Hi, I have been secretly searching in jewelry stores locally for an engagement ring for my girlfriend. I do a lot of shopping online but have been hesitant with diamonds although the prices seem much better. I am looking for a round cut diamond between .80 and 1.0 carats that will be put in a white gold cathedral mount. My budget is up to $3500 for both the diamond and setting together. Most of the stores I have been at either recommended a much lower color grade or were above my budget by several thousand in their recommendations. Can you help point me in the right direction? Thanks!
Here’s what I think:
Look around on Jamesallen.com for the engagement ring you want. The ring you want will cost around 400-500. Readers of my site get 10% off the e-ring settings, so that’ll bring you to about 350-450 for the ring. That leaves us with just over 3000 for the diamond.
Here’s what I found:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-860677.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1170430.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1185074.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1198275.asp
Take a look at those selections and let me know what you think.
I prefer to use James Allen because of their virtual loupe which nobody else has. I could never recommend someone buy an SI2 from Blue Nile because I would have no way of inspecting the stone. JA’s virtual loupe allows me to do that.
I look forward to hearing your impressions.
Thank you very much for your immediate response! The first 2 links seemed like the inclusions were rather large and easy to pick out. However the third link you provided, https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1185074.asp , seemed like a pretty good choice and I am assuming the flaw was in the northeast corner of the photo. The last link you provided, https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1198275.asp, looked the best, but were the inclusions the small black dots?
I was at a local jewelry store earlier and they showed me a .81 carat I, SI1 for $2900. Here is the other information they gave me, 6.02 x 6.05mm. It is probably one of the best I have seen in my price range and seemed larger than some of the .90 carats I looked at. I still feel like I could do better online and appreciate your recommendations.
I look forward to your response on the previous diamonds you recommended.
I’ll take a look again tomorrow. Its 12;07 am now here in Israel, and I’m off to bed!
Haha I forgot how big of a time difference there was! Thank you again for your help.
No problem!
here’s my double take:
yes, the first two stones have more noticeable inclusions, but they will still be totally clean to your naked eye unless you hold the stone at super-close range and hold it under a lamp.
The third stone is as you mentioned. The SI2 is the cloud in the top-right of the stone. It, too, will be clean to the naked eye. You could also put one of the prongs of the stone where the inclusion is which will obscure it some as well.
The only inclusion on the 4th stone is the tiny black dot in the middle. The other black spots you see are reflections of that one black dot.
That price on the .81 stone is still expensive. You could get a “true hearts” premium hearts and arrows stone from James Allen for significantly less. If you wanted to just get a GIA “excellent” cut grade 80-pointer, it will be even less.
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1213134.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204011.asp
Let me know what you think about these.
Again thank you for your great responses! I will have to look at these more in depth later today as I am working out in the field this morning. I will think about what appeals to me more and what will be more attractive to her as well. I have to decide whether I go for a larger diamond like the first you showed me or a slightly smaller one as you recommended today. So many decisions. Thanks again!
……….
I looked at the .81 and .82 carat diamonds you recommended. They both look very nice. They still have a clarity of SI1 but with better cuts…does this make them more brilliant? I’m trying to gain an understanding of whether the increase in cut grade would improve the appearance to the naked eye or if a larger stone with a lower grade cut would be more appealing. I do like the overall look of the smaller stones that you recommended though.
Yes, the better cut will definitely make them more brilliant. It’s a slight improvement, but it is noticeable.
Your other question is a good one. I think it’s more a personal choice. I, myself, would suggest going with the 81 point stones over the 91 point stone. It’s more brilliant, and the difference in diameter is only about 0.09mm which isn’t really noticeable to the naked eye.
Thank you very much for your advice. I agree and think that my preference is to go with the slightly smaller diamond as well with the more brilliant cut. I will continue to look at the ones you recommended on James Allen and others on the website with similar specifics. Thank you for helping me decide what was best for me as I was slightly overwhelmed with everything that was thrown at me at the jewelry stores.
my pleasure. Let me know what you go with in the end! I’d love to hear.
Hi Ira,
It has been about a week since I last spoke with you and I have still not decided. I have looked in several more jewelry stores and think that it will be best to go with James Allen as I cannot do near as good on pricing for the diamonds I am looking at. I have searched extensively on the JA website and narrowed it down now to 6 diamonds. 3 of them are .83 carats with higher clarity and the other 3 are near .90 carats with a slightly lower clarity that still look good to me. Could you give them a look and let me know if I am missing anything or if they are all a good choice. I think I am ready to decide between one of these. Thank you again for all of your help!
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1264194.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1271941.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1271946.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1185074.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1199628.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1227569.asp
Firstly, I rejected these stones:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1185074.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1199628.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1227569.asp
(basically all the 90s) because they all have less than “excellent” cut grades on their GIA certs. In fact, one of them was “good” – not even Very Good.
Out of the 80s, here’s what I think – they are all so close, it’s really a toss up. Since that’s the case, I would say to go with one of the cheaper two stones (the I colors). Even though the first stone is an H, I seriously doubt you’d ever be able to see the difference. It’s pretty much impossible to distinguish between the two I colors – they’re really nearly identical. Flip a coin!
Let me know how it goes, and don’t forget to use TAD0611 coupon to get 10% off the setting.
Thanks again for the super fast response. I thought when I searched on James Allen that I had narrowed the search to only True Hearts and Ideal Cuts, but I guess somehow the lower grade cuts made it in there or it was different on the GIA certificate. Thank you for pointing that out. That actually doesn’t bother me because I was leaning towards the group of the slightly smaller stones anyway. I would have to agree with you that the difference between the H and I will probably be unnoticeable to me and of course to anyone looking at her ring and I’ll go for the I’s. Thanks again for all of your help and I’ll let you know when I finalize it.
……….
Thanks again for all of your help! I went with https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1271946.asp and can’t wait to see it in the 18k white gold cathedral mount I ordered. I liked the discount on that as well. Keep up the great work, I really appreciated it!
Sounds great! Please let me know when you get it! I’d love to hear your impressions.
I received the ring today with Free overnight shipping as James Allen promised and it is absolutely gorgeous! The picture could not capture the true beauty of this diamond and I am so thankful for your help in selecting the perfect ring! Even the presentation box that goes along with it is very nice and I couldn’t be happier with the purchase. I can’t wait to pop the big question the month! Thank you again for all of your help and hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!
Man, that was fast! I’m so happy to hear it all worked out so nicely. Would you mind doing me a small favor? I only started the website this past summer, and the positive reviews I get on ivouch really help establish my credibility. If you have a few spare minutes, I would really appreciate it if you could “vouch” for me here (remember to use a pseudonym since you haven’t proposed yet!):
(LINK REMOVED)
I wish you and your soon-to-be-fiance a long life together filled with health, happiness, and love.
…………..
Wow. Thank you. That was great. (see his review here: http://www.ivouch.com/diamonds-pro/experience-of-truth-about-diamonds-makes-purchase-easy)
You’re welcome. And thank you again for everything. I can’t stop looking at the ring, it’s perfect!
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
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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