Q&A: Biggest Ideal Cut Round Diamond for $3500 Including Setting. Blue Nile vs. James Allen. Looking for Biggest Stone within Tight Budget That’s Still Eye Clean and a Good Performer.

Dear Ira, I hope this email finds you and your family doing well. I have really enjoyed reading about diamonds on your site and getting an unbiased perspective on diamond purchasing. I will be proposing to my girlfriend on an upcoming trip to South America. As a young guy with a non-profit career, my salary and monthly savings has not been much.

Anyways, I was planning on spending between $3-3.5K for a diamond, including the setting. I’m thinking $2.5-3K for the diamond and another $500-700 for the setting. My current search has been limited to Blue Nile and James Allen. I’ve been happy with what I’ve seen, pretty much but am worried about the inclusions.

– My parameter is BEST DIAMOND FOR FIXED BUDGET.

– Round shape. It will definitely go on a white gold/platinum setting.

THE FOLLOWING IS ACCORDING TO MY RESEARCH, BUT I AM OPEN TO YOUR EXPERTISE:

– COLOR: H-D

– CLARITY: I just want to make sure nothing is visible to the naked eye. We/she will never take it to a jeweler.

– CARAT: I would ideally like 0.97 or so, but am open to less. I want something that LOOKS big so she can be impressed. Maybe a large table size, without compromising clarity?

Basically, I want the most bang for the buck (doesn’t everyone). I want something that will look big and shiny to the common eye, not too worried about peripheral inclusions (although I would like to avoid them). Considering all of this Ira, how can you help me and what would your fees be?

This is one diamond I am looking at, for example:
Blue Nile LD01738126

Thanks for your help.

Thanks for your response and congragulatory pat on the back.

I’m glad to have found your website – it is so difficult to find straight shooters nowadays. It seems like you have a solid business model too, a good way to make some extra cash. Pretty cool.

I think I like the smallest of the three diamonds you recommended, it also seems to be the cleanest. Reading the article on De Beers (I also read an article in Rolling Stones on diamond trading in Zimbabwe) makes me loathe contributing any money to the coffers of diamond trade big shots. But it is what it is, and my girlfriend is definitely expecting a rock on her finger.

Quick question about your 3rd recommendation: if I decided to instead choose a pave setting, how would I determine if the diamond would look OK? Would your recommendation change?

I’ll probably be making a purchase, per your recommendation, this week so I can have some time to exchange if necessary.

Its me again. I’ve decided on the solitaire setting after looking through James Allen’s options.

As I mentioned, I most like the last stone you recommended: https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1294208.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

However, I’m a little concerned that the stone looks cloudy and has a too many inclusions. As someone who has never purchased a diamond before, I hope you understand my worry. If you had an additional $200-400 ($2,500 max for the stone), is there another stone that you would recommend?

Thanks again for your help. Just to confirm, using the promotional code TAD0611 will give you the appropriate credit right?

Im 99% ready to buy the last stone you recommend before. However, when I look at the certificate, under clarity characteristics, it says: Crystal, Feather, Cloud.

What does that mean? I don’t want to buy something and then have to return it…

………

I just wanted to say thanks for your help and patience. I completed my order this afternoon, and used the TAD0611 code. The total order was around $2500. I hope this is enough to get you credit for your services.

Many blessings to you and your family.

Thanks for following up – I have been meaning to let you know. I did get the ring last week, everything looks great. I have two friends that will be going through similar purchasing decisions over the next year and have already referred them to your website. I should get my own “the truth about diamonds” code! LOL.

Question: is there a website you know of where I can post a review (positive one, of course) of your services?