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Q&A: Help Finding an Extremely Brilliant Round Diamond for a Rose Gold Solitaire Setting Within a $9k-$12k Budget

By Mike Fried,

Greetings,

I am searching for a princess cut for a rose gold solitaire setting. Diamond budget of $9-12,000. I would like it under 1.50ct, ideally.

Trying to follow your articles’ advice, I have looked a little at these:

www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.37-carat-g-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-6930110?a_aid=dmnd1357

www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.20-carat-e-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-6806408?a_aid=dmnd1357

Blue Nile LD09983310

The diamonds from James Allen are eye-clean, but you need to request the GIA reports to check whether the cut parameters are within a proper range.

Blue Nile LD09983310
I’m not a huge fan of the cut on this one. It’s a bit off.

I’d recommend something like this instead:
Blue Nile LD12202422
It’s much better cut and will be more brilliant.

Thanks so much for the advice. Over the weekend my intended indicated she may prefer a round cut. Could you find one in the 1-1.5ct range for less than $12k?

Absolutely.

Something like this would look fantastic in a rose gold solitaire setting:
Blue Nile LD12397477

Blue Nile LD12264297

Blue Nile LD11323899

Those look good. Would a ‘super ideal’ cut be something worth looking into? Like the Blue Nile Astor cut, Brian Gavin Black, or James Allen Hearts and Arrows ?

Also, we looked at some rounds in person today and I think anywhere 1.25-1.6ct would be great.

As much as we love James Allen and Blue Nile, we don’t really pay attention to their True Hearts/Astor cuts as we don’t find them consistently more brilliant than our own selection. The cut of the stones I sent is fantastic. So there’s no need to worry about that.

Here’s some slightly larger options:
Blue Nile LD12369008
Blue Nile LD12406403

Brian Gavin on the other hand, that’s something else. It’s the creme de la creme in the world of diamonds. You can be sure that you get the best of diamonds purchasing from them. They focus on extraordinary brilliant stones. Not only do these conform to the strictest of cut parameters, but Brian himself selects them for optimal brilliance. Brian Gavin is known as one of the world’s experts when it comes to perfectly cut diamonds.

These would be my recommendations from their selection:
www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.300-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104102020054?a_aid=y

www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.418-i-vs1-round-diamond-ags-104105357035?a_aid=y

www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.505-j-vs1-round-diamond-ags-c-104104601059?a_aid=y
With them, you can for sure choose a lower color as those diamonds will always be absolutely gorgeous. Because of their absolutely perfect cut, the color isn’t noticeable. They even put their J color diamonds into halo setting with no problem at all.

Wow those are look great. My girlfriend is ring size 4.5 so I think 1.4ct might be the ideal size – not too big not too small for a solitaire.

Browsing Brian Gavin I saw these slightly smaller but with slightly better color and clarity:

www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.378-h-vs1-round-diamond-ags-c-104104597092?a_aid=y

www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.373-h-vvs2-round-diamond-ags-c-104105357031?a_aid=y

www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.350-h-vvs1-round-diamond-ags-c-104104597090?a_aid=y

Are those also good?

The ones you sent me are all excellent options. You can’t go wrong with any of them.

I am going with the 1.41ct you found at Brian Gavin.

Thank you so much for the help!

James Allen James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler's loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices. They also have the nicest collection of lab-created diamonds online.
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
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Blue Nile Blue Nile is the largest and most well-known internet jewelry seller. They have a very large exclusive online inventory. Their high-quality images are catching up to James Allens' and their prices are amazing. Save 25% on settings at Blue Nile!

Please enter your email address to receive your 25% off coupon code:

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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