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Q&A: Looking for a Round or Oval Diamond for a Yellow Gold Setting With a $2,500 Budget

By Mike Fried,

Hello,

First I would like to thank you for all the incredibly well written and useful articles on your site! I have learnt a great deal about diamonds from your website.

It’s that time in life where I need to purchase an engagement ring and after looking through the traditional stores and not really finding anything great in my price range, a friend suggested the James Allen website. I was quite skeptical of the idea of the idea but after reading through some reviews I’m hoping you are able to provide me with some guidance.

Ideally I am hoping to purchase an oval diamond, around CA$3,000 for the diamond alone, it will be set in 14K yellow gold and I would like to get as close to 1 carat as possible. Given that the stone will be set in yellow gold I was planning on forgoing the color in favor of size and cut. Would K be too yellow in comparison to J?

Below is a link to a stone I had found. Any advise or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.80-carat-j-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-2609753?a_aid=dmnd1357

Thank you for your assistance.

You are leaning towards the right direction with buying online: https://www.diamonds.pro/education/buy-diamonds-online/.

As for the diamond you selected, it’s well cut and eye-clean, but the color J is way too low. Ovals don’t refract light just as well as round diamonds and thus tend to show their true color more. Normally, we recommend H+ at the lowest, but for a yellow gold solitaire setting you can cheat on color a little and drop down to an I. I wouldn’t go lower than that.

This would be my recommendation:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.80-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-sku-2609581?a_aid=dmnd1357

It has great specs and will make a beautiful ring.

What do you think?

Thank you for helping me out. I’m quite impressed by the quick response.

I do like the diamond you suggested. I see some dark markings on this stone, will they be visible at all to the naked eye upon close inspection?

On previous trips to jewelry stores my girlfriend seemed gravitate towards the stones with a bit of color, she said she liked the warmth they seemed to have. If I was being honest at the time I wasn’t really paying attention to the color of the diamond (shopping isn’t necessarily my favorite activity). After reading the article on color I had assumed the faint yellow color I recall would have been from a diamond with a color between (K and L). Do you think I would achieve that warm look with a diamond in this color range? Will a K or L colored diamond be too yellow?

Thank you.

You’re welcome.

Those marks are insignificant and will get unnoticed in the structure.

As for the color, well, that’s a tough question. If you are really positive that your girlfriend likes warmer stones, you could go with that J diamond you’ve originally picked out. But I wouldn’t go lower than that. We recommend K and L color only for round cut diamonds, any other shape might have a very strong yellow tinge.

I think I would rather err on the side of caution with this and may stay in the H-I color for the oval. Do you have any suggestions if I were to go with a round cut diamond?

Thank you.

Love them both I think I’m now leaning towards a round cut diamond I still need to confirm the width of the ring. Just in case these two are sold before the end of the weekend could you let me know what you think about this diamond?
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.81-carat-k-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-1028148?a_aid=dmnd1357

Thanks.

I like that diamond (1028148). It has great specs and no visible inclusions. You did a great job finding it.

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. Get 30% off lab-grown diamonds during a limited time sale.
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  • Provide insurance appraisals
  • One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
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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
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