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I will be in the market to purchase an engagement ring for my girlfriend within the next 2 months. Right now I really need to know how much I need to set aside to get her what she wants. We have been to a couple brick and mortar retailers so I have a pretty good idea of what she likes. I am hoping you can help me determine what I can expect to get with a budget of $12k (flexible). I know she wants an emerald cut and a platinum solitaire setting. How close do you think I can get to 2 carats on this budget. She has been skeptical about me buying her diamond online, and honestly I have my concerns as well. But I am the type of person who always is looking for the best bang for his buck and feel like buying online will accomplish this. Would it be possible for you to show me a couple diamonds on JA so I can get an understanding of what is out there in my price range. We also looked at a couple Ascher cuts, I would like to hear your thoughts on both. Thanks in advance for the help and I look forward to working with you.
I understand your concerns about buying online, but I think they are misguided. We have found that far more people end up getting taken advantage of by going in to a store than purchasing online. Diamond buying is confusing and, deep down, you realize that you will never know as much as the professionals selling the diamonds.
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 me a message ‘we went to this store and found this diamond that was such a great deal, so we snapped it up.’ I then feel like garbage when I 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.
Its possible you can find a good deal at a store (by good deal, 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 think your concerns on principle are misplaced.
Out of curiosity, why is your time-frame two months? If its not for budget reasons, I have a win-win solution. Buy something online now and you’ll have plenty of time to see it and return it if you don’t like it. You can get it independently appraised as well. Worst case you pay the return postage of about 40 bucks (unless you buy from jamesallen.com which covers the return postage) and go buy one in a store. The companies we recommend are all huge companies ($25 million dollars plus a year in sales), so there is nothing to worry about in returning the diamond.
As for your question about size, you can get pretty close:
http://www.since1910.com/loose-diamonds/stone/17695974.aspx
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.71-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-226638?a_aid=dmnd1357
If you cheat a little on color, you can get a little closer:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.81-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-sku-197357?a_aid=dmnd1357
What do you think?
Thanks for getting back to me. I appreciate you putting me at ease concerning making this type of purchase online. I feel very confident that this will be the best avenue for me to get the most for my money. I actually am ready to buy right now, as long as I can find the right diamond for the right price. After reviewing your website and the article concerning emerald cuts, I learned that you often recommend buying a minimum of an H color and depth and table percentage no higher than 68%. With this in my mind what are your thoughts on each of these diamonds specifically. I am willing to consider a smaller diamond to make sure it falls within your recommended criteria. But I also would love a larger diamond if you feel that despite not being within this criteria, it wouldn’t be noticeable and is still a good buy for the money. At the end of the day I want the diamond with the lowest quality (meeting your minimum criteria) where going up in quality/price provides no incremental difference in value. Also, I know you guys always recommend JA rather than Blue Nile and haven’t seen much on your site about since1910. Any particular reason why?
In addition to my little knowledge of diamonds I have no knowledge of the appropriate setting for an emerald cut. Being that she wants a platinum solitaire is there something in particular I need to look for? Can you recommend any? Thanks!
…
To add on to my previous email, can you also tell me what you think about this one compared to the others.
Also can you explain to me what is meant by girdle and how important, if at all, that is for an emerald cut.
1)Girdle is not an issue considering so long as you avoid Extremlies (thin and thick).
2) We love Since1910. They added photos a few months ago and we have been getting amazing feedback from readers. We started to recommend them on a personal basis about 2 months ago and have had excellent experiencs. I recently secret shopped them and can tell you that they will be getting an amazing review from us soon. I have a lot of work right now, so its getting backed up.
3) As for emerald cuts: while its nice to have a 68% depth, the L:W ratio is far more important. The way depth% is calculated (depth divided by width) skews the depth% number. The longer a diamond is the width will naturally be shorter (in relation to the whole diamond). This makes the depth skew higher. The majority of emerald cuts have a L:W of 1.22-1.30 (that is not the ideal parameters, just the average). As the diamonds get over 1.25LW towards 1.40, the depth% will get closer to 70%.
All that said, the diamond you selected is a fantastic cut. I’m not sure why I missed it. I think that is a fantastic option.
Thanks, that all makes perfect sense. Now, I am just having a little trouble taking all of that information and coming up with the best diamond for the money. Some look great but have very thick girdles. Some have medium girdle and great cut but lack the color/clarity. I selected a few and did a comparison, here is the link https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/?CaratFrom=1.78&CaratTo=2.04&Color=I&Clarity=VS2,VVS2,VS1&PriceFrom=400&PriceTo=13000&Sort=Carat%20asc,%20DefaultOrder&TabSelected=3&ps=9&DiamondID=231340,226638,215314,197357,215311,241053,199312?a_aid=dmnd1357. Can you take a look at this link and tell me what you think is the best and why. In other words which diamond would you buy?
Thanks.
Girdle doesnn’t matter. Very thick is not an issue at all. Sure, it would be nicer to have a medium. But the difference is hardly (if ever) noticeable and you are risking far more important things.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.72-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-231340?a_aid=dmnd1357
If this is the one you are talking about, its a winner.
I pulled the trigger. Thanks for the help. I will let you know how it turns out.
Sounds good, keep me posted.
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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