Q&A: Help Choosing a Round Diamond for a White Gold Solitaire Ring with a $4k-$6k Budget

My girlfriend and I just spent the weekend doing our first round of ring shopping. She’s really likes this setting from Danhov:

http://www.danhov.com/engagement/solitaire-engagement-rings/danhov-classico-single-shank-engagement-ring-cl140

So we spent most of the time looking at similar settings to get a sense of the look, but may end up finding a local jeweler to custom make it.

Then we got super overwhelmed looking a stones, which we found was like looking at TVs at Best Buy. Sure you can tell the difference in the store, but how do you know what’s important when you bring it home?

So I’m hoping you have some advice on where I should start:

We’re looking for a round stone to fit nicely into a solitaire setting like the one above in 14K white gold. She has small thin fingers of ring size 3, so we’d like something that is pretty, but doesn’t look completely disproportionate. We’d rather it look elegant than just big.

My budget is between $4000 and $6000, but I’m not averse to getting a better deal and saving the rest for the honeymoon.

Thanks in advance! 

Thanks for getting back to me. I was thinking around 1 carat, but wasn’t sure what would look best on at 3 size ring. 

 That is quite pretty. I can see some of the defects, especially the blemish on the bottom left, but how much of that is because of the high magnification on the JA site?