Help Picking Pair of Diamonds for Studs

[goldie_locks]

Hi everyone! I was hoping I could get some expert advice on picking out two diamonds for a pair of studs. I plan to get a three-prong martini setting. After punching tons of numbers into the HCA and AGA calculators, I've down-selected to the following diamonds that are all AGA 1A overall grade, roughly 0.5 carats, I, SI1, excellent polish and symmetry.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.50-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2387910
HCA - 0.8

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.51-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2387920
HCA - 1.4

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.50-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2415284
HCA - 1.2

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.52-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2300578
HCA - 1.4

Based on the 360 view on the james allen website, the first two look like they would probably be eye clean.

Any thoughts, suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[tyty333]

I like 1 and 2 together...they look eye-clean, have similar angles/tables. Depth on one is a little deep but they
are facing up the same size. They look like a good match to me.

 

[goldie_locks]

Thanks for the input! Do you think that the cloud inclusions on both diamonds is anything to be worried about?

 

[WillyDiamond]

Call Leslie at BGD to find you quality pairs, this is the route I took for my daughters studs
Good luck

 

[heididdl]

If you are truly a newbie then let the experts select your pair. I agree call BDG or I love ID jewelry Yekutal. They are all amazing at selecting perfectly matched stones.

 

[luckykit]

oooh, new studs! how exciting! i just bought a pair last week and am waiting for them to arrive.

just wanted to point out (in case you didn't realize) that most of the jewelry websites do matched pair searches - that takes a lot of the work out of it for you. here's the one from james allen: https://www.jamesallen.com/matching-pairs/

whiteflash, brian gavin, and blue nile also have the same feature.

that being said, if you love the four stones you linked here, i agree with tyty that the first two look like a good match.

 

[goldie_locks]

Thanks for the advice about going to BGD.

@luckykit, I actually looked there first, but when i would put the numbers into the HCA calculator, either both would be poorly rated, or one would fall within the excellent range, but the second one wouldn't. It got so frustrating that I started searching individual stones, which was a ton of work as you point out.

Given the advice on other topics about being able to sacrifice some on color (specifically for studs) for an excellently cut stone, I found BGD to be the perfect place to select the diamonds. With their hearts and arrows diamonds, they really do take a lot of work out of find great cut stones. Plus they have the lifetime upgrade policy .

The diamonds at BGD were a little more expensive than at JA, and I went down from K to a J to stay within my budget, but I feel a lot more confident that I'm getting great diamonds. The woman I chatted with was confident that the Ks would face white. I picked this one and then a Advance diamond - which means they'll cut one to match and I'll be able to check out the scopes/images and approve it before they set the earrings.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.504-k-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104087890045

 

[luckykit]

yeah, i had the same issue when i was shopping at JA and BN. your new diamond looks lovely and i hope you love its twin, too! you'll have to post a photo when you get them! congrats!

 

[goldie_locks]

I just wanted to thank the posters here for their solid input to all of the diamond newbies and to me in particular.

I ended up getting anxious waiting for the BGD Advance stone to come in, so perused their in house supply again, and found this lovely pair for just a few $100 more than the original pair, but with higher grades (color and clarity). I was happy to find them too because I was worried about the K color of the other pair. They're supposed to arrive by this time next week and so I am impatiently waiting.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.508-j-vvs2-round-diamond-ags-104080725046
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.510-j-vvs2-round-diamond-ags-104082009118

I have continued to do a little searching back at JA for similar graded stones, and was surprised to see that similar graded stones were similar price, despite clearly not having the hearts and arrows patterns of the BGD signature - and also not having the branded name and standard that comes with BGD. I just really appreciate knowing that you can go to certain vendors that have already done the leg work for you in finding a high quality, excellently cut diamond, especially for a rookie like me.

So shout again for setting me on the right diamond search path!! Will post pics when I finally get them into my hands (and onto my ears) .

 

[bmfang]

You went the same route as I did for diamond studs. Lesley from BGD was really helpful when it came to my final selection. Hope they arrive sooner than you expect and that you love your new earrings as much as my wife loves hers!

 

[goldie_locks]

bmfang, you must be my good luck charm. I just got the shipping confirmation in my inbox. Several days earlier than expected!!

 

[bunnycat]

I just wanted to thank the posters here for their solid input to all of the diamond newbies and to me in particular.

I ended up getting anxious waiting for the BGD Advance stone to come in, so perused their in house supply again, and found this lovely pair for just a few $100 more than the original pair, but with higher grades (color and clarity). I was happy to find them too because I was worried about the K color of the other pair. They're supposed to arrive by this time next week and so I am impatiently waiting.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.508-j-vvs2-round-diamond-ags-104080725046
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/0.510-j-vvs2-round-diamond-ags-104082009118

I have continued to do a little searching back at JA for similar graded stones, and was surprised to see that similar graded stones were similar price, despite clearly not having the hearts and arrows patterns of the BGD signature - and also not having the branded name and standard that comes with BGD. I just really appreciate knowing that you can go to certain vendors that have already done the leg work for you in finding a high quality, excellently cut diamond, especially for a rookie like me.

So shout again for setting me on the right diamond search path!! Will post pics when I finally get them into my hands (and onto my ears) .

They are going to be lovely. I love my BGD studs!