College student needs your help!

[eclipsedw]

Hello there,

Thanks for taking the time to read my first post!

Background:

I''m a full time college student looking to purchase an engagement ring in the next couple of weeks and I need your help! I am looking to spend around $4,000 for just the diamond (I think I can figure out the band on my own). As far as specifications, I would like like to have around 1.0 Carat (Princess), very good cut, near colorless (G,H,I), and a clarity of VS2/VS1.

I recently went shopping at the mall and soon discovered $4,000 doesn''t get you much, so I''ve been looking online at Blue Nile. (Any other places I should look online?)

I''m not looking to buy this particular diamond (listed below) but I have a few questions regarding this example - one that I would consider, but again, I''m new at this. - I don''t have pictures, sorry.

Specs:

Stock number: LD01612732
Price: $4,224
Bank wire price: $4,161
Price per carat: $4,101
Carat weight: 1.03
Cut: Very Good
Color: G (Is this overkill? Can I get away with a H or I?
Clarity: VS1 (Is this overkill? I''ve never seen a VS1 in person, so I don''t know. The diamonds at the mall were I''s and S''s, I believe.
Depth %: 74.3% (Any % numbers that I should be looking for)?
Table %: 72% (Any % numbers that I should be looking for)?
Symmetry: Very Good
Polish: Very Good
Girdle: Slightly Thick to Thick (Is there anything I should be looking for? Thin, medium, thick? Should it be even, in other words, all thin, medium, or thick?
Culet: None (Would it be ok, if this said, "small" or should I buy "none"?
Fluorescence: Faint - Does that really mean much?
Measurements: 5.34 x 5.34 x 3.97 mm (Any numbers here I should be paying attention to like the depth?
Length/width ratio: 1 (A ratio of 1 is what you want, correct?

Any other specs I should be looking for not listed above?

After looking at the specs, do you think I can get a better diamond for the money?

Are there any websites that you can recommend, so that I can continue my education on diamond searching?

I apologize for the number of questions.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[stone-cold11]

No way to tell the performance of a princess without ASET images and BN will not be able to supply it. Color is a personal preference thing, H/I should be fine once mounted. Clarity, as long as it is eye-clean, you will not be able to tell the difference between an IF or eye-clean SI without a loupe.

I would go with a vendor that can provide them.

Something like this, ask GOG if it is eye-clean if you are interested.
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6956/

 

[Lorelei]

Hi eclipsed and welcome!

stonecold is right, unfortunately we can't tell much about the beauty and performance of a Princess without images, preferably ASET. BN will not provide images.

Also there are various proportion configurations that can produce a beautiful Princess, I would stick to either AGS0 cut grade or hand selected by an expert vendor GIA graded stones.

Colour and clarity; you could certainly consider H or I colour and even SI clarity if verified eyeclean by a trusted vendor.

Girdles - look for thin to medium, thin to slightly thick etc, avoid those with very thick girdles and conversely very thin. The former can in some cases be undesirable depending on the overall thicknesses and very thin can sometimes be a potential durability issue, so always get an expert to check with such diamonds. Read more on girdles here from the Pricescope tutorial.

Culet - I wouldn't worry about this especially with a modern Princess, as you can see, pointed, very small, small etc will not be visible to the naked eye, read more here.

Fluorescence - with faint you would probably never notice it, really medium or strong is needed in order for it to be visible in some lights. Rarely, strong blue fluorescence can make some diamonds look cloudy in some lighting but this is very unusual. Check out this link on fluorescence also from the Pricescope tutorial.

Length to width - I look for as close to 1 as possible, I would make the cut off 1:05 but some others prefer to stick closer to 1, I will add a shape selector for you to use so you can see for yourself here.

Vendors that sell in house Princess with images supplied;

www.goodoldgold.com as stonecold posted

www.highperformancediamonds.com

www.whiteflash.com

www.niceice.com

www.exceldiamonds.com

www.jamesallen.com

 

[eclipsedw]

Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it. I will continue my research after I get back from class this afternoon.

Thanks again!