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Q&A: Help Finding a New Princess Cut Diamond with Around $8k Budget

By Mike Fried, Updated October 24, 2017

Hi there, just recently found your site and am loving the information I am getting.  My wife recently lost her diamond (the setting broke) just before our 10 year anniversary. So what a great time to buy a new diamond. With the insurance we have $8000 to play with for the stone. We will have it re-set back in to her original setting.
She had a 1.02 princess cut, G color, VVS1 stone before.

After looking at James Allen we have come across this stone. What is your recommendation for our price range and these stones?

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.22-carat-g-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-283676?a_aid=dmnd1357
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.20-carat-g-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-277385?a_aid=dmnd1357

Thanks. 


First of all, as you can see, we obviously love James Allen. But we don’t think their True Hearts are worth the money. Specifically, we don’t like their cut parameters for princess cuts (they are cut too deep). You can save money and get a better quality diamond by going with something like this:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut/1.32-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-299439?a_aid=dmnd1357

We would recommend relaxing your color/clarity parameters a bit.
https://www.diamonds.pro/education/color/
https://www.diamonds.pro/education/clarity/

What do you think? 

Thank you for your recommendation! I will pass this along to my wife and see what she thinks as well.

I guess I’ve been a “good customer” for the diamond industry in the past. I had not really considered going with an h color and a VS1 clarity. Thank you also for the information about True Hearts and princess cut stones. I do like that James Allen has the return policy that they do. If we decide on this stone we can always take a look at it first hand with her setting and make sure that it looks good to us.
So, we just need to wait for the check from the insurance company and make the purchase, which should be here in a few days. Thanks again!

…

Well, We went ahead and bought the stone you recommended. Will see how it looks when we get it. My wife can’t wait to see the new stone in her setting!

Thanks for you assistance!

Sounds great. Please let me know how it looks when it arrives. 

Well it looks great! All mounted and shiny. Thanks for your help! 

Thanks for writing and letting us know. I’m delighted that you were pleased with our help. Do you think you can do us a quick favor and write us a small review on www.ivouch.com? If you could, we would be extremely grateful.
Also, can you send us a pic of your new diamond? We’d love to inspire other readers with photos in our gallery. We wish you and your partner a life of happiness and fulfillment. 

Hi, I sure will write a review for you [LINK TO THE REVIEW ON IVOUCH HERE]. And I have attached a couple of pictures. I hope you like them. Thanks a lot for your help!

download_20140422_200911 20140422_081627

 

Thank you so much. Best of luck. 

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. They currently run a 10% discount on selected lab-grown diamonds!
Click to Visit
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. Right now, Blue Nile offers up to 50% savings on selected jewelry during a limited-time season sale.
Click to Visit
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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