Hi there,
I am looking at buying from James Allen, but I’m from Australia so I want to make sure I’m getting the right stone the first time.
I am looking for something around 1 carat, can be slightly less or up to 1.5. I’d like to keep the price under $10,000 AUD but would prefer to be around the $8,000 AUD mark.
Round
F-G colour
VS1 – VS2
Excellent cuts/polish etc. The best sparkling diamond I can find!
With the ring, she likes two options (which might complicate things).
A) 18k yellow gold solitaire (simple as it gets)
B) white gold /platinum with channel or pave set diamonds
For me, I feel B would be better but I’m not 100% sure which to go with yet.
I’ve searched around a lot, but seeing diamonds online I can’t tell what will look good in real life. Is it safe to say that if it has excellent cut/polish, medium fluorescence it will look pretty good?
If I may, I would recommend you adjust your parameters a bit. F/G color is far more than what’s necessary to have a beautiful yellow gold or pave ring. You can get away with an H color for option B and I/J color for option A. There’s no point in paying more for a higher color grade as it would look identical. Let me know what you think.
I am, of course, happy to recommend any grades you want, but I wanted to point this out so that you could make an informed decision and not overpay for something you wouldn’t be able to see.
I just read through your article on colours. To be honest, to me I could tell the difference in colour. Maybe not in real life haha. Not difference between D and E or H and I. But I feel I colour and below I definitely would not want…
Let’s look at G and H? To me I’d rather spend a few hundred more to get a G or F. Unless the difference is large in price ($500+)
Size is not hugely important, as long as it’s around a carat up to 1.5. If you can find a better stone at 1.2 carat vs 1.4 then definitely go smaller, whichever will shine the most. Frankly in the end, the sparkle matters most.
Ok, thanks for letting me know. Just a note though, we don’t base the color choice on the pictures on the website as the videos are not really made for that (especially the lightning in the room where the video was recorded). And out of the 4 Cs, it’s not Color what makes a diamond beautiful and brilliant, that’s what Cut does.
I found a couple of fantastic choices:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.99-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-9245000?a_aid=dmnd1357
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.20-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-7204024?a_aid=dmnd1357
They are beautifully cut and all of them would be very bright and brilliant in real life.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’ll go with the 1.15 carat you suggested.
I’m glad you liked my recommendation so much.
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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