Q&A: Choosing a Round Brilliant for a White Gold Solitaire Setting With a $2,000 Total Budget

Hi there,

I’ve just recently started searching for diamond rings, but it seems like the general consensus is cut is the most important factor for a diamond. Is cut even more important for diamonds of larger carats or is it equally important irregardless of the size?

I have a budget of ~$1500 and around .4-.5 carats seems to be the range for that if my setting is ~$500 or so, so I’m not sure if the “Signature Ideal” cut on Blue Nile is that much worth it than an “Ideal” cut for a diamond of that carat size.

To kind of follow up the cut question, are there any other factors that can be dropped within reason specifically for a carat size of .4-.5? I’ve been searching for color grades of I or better, and VS1 or better as those seem to be the usual cutoffs for what’s visible to the naked eye, and I’m not sure if I can sacrifice even more (eg: VS2 and J) for my size?

I’m looking for a solitaire setting and either white gold or platinum (I haven’t fully committed to either decision, but I am leaning towards platinum), with a round shape.

If I end up buying from a site like Blue Nile, will I also receive a discount through diamonds.pro? (It says that you offer single-time discount codes for your readers on this page https://www.diamonds.pro/reviews/blue-nile/).

Thanks.

Thanks for the recommendation/code. The diamond you linked is nice, but I feel like I could get a higher carat for that price. Can I get your opinions on this one?
Blue Nile LD08430220

It has a lower clarity, but is .6 carats bigger and even a little cheaper. Do you think the bump in clarity is worth the extra carats?

Thanks.

……

Alternatively, I also looked around Blue Nile’s “Signature Ideal” cut diamonds, and found this one at a similar price point.
Blue Nile LD05906509

It’s only .42 carat, so I’m not sure if the Signature cut is worth the carat loss, what are your opinions on this?

Ok, thanks for the advice. I plan on making a decision in a few weeks or so, after I visit the Blue Nile’s location (I’m somewhat local to the area) just to see some of the different settings/bands in person so I can decide on that as well.

Regardless of which diamond I choose at that point, I would be happy to purchase it using a referral link from diamonds.pro, so you guys can receive compensation for your advice.

It’s been a while since we last spoke, but I’m close to finalizing a purchase. For the credit, I will be using this email address to make the purchase on Blue Nile.

I went a little higher on the budget, and I’m leaning towards this one so far (seems to be decent value for .59 carat and Ideal cut):
Blue Nile LD08778756

The only downside is the lower grade of color, but I’ve read that the J color should be slightly offset by the fact that this diamond has Medium florescence?

Other than that, are there any other potential downsides to the diamond that I’m missing?

I’ve placed the order, I ended up going with the one I asked about.

Thanks for answering my questions on diamonds through the past few months, learning about diamonds has really been interesting!