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Q&A: Choosing a Round or Princess Cut Diamond for a Solitaire Ring With $3,000 Budget

By Mike Fried,

Hi, I would like a plain solitaire setting with a nicely cut (excellent or ideal) round diamond or princess cut. As colorless as possible. I try not to exceed $3000 overall so the stone will probably have to be less than 1 carat. Thanks!

I found this amazing 0.91ct diamond:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/0.91-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2805656?a_aid=dmnd1357

It’s eye-clean, well cut and will look very bright and brilliant. There is still room for the setting in the budget.

What do you think?

Thank you for your reply! The diamond is lovely, now I wonder if I really should aim for 18k or if with such a stone, putting a 14k won’t make a difference. Would like to hear your opinion. Thanks!

Are you referring to the metal? I would go for 14K gold. It’s more durable and a bit cheaper.

That’s not a good option for three reasons:

1) It’s IGI certified, which isn’t a good lab.
https://www.diamonds.pro/education/igi/

2) The color is too low. Unless you’re putting it into a yellow gold setting, you should stay with I+.

3) It’s not eye-clean. There is a huge crystal right on the table that would be visible.

Wow, never thought about that. I really like this one below. Even though it is a J, the clarity is great, it’s only 0.7 carat but looks radiant. I’d rather have a 0.7 radiant stone than a 1 carat dull stone.

This is the one:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.70-carat-j-color-vvs1-clarity-true-hearts-cut-sku-2171493?a_aid=dmnd1357

I’m a bit confused. Are you looking for a round cut diamond now?

Thanks for your reply. I am new to diamonds but based on my recent research, I narrowed down my research to both princess and round cut.

In that case, the round you found look great (even though I don’t think that the video that’s on their site belongs to the certificate – it has too many inclusions for a VVS1 stone).

However, you can find a much larger diamond within a similar price:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.80-carat-j-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2710278?a_aid=dmnd1357

Wow, thats beautiful!!

Thank you!

My pleasure.

Let me know how it goes.

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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
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