Archive for Blue Nile
Q: Greetings Ira, First, I must write that your site is a must-read for any diamond shopper! Having this wealth of information and your expertise all in one place is such a help – wish I had come across your site before I was already a month into my diamond search! I am looking for a cushion-cut stone, eye-clean, and had narrowed down my list between stones on James Allen and Blue Nile before I came across your site. I have a $3,000 budget for the stone. Below are links to a few of the stones on my short list:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1276428.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1278969.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Cushion-Diamond-1290917.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search#diamonds_pid=LD01695503
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search#diamonds_pid=LD01731890
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search#diamonds_pid=LD01727659
My bride-to-be has mentioned to friends that she prefers a square-shape, so I’ve been limiting my search to stones with ratios of 1.00 – 1.05. Also, I was able to find out through a friend that she loves this setting from James Allen:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-171.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357
For her, fire and brilliance are more important than stone size, although I would like to find her a 3/4 stone or greater. Am I on the right track with the stones already on my list, or do you see a stone or two out there that might be a better fit for what I’m looking for? Thanks for all your help! We gentlemen certainly have a tall order when it comes to finding that one stone she’ll love – your site eliminates much of the confusion that comes with the search. Kudos to you!
Read More→
Q: Dear Ira, I hope this email finds you and your family doing well. I have really enjoyed reading about diamonds on your site and getting an unbiased perspective on diamond purchasing. I will be proposing to my girlfriend on an upcoming trip to South America. As a young guy with a non-profit career, my salary and monthly savings has not been much.
Anyways, I was planning on spending between $3-3.5K for a diamond, including the setting. I’m thinking $2.5-3K for the diamond and another $500-700 for the setting. My current search has been limited to Blue Nile and James Allen. I’ve been happy with what I’ve seen, pretty much but am worried about the inclusions.
- My parameter is BEST DIAMOND FOR FIXED BUDGET.
- Round shape. It will definitely go on a white gold/platinum setting.
THE FOLLOWING IS ACCORDING TO MY RESEARCH, BUT I AM OPEN TO YOUR EXPERTISE:
- COLOR: H-D
- CLARITY: I just want to make sure nothing is visible to the naked eye. We/she will never take it to a jeweler.
- CARAT: I would ideally like 0.97 or so, but am open to less. I want something that LOOKS big so she can be impressed. Maybe a large table size, without compromising clarity?
Basically, I want the most bang for the buck (doesn’t everyone). I want something that will look big and shiny to the common eye, not too worried about peripheral inclusions (although I would like to avoid them). Considering all of this Ira, how can you help me and what would your fees be?
This is one diamond I am looking at, for example: http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?filter_id=0&track=bbt#diamonds_pid=LD01738126
Thanks for your help.
Read More→
Q: Hi there, LOVE your site – very helpful. I am looking at 2 princess cut stones GIA certified from Blue Nile. 1) 2.01 carat H SI2 Cut VG 2) 2.12 carat I VS2 Cut G These are the same price. My questions: 1) SI2 for a stone of this size – will the flaws be easily visible with the naked eye? 2) I Color on 2.12 carats – will this show any yellow or be clear enough? 3) Is a G cut grade too low? Will it be a poor sparkler? Thank you so much for your help!
Read More→
Q: Hello, I have been dating my girlfriend for 8 and a half years ever since the beginning of high school, and now that we are both graduated and working, it’s time to propose. On top of that, we are taking a trip to europe in the first week of February, and I would love to have a ring to propose with in Paris!
I think I have decided to buy online. The lack of tax on most of the online retailers is a big price advantage over local jewelers, and I would love to spend that extra cash on a better diamond. I am looking to spend about 8000 dollars or less on a round diamond, with an absolute max around 8500.
I am a scientist, so I love reading about the specs of a diamond, but I am still unsure how important each is. After all the reading, I think I would like something with VS1 clarity, G color, and ideal cut or better, but from reading your wonderful website it seems I could get away with less in the color and clarity categories. I looked at James Allen’s Diamond Color Tool, and the jump from G to H color seemed more noticeable than the other jumps.
After looking at so many rings, I really like the Nouveau Diamond Ring in Platinum at BlueNile.com. Since I like this setting the most, it feels like I am limited only to the diamond selection of Blue Nile. What do you think? It doesn’t seem possible to order just the setting from Blue Nile. If Blue Nile’s diamond selection isn’t good, do you know of any close alternatives where I might get a similar setting and a better deal on a diamond? What’s your opinion of Blue Nile’s diamond collection? They have a 1.20 carat, VS1, G color, with strong blue flourescence for $7795. Is this a good deal?
I know your website says that the strong blue will make the G color actually look worse. Is that why this diamond is much lower priced than other 1.20 carats? I also like the color blue so I keep wondering if a strong blue flourescence is really a bad thing? I think I’d like to maximize the size of the diamond within my price range, but I also don’t want to sacrifice on the color or clarity too much.
Yesterday Blue Nile also had a 1.38 carat, VS2, H color for just 50 dollars more than the 1.20 I mentioned above. Which one do you think is the better deal? Sadly, the 1.38 seems to have sold today so that is no longer an option. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated! I am in somewhat of a rush since I leave for Europe on Feb 27th. Is this cutting it too close? I have really enjoyed reading your website, and I will recommend your site to anyone looking at diamonds in the future.
Read More→
Q: Ira, Thank you for such an informative webpage. I am so thankful I found this before making a rash decision and overbuying a diamond. I am looking for the following: Shape-Round Cut-EX or Ideal. Color-Prefer colorless (I saw that you recommend H) Clarity-SI1 or higher but depends on the location of the inclusion. Carat-About 1 carat, simply for the fact that most people I know have that size and I would like my bride to have similar. -Hoping to find the cheapest price and planning to use a setting of white gold/platinum. I found this diamond on James Allen: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1268783.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 Or this one on Blue Nile: http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-h-color-si1-clarity_LD01653921. Both are approximately $3500, is this the range I should be planning for? Can you help me find a better value diamond? Please let me know if you need any other details to help with my request. Thank you so much for your help
Read More→
Q: Hi there first want to thank you for this amazing site and hope that you can help me find the best diamond for the money I am looking to spend. I need your help in suggesting which diamond is best for me. With the price range I am looking at I figure I am looking at a color of G-I a clarity of vs1-s1, with an ideal cut. Any suggestions as to which combination or diamond you found from james allen or blue nile that gives me the best bang for my buck thanks again
Read More→
Q: Dear Ira, My friend told me about your site and am very glad he did. I was hoping to glean some wisdom from you regarding topping this ring off with a real fireball: http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-2115_design.asp?module=setting It’s a beautiful ring, but has taken a good chunk out of my $5,000 budget ($2,280 for 18k white gold). So, my question to you: would I be able to find a diamond that would compliment this ring and keep the total under $5,000? I would prefer Ideal or even the hearts & arrows cut, but don’t have any preference on color. I would like the center diamond to be large enough to stand out among the two side stones (approx. .22 carats each). When I was at a jewelry store, I noticed that a center/side stone diameter ratio of around 1.5 started to bring the desired results, which I guess would be around .75 carats for the center diamond for this ring (with knowledge of sidestone weight and http://www.zales.com/jewelry101/index.jsp?page=diamonds_Carat). With all that said, the bigger, the brighter, the better. Thank you for any suggestions!
Read More→
Q: Hello, I’m looking for a diamond in the 1.25 – 1.5 rage and I’m trying to get the most out of my dollar. Looking to spend around 6-8k on the diamond. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your site, it has been a great education on what you don’t need to spend money on and no one up to this point has been able to offer that level of honesty.
Read More→
Q: I am shopping around for a 1.5 carat Princess cut diamond, solitaire ring. My girlfriend was roped in by salesmen at Zales and loves the Celebration diamond they sell. I do not have the budget for a $13,000 ring, but would like to find something with an excellent cut to maximize brilliance. My budget max is $9500 but I am looking for a good deal. I have looked through diamonds at James Allen and Blue Nile. I was curious what you could find for me. Thanks in advance for your help.
Read More→
Q: Hello! I just wondered abou the L/W ratio. I am looking fo a diamond and setting for about 6000 CAD all in taxes and delivery. I found one on blue nile: http://www.bluenile.ca/build-your-own-diamond-ring?pid=LD01117408&forceStep=DIAMONDS_STEP but i am not sure about the L/W ratio of 1.07. Will this look just off square or will it be ok? Thank you for your help!
Read More→
