Q&A: Wants Help Deciding Between Two Stones from James Allen for an Engagement Ring

Hi there!

My fiancee and I are looking to buy my engagement ring from James Allen, and I’d like further guidance on what would be the better investment. We’re looking at a .95 carat J color vs1 True Hearts diamond or a .96 carat I color vs2 Ideal cut diamond.

What concerns me is that both have their pros and cons, and this decision is being made without seeing the stones in person first. I’m wondering what sacrifice makes more sense: 1. Going down a grade in color from 1 to J for the more quality stone. I read what you and James Allen wrote about color, but it still worries me that we’d get a yellowish diamond even if it’s higher quality in other ways. 2. Or, going from True Hearts (which I realize is just a brand, but it should be prettier and more sparkly, no?) and vs1 to Ideal and vs2 just for a color grade that we may not even notice.

You can see the predicament we’re in, so we would really appreciate any feedback on this! Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much for the reply! I was so pleasantly surprised to wake up this morning to see your email in my inbox! Yay!! I spent four hours yesterday evening on your site and James Allen. Thank you for your site – I feel soooo much more informed. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I’m any less torn on a decision, as I even woke up thinking about which choice to make throughout the night.

Here are the links to the diamonds:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1306896.asp?a_aid=dmnd1375

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1314529.asp?a_aid=dmnd1375

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1308195.asp?a_aid=dmnd1375

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1251628.asp?a_aid=dmnd1375

As you can see, I added two more to the list. I found them in my search after I contacted you. Please let me know which you think is best, and if it’s not an inconvenience, please feel free to add your own recommendations outside of these. Basically, our total budget is $5,000 – 5,500, and I’d like an Ideal cut .95-1 carat round diamond.

Also, here are the links to the settings:

https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/channelset-rings/Thin-Channel-Set-Engagement-Ring.html

https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/channelset-rings/ring/item_58-3691.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

Thank you again for your prompt reply and help! 🙂

No, unfortunately, I wasn’t the one to order it. I noticed that, too. 🙁

So would your second choice be the TrueHearts stone then? The J will not be too yellow in your opinion (without seeing the stone in person, of course)?

And, thank you for your expert opinion. I really appreciate it! 🙂

Thank you for your time and effort, Ira! I really appreciate. We’ve actually decided to raise the budget a little ($6,500), and I’m going with a solitaire setting (I can always ‘go up’ on the setting later), so I can have the center stone I really want. Here are my two contenders:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1315834.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1317131.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

I remember your keen advice the last time we compared color vs. cut, and G Ideal won out over J TrueHearts. I’m wondering if that still applies when it’s G Ideal vs. I TrueHearts. This is my last question, and I’ll be out of your hair, I promise! And, again, thank you for your time. 🙂

Thank you. We’ll definitely be using the coupon. I’ve sort of become obsessed with browsing for stones, so If it wouldn’t be a bother, I do have one last stone I recently found that I’d love for you to look at:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1311842.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

What’s exciting about this one is the size and that it has medium fluorescence. What I’m wondering is if the inclusions are too bad? If you don’t think so, this is most likely my first choice. I’m also going to drop by a mall jeweler and ask to see something around that size just to make sure it won’t be too big for my finger (I wear a 4.5 ring size). At the moment, 1.17 sounds excitingly bigger than 1 carat, but maybe the difference is not that significant in person? I don’t know. I also read on your site and elsewhere that the medium fluorescence will make an H stone look whiter, which is also exciting.

We’ll be making our decision/purchase this upcoming Friday/weekend – if you don’t think the inclusions are too bad, I think I found the stone. I’m just holding my breath that no one will buy it in the meantime (I’ll ask to put it on hold Thursday if it’s still around)!

Thank you again for your feedback – I really appreciate it! 🙂

Thank you so much for all of your help during this process of choosing a ring.  We bought the 1.17 stone, paired it with a solitaire setting, and it arrived in the mail yesterday.  The verdict: I’m in LOVE.  The stone is absolutely gorgeous, plays with light beautifully, and the size is perfect.  Because it was larger than I was originally wanting, mounting it on a solitaire setting was a wise choice.  I like the balance of a larger stone (for me) with the simplicity of a band.  It’s very elegant.  Ultimately, it’s just a relief and joy to have finally found my ring.  Thank you again for your help on that front! 🙂

Happy to do it, Ira!  I think you can see my review now. 🙂