I''ve got my starting point - looking for some recommended down/upgrades?

[pousevrika]

After thinking about this on and off for about 6 months, I''m ready to buy the diamond and propose. Don''t know why, maybe it''s just looking at all these beautiful diamonds, but I''m now willing to spend more that I thought i would when I first started, probably around $13K now. Anyway, I did a search using some guidelines for an ideal/vg cut princess diamond. I like this one:

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2117659.htm

Here are the specs from the website:

Price: $9,407.00
Report: GIA
Shape: Princess
Carat: 1.31
Color: F
Clarity: VVS2
Depth: 74.4
Table: 72
Girdle: XT-STK
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Good
Culet: None
Fluorescence: No
Measurements: 6.00-5.94X4.42
Length/Width: 1.01

This price would leave me around $3K-4K for a setting (platinum with 2 sidestones). I was wondering if you could recommend any upgrades and/or downgrades -- things that I could live without to make it cheaper or have more money to spend elsewhere to make it better. Also, depth & table %''s are both high, is that good/bad?

 

[CdnBlingGal]

You can go down in clarity to a VS or SI making sure they are ''eye clean''. You would need to contact WF and speak to them to find out. If you are color sensitive, then I would stay with the F otherwise you can go down in color as well. My favorite combo is E, ''eye clean'' SI1/SI2.
Some of the other diamond guru''s will be able to tell you more. Good Luck!

 

[Kim N]

You can definitely go down to an SI1/2 if it''s eye-clean. If you find a good SI1 or SI2 stone, call WF and ask them if it''s eye-clean. An SI stone would save you a lot of money compared to a VVS.

As for color, how color-sensitive are you? You could possibly go down to G or even H and save some money.

 

[Gonzodogg]

Date: 12/13/2005 12:52:53 PM
Author: CdnBlingGal
You can go down in clarity to a VS or SI making sure they are ''eye clean''. You would need to contact WF and speak to them to find out. If you are color sensitive, then I would stay with the F otherwise you can go down in color as well. My favorite combo is E, ''eye clean'' SI1/SI2.
Some of the other diamond guru''s will be able to tell you more. Good Luck!

I totally agree. You are paying a lot of extra money for that VVS2 clarity and you will never see a difference if you go down to an eye clean SI.

 

[Lorelei]

You can definitely drop the clarity and also the colour if you want. An H colour could look plenty white face up in a Princess, unless a higher colour grade is very important to you, you can save here too.

 

[Kaleigh]

That''s a huge amount of money to pay for something you''ll never see. Call WF and see what they have in an E SI1 range. Does it have to be colorless???

 

[recran]

Total honesty: I would be sad if my DH spent that much $$ on me and didn''t get me a bigger stone than that. I''d drop to AT BEST VS2 in clarity. Personally, I''d drop the color too, but I understand some people are sensitive to that. Anyway, that''s me. And you''re not me and you''re not marrying/married to me.

But if I wanted a princess and had your budget, I''d get a simpler setting - spend MAYBE $2K. And get one of these diamonds:
http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1226183.htm#
http://www.goodoldgold.com/1_52ct_h_vs2_princess.htm
http://www.goodoldgold.com/1_56ct_i_vs2_princess.htm

 

[Gonzodogg]

What about this one? - MUCH BIGGER - but if it is eye clean...

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1226183.htm

(Don''t forget - you get a PS discount)

Good Luck