OEC studs on a budget - help please!

[peonyinlove]

I am hoping to purchase some everyday diamond studs for myself to celebrate a new job I recently started, and I would love any help you could give. I don't have a large budget (1400 usd for stones alone, prefer to keep the stones + settings under 2000 usd), and I'd prefer to stick to or near it, but could increase it if I really felt it was necessary. I am also unfortunately dealing with a poor exchange rate to usd, so that impacts the budget.

I have a beautiful transitional diamond in my engagement ring that was purchased from grace, and my parents gave me an oec milgrain pendant from grace when i was called to the bar. I wear it everyday, and plan to have the diamond studs in milgrain bezels to match.

I am not concerned about clarity at all, as long as the stones are reasonably eye clean; I'm looking for bright, lively stones around 1 cttw, and would go down to around a K/L/M as long as they faced up nicely. Uncerted is also fine. I emailed ID jewelry, and they emailed back, but unfortunately the only question was 'how small are you willing to go?' which was a little deflating! I know many pricescopers have purchased studs from ID, can someone give me an idea of prices?

Grace has these stones which i'm very intrigued by -
http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/loose-diamonds/matched-pairs-and-suites/89ct-transitional-cut-diamond-pair#.WK44nbYrJE4

and Love affair diamonds has these ready made -
http://www.loveaffairdiamonds.com/0-95ctw-old-european-cut-diamond-earrings-in-lad-sarah-bezels/

I emailed love affair diamonds in regards to purchasing loose stones and having them set, but no email back yet. I think both of the above links are great options, but I'd love your thoughts or recommendations of where else to look. Does Old World Diamonds do small projects like this? I am hoping that ID jewelry will give me some other stones to think about - are there any other vendors I should be considering? I'm also open to pre loved stones or earrings, but I'm not as well versed in finding those deals as some others here! Any help is much appreciated

 

[whitewave]

My .82 ctw (can't remember if they are .82 or .84) were about $2,600 from blue Nile just to give you an idea of price for non OEC

 

[TheElms]

I don't understand IDJ's response. They aren't OEC but on their website site in 14K white gold they have a pair of 0.98 tcw studs that are H and SI1 for $1315 in a martini setting. They also have a 0.9 tcw F-G SI pair in a 14K bezel setting for $1775.

 

[EC8]

You can check out the OWD website, there are several pairs (already set) listed in your approximate price range; you can also email to inquire about having a pair made custom.

 

[vintagelover229]

One of our very own has these listed in her shop in your budget

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/295160321/approximately-90-carat-total-weight?ref=shop_home_active_4

I'm sure she could work with david klass to reset them in budget too.

 

[peonyinlove]

could someone remind me how to respond directly to another user? i'd like to directly reply to those who answered above!

I received an email from ID Jewelry today which says that they have nothing for me to consider and that my only option is to raise my budget. I am frankly, shocked. As quoted above, they clearly have pairs of modern round brilliants in my budget and i had told them that I would consider round brilliants. Even if I hadn't, to not even offer me any options is disappointing for me as a customer and pretty poor service. I'm very disappointed, as I had heard such great things about ID jewelry. I know I don't have a huge budget, but I really thought that being flexible on colour and clarity would get me some options. On top of that, it wasn't left as 'we'll keep looking for you and let you know' it was left as 'call us when you're ready to increase your budget' - ouch.

I really don't think I have a totally unworkable budget, and the ready made pair from LAD is looking better and better - as well, Grace graciously emailed me back asap to let me know that she will search her current inventory for me and if nothing suits, will work with me to find a pair. She is so lovely to deal with.

If anyone else can assist with other vendors to investigate, I'd be very happy to hear.

 

[sln]

I was there in December looking at studs. There was a pair I was considering that was 1.4 ctw and the price was $2,450. To me it doesn't seem like your budget is unrealistic.

 

[the_mother_thing]

That's a shame you didn't get more help or suggestion from IDJ.

If you are open to a pre-loved set, this pair (.99tcw complete earrings) were listed last year, and aren't noted to be sold, so maybe try sending a message to the seller to see if they are still available.

https://loupetroop.com/listings/earrings/dot-99-tcw-oec-diamond-earrings

I will keep an eye out as well for other options, as I love searching for things to try and help ... saves me from spending my own money.

 

[the_mother_thing]

I don't know this seller nor their reputation; just sharing a pair of loose diamonds they have listed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-Pair-of-Round-Cut-Loose-Diamonds-0-95-Ct-E-F-Color-SI1-Clarity-GIA-/122250834370?hash=item1c76b7b1c2:g:bXgAAOSwo4pYQFID

 

[bluecharm7]

Hi,

I am very new to this but have recently seen scouring the web to find the best diamond at the best price within my budget. I have had to do a little out of the box thinking to get the ring that I have in my head. I found these single loose OEC stones that may work and keep yo within your budget without sacrificing your vision.

I do not know the reputation of these sellers and I am still not clear on what makes a better diamond as far as cut then another but this may work for you. These are not exactly calibrated but since inventory always changes and if you don't have a specific time frame you could always buy a single stone now and keep looking for a match.

A single .43ct OEC H color VS2 price is $750. Measures at 4.82-4.88 x 2.89. https://www.etsy.com/listing/241883080/043-carat-old-european-cut-diamond-loose?ref=shop_home_active_1

A single .43ct OEC H color SI2 GIA certified price is $475. Listing title varies from description I wrote what was on the GIA cert. Measures at 4.67-4.89 x 2.70. https://www.etsy.com/listing/495171706/diamond-old-european-40-carat-gia-report?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=old european cut loose diamonds&ref=sr_gallery_33

I thought these two diamonds (below) appeared very similar as far as color.
A single .51ct OEC H color SI2 EGL certified price is $825. Measures at 4.71 x 4.70 x 3.49. https://www.etsy.com/listing/506621613/old-european-cut-egl-usa-certified?ref=shop_home_active_87

A single .43 Transitional cut H SI2 GIA certified, price is $775. Measures at 4.66 - 4.70 x 3.12. http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/loose-diamonds/43-early-round-brilliant-transitional-cut-diamond-gia-h-s12#.WK9-wYWcF9A

And last I found this web sight. http://www.oldworlddiamonds.com/diamonds.php There is a lot of single OEC and Old Mine Cut available all over the place that will fit in your budget, I think you will just have to do some homework.
Based on the pictures provided by the sellers these last two may be as close as you can get without going over budget.

Good Luck and post some pictures when you get the earrings.

 

[peonyinlove]

I want to thank all who responded, your suggestions have been very helpful!

I'm disappointed to say that my experience with ID jewelry has gone from bad to worse - I pointed out that there are stud pairs on their website well within my specs and budget, and why couldn't someone assist me etc. And got a response from Shulamit to say that again, she has nothing in her inventory to suggest to me, they only carry f-g stones (even though there are h pairs on the website...) etc. And I didn't request lower colours, I have confirmed twice now that I would simply be happy with anything DOWN to lower colours due to my budget and wanting to maximize size. excuses, excuses and still no quote for milgrain bezels for any studs they carry, and no recommendation of a pair I would like. I honestly don't know what to say about that, it is such bizarre treatment. How could you not suggest something - anything!? and why is it that I can find a suitable pair on their website, but they cannot?

In the meantime, the LAD options have sold (sighhhh) and both Grace and Erica are looking for stones for me.

 

[jaaron]

Have you tried Ilya at My Diamond Zone in Chicago? I ordered a larger oec from him that I ended up returning, but found him very nice and very helpful and I think he deals in a lot more EGL stones than the other vendors, which, if you're not worried about the cert, might give you more options. If nothing else, it can't hurt to have one more person keeping an eye out.

 

[Kbell]

Maybe OWD could do something like these for you only smaller if you contact them?
http://www.oldworlddiamonds.com/jewelry-detail.php?id=180&maxpage=0&sort=weight&jtype=e

 

[ac117]

It looks like Jewels by Grace just posted a pair of .52ctw OEC's in yg milgrain bezels as part of her bling blowout for only $1095! Approx J color, VS/SI clarity...they look very pretty and fiery. I'd contact her ASAP if you're interested!

 

[peonyinlove]

I saw Grace's latest bezels - they are beautiful, but smaller than what I am looking for.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the leads and advice

 

[ac117]

Just so you know, I'm trading in my current .90ctw studs with IDJ and they are under your $2k budget so those would be up for grabs! They are MRBs, uncerted PS quality E SI1, H&A and very sparkly...IDJ doesn't specialize in OECs.