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Q&A: Choosing a 1 Ct. Princess Cut Diamond for a White Gold Solitaire for Under $6000 In Total

By Mike Fried,

Hello, and I am so glad an entity like you exists. I have been running around for the past few weeks second guessing myself and so it’s very comforting to know that someone out there is both knowledgeable an has, at least for the most part, my well being at their foremost interest.

That being said, I can’t seem to decide on a particular stone for an engagement ring. I have a general idea of what I want, but zero experience to know what I am searching for.

What I do know is:
Princess Cut, ~1ct, solitaire, white gold, and would like to stay below $6k

What I THINK I know is:
D-F color, VVS2+ with highest symmetry and polish possible

And what I have become obsessively indecisive about:
Table%/Depth%. Ive been given ranges, but unsure how those ranges relate to each other. For instance, Table% is ideally between 62%-69% and Depth is between 65%-75%. But if I have a table of 62%, is it ok to have a Depth of 75% and visa versa?

And:
What L/W would be appropriate for a size 6 ring? I thought ~5.25mm would be a good size, but again I’m starting to second guess.

Any and all help will be appreciated and thank you thank you thank you in advance!

Thank you for the kind words. We appreciate it. Now, let’s see how I can help you.

Before I offer some diamond to you, I have a question. What made you settle on those color/clarity grades? We don’t think it makes sense to pay a premium for G+ diamond. The color isn’t recognizable from anything above an H grade anyway: https://www.diamonds.pro/education/color/.

Clarity grade is not that important as long as the diamond is eye-clean. https://www.diamonds.pro/education/clarity/

Regarding the cut parameters, we use our own ones:
Depth: 68-76
Table: 69-75
L:W ratio under 1.05

Have a look at this diamond:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.24-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2296918?a_aid=dmnd1357

It’s beautifully cut and will be very brilliant in any setting you choose.

What do you think?

The referenced diamond is beautiful! And I was surprised to find little to no difference from a H-VS1. I will continue to browse but feel as if you’ve finally found 1 I’m happy to purchase.

I was also curious what your thoughts are on the site brilliance.com? It was one of the top results when crawling through the web, and while I have not found any diamonds of interest, didn’t know if they were reputable or not.

Thank you again for your help! Should i have any more questions do I contact you through this email?

I’m glad you like it! Yes, should you have any other questions, just shoot me an email.

We don’t like Brilliance at all. We have had consistently bad feedback from readers, so Mike secret shopped them when he was visiting his hometown (NYC). Their service was terrible and it took them almost a month to send a diamond (so long, that he was already back in Europe). I would not recommend them. Moreover, they don’t provide any photos, so you can’t really know how the diamonds look.

I seem to have missed the opportunity to capitalize on that terrific diamond, but having an enormous selection didn’t make it hard to find a replacement. I was noticing a few key characteristics that were different between the new diamond vs the old, but couldn’t understand why the difference in price and was hoping you could shed some light.

www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.00-carat-h-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-2165860?a_aid=dmnd1357

Here’s the previous diamond you picked:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.24-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2296918?a_aid=dmnd1357

The obvious difference being the carat weight and clarity, but I noticed that the L/W ratio was very similar and the girdle was much smaller which is the main reason for the carat difference (I suspect). My question is: With the lower price, does that mean I am getting an inferior diamond as far as brilliance or quality, even though I’m getting a similar size in L/W with an improvement in clarity? And is the carat difference the root cause of the price difference?

As always, thank you so much for your assistance and I look forward to hearing from you!

The new diamond seems to be just as beautiful as the previous one. I don’t see any red flags there.

I have no idea why they’re priced this way. It happens more often than you think. The prices always depend on the particular supplier, all aspects of the stone, fluorescence, angles and proportions, types and location of inclusions, etc.

James Allen James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler's loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices. They also have the nicest collection of lab-created diamonds online.
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What we love about them:
  • No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
  • Lifetime Warranty
  • Free Shipping
  • Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
  • Provide insurance appraisal
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