3 replies to this topic

[mbeck]

Hello all--

I just want to start off by thanking you for all of the helpful topics that are easily viewable whether one has a profile on this forum or not. They are all very informative, and everyone seems extremely knowledgeable on the topic, which is something I unfortunately am not... atleast, not yet!

My girlfriend and I have been looking into diamonds and settings recently for an engagement ring, and she has decided two important things:

1) She likes princess cut
2) She would like a setting with sapphires (because they are very unique)

However, as sad as it is, I am on a somewhat strict and quite low budget of between $2000 and $2500, for the setting and diamond combined... but I don't want to go below 0.5Ct.

I've done some research and from what I've read about the 4C's, the most important things to a sparkle of a smaller diamond (under 1ct) are the cut and color (please please correct me if I am wrong!). Thus when I stumbled across this diamond at this price, I thought it would be quite a good fit for my situation. Any advice would be greatly, greatly appreciated!

As the thread title says, the diamond and setting are both from the Blue Nile website, which I have heard positive and negative things about (the negative thing being that the buyer, and even the company, don't get to view the diamond before purchase). However, the overwhelming amount of positive reviews of the website has given me faith in them.

So without more rambling on, here is what I am looking at:

Price: $976

Price per carat: $1,914

Carat Weight: 0.51

Cut: Very Good

Color: E

Clarity: VS2

Depth %: 74.7%

Table %: 78%

Polish: Very Good

Symmetry: Very Good

Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick

Culet: None

Fluorescence: None

Measurements: 4.67 x 4.32 x 3.23 mm

Length/width ratio: 1.08

Thank you all in advance for your help!

Edited by mbeck, 04 October 2011 - 10:51 PM.

[davidelevi]

Blue Nile is fine. However, there's a few things that you should bear in mind:

1. Not only do Blue Nile not see the stone before it's sent out to you. They have no idea how it is cut, so you can discount or even better discard their cut grade.

2. Colour has absolutely nothing to do with sparkle. You can get a D colour that looks like a piece of glass, and an M that looks like a firework. Also, particularly with a smaller stone, E is overkill. You won't see the difference (or yellow) with an H or even I colour stone, particularly if they are well cut.

3. Cut is all important, but unfortunately there is very little information available on how well the majority of stones are cut, since only AGS provides a cut grade for princess cut stones.

4. Usually, people like square princess cuts more than rectangular ones. The one you picked will just about show that it is not square, and comes at a discount for that. Unless you are particularly keen on getting a rectangular-looking diamond, I would refocus on something squarer, with a lower colour and possibly slightly larger.

5. I assume the BN setting you like is this one: http://www.bluenile....g-setting_20328 priced at $880. Assuming 10% sales tax, your $2500 become $2250, less $880 for the setting we get to a maximum for the stone of $1370.

All this said, here are some options currently advertised by Blue Nile:

http://www.diamondre...nd%5FLD02020275
http://www.diamondre...nd%5FLD01929233

if you can find another $100 (and you may, given the sales tax issue is moot: it's unlikely to be as high as 10% and you may or may not be charged it by Blue Nile, depending on where you live - though you should always pay an equivalent "use tax" instead), these also become possible:

http://www.diamondre...nd%5FLD01595269
http://www.diamondre...nd%5FLD02224081

All these 4 are significantly better cut (as far as one can tell from the scant information available on a GIA report) than the one you picked first, none is smaller and all will look white and show no inclusions. FWIW, my favourite among these is the third one.

Let us know how you get on!

[mbeck]

Thanks for the super informative reply! Judging by the ones you listed, the two I would most likely be looking at would be the 1st one and the 3rd one. I definitely liked that the polish and symmetry on all of the diamonds you listed were listed as Ideal. Oh by the way, the setting I have pretty much decided on is actually this one, I should have listed it before:

[url]http://www.bluenile.com/sapphire-diamond-engagement-ring-setting_6239[/url]

The setting is $1180, and according to the website I would not be taxed for living in the state that I live in. Thus that pretty much gives me $1320 or so to work with, but coming up with a little bit more wouldn't be a big deal.

Just wondering, if you were to suggest a cut other than princess that would allow for a better estimate on the actual cut of a diamond, what would it be?

Thanks again!

Edited by mbeck, 05 October 2011 - 08:19 PM.

[davidelevi]

Unfortunately, the answer to your question is "round". Unfortunately because rounds are more expensive than princesses.

Incidentally - polish and symmetry at GIA VG/AGS 2 will have an absolutely minor impact on the looks and optical performance of the diamond. You should not base your choice on them unless and until all the other factors (crucially proportions/light performance) check out.

Edited by davidelevi, 05 October 2011 - 10:00 PM.