Q&A: Choosing a 1.00 Ct. Round Diamond for a Rose Gold Halo Setting

1) Costco is not the best place to buy a diamond ring from: https://www.diamonds.pro/reviews/costco/. But as long as the diamond has a proper certification, I’m happy to comment on anything you find there.

2) Diamonds are not a good investment. Unless it’s something exceptionally rare like fancy color stones, selling diamonds means losing money: https://www.diamonds.pro/education/sell-diamonds/

3) We don’t really recommend buying diamonds locally, unless you find a really good value and reputable jeweler. https://www.diamonds.pro/education/buy-diamonds-online/. We think that the best bang for your buck is purchasing a diamond from an online retailer. The average markup for an online retailer is 14-19%. For good brick and mortar jewelers (that don’t scam you) it’s 35-100%. Luxury brands mark up 100-300% (you are paying for all of Tiffany’s overhead and marketing investments).

We have found that far more people end up getting taken advantage of by going in to a store than purchasing online.

When you purchase online, you have the advantage of going at your own pace, cross-referencing (with a site like ours) and checking off all the boxes. I am also able to help with somewhat unbiased opinions. While we usually get paid by the online vendors we recommend, we have no reason to recommend one diamond over the other unless its the better choice for you. When you walk into a store, the less desirable the diamond, the more incentive the owner of the diamond has to sell it.

There have been countless readers who I’ve started the process with and partway through send us a message ‘we went to this store and found this diamond that was such a great deal, so we snapped it up.’ We then feel like garbage when we have to point out the things they missed which turn it from a good deal to a terrible deal (improper certification inflating the quality, strong fluorescence, yellow fluorescence, even artificial treatment). Unfortunately, most stores make it very difficult to return a diamond ring.

It’s possible you can find a good value at a store (by good value, I mean not much more expensive than an online retailer), but you are far more likely to fall into a sales trap. I’m not saying that you should unequivocally stick with online purchasing, but I’d say it’s worth the try. The companies we recommend have a great return policy and if you weren’t happy with the diamond, you can send it back within 30 days and get a full refund/find a new diamond.

4) A better quality diamond has a slightly higher resale value, yes.

5) The amount in appraisals is what the appraisers think the retail price should be (not what you actually paid). It has nothing to do with for how much they/you should sell it for.

I’m happy to recommend some diamonds for you if you like. That’s why we are here, to help people get the best bang for their buck.

Assuming you are looking for a round diamond, I’d recommend you go with either an H or I-color stone (depending on what color the diamond accents are) to ensure the colorless impression.

Look at this one:
Blue Nile LD12417887

It’s just a coincidence the diamond has such a high clarity grade. It was the first eye-clean stone I found. It’s eye-clean and has a great cut.