Hi, I am about to propose to my girlfriend next weekend and am looking for a ‘good value’ diamond.
I’m not sure what setting she likes, I’ll leave that up to her to decide. However, I believe she’d like the size to be at least 1.7ct, and my budget would be ~$10k for the diamond.
I cam up with the following example:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.70-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2322123?a_aid=dmnd1357
Would this be a good choice?
What do I need to look at if she’d like pave or side stones? Does the clarity of the main diamond need to be higher?
How do I assess the diamonds ‘visual’ size? I.e. ct is a measure of weight, but some diamonds just look bigger. I’m not 100% clear how to assess this.
Thanks a lot for your help!
I looked at the diamond you selected and I’m not a huge fan of it. It’s not eye-clean, its cut is off and strong fluorescence will make it appear hazy. I’d focus on a better alternative.
For a pave/sidestone setting, I color is perfectly fine. It’ll still look colorless. Clarity grade is not that important as long as the diamond is eye-clean.
It is true that sometimes the diamond can look larger than its colleagues with the same carat weight – this depends on its cut (so it’s always a good idea to check out its actual measurements as well): https://www.diamonds.pro/education/carat-weight/.
I searched in the 10k price range and this is the largest diamond I could find:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.56-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2209955?a_aid=dmnd1357
It’s well cut, eye-clean and bright. It’ll be very brilliant.
What do you think?
Thanks a lot, very helpful information. I do plan to buy from James Allen.
In terms of diamond, where in my proposed diamond do you see the dirt? Just out of curiosity 🙂
In terms of fluorescence, I read on your website that it depends on the ring material. I’m not sure what my girlfriend prefers, but if it was white gold, is high fluorescence not better?
If I increase the budget to ~10,500 or slightly higher, does that give you many more options?
You can see that there’s a tiny white crystal in the middle of the table. It’s not too big, but it might reflect light differently (i.e. would be visible) than the rest of the diamond (especially on a diamond that size).
The thing about fluorescence is that it can either be a bonus (it whitens the appearance of a diamond) or a negative (it makes the diamonds look dull and milky). Strong blue fluorescence is almost always fine on J color diamonds and it’s a useful feature on K and lower colors. For anything higher than a J, I’d rather avoid it (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/fluorescence/).
Thanks for the update on your budget. I’ve managed to found some larger diamonds within that price range, but I wasn’t too happy with their cut. None of them would be as brilliant as the 1.56ct diamond from my previous email. Can you just tell me what is your priority here? If it’s size or brilliance. Then I’ll have a better idea of what to focus on.
Thanks! I personally prefer a brilliant diamond over size… But ultimately it’s down to my girlfriend. Just out of curiosity, how long do these diamonds usually stay online before being sold?
We’ll be in NYC for the weekend. I plan to do some ring viewing on the Friday. Any suggestions how to approach this?
I understand.
Here’s a larger option:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.73-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2304650?a_aid=dmnd1357
Usually, great diamonds are sold quickly, but JA put new diamonds in their inventory every day. It depends.
Thanks. Tomorrow is the big day! After tomorrow I’ll know more about her preferences.
Is any of the two you recommended good? Guess it’s just a matter of price :).
Great. The both will have a lot of fire, but the cut on the first one is just perfect, that diamond will have a lot of added brilliance.
Thanks! Will push for the smaller one 🙂
I know my next question is personal, but any recommendation in terms of solitaire, pave or channel setting, or even tension ring could be nice?
You are right, that’s something entirely personal. Generally, the thinner the setting, the more the diamond stands out (that’s something that most people are striving for).
Personally, I think something like these would go with the diamond very nicely:
1.5MM COMFORT FIT ENGAGEMENT RING
2MM COMFORT FIT SOLITAIRE ENGAGEMENT RING
CROWN DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING
ROPE SOLITAIRE ENGAGEMENT RING
THIN FRENCH-CUT PAVE SET DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING
DOUBLE CLAW PRONG PAVE SET DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING
PETITE PAVE ENGAGEMENT RING
0.13CT CHANNEL SET ROUND SHAPED ENGAGEMENT RING
0.25CT CHANNEL SET PRINCESS SHAPED ENGAGEMENT RING
Just to let you know I received the 1.56ct diamond 🙂 !
Thanks for the advice!
That’s great news! Thank you for letting me know!
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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)
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