My girlfriend has put up with me for four years now and it’s way past time to make things official. I know she wants a 2c round cut diamond. Other than that, as long as it looks good, she will be thrilled I finally popped the question.
Anyway, I’ve been looking at rings for months now and I feel like I am running in circles. My dilemma is I can’t stand the thought of spending $1k, let alone $20k, without knowing I got a great deal. I don’t want to pay $20k for something I could get for $17k or even $15k. I also don’t want to pay for color or clarity that only experts like you will notice. I am not ashamed to say it. I want the cheapest diamond that she will love and be proud to show off to even her most decerning of friends.
To get a 2c, round cut diamond that meets the criteria above, what should I expect to spend using a site like James Allen?
What price would you consider a bargain?
Any suggestions on diamonds currently available online would be much appreciated as well.
I’d be happy to make some recommendations and guide you through the process. What type of setting are you considering? Yellow gold or white gold/platinum? Will it be a solitaire or does it have sidestones/pave? This may affect the colors that I recommend for the center diamond (as we explain in our post on color).
Let me know and I’d be happy to send you some suggestions.
Thanks for the quick response and the offer to provide some much needed free advice!
I was leaning towards a pave or channel set setting in white gold/platinum.
Let me know if I can provide any other information.
With that style setting, you need to stick with an H+ diamond.
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1423660.asp
This is probably your best bet for your budget range. What do you think?
Thank you for the suggestion. That helps frame what I should be looking to buy.
On a separate note, I have a friend who found me a 2.74c VS2, I color diamond for $19k. It seems too good to be true, but there’s a long story involved. Anyway, the catch is that the diamond is not certified. The grade is based on the opinion of a broker. The owner of the diamond agreed to obtain GIA certification and plans to send it tomorrow. So, I am going to wait for the results before buying anything else.
Either way, I will follow up when I hear back.
If it actually gets an I VS2, an excellent cut grade, and there are no major issues with it, it’s a great deal. Keep me posted. When they have the diamond certified, send me the report number and I can look it up to confirm.
The diamond finally came back from certification. I think there could be some major issues with it. First, it was certified by the EGL and not the GIA. The report number is 906955301D. Second, the crown angle is very low 8.1% and the diamond almost looks flat.
Do you mind taking a look and letting me know your thoughts? Again, the price is 19k.
That changes EVERYTHING. EGL is not a legitimate certificate. Not at all. The only certificate more abhorrent than EGL USA is EGL Israel. What does that tell you that the first defense EGL jewelers use is ‘hey, its not our really crappy lab overseas. Just our regular crappy lab here).
Them calling it an I VS2 means its anywhere from a K SI1 to L I1. They are clueless when it comes to fluorescence (I have seen very strong blues that get none from EGL). You also can’t tell if the diamond has been artificially enhanced (EGL doesn’t catch things like high pressure color treatment), and their cut parameters are suspect. True, the stats may be accurate. But I wouldn’t trust their polish/symmetry grades.
Bottom line, is that EGL is only used to deceive people and have them pay more than its actually worth. The difference in cost would have been a paltry $125 to get it certified at GIA. Stay far away. I don’t know how this friend ‘found’ this deal for you, but I would walk away from them entirely.
BTW, we have an article on EGL and Ira’s video there is great.
I have read the article which is why I was worried. Judging by your comments below, I am guessing the answer is no, but based on the report (http://www.eglusa.com/oresults/SearchPage.php?st_num=906955301D ), is there any reason I should consider buying this diamond given the price of $19k? As naive as it sounds, I think the seller was probably trying to save $125 on the appraisal rather than screw me over.
Check out James Allen’s cut calculator:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamond-education/diamond-cut/
The depth and table are so bad, it’s off the charts (it’s way too shallow and the table is huge).
That is your quick answer as to why they didn’t send it to GIA. It would have gotten a poor cut grade (which is unheard of). EGL as despicable as they are just lists it as N/A. This isn’t even taken into account how off they are with color/clarity.
I should have known it was too good to be true. I guess it is back to the drawing board.
You have saved me from a very poor decision and I am extremely grateful. Can you recommend a diamond on James Allen that is at least 1.9 carat that will look good in a pave or channel setting for a total price (w/setting) of around $22k or so?
…….
I like this one:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1511719.asp
What do you think?
That diamond is great. It’s a beautiful cut, eye-clean and a fantastic price.
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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