Archive for 2.5 carat
Q&A: Round or Oval, Best Deal for a 3 Carat Diamond
Posted by: | CommentsQ: I have really enjoyed reading your site over the past few months. My boyfriend and I recently celebrated the 2-year anniversary of our relationship, and I expect that he will propose sometime in the next 6 months. I told him absolutely under no circumstances to buy a diamond in a store, or to do it at all without consulting me/letting me help pick it (since I have a very clear idea of what I want).
We live in New York. He’s Dutch, and we will move the Amsterdam in late 2011. He has a friend in the jewelry business in Amsterdam that I think he might want to go through to buy the diamond–however, I would almost rather go through someone who is not a friend so that we can really be hard bargainers without feeling bad about it.
My first question is, where does it make the most sense to buy the diamond? New York through someone you know? Amsterdam through someone he knows? Either?
My second question is this: I want a round solitaire 3 carat ring (the bigger it looks, the better). I feel silly saying this but what can I say, looking at all the stones here has ruined me. Is it possible to do this between $15-20k? If possible I would love an I color with medium (or strong blue) fluorescence. I say I and not J because if we get micropave sidestones on the band I don’t want them to look obviously whiter than the stone itself.
That said, what do you recommend? I would also be happy to consider using your brokering service if it will bring down the price–I know from your site that both James Allen and Blue Nile have a markup of 18%, and I would rather not pay that. My boyfriend may take quite a bit of convincing to buy from someone he has never met–and online!–but I’m sure the frugal Dutchman in him will see the sense of it if I show him how honest you seem to be from every interaction on this website. For now if you could just answer my initial questions, I would really appreciate it.
Thank you so much, in advance, for your time & advice!
…….
I want the diamond to be eye-clean–fine with VS2/SI1, even SI2–BUT the SI2 would have to be examined by someone who swears on bibles that you can’t see any flaws!
*Special Q&A*: Cushion Cut Diamond & Lysol Wipes
Posted by: | CommentsQ: Thanks for providing this website… It has been a wealth of useful information for me
I’m planning to get engaged early next year and have started to take a look at rings. Based on your article about Diamond Stud Earrings, I have pretty much decided to buy from James Allen, since they seem to be high quality, reliable and reasonably priced.
With that said, I’m totally open to your suggestions…
Here are my thoughts so far:
Cut:
I was thinking of going with a cushion cut, because my girlfriend doesn’t like the round cut, and the princess cut just looks a little bland to me. I like the cushion cut because it’s square-ish but seems to sparkle like a round cut. What are your thoughts on this? Would I be better with a princess cut or is a cushion cut good?
Weight:
I’d like something bigger than 1.5 karats, and smaller than 2.5 karats. Obviously that’s a huge range, but ultimately I’m looking for the best value for money. I want my girlfriend to look at the ring and have that ”wow” factor.
Color/Clarity:
This is where I get stuck. I want the diamond to be eye-clean. This is imperative. I also don’t want it to be visibly yellow to the naked eye in normal lighting. Based on my reading, I’m thinking that I need at least a VS2 and H color, but again, I want the best value for money. If it makes sense to get something better, I’m all for it.
Budget:
I’m looking to spend between $10,000 and $15,000 on the diamond itself. Obviously, the cheaper the better – but ultimately I’m looking for a purchase that will wow my girlfriend and represent outstanding value for money.
OK, so that’s all I have. If you could help me, I would REALLY appreciate it.
Thanks and regards.
A new week, and a new daily diamond series! It seems like I’ve been receiving an unusually high number of requests for help with Princess Cut Diamonds lately, so I figured this would be a great choice to revisit in my next daily diamond series. Today, like always, we begin at the top – with a budget of $30,000 – and will work our way down slowly but surely to a budget of $1000. We kick off our new series today with a beautiful (and large!) 2.81 Carat G Color VS1 Clarity princess cut.
Here’s the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):
Diamond Magnified 20x - Click to Enlarge
Carats: 2.81
Diamond Clarity: VS1
Measurements: 7.65*7.45*5.51
Length/Width Ratio: 1.03
Depth: 74.0%
Table: 68%
Diamond Polish: Very Good
Diamond Symmetry: Good
Diamond Price: $28,000
Don’t forget to use our exclusive coupon code TAD0611 with James Allen for 10% off Engagement Ring Settings!
James Allen Engagement Ring
I figured, since today is all about a new daily diamond series, and since we’re starting a whole new shape (princess cuts) after finishing a nice long series of Hearts & Arrows Ideal Cut round diamonds, why not dedicate today through and through to the Princess Cut.
So, with that, I present to you our engagement ring setting selection of the day: James Allen’s 18k White Gold 3 Stone Channel Set Princess Diamond Engagement Ring.
As you can see in the picture to the right, this setting is all about the beauty of the princess cut. The setting has 8 pave-like small princess cut diamonds channel set into the shank with two larger side-stone princess cuts creating a classic three-stone engagement ring setting look with a blinged out shank.
If your girlfriend is in love with princess cuts, this might just be the perfect setting.
After the TAD0611 discount, this setting costs $1431.
Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen
Following yesterday’s selection of the best Cushion Cut Diamond for $18,000, today we present you with the best Cushion Cut Diamond for $17,000.
Here’s the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):
Diamond Magnified 20x - Click to Enlarge
Carats: 2.57
Diamond Clarity: VS2
Measurements: 8.51*7.49*5.05
Length/Width Ratio: 1.14
Depth: 67.4%
Table: 61%
Diamond Polish: Excellent
Diamond Symmetry: Good
Diamond Price: $17,140
Don’t forget to use our exclusive coupon code TAD0611 with James Allen for 10% off Engagement Ring Settings!
Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen
Following yesterday’s selection of the best Cushion Cut Diamond for $20,000, today we present you with the best Cushion Cut Diamond for $19,000.
Here’s the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):
Diamond Magnified 20x - Click to Enlarge
Carats: 2.53
Diamond Clarity: VS1
Measurements: 8.20*7.18*4.82
Length/Width Ratio: 1.14
Depth: 67.1%
Table: 59%
Diamond Polish: Very Good
Diamond Symmetry: Good
James Allen Engagement Ring
Diamond Price: $18,530
Don’t forget to use our exclusive coupon code TAD0611 with James Allen for 10% off Engagement Ring Settings!
James Allen also has a large variety of engagement rings to choose from to pair with today’s daily diamond selection. A very popular look for engagement rings these days is a relatively thin shank studded with small pave diamonds. One great example of this popular style is James Allen’s 18k White Gold Pave Set 4 Prong Diamond Engagement Ring.
As always with our Daily Diamond selections, today’s stone is completely clean to the naked eye. There are many different looks with Cushion Cuts, so its important to look at many sample pictures before you make your decision to figure out what you like. For example, today’s stone is slightly off-square with a L/W ratio of 1.14. Some people will only want squarish Cushion Cuts.
Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen
Here we are yet again, at the begging of another Daily Diamond series. Recently, I have been receiving an unusually high number of requests for recommendations for Cushion Cut diamonds. So I figured this would be a great time to start a new series of Daily Diamonds tracing the best Cushion Cut diamonds from a budget of $20,000 all the way down to a budget of $2000.
Today, we begin with the best Cushion Cut Diamond for $20,000.
Here’s the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):
Diamond Magnified 20x - Click to Enlarge
Carats: 2.52
Diamond Clarity: SI1
Measurements: 8.12*7.58*5.33
Length/Width Ratio: 1.07
Depth: 70.3%
Table: 66%
Diamond Polish: Good
Diamond Symmetry: Good
James Allen Engagement Ring
Diamond Price: $20,580
Don’t forget to use our exclusive coupon code TAD0611 with James Allen for 10% off Engagement Ring Settings!
James Allen also has a large variety of engagement rings to choose from to pair with today’s daily diamond selection. When looking for a ring to match with a diamond as significant as today’s selection, it’s probably best to choose a band that isn’t too thin and delicate as it will look overpowered by the stone. A great design that will balance quite nicely with today’s large diamond is James Allen’s 18k White Gold 4mm Rounded Cathedral Solitaire Diamond Ring. This ring will really bring out the beauty in today’s cushion cut.
As always with our Daily Diamond selections, today’s stone is completely clean to the naked eye.
