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Q&A: Looking for a Fancy Color Diamond With a $7k-$8k Budget

By Mike Fried,

Hi there! I love your website and have learned more from you guys than I even knew existed. Anyways, I’m not sure of the setting as yet, but I wanted your opinion on a diamond I found on JA – SKU #2232097. I want to go with something different versus the popular round and princess cuts. Also, I am thinking about going with accent stones of either pink diamonds or sapphires, pink or blue, still to be determined. What setting would you recommend for this stone and just your general overall opinion of the stone and idea. Thanks.

The diamond you sent has great overall specifications.

But if you’re opened to go one color grade down, I suggest this H color stone:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/radiant-cut/1.01-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-2270543?a_aid=dmnd1357

It’s very well cut, eye-clean and it’s going to look colorless in any style of setting: https://www.diamonds.pro/education/color/. And it’s less expensive.

I believe that choosing a setting is up to your personal taste. You can use a simple solitaire as well as pave or halo style.

If you prefer a fancy color stone or a sapphire, go for it. I can send you a suggestion of a pink stone (if you tell me what shape you’re looking for and what your approximate budget is). But as a diamond expert I don’t know enough about sapphires.

Let me know what you decide.

Thank you for the response. I’ve looked at the stone you sent, and I just have one concern which may not be relevant at all. Its concerning the depth of cut. Its just over 70%. Everything I’ve read says to try and keep it below 69%. Now I’m not sure exactly how this affects the stone but that’s my one concern. I would be open to the down grade in color you suggested since it would appear colorless in the setting.

Now as for the pink diamonds, I was thinking of possible halo settings with just pink accent diamonds to set apart the center stone. I’m not looking for a pink center diamond stone.

As for budget, I guess in my mind i was thinking the 7-8k range overall for everything.

Thanks.

Thank you for the information. I’m happy that you like my suggestion. As for the depth, we recommend stones up to 72%. There’s no need to worry in this case.

I suggest contacting JA directly regarding the setting with pink diamonds in the halo. I believe that it’s possible for them to custom make such setting for you. But I can’t speak for them.

Here’s a halo setting you can use for a radiant cut diamond:
www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/halo/14k-white-gold-pave-halo-diamond-engagement-ring-cushion-item-17429?a_aid=dmnd1357

As your budget gives us space to search for a bigger stone, do you want to see more suggestions?

Certainly I am open to more suggestions. Thank you!

So since we last emailed I have been scouring the internet searching diamonds and I believe I have had a change of heart. I am now leaning toward an emerald or asscher cut diamond. I’ve also found the setting or something very similar that I would like to use for it. I’ve found both the setting and diamond at Brilliant Earth. So the couple questions I have are:

1. Do you or your company have an opinion on Brilliant Earth?

2. The diamond I’ve been looking at is stock# 2175204A along with setting style BE188SH-14KR. It’s a rose gold setting. I was wondering if you could recommend some additional emerald cuts for me to consider for this setting.

Thank you for your continued assistance.

Brilliant Earth is priced significantly higher than their competitors. They make several claims about offering added value over their competitors (most notably their “beyond conflict-free” pledge). We have not yet been able to confirm that these claims are valid.

If you like this setting you can go for it and I suggest choosing the center stone from another company.

Here’s and example of an emerald I found for you:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.21-carat-g-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-2078734?a_aid=dmnd1357

It’s very well cut and bigger than the one you sent. I also suggest going slightly down with the color and clarity grades:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.20-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-2245180?a_aid=dmnd1357

They are both very well cut, eye-clean and going to look colorless in the style of setting you like.

Here’s an example of an asscher cut:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.20-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-849991?a_aid=dmnd1357

Let me know which shape is your favorite.

I think at the price point I’m attempting to stay within, I will be able to get better value from an emerald shape. I really like the asscher cut but I notice they tend to run higher prices.

I’m happy to hear that you found your favorite shape. Let me know if you decide for the one I sent.

After reading the review from you guys on Leibish & Co. I started poking around their website. I was wondering if you had an opinion on either of two yellow diamonds on their site:
www.leibish.com/yellow-diamonds/fancy-yellow-radiant-28277#a_aid=y

www.leibish.com/yellow-diamonds/fancy-yellow-radiant-26962#a_aid=y

Thank you for your help.

Both look great and will be perfect choices. Looking at the measurements, the second one is larger than the first one and it’s the same price. I’d go for that one:
www.leibish.com/yellow-diamonds/fancy-yellow-radiant-26962#a_aid=y

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