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Q&A: Help Finding a 2.80Ct. Round Diamond for a Platinum Ring with Around $32k Budget

By Mike Fried,

Budget of 32k max. Want to get 3carat or 2.99-ish. Want the diamond to be as perfect as possible and willing to budge a bit on carat depending on advice.

What diamond shape are you looking for? Also, what style setting (solitaire, pave/side stones/halo) and metal (yellow/white gold, platinum) would you like to put it in?

3carat range, round , probably classic ring maybe pave but probably just platinum ring.

Worried about yellow color, and want the best value that is eye clean.

Thank you for the info.

This is the largest diamond I found within your budget:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.80-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2656933?a_aid=dmnd1357
It’s an I color, but we recommend it into a pave/side stone settings normally and it looks great. If you want a higher color, we would have to go down in carats:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.62-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2805989?a_aid=dmnd1357

That diamond isn’t eye-clean. It has too many inclusions that will be visible to the naked eye. Moreover, it has a strong fluorescence which usually causes a hazy look on I+ colors. https://www.diamonds.pro/education/fluorescence/

It’s an H though, right?

What if I up my budget to 34k? I have been going to these websites over many months and doing all the filters. What I really need is advice like you just gave on the eye-clean bit.

Strong fluorescence is usually an issue on I+ colors (D-I).

Ideally, you want to keep the depth below 62.6% to get the best brilliance out of it.
As for the table size, the larger it is, the less light refracts through it (sparkles). “Perfect” light refraction usually occurs with tables around 55-57%. The larger a table is, the larger the diamond looks (that is the biggest facet on the top, so it makes the face appear larger). I like the 58-59% as its a good balance between the appearance of size and brilliance.

Here is a larger one I found:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/3.00-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3672616?a_aid=dmnd1357

This is exactly the kind of specificity I need! Thank you.

I feel like everyone is trying to scam me in stores and just offload whatever.

This one looks amazing. Let me ask you this now, what is wrong with it because it’s nearly the same cost as the ones you sent before but it’s way bigger. Usually, when I do my filters VS2 are at least $35k.

I understand no diamonds are perfect I guess I want large, super sparkly and radiant and not something anyone would ever say looks yellow. I read that at larger carat sizes you should never go below H and even G is a better idea.

What do you think about that?

There is nothing wrong with it. It’s a spectacular diamond.

I’m not saying that nobody ever would say that it looks yellow, some people are very color sensitive, but I don’t have a problem putting an I color diamond into a solitaire /pave setting, even if it’s a 3ct. As long as it’s properly cut, it will look great. Plus, we’re working with a budget here and if you want to keep the carat weight on 3ct at least, there is no way to find an eye-clean diamond within 34k that is higher in color.

What if we went to 2.85-3ct?

Great! Thanks!

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