Archive for side stones
Q: Glad to come across your site! I’m very near a final decision, but wondered what you thought about the following questions: I’m really attracted to the eternity bands, especially the bezel-set ones, and figure these will provide more comfort, protect the diamonds, keep them cleaner and so on. I want to be practical, however, and have received conflicting advice on the wear that occurs to a eternity band. What is your opinion of an eternity band? I’d like to put a single round brilliant on top of this eternity band, and find various prices. I’m looking at cut as the most important factor. Color and clarity are relative to this untrained eye. So, an Ideal or Excellent cut, g-h color, SI1 or greater, .5-1 ct. I’m trying to stay between 3-4k for the whole ring. I’ve found (more than) a few options in stores and online. Do you advise staying with a local jeweler, or buying online? Hope this info is helpful to you. Thanks for your attention.
Now that we’ve concluded our series of the best I1 clarity diamond for different budgets, today we begin another “best of” series. Today, I have decide to start a series choosing the best Princess Cut Diamond for different budgets. 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. It’s a unique challenge to find an engagement ring setting that will look especially nice set with a large princess cut diamond. I always loved the look of a large center stone surrounded on both sides by nicely sized side accent diamonds. 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. It’s rarely nice on two separate accounts. Firstly, the diamond has a depth percentage of only 69.5%. This means the weight of the diamond isn’t being waste in its depth. The diamond is quite large, and shows itself even larger because of its prime depth percentage. But even beyond that, it’s also rare to find princess cuts with such a nice small table. It’s very hard to find a princess cut diamond with a table percentage less than 70% as well. Today’s diamond has a table percentage of only 66%.
Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen
Q&A: Looking for 1.25+ Carat Round Brilliant Diamond for Between $6000 and $8000 Dollars
Posted by: | Comments
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.
Color & Clarity Matching Diamonds in Jewelry
Posted by: | CommentsQ: Ive just bought some earrings (multi stone GIA F/SI1 with very good cut/pol/symm) . I got f colour to match an uncertificated 5 stone ring thats been assessed (independently) as F/G SI1. I intend buying a pendant ( trilogy 0.33ct each or maybe graduated 1.5 ct total) and solitaire ring (1ct+) down the road. Do you think I should keep to f colour to match, or go down to g?? Also do you think I should upgrade to VS2 for the larger stones or use a broker to find a good SI1? and if so what would be a reasonable fee to pay??
A: Let me address your questions one at a time.
1) Regarding the color on the pendant, I think you can definitely go down to a G, and perhaps even lower. If having all of the pieces match is crucial to you, then going down to G will not pose a problem, but will definitely save you some money.
But my broader question would be, why are you so concerned with having the different pieces match? Are they sitting in a case together as a set or are they worn? If they’re on somebody’s body, then nobody will be able to tell that the earrings are an F while the pendant is an H or an I. They’re simply too far apart. Color matching is really only an issue within the same piece of jewelry (ie, side stones to match a center stone in an engagement ring, etc).
One important thing to note is that the savings in dropping from G to H are significantly greater than the savings in dropping from F to G. I can’t explain to you why that is, it’s just how Martin Rapaport built his price list. This is why, by the way, you find in markets such as Dubai that demand is much greater for H, I, and J colors than it is for G color. The upgrade in color to G just isn’t worth the premium you have to pay for it. Its called the “G Premium.”
2) When “diamond guys” need to buy diamonds for their loved ones, they rarely buy stones with high clarity (VS2 or higher) We know that all that matters is that no obvious inclusions should be visible to the naked eye. Unless your wife’s friends walk around with 10x loupes in their pocketbooks, nobody will ever be able to tell the difference. And this is only regarding rings where diamonds get the closest amount of scrutiny (envision women bringing their hands to their faces to gawk at their rings). With pendants and earrings, you have significantly more leeway to go lower in clarity. An I1 or even a nice I2 will still have great sparkle and life as long as the diamond has a nice cut. It’s a shame to spend more money on a high clarity stone that nobody will ever get close enough to to tell the difference.
3) Now regarding how to buy the lower clarity stones, I recommend buying from internet sites that provide high quality photographs, such as James Allen, so you can evaluate the inclusions for yourself to see if they will be visible or not to the naked eye. If you would like, let me know and I would be happy to scour some online inventory to find you a great stone(s) with great value.
The following was the reader’s response to my answer:
Ira
Thanks for your comments.
The internet ‘science’ suggests you get better performance from a high colour grade, but the general tenure of your comments seem to suggest what Ive suspected after ,
1) research on the web
2) looking at some high/medium quality stones,
and that is that the ‘science’ surrounding diamonds is largely a markeing device to create perception of luxury and price differentials, to maximise revenue?!
Smart Man. Learned the lesson quite quickly.
