Archive for $20000 Budget
Q: Goal: Would love a 2.0ct or bigger for ~$17,000. But I also don’t want to sacrifice color and clarity. I’ve seen some big rings that just look dirty to me, not shiny and a bit hazy.
Budget: 17k – 20k (Lower than 17k is okay too)
Carat: 1.7 or bigger (prefer 2)
Color: G or better
Cut: Very Good or better
Clarity: VS2 or better (must not have imperfections to the naked eye)
Fluorescence: Faint (prefer none)
Table %: Close to 60%
Depth %: Close to 60%
My friend who works at a jewelry store said for the size I want, the table & depth % I mentioned would look best.
Here we go again! Â It’s always exciting to begin another daily diamond series. After wrapping up our latest “best Princess Cut” series with a beautiful princess cut diamond for $2000, today we move on to a series which we haven’t yet done here on Truth About Diamonds.
I have decided for this series to lump together the three shapes commonly referred to as the “soft-sided fancy shapes” – the Oval, Marquise, and Pear shaped diamonds. Â Just to explain the terminology – any shape that’s not round is called a “fancy” shape. Â So to differentiate Ovals, Marquise, and Pears from Princess cuts, Radiants, and Emeralds, they are further broken down into soft-sided and straight-sided.
From a manufacturing perspective that differentiation is important since straight-sided fancies and soft-sided fancies are manufactured from completely different types of diamond rough.  But more importantly for you, the diamond consumer, the differentiation is absolutely crucial.  You see, if you were searching for a straight sided fancy shape diamond and wanted to limit your diamond search to very clean diamonds with high colors, you generally wouldn’t need to see the diamond ahead of time.  You could read the diamond’s measurements from its certificate, and pretty much be able to conceptualize how the diamond will look.  When you’re dealing with 90 degree angles only, it’s easy to explain a diamond using measurements only.
This is not the case at all with the soft-sided fancies. Â Nowhere on a certificate does it explain the slope of the curve around an oval. Â You can have an oval that almost comes to two points like a marquise, or you could have an oval that looks a little too rounded. Â You can have a boxy looking oval that looks like it’s a long radiant just with its corners smoothed out. Â None of that will show on a certificate. Â There are simply too many measurements that aren’t offered on a certificate relating to get any real understanding of how a soft-sided fancy will look.
So while I always stress that even with rounds it’s very important that you examine a diamond ahead of time (either in person or with a high quality photograph) in order to evaluate a diamond’s clarity, with soft-sided fancies, it’s likewise crucial to examine a diamond to evaluate its cut.
And unlike straight sided fancies, there’s no one thing I could point to to explain how to evaluate a picture of an Oval, Pear or Marquise. You just have to look at it and ask yourself, “does this look beautiful?”
So without further ado, I present the best Oval, Pear or Marquise for $20,000+:
Here’s the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIAÂ Certificate):
Diamond Magnified 20x - Click to Enlarge
Shape: Pear
Carats: 2.27
Diamond Clarity: VS2
Measurements: 11.41*7.27*4.18
Length/Width Ratio: 1.57
Depth: 57.5%
Table: 56%
Diamond Polish: Excellent
Diamond Symmetry: Excellent
Diamond Price: $23,030
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 princess cut diamond for $25,000, today we present you with the best princess cut diamond for $20,000.
Here’s the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIAÂ Certificate):
Diamond Magnified 20x - Click to Enlarge
Carats: 2.12
Diamond Clarity: VS1
Measurements: 7.02*6.99*5.05
Length/Width Ratio: 1.00
Depth: 72.2%
Table: 69%
Diamond Polish: Excellent
Diamond Symmetry: Good
Diamond Price: $19,640
Don’t forget to use our exclusive coupon code TAD0611 with James Allen for 10% off Engagement Ring Settings!
James Allen Engagement Ring
Going back to the classics, one of the most popular engagement ring styles is the simple look of a thin band studded with round pave diamonds.
James Allen sells a number of rings each with a slightly different take on this theme. Â Some have a cathedral style band where the band is raised at the top of the shank near the center stone. Â Some have smaller pave, others larger. Â There are a variety of different prong styles that are matched with the setting.
James Allen’s most popular version of this style is probably their 18k White Gold .32ct French Cut Pave Diamond Engagement Ring.
In White Gold, after the TAD0611 discount, this setting costs $657. Â In Platinum, it is $1053 after discount.
Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen
Following yesterday’s pick of the best Hearts & Arrows Ideal Cut Round Diamond for $25,000, today we present you with the best H&A Ideal Cut diamond for $20,000.
Here’s the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the AGS Certificate):
Diamond Magnified 20x - Click to Enlarge
Carats: 2.05
Diamond Clarity: SI1
Diamond Cut: Ideal
Measurements: 8.11*8.16*5.05
Depth: 62.2%
Table: 55.0%
Crown Angle: 34.6°
Crown %: 15.5%
Pavilion Angle: 40.8°
Pavilion %: 43.1%
Diamond Polish: Ideal
Diamond Symmetry: Ideal
James Allen Engagement Ring
Diamond Price: $19,550
Don’t forget to use our exclusive coupon code TAD0611 with James Allen for 10% off Engagement Ring Settings!
As popular as pave-based styles are these days, a very large percentage of people still look for the simplistic elegance of a plain solitaire setting. Surprisingly, though, the selection of plain solitaires is quite varied with many different styles to choose from. Some people prefer the classic Tiffany Solitaire with its signature “knife edge” shank. Others prefer the rounded “comfort fit” look.
One of the most common styles around is the “Cross Prong” look. In fact, this style is one of James Allen’s most popular. The best example of this style is this ring: James Allen’s White Gold Cross Prong Diamond Solitaire Ring. This ring has a wider 3.3mm shank which is great for women of all sizes. Also, it will look great with today’s daily diamond selection because it’s such a big diamond that it won’t look swallowed up by the wide shank. Keep in mind that the shank is 3.3mm wide, but the diamond is well over 8mm wide!
Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen
Here we are yet again, at the begging of another Daily Diamond series. Â Recently, I have been receiving an unusually high number of requests for recommendations for Cushion Cut diamonds. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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.
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Now that we’ve concluded our series of the best I1 clarity diamond for different budgets, today we begin another “best of” series. Â Today, I have decide to start a series choosing the best Princess Cut Diamond for different budgets. Â We will begin with a $20,000 budget.
Here’s the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):
Diamond Magnified 20x - Click to Enlarge
Carats: 2.31
Diamond Clarity: VS2
Measurements: 7.44*7.40*5.14
Length/Width Ratio: 1.01
Depth: 69.5%
Table: 66%
Diamond Polish: Excellent
Diamond Symmetry: Excellent
James Allen Engagement Ring
Diamond Price: $20,900
Don’t forget to use our exclusive coupon code TAD0611 with James Allen for 10% off Engagement Ring Settings!
James Allen also has a great selection of engagement rings to choose from to match with this diamond. Â It’s a unique challenge to find an engagement ring setting that will look especially nice set with a large princess cut diamond. Â I always loved the look of a large center stone surrounded on both sides by nicely sized side accent diamonds. Â This look is especially nice with James Allen’s Platinum 3-Stone Channel-Set Diamond Engagement Ring (see on the right) is the perfect setting to match with today’s diamond.
Today’s diamond is truly something special. Â It’s rarely nice on two separate accounts. Â Firstly, the diamond has a depth percentage of only 69.5%. Â This means the weight of the diamond isn’t being waste in its depth. Â The diamond is quite large, and shows itself even larger because of its prime depth percentage. Â But even beyond that, it’s also rare to find princess cuts with such a nice small table. Â It’s very hard to find a princess cut diamond with a table percentage less than 70% as well. Â Today’s diamond has a table percentage of only 66%.
