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Best Value? Three Pairs of Diamonds

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Smith1942

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
2,594
Hi,

So, I'm sorting out an upgrade of my Blue Nile studs. (I was hung up on cut but have resolved that now. I ran the numbers of all the pairs below through the HCA and all came out as 1-1.3, which is fine by me for studs. I called Blue Nile and they told me that these stones are indeed super-ideal but are not in their Signature line because BN did not cut the stones themselves.)

My old studs are 0.68, and I have a credit for those of $1,411. The value of the new earrings needs to be at least double the credit, so at least $2,822. I am very colour-sensitive but don't really care about clarity as long as they are eye-clean from about ten inches away.

I have narrowed BN's current selection down to the following three. They cost not too much more than the minimum spend/value that I need to get the upgrade, and they are much bigger than my current studs. I'm happy with the cut specs of all three for studs - they all have great HCA scores.

So, purely in terms of value, assuming that all these are equal in cut which they appear to be, what would you pick? I have the $1,411 credit.

1.12 ctw, D, Si2, $2,856
1.04 ctw, E, Si1, $2998
1.20 ctw, F, Si2, $3210


I don't think I'll ever be upgrading again. I'd have to spend double once more and I don't think I'll ever be up for having studs worth 6.5k as I'm a low-key, casual person. Maybe 2 or 3 decades from now, by which time the value of the credit will have long decreased.

The biggest diamond I own is my e-ring at 0.70, so having a pair totalling 1.20 seems like the height of luxury! But I could probably get used to it.... :naughty: Or I could save approx $350 and get my beloved icy Ds.....anyway, just interested to know if the experts on here can immediately see if one pair is much better value than any of the others, since you are aware of diamond prices and markets, and I am not.

Thanks in advance!!
 
Personally I'd go with the F SI2 for size purposes. F is still super white and the clarity isn't more or less than the others but these will give you the biggest size impact and since you don't plan on upgrading again I'd go for the biggest size.
 
I think the F stones are a little large to go with your ring. I would go with the E SI1's because I think the size is more balanced with your ring, and I think I'd rather have SI1 paired with a high color than a very high color paired with SI2. The E's aren't going to look different from the D's on the ear.
 
Thanks, both of you!

Jax - I was also thinking the same, that this size will have to satisfy me forever. On the other hand, my whole family and family-in-law do not do large diamonds even though they could easily afford loads of them (it's always been a TOTAL mystery to me why they would go on a Cunard cruise on the QEII lasting four months yet buy no diamonds :confused: ) but diamonds, and even most jewellery, is seen as self-indulgent. Strong Calvinistic streak in us northern Brits, although I now live in Boston 3500 miles away from the joyless bunch!! (They're not really joyless - just a bit needlessly spartan sometimes, I believe.) However. On the other hand, I don't want to be held back....


....Which brings me to Diamondseeker's point. How much does the e-ring size matter? My husband bought it the most expensive way, seven years ago from a hugely upscale and expensive Boston jeweller and really overpaid as it is also a Hearts on Fire. Had I been involved, I would have gone online and dropped the branding and the B&M to get a larger stone, still great quality but at a much lower price. Guess what $4.5k would have got you back in 2005?? So, I didn't choose my e-ring and kind of feel like I don't want to be held back by its size in choosing the earrings. But you have a valid point. I also have an amazing James Allen D 0.52 pendant, which is HCA 0.9 and incredibly sparkly. I wonder if the 1.2 earrings might make that look small also. Both the e-ring and pendant are thickly bezeled and chuck out tons of sparkle and fire as they are super-ideal, so maybe they look bigger - but the earrings will also be bezeled and great cut.

I almost feel like, it would be a shame not to max out on size as this is a great opportunity to do so, but they kind of feel too big for me. On the other hand, I am safer with the Si1 clarity of the E pair, I know.

There is only an 8-point difference between that and the Ds, so 4 points per stud. You wouldn't see that difference would you, even if side-by-side?
 
Look at diameter difference to see the size difference between the 2 pairs. Weight really won't tell you.
I personally wouldn't base my future diamond size on my current ones - go for what you love! Also ask if the SI2 is eye clean if you are concerned.
 
Have you tried on these size diamonds to get a feel for which size you prefer? Perhaps hit up a local B&M to check or .50,.55&.60's to see if the differences are noticeable to you?

It all sounds very exciting! And if it were my last upgrade, I'd prefer the largest ones but that does mean you'd have to spend the most, too. Colour and clarity wise, for earrings I'd be perfectly happy w F and SI2. But it's more money.

Are you leaning one way vs another?
 
Hi! I would absolutely do half caraters in E Sl1. Because:

1. You cant see difference between D and E in this size, but probably between D and F, if you are super color sensitive.
2. I think Sl1 clarity in this size is also pretty safe, so I think they will be eye clean, Sl2 Clarity I would buy only with images, pictures etc. Look at JA at their selection of SL2 stones in 0.5 mark and up, A LOT of stones are not eye clean!!
3. The half carater is a very nice size, wouod be well balanced with you ER and if you want to have more bling bling in future you can always purchase stock jackets for half carater.
4. I dont know what setting you habe in mind, but if you plan jackets for future, I would do prong setting..

Come back with your upgrade pictures soon! :wavey:
 
Jax - the diameter difference between the 1.04 pair and the 1.20 is about quarter of a mm per stud. Is this noticeable? Yeah, I'm a bit concerned about the Si2 thing because I know you have to search for an eyeclean Si2. I've got one from James Allen, but from looking at their site, there can be some nasty marks on an Si2! I think I could change them, though. Blue Nile is amazing about that, although I'll check with them. Or maybe they can assess the stones when they come in. (They are not Signature stones so are not in-house).

Enerchi - I have not tried on studs in these sizes. I feel bad about wasting the salesperson's time, and also they are generally not bezeled, which changes the look. I hear you on the last-upgrade thing. I'd also be happy with F Si2 as long as the stones didn't have any horribly visible marks on them.

Efriede - VERY interesting that we now have two votes for the E 1.04 set!! Yes, I am much safer with the Si1s, and E is fine with me -I certainly don't have to have Ds. Agree about seeing a slight difference in D versus F. Although F is still an amazingly white colour, for me I don't think it has that extra iciness. But if I decided I wanted to max out the size, F would be fine. Re. setting, I bezel EVERYTHING. My e-ring, all my studs, my diamond pendant, everything is bezeled. It SO plumps up the diamond!

I had another idea...I was wondering if BN would let me put the $1,411 credit towards anything on their site, or if it has to be a stud upgrade...

Such fun chewing over all these terribly important matters! Takes your mind off other, much less fun things.
 
Smith1942|1361139988|3382590 said:
Efriede - VERY interesting that we now have two votes for the E 1.04 set!! Yes, I am much safer with the Si1s, and E is fine with me -I certainly don't have to have Ds. Agree about seeing a slight difference in D versus F. Although F is still an amazingly white colour, for me I don't think it has that extra iciness. But if I decided I wanted to max out the size, F would be fine. Re. setting, I bezel EVERYTHING. My e-ring, all my studs, my diamond pendant, everything is bezeled. It SO plumps up the diamond!
Click to expand...
make that 3 votes ... ;))
 
What is the color of your ering stone? That would be a factor for me as well as size.
 
Hah! Well, it's an I colour, although faces up very white due to the great Hearts on Fire cut. I wasn't involved in the selection AT ALL - had no idea the proposal was going to happen - and even if I had known, I knew nothing about diamonds seven years ago. But now that I do know, all my jewellery is high-colour. My current studs are E/F, my James Allen pendant is a D, my Tiffany 0.22 pendant is an E, my half eternity rings are a G and a G-H, my WF baby bezels are ACA Fs, my pear halo pendant is an F centre stone, my diamond cross is a G and all my DBTY BGD pieces are the Signature F/G melee...although I do love my e-ring and it does face up very white, when I hold my D pendant against it, it does look lemon. So, the short answer is that I'm not mad for H/I stones at all, so I don't want to be stuck matching my jewellery to my e-ring, you know?
 
Dancing Fire|1361143307|3382627 said:
Smith1942|1361139988|3382590 said:
Efriede - VERY interesting that we now have two votes for the E 1.04 set!! Yes, I am much safer with the Si1s, and E is fine with me -I certainly don't have to have Ds. Agree about seeing a slight difference in D versus F. Although F is still an amazingly white colour, for me I don't think it has that extra iciness. But if I decided I wanted to max out the size, F would be fine. Re. setting, I bezel EVERYTHING. My e-ring, all my studs, my diamond pendant, everything is bezeled. It SO plumps up the diamond!
Click to expand...
make that 3 votes ... ;))
Click to expand...


OK, three votes!

Does the quarter mm size difference per stud between the 1.20 studs and the 1.04 studs make much of a difference IRL?
 
I just think over the long haul, if you plan to keep the current e-ring and pendant, I wouldn't want a stud to be larger than my pendant diamond. I know my personal formula is not applicable to anyone else :)) , but in order of size, I usually think e-ring diamond, pendant diamond, and then stud. Right this second, my studs (each) are the exact same size as my pendant diamond, and I think it would look a little odd if the studs were larger. I do plan to halo my pendant, though, and then it will be larger than the studs.
 
Oddly, my current jewellery follows your formula! 0.70 e-ring, 0.52 pendant, and 0.68 ctw studs! Then I have a ton of tiny DBTY/baby bezel stuff which I use to layer and jazz up the other stuff.

But even if I got the 1.20 studs, each stud would still be 10 points less than the e-ring, although they would be bigger than the pendant.

I think there is something to your formula. Even though none of my current jewellery is huge, it all meshes well together in terms of sizing. I guess having stud earrings larger than the pendant would look a bit odd, and not great at all with my more delicate stuff like my BGD DBTY and my DeBeers 0.22ctw DBTY and the Tiffany 0.22 (which goes really well with my WF ACA baby bezels at just 0.30 ctw.) Maybe I'll leave well alone and get something else! E.B. Horn has a gorgeous gold/diamond butterfly brooch that I like, and also a diamond flower brooch....

And THIS: http://www.whiteflash.com/right-hand-rings/diamond-tortoise-diamond-right-hand-ring-317.htm
 
HERE ARE THE BASIC RULES.... :read:

for E-ring....(center stone only) you can go up to a 2.5 rb if your ring size is 3.5 or 4ct if your ring size is 5; 5ct if size 6 etc,etc... and for fancy cuts you can go up to your ring size.

for earrings studs .....75% ctw of your e-ring ''center stone''.

for solitaire pendant .....50% the weight of your e-ring ''center stone''

for bracelet.....3 X the weight of your e-ring ''center stone''
 
My new studs are larger than my pendant and they look fine together. I have 0.72 and 0.73 BGD studs and a 0.57 eightstar pendant.
 
Dancing Fire|1361169385|3382948 said:
HERE ARE THE BASIC RULES.... :read:

for E-ring....(center stone only) you can go up to a 2.5 rb if your ring size is 3.5 or 4ct if your ring size is 5; 5ct if size 6 etc,etc... and for fancy cuts you can go up to your ring size.

for earrings studs .....75% ctw of your e-ring ''center stone''.

for solitaire pendant .....50% the weight of your e-ring ''center stone''

for bracelet.....3 X the weight of your e-ring ''center stone''
Click to expand...

72% of PSers follow these rules, right DF?
 
Thing is, I had no say in my e-ring at all and I would have chosen different specs. So I don't really want all my other jewellery limited by my e-ring. It's interesting, Jax, that each of your studs is quite a bit bigger than the pendant but it looks OK. I will search your pics so I can have a look.
 
Another vote for the E SI1 pair for the reasons that DS and Efriede have mentioned. I think they are the perfect size to balance well with your other jewelry, I would be more comfortable with SI1 clarity than SI2, E is still icy white, and they are the perfect size to go with jackets if you ever want to add extra bling in the future.

This is coming from someone who seems to be very similar to you as far as jewelry goes =) I like icy white stones and am more concerned with color than clarity, as long as the stones are eye-clean. My e-ring stone is 0.79ct and I have a 0.47ct stone ready to be set in a pendant. My studs are 0.44ct each and I am perfectly happy with the size. I honestly doubt I will ever upgrade them. I really don't think you will be disappointed with the size of the 1.04ctw pair.
 
Jax - you posted recently about BGD baby bezels. I had baby bs from both WF and BGD, and WF was the clear winner in this style for me. I've posted four comparison shots.

Stargurl, thanks for your input. The votes are very interesting!! I feel like 1.04 is MUCH smaller than 1.20, but in fact it only translates to a difference of a quarter mm for each stud. Would a stud of 0.52 look much smaller than a stud of 0.60, with that quarter mm difference? When I was sorting out a chain for my DBTY, the 1.5mm chain looked SUBSTANTIALLY thicker than the 1mm, so I know these things CAN make a difference with jewellery.

What does everyone think of the WF ring? I think it's a good price for the carat weight considering it's set with ACA melees.
 
FYI, here is a shot of one of my current Blue Nile studs. This stud is 0.34.

gedc1192.jpg
 
No, there is not a lot of visual difference between .52 to .60. With that small amount of difference, I would choose the smaller, better quality pair every time.
 
diamondseeker2006|1361205609|3383126 said:
No, there is not a lot of visual difference between .52 to .60. With that small amount of difference, I would choose the smaller, better quality pair every time.
Click to expand...

Ditto this. And when you were comparing the 1.0 mm vs 1.5 mm for the chain, keep in mind that 1.5 mm is 50% larger than 1.0mm. With these stones, you're comparing larger mm sizes with an even smaller mm difference. I do think you would see a difference visually but it's going to be very small.
 
Yes, and I suppose the E pair is actually quite a lot less money, for a higher colour and clarity, and a negligible difference in visual size.
 
Good grief, folks. There are no size rules for diamond rings compared to studs compared to pendant. None. Zilch. :devil:

There may be preferences by some folks, but those are not rules. :))

My preferences: The diamond ring size and style depends on your lifestyle and how you use your hands. I prefer a smaller stone in the summer, and I wear a larger stone in the winter, when I'm not doing as many outdoor activities. I love high color ring stones, and wear a E or an F. With ring stones I often end up looking through the side of the diamond, so body color can easily be seen.

For diamond studs, the size will have more to do with the size of your earlobes and the position of the holes. And, every little bit of a millimeter is visible when diamonds are under a carat. This is the place to save money on color and clarity. I went with J SI1s for studs. Excellent cut gives you the good light return that hides the body color of the diamond.

For a pendant, you can go as small or as large as you can afford.

The difference between a diameter of 5.25 mm and a diameter of 5.5 mm is that the 5.5 mm is about 10% larger. That quarter of a mm in size matters less the larger the diamonds get.

The math is based on the area of a circle which is pi times radius squared. Pi will divide out leaving us to compare the radius squared parts of the two diamonds.

((5.5/2)^2)/((5.25/2)^2) = (2.75^2) / (2.625^2) = 7.5625 / 6.8906 = 1.0975 = about 1.10 or 10% bigger
 
That's some fancy math you've got there, Flygirl!! :lol:

So are you saying that the size difference will be bigger than we've been saying on here?
 
I like your ear shots, Smith!!! Cute ears you have ;))

I think go with what you love! We are buying diamonds for our enjoyment - if you feel better about the studs being a bit larger than your ering - go for it! If you love them, that's what counts and I think the happiness of wearing the size YOU want, is priceless!!

If you are not firm on any of these 3 pairs, do they have others coming up in the next little while? Seems like a few vendors are out replenishing their stock - could BN also be doing the same? so if you had to wait another few weeks, could they have more options for you to chose from?
 
Smith1942|1361214919|3383271 said:
That's some fancy math you've got there, Flygirl!! :lol:

So are you saying that the size difference will be bigger than we've been saying on here?
Click to expand...
I think the size difference between .52 ct and .60 ct will be visible. The .60 ct stones will be 10% larger than the .52 ct stones. This size difference will be much more visible than the size difference between, say, 1.52 and 1.60 ct, because the stones are relatively small.

And, your beautiful lobes can certainly carry off a pair of 5.5 mm stones. But, if you prefer 5.25 mm stones, that is certainly fine too.
 
Very interesting, Fly Girl! And thanks - it's not every day you get a "lobe" compliment!

And yes, Enerchi, I think I'll wait and see what else comes up. The F 1.20 Si2 pair has been sold, anyway. There is another pair that is 1.27, F, Si2 but they are much more expensive at $3,660. Maybe the other pair was so much cheaper because they weren't eyeclean, who knows.
 
So, I called Blue Nile and I had the E and D pair put on hold for me. Regarding the Si2 issue, BN says they can get a gemologist to evaluate whether they are eyeclean or not. They said this can take up to 24 hours and they will email me.

My cost parameters are $2,822 to about $3,200. $2822 is the minimum value to get the upgrade, and I have the $1411 credit for the original studs.

People might think E and D is crazy, but these are one of only 3 pairs in the Ideal range that are the closest to the minimum spend! The pair that is D, 1.12 ctw is the cheapest at $2856. Everything else is 3k or over. Crazy, huh?
 
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