Hi,
Do you give advice regarding diamond and ring combinations (I.e whether the colour clarity etc would work)? I am unsure if I am buying more clarity/colour than required for the type of ring and if I am overbuying for an eye-clean diamond. Of course, I would prefer to buy a larger carat if possible but don’t want to compromise on clarity/colour if it would not be the correct move.
The combination I am looking into is from James Allen at below link:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.50-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-8532213?a_aid=dmnd1357
Unfortunately, this diamond is not a good option. Its cert says “clarity grade based on clouds not shown.” This means there is a very large cloud that covers a large percentage of the diamond and saps the brilliance from it. You should never buy a diamond with this note.
Since the setting you picked has a hidden halo, I-color center stone might not be enough. The F/G melee diamonds in the halo might make a color difference. And given the diamond’s size, I’d go at least one color grade up to be on the safe side. But if size is your priority and you wouldn’t mind a slight yellow hue, I’m happy to recommend some I-color options as well. Let me know what you think.
Regarding the clarity grade, I always search in the SI-IF range and pick the best/largest eye-clean diamond I find. Sometimes it’s an SI, sometimes a VS or VVS is a better choice. There is no rule.
I would be happy to take you advice. I thought this may be an issue in terms of the halo on the ring.
It would be great if you could recommend some options.
Would it be possible to search for diamonds that are the same colour grading of the halo diamonds (if you think great would work for this ring) and the largest eye clean possible. My girlfriend’s priority would be size but I also want it to look good of course.
My budget is around £6,000 for the diamond, possibly over if I find the right one.
The color grade of the center stone doesn’t have to be the same as the color grade of the melee diamonds because they are much smaller. You don’t need to go higher than an H color.
This is the largest eye-clean diamond I found for ~6k:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.28-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-9200763?a_aid=dmnd1357
The high clarity grade is just a coincidence, I searched in the SI+ range and this one happened to be the best value. It has a beautiful cut and will be very brilliant in real life.
Really like it. Pretty close to what I would be looking for.
I’m thinking would it be possible to go a little higher on the carats?
I found a slightly larger option for £6,365:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.35-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-9098784?a_aid=dmnd1357
It’s nice, but if you look at the real measurements, you can see that my previous recommendation and this diamond are basically the same size (6.94×6.98 / 7×7.05).
I also found this one that’s even larger, but might be stretching your budget a little:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.35-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-7446674?a_aid=dmnd1357
Yes your are right. The extra carat makes little different to the viewing dimensional size.
I think I really like the first option:
And third option:
Which one of these represents best value for money?
Both diamonds are nice and you can’t go wrong with either of them, but if it was me, I’d go with the 1.28ct. It’s a great value for the money, plus its cut is slightly better. I don’t think that the additional 0.2mm is worth the extra $600. But the final decision is yours of course.
I think I will take your advice and go for the 1.28 carat one. It’s looks beautiful and my girlfriend will love it.
Thank you for your help. I think I would have ended up with a poor diamond without your help.
I’m glad I could make it easier on you.
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
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
- One free resizing within the first year of purchase
- High quality images of about half of their diamonds
- 24/7 Customer Service
- 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
- Best in class fulfillment
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