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Q&A: Looking for a Pear-Shaped Diamond for a Gold Setting Within a $8k Budget

By Mike Fried,

Hello!

I’ve been shopping lately for a pear shaped diamond for an engagement. I am basically looking for the perfect diamond, and I could use some help!

My fiancé-to-be works in a lab and the odds of the diamond being under a microscope are extremely high!

I’m really flexible on price, but let’s say a cap of $8k for the diamond.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Here’s my recommendation:
Blue Nile LD10849255

It has great specs.

What do you think?

I like the overall shape of that one. I’ve been looking anywhere from a 1.5-1.65 l/w ratio.

I’m not sure about an H color. I was thinking a F-D color would be ideal to contrast on a gold setting; I like the icy colors best, but it’s hard to compare this stuff online.

I also have some confusions on cut grade. It seems GIA doesn’t have any standards for pear style diamonds? How do these companies grade these cuts? For pears, should I just look for minimal bow tie?

Also, on clarity, I would personally love for it to be IF. I know the VS1-2 are visually flawless, but since she is a geologist, I want it to be as close to perfect as it can under magnification.

It’s not easy to identify a well-cut pear shape diamond. You are right that GIA doesn’t give cut grades to that cut. In fact, they don’t give cut grades to any cut except round. The general idea is to keep the depth below 74% and then look for the crown height (it can’t be flat), bowtie, shape, culet that should be pointed/none, girdle thickness… There is a lot of things to consider. That’s why we are offering our advice to people.

I understand what you mean by the icy look, but if you’re going to put it into a yellow gold, any color above H will look the same. Here is another stone that is higher in color for you to compare and has an IF clarity:

Blue Nile LD10587784

I really like this one!

Most of the diamonds in this quality range I see are running roughly $2-3K more than this one. Is there something I’m missing?

Not at all. There are no red flags there. The diamond has great color, clarity, a girdle that isn’t too thin or too thick, none culet, none fluorescence, beautiful measurements, it’s a bit shallower, but not too shallow – it won’t have any negative impact on the brilliance.

It’s a fantastic stone!

Wanted to let you know that I just purchased this diamond! Thank you so much for your time, advice, and suggestions!

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!

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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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