, as it could speak to issues of chipping in the future.

 

[Cravin My Emerald cut]

I don''t have suggestions for online purchases, but would recommend you pay close attention to the dimensions. Stones of the same carat weights can face up very differently depending upon how deep they''re cut. Compare dimensions not weights and IMO you''ll be much happier.

A few examples below from Blue Nile (I''m not suggesting these are good, just pointing out dimensions)
http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?__fun_frm=i&track=btntext_viewselect&elem=img&pid=LD01162670&filter_id=0
Above is a 1.62 carat G VS2 6.65mm x 6.36mm for $14K

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?__fun_frm=i&track=btntext_viewselect&elem=img&pid=LD01245078&filter_id=0
Above is a 1.51 carat F VS1 6.75mm x 6.56mm for $12,700

Both are signature-ideal cuts...but you can even get a slightly larger (granted very slight) face up, higher color and clarity...and still save over $1K.

Once again....my little disclaimer....I''m not an expert and haven''t really researched these 2 stones.....just wanted to give you something else to consider carefully before purchasing.