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Q&A: Experience Shopping for Diamond Studs on a 5k Budget

By Mike Fried,

Hello, I’m interested in getting some diamond stud earrings for my wife. She went to the mall to try on some as we weren’t sure about size and she said that the 1ct in each ear was about right. She was not sure of the depth of the cut, however.

I like your advice regarding not overpaying for clarity or color. I was on the Blue Nile website and looking to purchase but want to make sure that I’m getting value. For example, would .75 each (1.5 total) be good if the table is adequate and with a quality cut?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Before researching much, I had planned to pay around $2,000 to $3,000 but it seems I may need to spend a little more, although I would prefer to keep it in that range.

Thank you for your help!

Personally, I would much rather prefer a beautiful 0.75ct diamond that has great specs than a 1ct where you’d have to sacrifice a lot to reach that mark.

Here’s what I’d recommend for around 3k:
Blue Nile LD10662250

Blue Nile LD00060113

What do you think? Do you want to go higher in carats?

Thank you for your thoughts below. It looks like these diamonds have a diameter of around 5.4MM. I did a little experiment and it looks like something around 7MM would be the size we are looking for. I’m not sure what that would equate to in terms of carat with an ideal cut but would you be able to offer some guidance? Again, I may be completely off base with my budget.

I’m afraid that for ~7MM you’d have to go a lot higher in carats:
Blue Nile LD09677076

Blue Nile LD08551555

Oh wow – yes that is a lot more than I want to spend. If I budgeted $5,000, what would you recommend?

Great, that’s really helpful. Thanks!

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.
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. 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
  • 24/7 Customer Service
  • 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
  • Best in class fulfillment
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