Hi Ira, I’ve been reading your website with interest since finding it a couple of weeks ago, the information is revealing and excellent, I am sure there must be a few ruffled feathers within the diamond establishment! I would appreciate your advice in assisting me with finding a suitable engagement ring for my girlfriend. I intend to propose at Christmas so I have time to find the right stone over the next couple of weeks. I would like at least a 1 carat stone which is of good quality i.e. Ideal cut so that all the light possible is reflected and with no inclusions visible to the naked eye. My budget, including setting, is about £5000 to 5500 GBP – (unfortunately this sum must also include tax and duty for the UK)
Thanks for writing and thanks for the kind words about my site!
According to James Allens currency converter (which also takes into account taxes), your budget is about 7500 USD max including the ring. You didn’t tell me which ring you’re thinking about, so I’m going to assume you’ll be spending between 500-1000 USD. If it’s different, please let me know.
For your needs, I decided to limit my search to GIA Excellent or AGS Ideal cut grades grades (highest mark for each lab). Also, I want to stick to I colors, maybe H. This will give you the best value. THe most expensive color upgrade is from H to G, and there’s no real reason for it. As far as clarity goes, I’d like to find you an eye-clean SI2. This will also get you the best value.
HEre’s what I came up with:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1265607.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – Great stone. GIA triple Excellent. SI2 is all on the side. Can be covered by prong on setting.
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1259915.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – SI2 very spready. 100% eye clean.
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1267146.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – Triple excellent. 100% eye clean.
If you go ahead an buy from James Allen, don’t forget to use the coupon they gave for readers of my site – TAD0611 – it gives 10% off the setting.
Let me know what you think of these picks. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Thanks for the quick response!
I think the 3rd of the diamonds you’ve suggested is definitely closing in on what I am looking for – it does indeed look very clean, even under the virtual loupe – its weird how I’d been looking at some VVS2 diamonds and they looked worse (i.e. with noticeable black inclusions) to a consumer like me than the ones you have suggested. I am happy as long as its 100% eye clean, if I can notice the inclusions then that will bother me!
I like this kind of band https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-3964.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – I note that the diamonds in this band are F-G, do you think its worth getting an H colour grade for the main stone to ensure there is no noticeable colour difference?
Its not a problem. H is close enough that you won’t notice any difference in color.
JA checks every ring for quality issues before it leaves their office. They don’t want to sell you something you’ll end up returning anyway since returns cost them a lot of money. If it doesn’t match, they won’t let you buy that ring.
Sorry just to clarify on the colour rating – the stones you originally suggested where all ‘I’ – given the setting I am looking at, should I go for an ‘H’? If so, I’m struggling to find any I colour stones that look as clean as the ones you suggested, most have noticeable inclusions, even without the virtual loupe
I’m sorry, I don’t know where my head was! I still think an I color will be OK with that setting. Just to be sure, though, you should call JA’s customer service when they open in a few hours and ask them their opinion. They deal with these issues all day every day so they’ll be able to give you a more informed answer. My professional experience is really focused more on loose diamonds.
OK, will do Ira. They still have the diamond you recommended in stock, so fingers crossed its OK.
Great. Let me know what they say!
……
Did you ever get in touch with JA? What did they say?
Yes I did, I was going to drop you a line later on once everything had been processed. Their advice was not to worry at all, they said they had never had such a combination returned and almost never receive any comments about a noticeable colour difference. I got them to inspect the diamond and confirm it is clean
Great! So you made the purchase?
Sorry, I pressed send by accident half way through writing that, so you have it in two parts!
They inspected the diamond you suggested and confirmed it was eye clean so I went ahead with the purchase as the stone seemed such a good choice. Many thanks for you help, I never would have achieved such good value by myself! Now all I need to do is keep it s secret til Christmas!
My great pleasure! Do you use facebook? Would you mind becoming a fan of the new page I set up for the website?
https://www.facebook.com/TheDiamondPro/
Please stay in touch and let me know how the ring looks when you get it!
Just realised I hadn’t responded to this!
Yes I do use facebook, I will become a fan once I have popped the question to my girlfriend – I don’t want to add you yet as she might see and so ruin the surprise.
Just wanted to follow up with you. Did you get the ring? How did it look? Were you happy with the diamond?
Best Wishes for a Happy New Year,
Happy New Year! I hope you had a great festive season.
Yes I did get the ring and more importantly, my girlfriend is now my fiance 🙂 – but to answer your questions we both love the ring and the diamond is beautiful. Its size has served to impress a number of times and it has so much fire it is really eye catching. Thanks again for your help in selecting the diamond!
All the best for the New Year,
That’s fantastic news!
I’ve very happy I was able to help you out. I was wondering if you could do me a small favor if you have the time. Do you think you might be able to leave me feedback on ivouch? The website is still quite new – I only launched seriously in the summer. These testimonials really help me build credibility. You can access it directly here with this link:
(Link Removed)
I wish you and your fiance a long life together filled with health, happiness, and love!
Many thanks for your best wishes Ira!
I’ve just submitted my review.
Wow. I just read it. Thank you so much for your kind words!
I wish you and your fiance a long life together filled with only good things.
(you can read his review here: http://www.ivouch.com/diamonds-pro/unreserved-recommendation)
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
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