Guy that needs Help with E-Ring : Budget 18k

[Rockbling7]

Hello Everyone,

I've been lurking these forums and thought it would be a good idea to finally sign up. I am amazed by the advice given on these forums so here I am hoping to get some help.

I am looking to propose to my gf of 7 years soon. She is the type of girl that is very into fashion- owns multiple Chanel/LV/Celine/Louboutins etc. so I know the engagement ring is very important to her.

She loves size and has hinted at a 2 carat RB. Problem is my budget is 18k overall. I am thinking a 1.7-1.8 RB is more realistic. The specs I was thinking are
1.8 RB, S1 ( Eye clean), G color - Ideal Cut

In terms of settings, she has her heart set on the Victor Canera Emilya halo. We are from Toronto, Canada so this would need to be arranged via email. I also know his settings go for 4-5k ( which would leave me less for the stone).
Question: Has anyone used Victor's diamond service to source the stone? I would like to purchase stone+setting in one place if i can. However, i've seen some good deals on BLUE NILE /WHITEFLASH for 2 carats in the 17K Price range.

So my question is should i get a smaller stone (1.7 RB)+ victor canera setting? or Bigger 2 carat stone + generic setting ( ex: Blue Nile, that i can change later on).
ALSO, any recommendations for stones?

Thanks in advance for all the help guys!

 

[Lula]

A 2-carat G SI1 is going to be a stretch with your budget -- sounds like you know that already. My suggestion is that you have a heart-to-heart with your girlfriend about her preferences:

Would she prefer the 2 carat diamond now, set in a simple setting, with the promise to upgrade the setting for an anniversary or as your budget allows?

Would she prefer the "whole package" now, i.e., the setting of her choice with a smaller center stone?

If she wants the whole package now with a 2-carat stone (as I suspect, given what you've told us about her), then is she willing to compromise on color and clarity? Because if so, these are some examples of diamonds that fall into the 2 carat range within your budget. James Allen gives a nice discount to Pricescope members; you just have to let them know when you talk to them that you are a PS member.

I color SI2 clarity
You would need to request an Idealscope from JA on both of these (it's free) and determine whether or not you and your girlfriend would be okay with SI2 clarity. Some people are; some aren't.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1547468.asp
3.8 on the HCA

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1537528.asp
2.3 on the HCA

J color, SI1 clarity
Same advice re the Idealscope and clarity issues. Also color -- some people are okay with J color diamonds; some are not.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1544825.asp

ETA: This one is 3.7 on the HCA

HCA tool https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca
Ideally, you'd want a diamond that scores 2 or below on the HCA, especially if you're going to buy a diamond without seeing it in person. However, on this forum we tend to be cut nuts who will go down in color and clarity, and maybe size, but not compromise on cut. But many women are not so concerned with having the best cut quality, they want to be able to say their diamond is a 2 carat, and are not as picky as we are about the diamond's dimensions. That's why you may want to consider 2-carat diamonds that are graded by GIA as Excellent cut, but fall outside the strict cut parameters recommended here. If you choose well among the "second tier" GIA Excellent cut stones, you can get a sparkly diamond for much less.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Lula makes a good point about whether she'd rather have a solitaire now and upgrade before putting it in a VC setting. However, a lot of girls want the finished dream ring when they get engaged because that is when everyone asks to see the ring!

In this case, I would absolutely ask Victor to source a stone for you. He has the tools now such as idealscope, so there is no reason not to use him. You may come out better financially doing it this way. I think maybe you could go to H color in a GIA stone which would help you gain a little more size. A 1.8 still will have an appearance larger than 2 cts when set in a halo. I think many people are not aware that diamond prices have risen significantly and you just can't get a high quality stone now for $18k. Sad, I know!

 

[Rockbling7]

Thanks for all the information lula.
I have talked to her before about clarity, and I remember her saying s1 is the lowest she wanted to go. She is like most of you, and told me cut was the most important to her and that she was not that picky about color (Although we saw a J once and she thought the stone looked "yellow".)
She has told me that in the end she will be happy with whatever I get her, I forgot to mention she has tiny fingers (3.75-4) so she said whatever i decide to get her will look huge on her anyways.
She definetely wants to get her ring halo-ed in the micro pave design ( like the VC Emilya setting) so i think that will also help with finger coverage.
I know its hard to say without images, but is the below link diamond any good? I haven't put it through HCA

http://www.bluenile.com/ca/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD02870163

 

[Rockbling7]

I think she would be open to the idea of upgrading the setting later but I know she would rather have a "complete ring" when i propose, so the 1.8 in her dream setting is looking like a better choice to me right now.
I like the idea of perhaps dropping to an H, however i know with the halo melee, sometimes with VC there is a contrast. She can be nitpicky like that. I will contact him soon to see what he recommends. Thank you diamondseeker2006!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You are welcome! Victor comes from a diamond dealer family, so I am very confident about using him for the diamond. Please come back and post the ring for us! (And I am sure Victor will tell you about the best color, but I am certain we have people here with H color centers in his rings. I'll look and come back and post one for you.)

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/3-075ct-h-vs1-rb-diamond-in-victor-canera-emilya-halo-ring.181019/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/3-075ct-h-vs1-rb-diamond-in-victor-canera-emilya-halo-ring.181019/[/URL]

(The Blue Nile stone is too deep and faces up a little smaller than it could. Depth at 62.0 or less will usually help the stone face up larger.)

 

[04diamond<3]

Thanks for all the information lula.
I have talked to her before about clarity, and I remember her saying s1 is the lowest she wanted to go. She is like most of you, and told me cut was the most important to her and that she was not that picky about color (Although we saw a J once and she thought the stone looked "yellow".)
She has told me that in the end she will be happy with whatever I get her, I forgot to mention she has tiny fingers (3.75-4) so she said whatever i decide to get her will look huge on her anyways.
She definetely wants to get her ring halo-ed in the micro pave design ( like the VC Emilya setting) so i think that will also help with finger coverage.
I know its hard to say without images, but is the below link diamond any good? I haven't put it through HCA

http://www.bluenile.com/ca/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD02870163

That one's too deep. I'd suggest going a hair under a 2ct to get exactly what you want.

http://beta.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/Round-cut/1.80-carat-I-color-VS1-clarity-Ideal-cut-sku-126880

Here's the other posting if you haven't signed up for the beta:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1493092.asp

it's a 1.2 on the HCA.

This one's also beautiful and scored a 1.5 on the HCA:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1538372.asp

And this one is an F color, but I'd make sure it's eye clean it scored a 1.3 on the HCA. I'd also put anything you're interested in on hold asap and ask for idealscope images except for the AGS one I posted since it's already there:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1515854.asp

Here's the video on this stone and with the PS discount you'd get it for $17,490:

http://beta.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/Round-cut/1.78-carat-F-color-SI1-clarity-sku-150374

 

[Rockbling7]

Thanks 04diamond<3, I love the last 2 stones!

 

[04diamond<3]

Thanks 04diamond<3, I love the last 2 stones!

sure! Just make sure you put them on hold ASAP and request idealscope images. Also, I'd suggest speaking to their gemologist to get their opinion on the clarity and performance of both stones.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I think she would be open to the idea of upgrading the setting later but I know she would rather have a "complete ring" when i propose, so the 1.8 in her dream setting is looking like a better choice to me right now.
I like the idea of perhaps dropping to an H, however i know with the halo melee, sometimes with VC there is a contrast. She can be nitpicky like that. I will contact him soon to see what he recommends. Thank you diamondseeker2006!

why waste $4k on a setting if you gonna upgrade in the future?.. . mount the stone in a plain setting for now then upgrade to a VC setting in the future.

 

[SMC]

What about this stone? It's $15.7K with the PS discount which will leave you a bit for the setting. I'm only suggesting it because it is a high I and size seems important to you.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1545160.asp

It's 1.0 on the HCA. I had the JA gemologist pull it up and I ended up going with a different stone. Here are her comments on this stone though: "The 2.01 carat-I-SI1 (diamond 1545160) has the next best light performance and while the diamond is an "I" in color, it is a high "I" that is closer to an "H". She feels that it's inclusions blend well and that the untrained eye will not be able to see them and it will face up eye clean."

Here's the Idealscope:

 

[Lula]

You've gotten some great suggestions. I really like that last diamond posted by sortmon. Make sure to put it on hold right away if you're interested (there's no charge to do that). I believe Victor will work with you on matching the melee to the color of the stone, but be aware that there is commonly a (perceived) color difference between large center stones and smaller melee, just by virtue of the size difference in the stones. Just something to be aware of. It sounds like you know your gf really well, and I'm looking forward to see what you decide on.

 

[wsblue430]

The 2ct. JA stone posted by sortmon is beautiful!! (http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1545160.asp)
Its a high "I" color and faces up very nice and big, this one gets my vote!

In my opinion, you should spend the money on the stone now and the setting after.. its harder to upgrade the stone (unless you use WF, BGD) and you will spend a lot more in the future

 

[Rockbling7]

Thank you once again everyone. I do like that last stone as well, though concerned about the color- I wish they had a video for that stone. Ideally, i would like to stay with a G or H, but its hard to gauge if the color will bother her unless she sees the stone. She is picky, which is why I think VC makes sense because his work defines simplistic perfection. She loves his work and likes the fact that she can have full input in the design process.

I contacted Victor and he said he will also help with finding me the stone.

 

[SMC]

Thank you once again everyone. I do like that last stone as well, though concerned about the color- I wish they had a video for that stone. Ideally, i would like to stay with a G or H, but its hard to gauge if the color will bother her unless she sees the stone. She is picky, which is why I think VC makes sense because his work defines simplistic perfection. She loves his work and likes the fact that she can have full input in the design process.

I contacted Victor and he said he will also help with finding me the stone.

Good luck with your search! Someone put the diamond that I posted on hold already.

 

[04diamond<3]

Thank you once again everyone. I do like that last stone as well, though concerned about the color- I wish they had a video for that stone. Ideally, i would like to stay with a G or H, but its hard to gauge if the color will bother her unless she sees the stone. She is picky, which is why I think VC makes sense because his work defines simplistic perfection. She loves his work and likes the fact that she can have full input in the design process.

I contacted Victor and he said he will also help with finding me the stone.

Good luck with your search! Someone put the diamond that I posted on hold already.

it is on hold...

 

[SMC]

Thank you once again everyone. I do like that last stone as well, though concerned about the color- I wish they had a video for that stone. Ideally, i would like to stay with a G or H, but its hard to gauge if the color will bother her unless she sees the stone. She is picky, which is why I think VC makes sense because his work defines simplistic perfection. She loves his work and likes the fact that she can have full input in the design process.

I contacted Victor and he said he will also help with finding me the stone.

Good luck with your search! Someone put the diamond that I posted on hold already.

it is on hold...

Yeah, sorry if my sentence wasn't clear but yes, I saw that it was on hold and thought it was the OP. Turns out that it was someone else. Whoever buys it needs to post pictures of the ring. I had a very hard time deciding between this stone and another one!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Thank you once again everyone. I do like that last stone as well, though concerned about the color- I wish they had a video for that stone. Ideally, i would like to stay with a G or H, but its hard to gauge if the color will bother her unless she sees the stone. She is picky, which is why I think VC makes sense because his work defines simplistic perfection. She loves his work and likes the fact that she can have full input in the design process.

I contacted Victor and he said he will also help with finding me the stone.

I think that will be the easiest way to do it! I would stick with G or H, also. She will adore this ring, I am 100% sure!!! Please post pictures for us in the Show Me the Bling part of the forum!