I’m looking for a pair of 1/4 or 1/2 carat diamond earrings for my girlfriend as a birthday present. Have been looking into JamesAllen.com. Have never bought a diamond before. What mistakes do I need to avoid? Why are the settings so different in price? What’s a tried & trusted choice?
Thank you!
I’m happy to find some diamonds for you, can you just tell me what your budget is?
What do you mean by ‘Why are the settings so different in price’? Different how?
Thanks so much for your help.
I was looking at James Allen for a set of earrings in the range of $1000-1300 (total including setting).
Diamond: would like to make sure I choose something she’ll like. Think I’m looking for round cut and about .23 carat. I saw a pair of Excellent/D/VVS2 at $540 each.
Not sure how I make sure I get a good price, or what the “watch outs” are. Not sure if it’s worth paying more for D color or better clarity at this size for earrings.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.23-carat-d-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2297207?a_aid=dmnd1357
Setting: would like something classic in platinum. I was looking at the four prong or three prong martini. But I have no clue which ones are comfortable or most attractive.
Thanks again.
……
I’d like to order in the next day or two to make sure it gets here in time. Really appreciate if you have any thoughts on the above before Wednesday.
Thank you!
The ones you selected look great color-wise and cut-wise, but you would be paying a huge premium for the color grade. For studs you can go with an H/I+ color and it’ll look fantastic (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/color/). Clarity in studs is even less important than in rings because you are not looking at them from the same distance.
This would be my recommendation:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.30-carat-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2580891?a_aid=dmnd1357
They are fantastically cut and will be very brilliant.
As for the setting, well, that’s 100% a matter of personal taste and style. I think it’s best to leave you to pick it out.
What do you think?
Thanks for the advice. I went with ones similar to those that you picked out. Think it was a good idea to upgrade the size and downgrade the color. Looks like a bigger difference in color on the pictures because (1) they’re super zoomed in and (2) they’re not in the setting.
Appreciate your help!
Exactly. Once the diamonds are set, the difference in colors is not recognizable.
I’m glad I could make this process easier on you 🙂
I hope you love them when you receive them. If you can let me know how they look when they arrive, I’d appreciate it.
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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