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Diamond Studs - $50k Budget

Not the greatest of photos, but here are the CBIs and ACAs side by side under different indoor lighting conditions. It is honestly very hard to see much difference between them as they both appear very white with a lot of sparkle. The photos show a hint of yellow from the lighting in our house, but they appear very white in person.

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SeanJ said:
Not the greatest of photos, but here are the CBIs and ACAs side by side under different indoor lighting conditions. It is honestly very hard to see much difference between them as they both appear very white with a lot of sparkle. The photos show a hint of yellow from the lighting in our house, but they appear very white in person.

File_006.jpeg

File_004.jpeg

File_002.jpeg
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What are the specs?

Which way are you leaning?
 
marrduk24 said:
What are the specs?

Which way are you leaning?
Click to expand...
The ones on the left are CBI/HPD 4.14 tcw H, SI1 stones. The ones on the right are WF ACA 3.84 tcw G, VS2 stones. We can't tell the difference in color and the inclusions are extremely difficult to see with the naked eye (my wife tried and couldn't find them). Their fire/sparkle is nearly identical - we would think one pair looked better, but then turned them slightly and the other pair looked better. We are leaning towards the CBIs because they are larger, same perceived color and light performance, and they are cheaper.
 
Have you compared them all over the house? In a dark room, darker walls, ceilings? If you can't tell, heck, I'd go for the cheaper and bigger ones too.
 
LLJsmom said:
Have you compared them all over the house? In a dark room, darker walls, ceilings? If you can't tell, heck, I'd go for the cheaper and bigger ones too.
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We looked near a window with only UV light, under incandescent lights, in direct sunlight, under an LED flashlight, and in a dark interior room that had only the slightest amount of light coming in. My wife wanted to get the smaller ones because she assumed they were cheaper because she couldn't tell the difference. I agree - why not save the money if we can't see a difference!
 
Gosh those are both gorgeous!

Your wife is a lucky lady!
 
Both are absolutely beautiful. Go bigger and cheaper
 
SeanJ said:
Not the greatest of photos, but here are the CBIs and ACAs side by side under different indoor lighting conditions. It is honestly very hard to see much difference between them as they both appear very white with a lot of sparkle. The photos show a hint of yellow from the lighting in our house, but they appear very white in person.

File_006.jpeg

File_004.jpeg

File_002.jpeg
Click to expand...
They are gorgeous! Remember, your wife will wear them on her ears, no one will examine the color or clarity from two inches away. I likewise vote for the bigger ones.
 
SeanJ said:
The ones on the left are CBI/HPD 4.14 tcw H, SI1 stones. The ones on the right are WF ACA 3.84 tcw G, VS2 stones. We can't tell the difference in color and the inclusions are extremely difficult to see with the naked eye (my wife tried and couldn't find them). Their fire/sparkle is nearly identical - we would think one pair looked better, but then turned them slightly and the other pair looked better. We are leaning towards the CBIs because they are larger, same perceived color and light performance, and they are cheaper.
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My thesis as well. If you get a great cut, you could go down to I (or even J) and VS2 (or even SI1). And you are better off taking the change and spending on size.
 
Both look gorgeous! But definitely look at them outside in natural light (not in the sun) before making a final decision. I mentally have a thing about wanting VS2+, but if the clarity doesn't matter, then she can choose based on greater size or higher color grade. She's a lucky lady to get either pair!
 
They’re all beautiful stones. Did your wife hold them up to her ears to see which size she prefers? I actually returned a pair of earrings because they looked too big to me and I went with a smaller diameter. But most people want as big as possible within their budget!
 
Patty said:
They’re all beautiful stones. Did your wife hold them up to her ears to see which size she prefers? I actually returned a pair of earrings because they looked too big to me and I went with a smaller diameter. But most people want as big as possible within their budget!
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She did and prefers the slightly larger ones. She did look at 2.5 ct (5ctw) stones and decided those were too large for her. Of course, I hear she may get used to the "smaller" 4 ctw size and decide she needs to upgrade in the future. :)
 
SeanJ said:
She did and prefers the slightly larger ones. She did look at 2.5 ct (5ctw) stones and decided those were too large for her. Of course, I hear she may get used to the "smaller" 4 ctw size and decide she needs to upgrade in the future. :)
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Well then it seems like a no-brainer to go with the larger stones, especially since you couldn’t tell a color difference. And yes, these things do tend to shrink over time!
 
Sigh I have. Much smaller budget . But I am so happy for your wife that she gets fabulous studs.
 
My eyes immediately went to the CBI. . I dont think I couldn't carry 4 carats but I think if she can go for it. We have a 3.62 paid of studs in our family that sis and I share and they are for special occasions only as they are too big for our ears . But I am about to upgrade my 2.40 to 3.0 for every day. So I say Size does matter. Enjoy lucky wife lucky husband
 
heididdl said:
My eyes immediately went to the CBI. . I dont think I couldn't carry 4 carats but I think if she can go for it. We have a 3.62 paid of studs in our family that sis and I share and they are for special occasions only as they are too big for our ears . But I am about to upgrade my 2.40 to 3.0 for every day. So I say Size does matter. Enjoy lucky wife lucky husband
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It always amazes me how .20-.30 points on the ears makes all the difference in the world.
 
The left was most pleasing. Congratulations lucky wife!
 
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