Q: Thanks so much for taking the time to help me out.

I’m currently in Bahrain with the Navy and am planning on proposing to my girlfriend a few months after I get home (need to have the ring made). She likes a modern-looking ring and is particularly enamored with a platinum half-bezel solitaire setting (I don’t have the link to the site; will get it to you later).

I’ve heard stories of guys who have had diamonds they bought here appraised for significantly more than they paid for them. However, I only have a few more days here and don’t want to pull the trigger too fast just to have a diamond – I just want a beautiful stone that I’ll be glad I bought and that she will love.

I’d like to keep my budget around $6-8k for the stone and ring; more if I have to. My girlfriend hasn’t set any requirements for size or anything, which is nice, but I’m starting my search around 0.90ct and going up to 1.5ct or so. Based on the setting, a round brilliant makes the most sense to me, though a princess cut would be fine (though I’m nervous about there not being an organization that will classify princess cuts).

I’m torn right now because I did find an absolutely beautiful stone last night – a 0.9ct round brilliant, SI1 D GIA certified stone that was absolutely radiant compared to the other stones I saw. The dealer quoted me $3,600 or so for the stone alone, and I feel like I’m paying a lot for the perfect color (which will be relatively unnoticeable once the stone is set) that I could get back in a little more size for the same money.

Any guidance you could provide would be wonderful – thanks in advance.

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