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: https://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!
Thanks for writing! That is a beauty of a ring. The rule with side stone rings is that the total width of the side stones should approximately equal the width of the table of the center stone. You can calculate the width of the table by multiplying the width by the table %.
A 20 point stone has a total diameter of about 3.8mm. Round stones have table around 57%, so that would mean that you need a center stone with a total width of about 6.6mm which is a 1.20ct diamond.
Having said that, JA has a great feature where you can see actual rings made with the various styles. Here’s a look at a 70 point stone in that same setting:
https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/sold/settings-with-sidestones/2002/Engagement-Ring-Settings-With-Side-Stones.html
So if you like how that looks, then you can definitely go forward with the 3/4 despite everything I said earlier.
Here’s what I found for you in your budget:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1264375.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – Eye clean. excellent cut. Just have the JA gemologist confirm that the J color center stone will look OK in this ring.
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1278190.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – triple excellent. Eye clean. No worry with this sotne’s color.
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204010.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 – hearts and arrows. Inclusion on side can be mostly covered/obscured by prong.
Let me konw what you think!
Thank you for your speedy help! I don’t know how you do it, knowing you’re probably busy keeping a family and helping so many other ‘clueless’ folks like me out here.
I trust that the 1.2 ct diamond probably does look a lot better, I like the 0.7 ct as well. Of the three I think I like the first the best because it is a little larger. However, the second one is very nice, but would the inclusions in the center cause problems (those black specks near the center)? The third is also quite nice (if the inclusion can be hidden) and assume it would be the brightest.
Not to unravel another yarn ball on this thread, but noticed this ring (Prong Set Diamond Ring in 18K White Gold), which gives me much more leg room for a larger diamond (I would probably spend $3,500 in addition to the ring for a diamond). Preferably, I would like a larger diamond, but don’t know if there is a ‘too large’ for this ring, besides the 2 ct prong limit (I can’t afford 2 ct anyways). So, maybe the largest diamond that you think would look good and fits in the $3,500 budget. This diamond would have the same preferences as in my initial contact with you.
In light of this second setting, I really wanted to buy the setting and diamond both from James Allen (will definitely purchase diamond from James Allen) and have their jewelers set the stone, but may actually get this ring from Blue Nile. If I order the diamond and setting from different places and want the diamond to be set locally, how much do you think it would cost for a jeweler to set the stone (here in the US)? Will it affect the warranty for the stone and/or ring if a third party set it, and will the jeweler give some sort of warranty in the case that the prongs get damaged? Any suggestions, warnings are welcome.
…….
I forgot to ask your opinion on this stone from J
#1170074 (I couldn’t get a link to it directly). I can’t seem to find any noticeable inclusions, but they don’t have the certificate available online (awaiting their reply). This would be for the first ring I emailed you about (which I am leaning toward getting).
A: I passed on this diamond because the picture was so out of focus, I couldn’t really see what was going on in the center of the diamond.
Regarding your other question, I would strongly recommend against buying the ring and diamond from different places exactly for the reasons you mentioned. As long as the diamond is in JA’s possession, it’s their responsibility. If you have a local jeweler set the stone for you, they’re not liable if the stone breaks (as far as I know). Maybe if the diamond is already insured, it would be covered, but I’m not sure about that. I would think it’s just best to avoid all the complications involved with this. You have to think about the trust factor also – you need to find someone you know won’t swap stones on you, etc.
Maybe look around some more through JAs rings to see if there’s something else you like that’s a little less money?
Or alternatively, I could help you find a diamond on BN, but I don’t really like doing it because I can’t see the diamonds and have no idea whether the stone will be eye clean or not.
Sorry the answer wasn’t more satisfying 🙁
…….
I just remembered something that’ll help your situation. JA gave me a coupn code to distribute to my readers. Its TAD0611 and it’ll give you 10% off the setting.
Thank you for the coupon. I am getting quite close, and think I will get the ring and stone from JA (gives me a much better feeling).
I think I will get the Hearts&Arrows stone that you brought to my attention (https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204010.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357), but found another very similar one that doesn’t have a large inclusion in it (https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204011.asp). Which do you think would be best. FYI, JA said they should be able to cover up the inclusion with a prong for the first H&A stone.
Hi Nick. It’s a very close call. While the inclusion isn’t as large, it’s very dark and just off the center of the stone. So it might be more visible to the naked eye than the H SI2. And you get a higher color sotne also with the first one. I think perhaps you should ask JA’s customer service guys to compare the two and just go with the one they say is more clean to the naked eye (after mounting). From my vantage point, it’s just a guess, but from theirs it’s 100% reliable.
Let me know what they say. I’m curious.
I talked with the folks at JA about this and they said the https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204010.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357 (one you first showed me) diamond would be ‘eye clean’ because, as you mentioned, the inclusion can be covered by a prong. On the other hand, the https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204011.asp would most likely be noticeable because it is closer to the center of the diamond.
As of yesterday, I have ordered the ring (the one from JA) with the H SI2 (1204010) and will get it in a few weeks. It definitely kept me under the $5000 budget with ~$300 to spare.
One more question: do you recommend a particular insurance for the ring? A friend recommended www.jewelersmutual.com
Thank you very much for your help! I think she will really enjoy this beautiful ring!
Great news! I’ve heard that jewelers mutual is a very good company for insurance, but honestly I don’t really know first hand. Please let me know how it looks when it arrives!
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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