Please assist with identifying an eye-clear pair of diamonds for stud earrings at either Blue Nile or James Allen.
Specs: 1 ct/ea = 2 total carat
Platinum 4-prong settings
Ideal cut
D-F color, G?
SI2 clarity
Budget = $8,000-$10,000 total.
Please also advise regarding approx. $1500 price difference between Blue Nile’s GIA vs. James Allen IGI certified diamonds with similar specs.
If I may, I’d recommend you adjust your parameters a bit. G+ is a lot more than what’s necessary to have beautiful earrings. You can easily go with an I color and get the same look to the naked eye. Clarity grade can be basically anything, but we try to avoid large black inclusions that would be very visible, especially on a ~1ct diamond. IGI lab is less consistent and they inflate the color/clarity grades by at least one (on average). We don’t recommend IGI diamonds.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.01-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6671478?a_aid=dmnd1357
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.00-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6625904?a_aid=dmnd1357
Blue Nile LD11725469
Blue Nile LD12030589
How do you feel about these pairs? They are well cut and match perfectly. They’ll be very brilliant as earrings.
Thank you for your insight for my earrings selection. Will you please elaborate on the color advise? Since the diamonds will be mounted in platinum, I’m afraid that the white tone of the platinum may allow a lower color diamond to show some yellow hue. Also, she is Asian so unsure how her skin tone will affect that. I want her to be dazzled by them on and off her ears.
Also, my wife has fairly small, attached earlobes so I am now considering earrings in the .8-.9 carat size (total 1.6-1.8) since the cost seems to decrease significantly at those sizes relative to 1 ct./ea….$3000/ea. vs. $5000/ea.
Will you please help me identify non-eye obvious inclusions at the .8-.9ct, ideal cut, G+, SI1? I saw many with those specs around $3000/ea. on Blue Nile but deciphering the inclusions is not obvious to me.
Based on our experiences, expertise and most importantly, the feedback from our readers (over the years, we’ve recommended thousands of diamonds for earrings and got plenty of feedback), I color is our usual recommendation for earrings – it looks absolutely colorless even in platinum, regardless of the wearer’s skin tone.
This is the best priced recommendable pair I found in the G+ range:
Blue Nile LD11913791
Blue Nile LD12003665
They are a perfect fit.
Thank you for reassuring me about the color whiteness in the I range.
I now think that I’d like to consider a bit larger than the 0.8ct but with I color instead…will you please advise another set with a similar price point as the 0.8ct pair you last suggested?
0.90ct (total 1.8)
I color
eye-clean SI1/SI2
ideal cut
no fluorescence
Here you go:
Blue Nile LD11895258
Blue Nile LD11691263
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6712135?a_aid=dmnd1357www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-6604336?a_aid=dmnd1357
These are the best priced pairs I found this time.
One of the diamonds you noted was sold today so I’ll continue to review their listings up to the time of ordering and may run a few by you before submitting the order to ensure they’re eye-clean.
Is there a certain day of the week that either site updates their inventory or do they post new ones daily?
Send me an email by the time you’re ready to pull the trigger and I’ll find a new one(s). Good diamonds move pretty quickly. I don’t think there’s a specific day when they update their inventory, but every week there seem to be new additions there.
I have selected diamonds for the earrings, using one that you selected, the other was sold, and found another that was VS1 and looked real nice. Thanks again for all your help.
I’m glad you worked it out.
I hope you’ll love them when you receive them.
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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