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Q&A: Choosing a Round Diamond for a Six Prong Platinum Pave Setting With $9,000 Total Budget

By Mike Fried,

Hello Diamond Pros,

Budget: $9,000
Carat: 1.5 >=
Shape: Round

I hope you can help me find the perfect diamond. I will be shopping this coming weekend and planning on shopping at some brick and mortar stores to get a good idea of what it’d look like in person.

What style setting (solitaire, pave/side stones/halo) and metal (yellow/white gold, platinum) do you want to use?

We would like to get a six prong platinum pave setting.

These all look great Jenny, thank you for your assistance. I will be shopping with my girlfriend’s sister tomorrow in person at a few stores around us. I understand most brick and mortar stores can’t match online prices but these are great diamonds to set as a baseline. I will want to stay with my total budget of $10,000 including the setting so I am really looking at the first diamond you sent me. I have $10,000 saved and would like to pay for the ring in cash.

Great, I’m glad you like them!

If you are looking at other diamonds, be sure you are comparing apples to apples. No EGL or IGI certificates and Excellent cuts only.

I will keep those points in mind. Thank you for your words of wisdom.

I have put together two rings on James Allen and Blue Nile. Below are the links for each ring. Could you confirm that these rings are eye clean and if this is an accurate representation of what I could buy?

www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.50-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6577819?a_aid=dmnd1357

Blue Nile LD11713710

1. If a diamond falls out of the ring, do you know how the process works?
2. With cleaning and polishing services, do we always have to send the ring back to the company’s headquarters?

The only thing really holding me back from online shopping is the accessibility of fixing the ring if something breaks, or if we get a cleaning what is the process. I feel the pricing is better on James Allen and Blue Nile so if I could get some clarity on that I think that would be great. Thank you so much for your help through this process. If there are any other diamonds that you suggest I take a look at before I make my decision this week please let me know. I have really enjoyed this process so far working with Diamond Pro.

It’s true that online shopping is our area of expertise, but you’re still better off asking those questions their customer service. They’ll be able to give you a full and well-informed answer (as each customer’s needs might slightly differ). It’s perfectly normal to feel a little uncomfortable about sending the ring to their office for maintenance. It is an expensive item. At the same time, it’s only once or twice a year and there are many perks of buying online as well (such as prices, additional services, return policy, etc.). It’s up to you, we would never push you into something you wouldn’t be uncomfortable with.

On to your follow up email.

www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.50-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6577819?a_aid=dmnd1357
This diamond is cut way too deep. It’s going to look smaller and less brilliant. The ideal depth % should never exceed 62.8% (the closer to 61.5 the better).

Blue Nile LD11713710
This is a good one. You can have the inclusion in the bottom right corner covered with a prong. Other than that, it’s completely eye-clean.

Can we do one more search for a few diamonds to choose from? I have saved the Blue Nile diamond and discarded the James Allen that you advised me to leave due to the depth %. I am hoping to buy the ring this week and just want to confirm I can find the right diamond 🙂

I just wanted to let you know that this morning I purchased a ring on James Allen. I appreciate your help on this journey. I spoke to one of their diamond consultants this morning on the phone and it will be arriving sometime next week 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful day.

That is great news! Which one did you end up going with?

I went with a completely different one than the one I sent you. I spoke with a Diamond expert on their site and they mentioned that the shine won’t be quite the same. So they recommended a diamond and we went with that one 🙂 Made it right at my budget so it has been a pretty exciting experience. Looking forward for it to show up in 2 weeks! Thank you again for your help

I’m happy you found one you liked. If you could let me know how it looks when you receive it, I’d appreciate it.

The ring came in and here is a picture of it. I love it and it’s exactly what I was looking for.

That’s a wonderful picture, thank you so much for sharing it with me. I’m glad you are happy with your new ring 🙂

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.
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
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Blue Nile Blue Nile is the largest and most well-known internet jewelry seller. They have a very large exclusive online inventory. Their high-quality images are catching up to James Allens' and their prices are amazing. Save 25% on settings at Blue Nile!

Please enter your email address to receive your 25% off coupon code:

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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