Bought a ring from James Allen. Thought I was sufficiently informed about diamonds, opting for an F-VVS1 emerald cut diamond with excellent polish, excellent symmetry, and no fluorescence.
After making the purchase, I learned about light leakage, windowing, and “performance” of diamonds. Now I’m obsessing about if I made the right choice. For what we paid for the diamond, I’d hate to have bought a “lemon.”
Thoughts?
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/emerald-cut/1.21-carat-f-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-8231011?a_aid=dmnd1357
It’s true that I would never recommend such a diamond, it has a very strong black-windowing. Can you still cancel the order and choose a different stone?
I can call to check if ring is set. But before I do, is there really a better option out there in that price range? Because I’m looking at the emerald cuts on James Allen’s website, and even Asschers (to see if they’d consider setting an Asscher into their spiral tension setting), and I’m not sure I’m finding anything much better, even if I’m willing to go down in size to 1.0 carat.
Can you just tell me what budget you are working with?
The F VVS1 can hardly be considered “the best option” because the black windowing is really undesirable. Any nice H VS1 would look better than that. Getting such high color and clarity grades is a bit of an overkill, you can easily drop down a few grades and it would look identical. Just because a diamond has “better” specs on paper doesn’t mean it would actually look good in real life (the black windowing is a good example of that) – with fancy shapes, how the diamond looks in the video is enormously important too. You could have a D FL stone, but if it had a prominent BW, it would be an absolute no go.
We spent $6,500 for the stone. I thought it was in advisable to go below a G color or VVS2 clarity on step cut diamonds?
For under $6,500, I found some beautiful 1ct options, but nothing larger. The reason why the 1.2ct was so cheap is most likely its appearance – good deals are very rare in the world of diamonds and there’s always a reason why something costs less than it should.
In general, we recommend H+ SI+ grades (as long as the diamond is eye-clean). The difference in colors isn’t usually recognizable from anything above an H grade, especially once the diamond is already set.
Here’s an example of a beautiful asscher cut:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/asscher-cut/1.01-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-11936131?a_aid=dmnd1357
Wow. I really appreciate your input. The diamond you suggested is gorgeous, I’m calling James Allen now and will change my order.
Thank you so much!
Happy to help.
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisal
- One free resizing within the first year of purchase
- High quality images of about half of their diamonds
- 24/7 Customer Service
- 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
- Best in class fulfillment
Still afraid of getting ripped off?
Before you buy a diamond, get personal buying advice from industry veterans. We'll help you get the best diamond for the money.
Ask your diamond purchase question here
DISCLAIMER: We don't use your email for marketing. Period.