Proposal Ring - Part 2

[Lurker_13]

Ok, will upload soon.
May I know what make you favour 1st stone than 2nd?
i tot 2nd stone hv more red = more light return ????
pls teach me.. my first time getting a diamond =D TIA!

1. I prefer the star length 50% and lower half 80% combi, .

2. More "hotspots" = more fiery

3. Lesser inclusions - a little lame I know

4. the centre of the stone looks more symmetrical than the 2nd one

 

[noyunet]

I just ordered a diamond ring from bluenile yesterday.

0.43 G IF HCA 0.8 (Bluenile Signature Ideal, GIA EEE, Fluorescene none)
SGD $1785 without setting

I was eyeing another diamond previously but it got sold before I decide to order.. sigh
0.46 F IF HCA 0.6 (Bluenile Signature Ideal, GIA EEE, Fluorescene none)
SGD $2187 without setting

But after thinking, it could be a blessing in disguise, saving me $400..

I didn't really check local stores before my purchase, so I'm wondering if my $1780 purchase is worth it. Roughly what carat diamond (with decent specs) can my $1.8k fetch in local stores?

Of course I won't really know until I get to see the diamond from bluenile.. I will post the pic online when I receive it.

Got some valuable info from this thread. thanks all contributors!

attached links to GCAL (bluenile's own cert) for both diamonds for those interested to see.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22011619/0.43GCAL.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22011619/0.46GCAL.pdf

 

[bedposthalo]

I just ordered a diamond ring from bluenile yesterday.

0.43 G IF HCA 0.8 (Bluenile Signature Ideal, GIA EEE, Fluorescene none)
SGD $1785 without setting

I was eyeing another diamond previously but it got sold before I decide to order.. sigh
0.46 F IF HCA 0.6 (Bluenile Signature Ideal, GIA EEE, Fluorescene none)
SGD $2187 without setting

But after thinking, it could be a blessing in disguise, saving me $400..

I didn't really check local stores before my purchase, so I'm wondering if my $1780 purchase is worth it. Roughly what carat diamond (with decent specs) can my $1.8k fetch in local stores?

Of course I won't really know until I get to see the diamond from bluenile.. I will post the pic online when I receive it.

Got some valuable info from this thread. thanks all contributors!

attached links to GCAL (bluenile's own cert) for both diamonds for those interested to see.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22011619/0.43GCAL.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22011619/0.46GCAL.pdf

Congrats on your purchase!
Out of curiosity, what made you decide on the G and IF combination?
Clarity IF versus a VS won't have any visual difference difference if it's eye clean.. Whereas Color G versus a D is a obvious difference. If you picked G and VS, can go for bigger carat.. or D and VS, will have better visual upgrade.

 

[noyunet]

Congrats on your purchase!
Out of curiosity, what made you decide on the G and IF combination?
Clarity IF versus a VS won't have any visual difference difference if it's eye clean.. Whereas Color G versus a D is a obvious difference. If you picked G and VS, can go for bigger carat.. or D and VS, will have better visual upgrade.

I'm not an expert here. anyways this was my thought process. my preference was in cut and clarity above other specs. no point get a diamond that has flaws.

I looked at james allen website that shows rotatable images of the diamonds and felt even VVS2 sometimes shows specks/ dots. of course I understand the images are magnified many times, but I guess I wanted to be on the safe side. After all buying online has many unforseen possibilities, so by choosing an IF I'm hoping for a higher chance of a perfectly eye clean diamond.

 

[Amplif1er]

Hi all,

Just a quick check, how much roughly should I be expecting for the following,

- 1 carat
- VS1
- Colour F
- Any cut

Preparing budget for proposal ring. Thanks!

 

[Lurker_13]

Hi all,

Just a quick check, how much roughly should I be expecting for the following,

- 1 carat
- VS1
- Colour F
- Any cut

Preparing budget for proposal ring. Thanks!

Well Bro, if I am gonna put my moolah down on a 1 carat stone, I would not want just "any cut" I would want to have a stunner!

 

[aLpHa-Ev7]

Hi bros,

Just collected my ring from JP yesterday! It was absolutely lovely.

Just sharing with you guys a short video of it i took in office today with iPhone 5. really hard to take pictures of diamonds!

Link to Vimeo video

 

[hollander]

For GIA, their star and lower lengths go by "5" ranges.. Eg. 45,50,55,60, etc.. If the star length is 52%, GIA rounds it down to 50% if it is 58%, they round it up to 60%.

For AGS, they don't round up or down the figures.. so far star length 53% and lower half 78%, on GIA it would become 55% star length and 80% lower half. That will still be in the star and lower optimal combo..

That explains why! nice info ;-)

 

[hollander]

Hi bros,

Just collected my ring from JP yesterday! It was absolutely lovely.

Just sharing with you guys a short video of it i took in office today with iPhone 5. really hard to take pictures of diamonds!

Link to Vimeo video

Such a stunner!!! Congrats Bro!!!

 

[Lurker_13]

Hi bros,

Just collected my ring from JP yesterday! It was absolutely lovely.

Just sharing with you guys a short video of it i took in office today with iPhone 5. really hard to take pictures of diamonds!

Link to Vimeo video

Nice Bro! The stone looks big...

 

[aLpHa-Ev7]

Nice Bro! The stone looks big...

How big u reckon it looks?

 

[Lurker_13]

A 0.7 or .8 +? I am quite bad at estimating though.

 

[knuckle]

How big u reckon it looks?

What stone is it?

 

[spLeenfuL]

Hi bros,

Just collected my ring from JP yesterday! It was absolutely lovely.

Just sharing with you guys a short video of it i took in office today with iPhone 5. really hard to take pictures of diamonds!

Link to Vimeo video

Swee.. looks like a 0.8ct to me.. but hard to tell from photo.. blinded by flashes

 

[aLpHa-Ev7]

A 0.7 or .8 +? I am quite bad at estimating though.

What stone is it?

Swee.. looks like a 0.8ct to me.. but hard to tell from photo.. blinded by flashes

It is a 0.63 F VS1 bros. Yeah nothing beside it maybe hard to estimate.

 

[tomicaguy]

Hi all,

Just a quick check, how much roughly should I be expecting for the following,

- 1 carat
- VS1
- Colour F
- Any cut

Preparing budget for proposal ring. Thanks!

You got a huge budget.

 

[zeally]

Well Bro, if I am gonna put my moolah down on a 1 carat stone, I would not want just "any cut" I would want to have a stunner!

Yea, a one carat stone with "any cut"? waste of money.

You should never sacrifice the most important C in the 4C !!

Cut = Ultimate importance.

Other Cs -> less priority.

 

[zeally]

IMO, I would look for a third stone if I'm not in a hurry. I can see the color in G even when it's presented alone. Mine MUST be a D-F colorless, even if it meant going for smaller stones, which I did, btw. I would rather have a stone that looks perfect visually than one which is slightly bigger & (imo) imperfect.

Sure, many people won't be able to see the color by itself when it's alone, but when the girls start comparing...... She may not mind but some people are nasty enough to harp on it & make her feel bad.

Something my godmother said last weekend really stuck me. She didn't receive a proposal ring, and when my godfather finally bought her a solitaire, he gave her one that every man & woman would envy. A 1.5ct, D, VVS or better, triple E (from HK, where they seem to really know their stuff). It is obscenely huge on her tiny fingers. She said, "He will only give me the best." I feel the same about my FI. He's giving me the best he can at this point in our lives.

In the other direction though, I would have been happy even if he proposed with a glass bead on a stainless steel ring. =) It's the person that counts, not the rock. I have to say I'm quite vainly & selfishly happy that he didn't though. He got me a rock in a size that is big for my age group & he emphasized gives him leeway for an upgrade later on. XD I chose one that is slightly under .5 for the price savings & so I can wear it on a daily basis. At my age, anything more is too much.

In other news, when I was in HK, I saw someone wearing a huge but lifeless diamond. D= The first thing that ran through my mind was what a waste of money that was! There was no fire or sparkle to it. When it did reflect light, it flashed halfheartedly in white.

I have to disagree. But when it comes to beauty of a diamond, people are always subjective. There is no right or wrong. So this is just my own opinion that is formed based on my knowledge and preference, which is why it may seem biased to some. My preference is always VALUE FOR MONEY. Maximise your budget to get the best visually stunning diamond.

Firstly, cut is the sole component of the 4 C that determines beauty, for as long as the diamond is eye clean at 6 inches. Hence, clarity is the least important aspect. Between a IF stone and a VS1 stone, there won't be any differences as you need a scope to see the differences. So why waste money on high clarity.Next is colour. Do a google search regarding diamond colour and you will see that the differences between D E and F is also negligible. But for D and G, you can spot the difference if you do a side by side comparison test like what they do in the grading labs. (diamond is not set and placed with pavilion facing up). This allows the inspector to see the body colour of the diamond. However, when faced up, you will be seeing reflections of light in the diamond, the colour difference is neglible when faced up. (It is a misconception that the colour of the diamond will change the colour of the reflected light). Hence, G when faced up look very similar to E and F. If you bring a D into the picture, you can only see the difference after very close and detailed inspection if the diamond is faced up.

So the conclusion is -> focus on a stone with a fantastic cut. GIA triple Ex is just the minimum criteria, do analyze the diamond a bit more by using ideal/aset scope to get a superior diamond. I am certain that one of the lower coloured stones such as I and J stones that I bought are a lot more vibrant and bright with great fire compared to many many GIA triple ex high coloured diamonds from diamond sales by Taka or GSS sales by other jewellery shops.

 

[UpperCut]

I have to disagree. But when it comes to beauty of a diamond, people are always subjective. There is no right or wrong. So this is just my own opinion that is formed based on my knowledge and preference, which is why it may seem biased to some. My preference is always VALUE FOR MONEY. Maximise your budget to get the best visually stunning diamond.

Firstly, cut is the sole component of the 4 C that determines beauty, for as long as the diamond is eye clean at 6 inches. Hence, clarity is the least important aspect. Between a IF stone and a VS1 stone, there won't be any differences as you need a scope to see the differences. So why waste money on high clarity.Next is colour. Do a google search regarding diamond colour and you will see that the differences between D E and F is also negligible. But for D and G, you can spot the difference if you do a side by side comparison test like what they do in the grading labs. (diamond is not set and placed with pavilion facing up). This allows the inspector to see the body colour of the diamond. However, when faced up, you will be seeing reflections of light in the diamond, the colour difference is neglible when faced up. (It is a misconception that the colour of the diamond will change the colour of the reflected light). Hence, G when faced up look very similar to E and F. If you bring a D into the picture, you can only see the difference after very close and detailed inspection if the diamond is faced up.

So the conclusion is -> focus on a stone with a fantastic cut. GIA triple Ex is just the minimum criteria, do analyze the diamond a bit more by using ideal/aset scope to get a superior diamond. I am certain that one of the lower coloured stones such as I and J stones that I bought are a lot more vibrant and bright with great fire compared to many many GIA triple ex high coloured diamonds from diamond sales by Taka or GSS sales by other jewellery shops.

I agree with you mostly, but you missed out one important point. That is the psychological barrier. Even though most people won't tell the difference between a F and a G, the fact is that G color is perceived as second class because it's labelled as "Near Colourless". Some people also think that VVS2 is the minimum cos clarity to some Chinese is a sign of luck /fortune.

At the end of the day, its NOT up to you. Its what your partner wants and get the right thing for her. (This also goes to show how well you know her too)

 

[Lurker_13]

I guess what zeally n uppercut is essentially saying is that the MOST important priority in searching for a performing diamond is CUT. Carat, Colour and Clarity are really personal preferences, which also depends on one's budget and the availability of the desired diamond at the time. As much as many of us would want to possess an Ideal Cut, D colour, IF clarity and desired carat stone, this kinda combi is basically very rare + if available will be costly too.

In diamond business is all about compromising not on the CUT of course, but the other aspects of the 4Cs. Like some bro here mentioned aforetime somewhere, no one will ask to see the cert of the diamond, all they will be admiring will be the fire, sparkle and brilliance of the stone on the finger. So it boils down to one's "eye clean and mind clean" or just "eye clean" or "mind clean" tolerance level and how much one is willing to compromise given their budget or no compromise at all if they have a thick pocket IMO.