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Q&A: Choosing a Round or Oval Diamond for a Platinum Ring within a £10k-£13k Budget

By Mike Fried,

Hi, you mentioned in one of your articles that you occasionally have Blue Nile coupons. If you had any you could share that would be great. Your article also mentioned that there is a spec you would usually recommend – any advise would be great.

We offer a coupon for $50 off of a purchase over 1k: [contact us for your own unique coupon code]. I hope it helps.

If you want me to help you with the search, could you please tell me what shape you’re looking for? What setting do you like the most? Do you have a ballpark budget in mind? Then I’ll gladly send you some suggestions.

I am looking for a round or oval solitaire with a platinum setting. I do like the 6 prong setting.

My budget is c. £10k – £13k and would be looking for best possible cut (excellent cut, polish and symmetry), min 1.5 ct, VS1+ on clarity and max medium fluorescence.

Generally speaking, the most important is the cut of the 4C’s (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/4cs-diamonds/). A perfectly cut diamond will have great light refraction and therefore lots of brilliance (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/cuts/). For rounds, we like to keep the depth under 62.5% (62.8% max) and the table in the range of 55-58% to maximize the brilliance (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/round-cut/). If you want to get a superbly cut diamond, I’d suggest looking at stones with the pavilion angle under 41°, depth under 62.5% and table in the range of 55-57%. Bear in mind these parameters don’t have to be that strict as some of them may balance and influence each other. There is no universal rule.

Clarity-wise, once the stone is eye-clean, it’s eye-clean, no matter if it’s an SI1 or VS1. The actual clarity grade isn’t important (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/clarity/). Simply said, it’s better to avoid diamonds with red flags such as big knots, cavities and etch channels as they might disrupt the integrity of the diamond. We also don’t recommend stones with thick feathers, big clouds, chips or stones that have clarity based on clouds. Ideally, the inclusions shouldn’t be on the table. On the other hand, 95% of all twinning wisps are not visible to the naked eye, so those are alright. Even an SI2 diamond can be perfectly eye-clean if the inclusions are strategically located.

We suggest sticking with J+ stones for white gold solitaire settings and K+ diamonds for yellow gold solitaire settings. If you want to go with a pave/side stones setting, it’s better to stick with I+ stones. For halo settings, choose an H+ diamond (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/color/).

You don’t have to worry about the polish and symmetry. You most likely won’t be able to distinguish the difference between good and excellent (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/symmetry/ and https://www.diamonds.pro/education/polish/).

There are two main rules when choosing an oval:
1) The depth shouldn’t exceed 74%.
2) The bowtie should be as minimal as possible.

Picking out a beautiful oval cut is a bit of an art. A smaller table may refract light a bit better, but the difference won’t be noticeable. Unless the depth doesn’t exceed 74%, it’s alright. Regarding the color, we usually recommend H+ color as ovals tend to show their true color more than rounds (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/color/). For J-H color, you can get diamonds with none, faint and medium fluorescence. The medium fluorescence may help the diamond look a tad whiter. In case of G-D stones, it’s better to avoid medium or strong fluorescence as it may cause a hazy/milky look (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/fluorescence/).

Ideally, it’s better to avoid extremely thick and extremely thin girdles (if possible). Other thickness is okay and won’t have a significant impact on brilliance. Oval cut diamonds don’t have their own official cut scale given by GIA. Some companies use their own internal grades, but we don’t put any stock in those. We just use our own guidelines and strict parameters to find the best stones possible. Therefore, I wouldn’t pay attention to the cut grades you see at all.

Here are some beautiful options:
Blue Nile LD12612564
Blue Nile LD12439721

They’re well-cut, eye-clean and brilliant. I always suggest checking the actual measurements when comparing two or more diamonds.

What do you think?

I am particularly interested in your recommendation around colour. The advise I had previously was to go for a D – F colour diamond. Also, when I viewed some diamonds myself I could see the difference between a D colour and G colour diamond. Admittedly this was only after I saw the D colour diamond, I wouldn’t have noticed the slightly warmer colour of the G diamond before.

I have not yet purchased the diamond but am likely to do so in the next few days. I would therefore be happy to look at any further recommendations you have and I will let you know if I decide to purchase one of your recommendations.

I would also appreciate your view on the diamond linked below:
Blue Nile LD12923968

This appears to be within the parameters you set out in the previous email and has no obvious flaws as far as I can see, but would appreciate any comments.

As for the color, of course, if you compare a G colored diamond and a D colored stone side by side, there will be some difference. But once set, you won’t see the color. As I said, we recommend H+ color but if you feel you’d be more comfortable with G+, let’s stick with that.

As for the diamond you found (Blue Nile LD12923968), the only issue might be the medium fluorescence. As I mentioned before, the medium/strong fluorescence on D-G color might cause a hazy/milky look in daylight.

It’s a bit deeply cut. Ideally, we suggest keeping the depth under 62.5%.

I’d suggest these instead:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.66-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-7958908?a_aid=dmnd1357
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.60-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-7923829?a_aid=dmnd1357

They have similar measurements as the stone you found.

Apologies for the back and forth replies on this – I am now getting close to finally purchasing a ring.

I seem to have narrowed it down to two at the moment, see below:
Blue Nile LD09607368
Blue Nile LD13075994

The second diamond doesn’t have an image on the website but I can forward a video sent by the Blue Nile team.

I like the measurements of the first stone (Blue Nile LD09607368). The only problem is the very small culet. Ideally, it’s better to get a diamond with a none/pointed culet. The second diamond is perfect (Blue Nile LD13075994), I don’t see any red flags at all. Great find!

Thanks. I will most likely buy the second one tomorrow.

Glad I could help!

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. Get 30% off lab-grown diamonds during a limited time sale.
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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!

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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
  • One free resizing within the first year of purchase
  • High quality images of about half of their diamonds
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