Q&A: Choosing an Oval-Shaped Diamond With a $4k Total Budget

Hi there! My fiance and I have been in the market for an engagement ring for a couple of months, and we’ve been relying on your website a lot in this process, so thank you for providing such a great resource and all the time and effort you have put into this! It is refreshing and so helpful to run across in an industry filled with marketing and we are so grateful to you!

We have finally narrowed down to what band and engagement ring we want. We are eyeing a setting (w out center stone) at Robbins Brothers, but are having a hard time finding 1 ct (+/- 0.05 ct) ovals in our budget of $4,000 and have been looking online. We are open to both lab and natural diamonds, with our main preferences being that we want the diamond to have a lot of brilliance, fire, and sparkle and the least inclusions visible to the naked eye.

We found a 1 ct D SI2 diamond on James Allen that we are considering purchasing, but I am a little hesitant because I have not seen it in person, and that is a bit disconcerting for me. The ideal diamond dimensions that will fit the ring we are looking at are 8mm x 6mm. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to look at the diamond we are considering and give some input as to if you think it will be a good investment and have the sparkle/brilliance and fire that we so desire w out inclusions getting in the way or being visible. The link to the diamond is:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.00-carat-d-color-si2-clarity-sku-2491926?a_aid=dmnd1357

The ring we are looking at is here:
www.robbinsbrothers.com/Engagement-Rings/Ring-With-Sidestones/Robbins-Brothers-i106159.ring?dfss=oval#

Our other option is a 1.04 lab created F VS1 at Robbins Bros for about $4200, but that is quite a bit over what we can afford, and we are unsure what to do; we are leaning towards the natural GIA certified diamond above if it would be a diamond that fits our aesthetic preferences (since it fits our budget and gives us a little money left over!). We are open to other 1 ct-ish oval diamonds you suggest under $4,000, and any opinions and advice you have will be heard w wide open ears! 😀 Once again, thank you so much for all the work you do, and I truly cannot wait to hear what you think!!!!

Lots of love, blessings, and gratitude.

Thanks so much! I noticed the dimensions on both of the diamonds are a little less than 6mm * 8mm. I’m curious if the diamond is .3 mm smaller on both sides, will this leave a noticeable gap in the mounting that needs to be filled in w metal and hence change the look of the ring??

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Also, I’m curious what your opinion on the following diamonds is:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.91-carat-f-color-si2-clarity-sku-2410055?a_aid=dmnd1357

www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.91-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2489575?a_aid=dmnd1357

www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.92-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2416745?a_aid=dmnd1357

www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.92-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2288868?a_aid=dmnd1357

We really would like to stay as below $4,000 as we can w the best diamond and have hence allowed more wiggle room carat-wise (btwn .90ct-1.05ct). Wondering what you think about the following and which diamonds out of the 5-7 that we have shared will be most eye-clean, have brilliance, sparkle, and fire and which ones can we eliminate?

From what I understood, you wouldn’t recommend the first 2 links I shared w you. And once again, thank you so so very much for your help! You have no idea how stressed I have been over this whole process and knowing I am speaking w someone knowledgeable and well-versed in diamonds makes it so much easier and relieve-ful! Thank you!!!!!

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We are leaning towards the .91 Ct G-VS2:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.91-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2489575?a_aid=dmnd1357

Perfect! We ordered it today and are excited to see how it looks in person! If it doesn’t fit in the setting, we may exchange it for another one, so if that’s the case we will definitely consult w you!!! For reference, the email address we ordered under was this one. Thanks so much for your help!!! Look forward to discussing w you in the future when we upgrade!!! 😀

Definitely will do! Thank you once again! I had one more thing to ask you! We are thinking about getting another diamond for comparison’s sake and keeping the one we like most. Before doing that, I would like to seek your opinion on the following diamond we are considering for this purpose:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.90-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2489576?a_aid=dmnd1357

The only noted inclusions are feathers, but the Medium Blue Fluorescence is concerning to me. In your professional opinion, do you think it is worth ordering or do you feel it will not compare to the G VS2 that we bought (www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.91-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2489575?a_aid=dmnd1357)?

Do you have any other recommendations that would be in our budget and meet our criteria, yet be comparable to the G VS2?

Oh, I’m glad I asked! ? The H VS2 seems pretty good and it’s a reasonable price as well! Will run it by my fiance and see what he thinks and go from there! If we order it, I’ll send you a message and keep you updated!!! Our G VS2 comes in tmrw so I’m excited to see how it looks and if it fits in our mounting! Will keep you posted! Thanks once again!!!