Hi – This is my first time purchasing diamonds for my girlfriend and I am in need of help. I am looking to purchase diamond stud earrings but am not sure where to go or what exactly will fit my budget. I was wondering if you would be able to help?
I am looking for diamond stud earrings with a budget of roughly SGD$1500-2500 (I know fairly wide, but I do not know what type of diamonds I would be getting at these prices and the differences).
I have found on Blue Nile the following earrings (GIA reports attached) using my Build your own. I would like to seek advise on if these are quality earrings, as well as what is the main difference between these earrings and the pre-set earrings on the Blue Nile website.
Do you think you could send me a link to the two diamonds you selected? I’d need to see the videos to make sure the inclusions on them are not too harsh.
Their preset jewelry is fantastic, but it’s true that you get better value by picking the diamonds individually.
Thank you so much for this reply. I have actually been reading more and more on diamonds and read quite a few buying guides (including your own). I have decided that the pre-set diamonds aren’t worth it as I can most likely find better quality diamonds for a better price like you said. And I have found the James Allen website to be much more helpful due to the advanced imagery tech.
My main guidelines are as follows:
Budget: SGD$2000-SGD$3000 (This is for the diamond earrings only and w/o any setting)
Cut: Round – looking at the “Ideal-True Hearts”. Also question for you…I personally think the round cut looks the best but I have not asked my girlfriend what cut she prefers for stud earrings. This isn’t a diamond ring so I think I have more liberty in getting her this w/o consultation (this is meant to be a surprise gift as she has recently lost her previous diamond studs). Do you agree the round cut would be a fine choice?
Color: According to your website I should stick between J-H…can you please confirm this is the best value for stud earrings?
Clarity: Only looking for a naked “eye-clean” diamonds.
Carat Size: Looking at ~1.0 TW (0.50 each)…I think this fits the budget well but of course the more the merrier.
Any help would be greatly appreciated and if you can help me with next steps that would be amazing.
Alright, let’s focus on James Allen now.
Cut – it’s true that TH diamonds are fantastic, but they are JA’s subjective grades. We don’t find them consistently more brilliant than our own selection. Keep in mind that the highest cut grade GIA gives is Excellent/Ideal and anything “above” that is completely subjective and is just a mark of the company/jeweler. We have access to the GIA reports and make sure that we select diamonds with the best cut possible.
Shape – if your girlfriend’s previous earrings were round, I’d stick to this shape. Does she pair the earrings with other jewelry? Or has she ever hinted that she’d be interested in other shapes? You know her the best so I’ll leave this decision to you.
Color – I+ is what we recommend for earrings. It’ll look absolutely colorless.
Clarity grade – the actual grade is not that important, but the diamonds should be clean to the naked eye, there should be no large or black inclusions. Small feathers, needles, pinpoints or minor clouds are fine. Crystals are fine as well when they are conveniently located (= can be covered with a prong).
Here’s my recommendation:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.50-carat-i-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6992375?a_aid=dmnd1357
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.51-carat-i-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6832593?a_aid=dmnd1357
They are fantastically cut and will be very brilliant as earrings.
You can choose the setting here: Design Your Own Studs
What do you think?
Understood on TH, that is helpful.
Shape – I do not know the old earrings as she lost them awhile and I was unable to find any old pictures of them! She does wear a lot of gold, and gold bracelets. I really like the round shape and their brilliance/shine, so I think this type of cut is the right choice. If she wants to change the shape after (doubtful) we can figure that out later!
The diamonds you chose are stunning. I can see how excellent the cut is. In terms of clarity, can you please tell me if those inclusions (the one on the TOP left in particular) will be visible to the naked eye?
For the setting, I believe I want to go with gold as she wears a lot of gold? Would this be appropriate? Also, I like the Martini style but if you can give me a quick breakdown on each, that would be great.
I’m glad you liked my suggestions. I think round cut is almost always a safe choice as it’s the most popular and also most brilliant of all diamond shapes. And fashion-wise, it goes with everything.
The inclusion on the sku-6992375 is exactly the type of conveniently located imperfection I talked about in my previous email. It can be fully hidden under a prong (but make sure you specifically ask for it to be absolutely sure they’ll place the prong there). I also double checked the cut parameters and dimensions and can confirm that those two stones are a perfect fit. They’ll look amazing as earrings.
The metal color is totally an aesthetic choice as well as the setting. Whatever look you prefer. The Martini setting is very popular, it’s what most people go for. A 4-prong setting would add some additional security, but I don’t think it’s necessary for 0.50ct diamonds.
Great, thank you for all the help! I have gone ahead and purchased the earrings you recommended!
That’s great news, I’m glad I could help.
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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