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A couple of questions about getting a diamond and a setting

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terceslil

terceslil

Shiny_Rock
Trade
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Feb 18, 2010
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140
I have a great girlfriend who has started dropping hints about a ring.

Our history We were together 3 years, broke up 3 years (my fault), and we have been back together for 4 years. We have something special, and she has a real big heart, so I feel that it is probably high time that I accommodate her wishes for a ring.

Having put it off for so long, I want the ring to be special. I thought about looking around at local jewelers, but had a jeweler suggest that I could buy a diamond and then a setting and have a jeweler mount it.

My gf is very artsy so she will appreciate that I participated in the creation process to make her a unique ring.

What I have in mind:
1ct, G-H, SVV1-SVV2, Princess cut.

I would like a solitaire setting in white gold, but have not decided exactly which setting just yet.

I have found a jeweler that says they will set the diamond in the setting for $70.

Now, is the matter of finding the best diamond for my money a band that will compliment the diamond. I am open to ideas and suggestions. I have a really good idea about how much the diamond is going to cost, but the prices really vary on the settings.

I was kind of favoring a tension setting but the local jeweler said that if you bend the ring, you can lose the diamond. That is a huge deterrent for a tension setting.

I kind of like the look of this ring: http://www.icestore.com/gallery/diamond_gallery_detail.asp?ID=65

I believe that the local jeweler has a setting similar to this one.

I really don''t want to make a hasty decision because I want this ring to be special.

How does one get a woman''s ring size without asking her what size ring she wears????
Just looking to get, create, or modify a ring that will my artsy gf will love
 
This? VS1 is very difficult to find an inclusion even with the help of a loupe. VVS is overkill especially for princess.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5829/

How about get it in a simple setting and then both of you can design the ring together?
 
You can find a great setting and a great diamond via pricescope.com or one of it vendors. You don''t need to pay someone to mount unless it is your choice to have someone local do that.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1245050.asp


http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/princess-cut-diamond-2145463.htm

As for finding her ring size...
Does she have a friend or sister who she shares jewellery with? Could you ask them without blowing the surprise? If not, if you know her sister has the same hand, steal/borrow one of her rings so the GF doesn''t suspect anything.
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Good luck!
 
Her sister is smaller than her. Her sister is very short and small framed.

The local jeweler said they would charge $70 to set the diamond in the setting. I thought that sounded fair.
 
Has anyone ever done business with this company? http://www.outrageousdiamonds.com/Engagement-Rings/Princess/Enhanced-Clarity/103-CT-FSI1-LUCIDA-STYLE-p4541101.html

The ring looks similar to the ring I am interested in, but they do not give a lot of details about the diamond.
 
Please note that this ring you're looking at has an enhanced stone. Please read up on that first, and you'll see why this ring is less expensive than a quality diamond/piece you'd get from one of the online vendors like good old gold or whiteflash.

When looking at stones you want to find something graded by AGS or GIA.
 
When I saw enhanced stone, I figured that it would not be a good quality stone.
 
The Lucinda-style setting is very common and you should be able to find it at almost any jeweler so that''s no problem. If it were me I''d concentrate on finding the right stone first and then have it set at the same vendor as you find the stone.
 
After spending quite a while in chat online with Darin at James Allen, I have a diamond on hold. I need to get my gf''s ring size so I can place my order for the ring.

My mother passed away back in 02 and I still have a good bit of her jewelry in a jewelry box. I may say that I am thinking about having a stone mounted in one of her rings and see if my gf will try the rings on... and try to get her size from there. Does that seem like that will work? If I find a ring that fits her, I''ll just take it to the jeweler and get the size from the ring.
 
Update:

I was able to get my gf to try on my mom's old rings. I have 3 rings I am bringing into the jeweler to get the size: 1 thin ring, 1 medium ring, and 1 thick band.

The local jeweler also said that they have the price for the Lucida style setting. I am going to give them the specs for the diamond I have on hold and see if my local jeweler has any similar.

Please tell me if this sounds like a clear diamond that will compliment the Lucida setting:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1254902.asp
Item Number: 1254902
Shape: Princess
Carat weight: 1.07
Cut: Ideal
Color: G
Clarity: VS2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 72.6%
Table: 68.0%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Girdle: Thick to very thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 5.68*5.51*4.00
Ratio: 1.03

I really would like to have a good, clear diamond. Any input will be appreciated. I am looking at ring #11034W. If the diamond is a good diamond, I am likely to go with James Allen. If not, I am going to keep looking and compare my local jeweler. She has offered to get diamonds for me to look at, but I hate to put her through that when I am like what James Allen is offering.
 
might be good. Ask JA for an ASET image.
 
Date: 2/20/2010 9:41:04 AM
Author: terceslil
Update:

I was able to get my gf to try on my mom's old rings. I have 3 rings I am bringing into the jeweler to get the size: 1 thin ring, 1 medium ring, and 1 thick band.

The local jeweler also said that they have the price for the Lucida style setting. I am going to give them the specs for the diamond I have on hold and see if my local jeweler has any similar.

Please tell me if this sounds like a clear diamond that will compliment the Lucida setting:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1254902.asp
Item Number: 1254902
Shape: Princess
Carat weight: 1.07
Cut: Ideal
Color: G
Clarity: VS2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 72.6%
Table: 68.0%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Girdle: Thick to very thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 5.68*5.51*4.00
Ratio: 1.03

I really would like to have a good, clear diamond. Any input will be appreciated. I am looking at ring #11034W. If the diamond is a good diamond, I am likely to go with James Allen. If not, I am going to keep looking and compare my local jeweler. She has offered to get diamonds for me to look at, but I hate to put her through that when I am like what James Allen is offering.
Click to expand...
The diamond might be ok, need an ASET image which you can request from JA, also check with one of the gemologists concerning the very thick parts of the girdle, whether this encompasses most of the girdle or not.
 
I went to the local jeweler and got the 3 ring sizes. The thin ring is an 8, the medium is an 8, and the wide band is a 9. Do you think that I should go with an 8 1/2 because the Lucida style band is fairly wide?

While at the local jeweler, they gave me the price for the Lucinda style setting. They estimate that the band will be between $500 and $575 depending on the price of gold the day that the setting is purchased. James Allen's setting is $860. I asked the local jewelry store where he gets the settings and he said Stelly (may have been Stully). Is anyone familiar with them? That may be a local wholesaler. I don't know. Are James Allen's settings a higher quality than found at other jewelers? I don't want to put a 1ct diamond in a crappy setting, but I don't want to spend more if it isn't necessary. My budget is $5K. It would be great if I could spend less.

I wanted to give the local jeweler a fair shot to compete, but it seems that their turn around will be slow when I ask for or need information. They said it will be Thursday before they could get prices of diamonds comparable to the ones I am looking at online. How long does James Allen hold a diamond for you?

I went online (JA) to chat and got Wendy who said she will email Darin and get the ASET image. I also asked about the very thick parts of the girdle, whether this encompasses most of the girdle or not.

I am guessing that by asking for further information about the diamond that it may have some potential. If you had not asked anything more about the diamond, I would have assumed that it was not going to suit my purposes.

Thanks for all your help. Will report back when I find out something.
 
Yes, this looks like the setting they have: http://www.stuller.com/products/products.aspx?gid=99298

They have a catalog that I have been looking at. The picture of the white gold setting looks like the one in the catalog. But the catalog doesn't say that the setting is only for a round stone, so I may not have found the exact setting that I have been looking at.
 
wow, you are getting some good help over here! AND your soon-to-be fiance is one lucky girl, that is a huge rock!
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I''ve never heard of that stuller, are the prices good?
 
I don''t think individual consumers can buy from them. I think they sell to jewelers so they can resell. I don''t know anything about their quality, but I their price for the setting that I am looking at seems very reasonable.

If the local jeweler can''t get a good diamond to go with the setting, then I am ordering online. So far, my local jeweler has been very helpful.

I dropped off a band to have an etching buffed out of the ring. That will give me a good idea about their jeweler, his turnaround time, and his workmanship. Granted, comparing buffing out an etching to building a ring is apples and oranges, but I''ll have an idea.
 
What''s the usual turnaround time when you request an ASET image for a diamond from James Allen?

TIA
 
Around 3 days.
 
Date: 2/22/2010 10:05:15 AM
Author: terceslil
What''s the usual turnaround time when you request an ASET image for a diamond from James Allen?

TIA
Click to expand...
Hi terceslil

It depends, I have known images be ready within a day or so or it can take longer.
 
Good job on getting the ring size. Is the band much wider than your mom''s ring? If not, I''d go with that size. Worse comes to worse, they can add some sizing beads or something. However, if it''s closer to the medium ring then 8.5 might be a good compromise.

Does JA carry Stuller settings? I know they have access to quite a few designers. If so, it would be so much simpler to get the rock and the setting at the same place, so they can send you complete ring. I know that, given your history with the local jeweler, though, that may mean you lose any relationship with them.
 
I don''t know anything about the quality of the Stuller setting, so I doubt I have JA mount the diamond in the Stuller setting. I was just curious if anyone else knew about Stuller''s quality. If no one has any experience with them, I doubt I use them.

I really like the JA setting. So the $300+ difference on the setting probably isn''t going to break the deal with JA (meaning that I will probably buy the ring and the setting from JA).

If the local jeweler calls with a comparable or better diamond, then I may go with them, but at this point I doubt they will be able to provide me with an ASET image to post for ya''ll to look at. I will only be able to take down whatever information they give me and post it here. So, if I use the local jeweler, I will be at a disadvantage because I won''t have the benefit of posting the ASET image, or anything more than the local jeweler can give me. They don''t have loose diamonds in house. They are having to get them from other jewelers, I believe.

Looks like I''ll probably go with JA unless my local jeweler finds something that just knocks me off my feet at a price that is comparable or less than what JA''s diamond is.
 
I received an email from Darin at James Allen. Seems to be a standard response. Looks like he'll be getting the ASET image about the same time that my local jeweler will be getting me the prices for the diamonds locally.

Thank you for contacting our office at JamesAllen.com. Your request is important to us and we will try and get you your requested information as soon as possible. This service can take 24-48hours for us to produce, and will be forwarded to you directly as soon as it becomes available.
Click to expand...

Do you think the 68% table is going to be a problem? Do you think this diamond may have a fish eye effect?
 
Different cuts. 68% in princess is just fine but for a round it is big.
 
Darin''s response regarding the ASET image and the thickness of the girdle....

The ASET image for this diamond is unreal! The amount of light directly coming from this diamond is fantastic. The majority of the diamond is saturated in red which indicates direct light. This is the most desirable of the colors in an ASET image. The diamond also contains little bursts of blue, which you want in moderation, but will aid in contrast. This will prove to be a very lively and luminescent diamond.

In regard to your question about the girdle. The majority of it is thick and will not negatively affect this diamond.

I can hold this diamond for an additional 24 hours, please let me know how you would like to proceed.
Click to expand...

The ASET image is attached. Please let me know what you think.

TIA

ADS-5329aset.jpg
 
That''s a great ASET.

I''d probably go with a size 8, since the setting you''re getting her isn''t wide.
 
ASET looks good.
 
Date: 2/23/2010 3:46:55 PM
Author: JulieN
That''s a great ASET.


I''d probably go with a size 8, since the setting you''re getting her isn''t wide.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I appreciate any input I can get. Anybody else seeing anything anything about this diamond that says it might be a NO GO?

Thanks
 
That''s a lovely princess.

However...are you wedded to that ring? I remember your first idea, back in the Proposal thread, which sounded more like your GF to me. This is still modern, but the narrow-ness looks slightly more like a traditional e-ring to me--less arty. Don''t let that dissuade you, of course, given that you know her (a lot!) better, but just a thought.
 
Hest88 - you are right. The only way to really do contemporary is to get a tension mount. I would be so upset if she lost the diamond because she bent the ring. I believe I am going to have to go with the setting that I have already chosen...

If this is a great diamond, then I am probably going to pull the trigger. I want it to look every bit as beautiful as the one that JA has on the setting:

screenpringrint.gif
 
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