Hello Ira, I have been shopping for a loose diamond to mount in a setting for the last 4 months or so. I saw your site and found it incredibly helpful. I have also been monitoring the James Allen site and noticed it is appreciably cheaper than any other site I have found on the Internet. I am switching jobs in the next month, which will allow me to finally move forward with my purchase. To the diamond, my girlfriend really has her heart set on a 1.5ct diamond,has to be princess cut, and my budget is proving somewhat constrictive. I already have a setting picked out, and have budgeted roughly $6K for the diamond. Here is the setting I plan on mounting it in. http://design.jared-diamonds.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-5794.asp I was wondering what your suggestion would be, and if maybe I should think about getting a slightly smaller, yet higher quality diamond. I appreciate you help, thanks!
Thanks for writing. You’re right that your budget is a bit constrictive, but i don’t think it’s REstrictive. Here are three options that are really beautiful stones that would look great with that setting:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1303427.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1301513.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1298698.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
Those each have superb cuts and are totally clean to the naked eye. Each one is a fantastic choice.
Let me know what you think!
Sorry for the delayed response. I looked over the diamonds you sent me and I really like the first link! I am considering this diamond and one other right now.
The other that I saw pop on James Allen I posted below, and thought that it looked like a great deal. While the cut is only premium, as compared to ideal, it seemed like the difference in cost might be substantial enough to over come my reservations.
Let me know what you think when you get a chance, and thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it.
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1292297.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
Hey XXXXX. I think that’s a great stone. Its parameters fit within my recommended parameters from my princess cut article.
….
Did you manage to make a purchase yet? If so, I’d love to hear what stone you settled on in the end!
We have yet to actually make a purchase yet, however have narrowed it down to two stones on James Allen.
We shopped all of the brick and mortar stores and never found all of them to be significantly more expensive for lower quality diamonds.
After searching settings further however, we changed our mind and are going in a different direction. Due to my future wife’s wonderful skin tone we feel like a yellow gold setting would compliment her very well. We found this setting with which we are particularly enamored:
http://www.shaneco.com/Catalog/ProductDetail.aspx?X=41046797&O=Nav&C0=1&C1=3&S=PD
The setting in natural light has just a slight tint of yellow.
As to the diamonds we like, due to the nature of the setting we feel like a J color would compliment this setting especially well. Here are the two contenders we have identified:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1292297.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – 1.62, VS2, premium cut, $5360
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS2-Premium-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1298772.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – 1.50, VS2. premium cut, $5690
We are leaning towards the second one since it seems to have a better cut.
What are your thoughts, and if you see something else you think is especially nice I would love to hear.
Again thanks for the information on your site, it made finding a quality diamond at a great price possible.
Thanks for getting back to me. That’s a really beautiful setting you picked out. The ring is going to look amazing.
I also think you’re doing the right thing by going for a J color stone to match the setting.
I looked at the two stones you suggested, and I searched myself for a better alternative, and I don’t think I found one. The closest I could find was this:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1311148.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
Here’s my thinking: I don’t like the 1.50 ct stone. It’s too shallow, and it has an extremely thin girdle which is (especially on a princess cut) is prone to chipping. So while it’s size is attractive, it’s not worth the risk.
I like the 1.62 stone. It’s got a great price. I would have preferred an ideal cut, but this is what there is.
Actually, the stone I suggested above is a really good option. Even though it’s only 1.28cts, it’s only a TINY bit smaller in LxW than the 1.62ct stone (because of it’s ideal cut). 6.34×6.15 vs 6.22×6.12. That difference really isn’t even perceptible to the naked eye. So, actually, I think I endorse that 1.28 OVER the 1.62 for the simple reason that they’re going to look almost identical, so why spend $1000 more on one of them!
So after much consultation I wanted to get your opinion one last time before making our big purchase.
The 1.28 stone is currently the front runner, so thanks for finding that gem no pun intended, but before I pulled the trigger on that stone I wanted to get your opinion on two other ideal cut stones at a higher price point. My girlfriend, soon to be finance, originally had her heart set on a 1.5ct stone, but being a reasonable person if the costs out weight the benefits then she is willing to amend her previous expectations. Here are all three stones with the 1.28 as the first stone.
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1311148.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1276853.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1303427.asp?a_aid=dmnd1375
The other three stones are:
1.28ct, ideal cut, J color, VVS2, 6.22×6.12 for $4,310
1.50ct, ideal cut, I color, VS1, 6.51×6.29 for $6,570
1.55ct, ideal cut, J color, VVS1, 6.48×6.44 for $6,910
After reading your useful site over and over I feel fairly comfortable identifying all of these as excellent stones. What I really would like to know is if the cost difference between the 1.28ct and the 1.5ct stones is warranted. By this, I am basically wondering if the visual difference to the naked eye is going to be significant enough to warrant the extra $2,200 in cost. If the difference is minimal, or hardly discernible then I would be inclined to go with what I feel is an excellent bargain in the 1.28ct, but as you are probably well aware this is a big purchase and I just wanted to get it right.
Thanks for taking the time to digest this lengthy message, and your help has proven invaluable.
Here’s what I think:
1) Reject the I VS1. It’s not as nice of a cut as the J VVS1, so if you’re going to spend more money, it should be for the J, not the I.
2) The 1.55 is a slightly better cut than the 1.28, so it’s going to look slightly nicer (in addition to being larger).
3) THe difference in size is only about 0.25mm which is noticeable, but really just barely noticeable.
So it’s really your call. For the extra $2200, you get a very slightly larger stone and a very slightly nicer stone. Is that worth $2200? It’s hard to say. It’s certainly not an easy call in either direction. It’s not like it’s a MUCH nicer stone and MUCH bigger. But on the other hand, it is nicer and bigger, and noticeably so – just not by a lot.
…….
Just wanted to follow up with you. Did you make a decision yet? If so, I’d love to hear what you went with in the end.
After a lot of consideration last night I finally made my decision and purchased the 1.28 ideal princess cut diamond you recommended from James Allen. The combination of the size of the diamond cut quality, and an almost too good to be true price made it too hard to pass up.
I wanted to again thank you for taking your time to help me with this purchase. The information on your website proved invaluable and made buying this diamond with confidence a reality.
What great news! Please let me know what you think once it arrives!
I received the diamond in the mail last week and was amazed at the brilliance and size of the diamond I had purchased. It was exactly what I had been looking for.
Again, I can’t thank you enoug for your help. It made buying a diamond easy and gave me the confidence necessary to succeed.
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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