Q&A: Help Finding a 1 Ct. Round Diamond for a Low-Set White Gold Solitaire With $5k Total Budget

Hello!

I’ve been reading quite a bit of your website as I research diamond rings. I’m sure I’ll have more questions as I go forward and will want your advice on specific stones, but for now, my question has more to do with the ring and setting itself. Is this an area in which you have expertise, or is your site more strictly concerned with the stones themselves? Briefly, the deal is this: my girlfriend likes the idea of a very simple, even austere setting without a lot of extra flourish in the design, side stones, etc. She also works as a nurse, so she has said she can’t have anything that sticks way up, because she’s putting on and taking off latex gloves all day long. So, I think a fairly straightforward solitaire setting in white gold (she doesn’t like yellow gold; too bad, I love it) is in order. Do you any opinion about best setting styles that would keep the diamond fairly low and out of the way?

Also, getting down to brass tacks: I’d like to spend about $5,000 and walk about with about a carat. I read each of your articles on the 4 Cs, and it seems like I can get something in your recommended range in each category (you seem to emphasize cut above clarity and way above color, and carat is sort of the least qualitative of the categories) for about $4,000, then allocate around $1,000 for the setting. I’ve been scouring James Allen, and this seems about right. Does it sound the same to you?

OK, I look forward to your response. This website is very helpful. Thanks!

I think I’ve found what I want regarding the setting and what will work for me. It’s a bezel setting, so it should be good for her line of work, which involves taking surgical gloves on and off all day.

So now to the diamond. I’ve been doing a lot of reading, and while not every diamond education website agrees on each and every point, the one thing that literally every site emphasizes is cut. Bad cut=bad diamond, regardless of clarity, color, and so on. Does that seem right to you? What I’ve also learned is that high ratings don’t always guarantee best outcomes–the labs are different, and one Ideal-rated diamond isn’t necessarily the same as another. So if you have any insight on how to ensure best product, I’m all ears.

So, the basics: I would like to spend an absolute maximum of $4,500 on the diamond itself, ideally under $4,000, but I expect reasonably to settle somewhere in the $4200-$4300 range. That’s a wide range, and not very exact, but I think as long as my ceiling is $4500 and my ideal is $3800 or so, then I’m comfortable hitting somewhere in between.

I’d like something around 1 carat. I think with the solitaire bezel setting it’s a good size. I’m not obsessed with hitting that one-carat mark–I know that getting even 0.99 is often disproportionately cheaper, and I think smaller diamonds look just fine with the setting. A half carat might be too small, but I could see 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 all looking very nice. That said, if you think there are areas (like lower clarity grades that are eye-clean) where I can save money, I’m not against going above 1 carat either. And she has pretty modest tastes–she does not demand a big fat rock, nor will she want a bunch of channel or pave or halo diamonds to make it look extra sparkly. So I guess I want the biggest possible diamond without sacrificing quality of cut, and it should be visibly colorless and eye-clean.

So, do you think I could find something good in that range? Let me know your thoughts and I can get more specific if necessary. I’ve also been spending a lot of time looking for diamonds on JA so could send you links to specific stones if that helps.

Thanks.

Round diamond. I’ve been playing with all the specs, and so far it’s looking something like 0.9-0.95 ct., H-I color, VS2, Ideal cut should put me right about in range to stay within $4,400. Sound about right?

Curious what you come up with.

Thanks.

Looks pretty damn good to me!

So, two questions:
1) to be extra sure, since it’s an SI1: the little flecks (black inclusions spread throughout) that are pretty obvious under 20x magnification will be invisible to the naked eye?

2) Does JA let you do reservations or some kind of hold on the stone? I remember your site saying that one of the “Big 2” (JA and BN) does, and one doesn’t. But that would be handy so I can shop around for awhile… Like 30 days?

Let me know!

……

Also, just in general, how long does a stone like that, say something in the $4,000-$4,500 range, stay available on JA or BN? I imagine it varies case to case, but are they moving, like, every couple of days? Or do they often sit on the website for quite a while? I guess I’m comparing it in my mind to buying a house, where in some markets you have a little time to deliberate, and in others you have to review the facts and then snatch up a house pretty fast. How do online diamonds compare?

Thanks.

Thanks, will do. I am definitely in the market and am pretty certain I will end up with JA, so you certainly will get due credit and commission when the time comes. I’ll be in touch–it might be a little early in my game plan to commit to this particular diamond, so if it sells, we can always start over. I can also send you links to diamonds and get your feedback. I will be in touch.

Thanks.

What do you think of this diamond from Blue Nile in comparison to the one you showed me the other day?
Blue Nile LD08352573

Thanks.