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Q&A: Choosing a Round Brilliant Diamond for a Yellow Gold Pavé With $10k Total Budget

By Mike Fried, Updated June 29, 2020

Hello,

I love your website. It’s great for guys like me who know absolutely nothing about jewelry. Thanks for all your work.

I’m currently shopping for an engagement ring. I’m looking for a round, ideal/excellent cut, eye clean diamond for $9,600 or less. Blue Nile uses “I” color diamonds in their pave settings so if I go with them, I’m looking at the I-D range. However, James Allen uses F-G color diamonds in their pave settings so I’m looking at F-D color grades with them.

Could you help me find a great diamond that meets this criteria?

Thank you!

Thank you for the kind words.

There is no reason to increase the color for the JA’s setting. The pave diamonds are too small to make any color difference, so you can easily stay with I+ for both sites.

Have you picked out the setting yet? What metal (yellow gold, white gold, platinum) are you going to use?

Here are the best options from both sites:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.57-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2548348?a_aid=dmnd1357

Blue Nile LD07248697

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for your suggestions. I am happy to have your help, and I will be using this email address for the purchase. The James Allen diamond you picked looked very nice. I noticed the Blue Nile diamond you chose is VVS2. Is that the lowest clarity you would go with for this size diamond without being able to see it?

For my setting, I’m going with yellow gold. These are the settings I’m considering:
www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/14k-yellow-gold-petite-pave-engagement-ring-item-56263?a_aid=dmnd1357

Blue Nile Petite Micropavé Diamond Engagement Ring

After seeing the settings, would you change your selections at all?

Thank you so much!

I wouldn’t change my recommendations even after seeing the settings.

The reason for the VVS diamond from Blue Nile is that there wasn’t anything with lower clarity that looked better (the other diamonds had a lot of inclusions on their clarity plots).

Thank you so much. I think I am going to purchase the Blue Nile diamond you recommended, unless there are any diamonds you would recommend more. I am very appreciative of all your input!

The BN diamond is a great choice. I also found this one:
Blue Nile LD08081848

Twinning wisps aren’t visible to the naked eye in 95% of all cases.

Also, Blue Nile gave us these single-use coupons for $50 off. If you end up purchasing from them, you may as well use of those. Here it is: [contact us for your own unique coupon code]

I received the ring today. It looks amazing! See the picture attached. Thanks so much for your help.

That ring looks wonderful! Thanks for the picture. I’m glad you like it so much.

I wish you and your partner a life of happiness and fulfillment.

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. They currently run a 10% discount on selected lab-grown diamonds!
Click to Visit
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. Right now, Blue Nile offers up to 50% savings on selected jewelry during a limited-time season sale.
Click to Visit
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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