Did I overpay for my oval? 3 carat looks like a 2 carat.

[oval regret]

Your fiance chose a stone at the top of your desired colour range, which was E-H. With ovals, once you get into the H/I/J range - sometimes even at G - you will see patchiness of colour in the stone, because different facet patterns return light differently.

This is the first oval diamond photo that Google images returned.





See the area outlined in red, where the facets look bigger and spread apart a bit more? In an E, that area will look very white. In an H, that area will also look very white. But look at those areas circled in yellow - see how the facets look tiny, and really close together, and the whole space just looks a bit... “mushy”? In an E, those areas will look just as white as the red area. But in an H, those areas will look more yellow/brown than the red area - those yellow areas will show the body tint of the material face-up much more than the red area.

Almost every non-precision cut oval available will have a little of both of these types of facet patterns. By choosing an E, your fiance avoided visible colour zoning face-up.


Your fiance chose a stone of such high clarity that you will never, ever see any inclusions in it, no matter how closely you inspect. Often, when a diamond gets grubby, inclusions become a lot more visible. When you see stones in the showroom they’re always freshly cleaned, and the sparkle makes inclusions almost impossible to focus on. Your stated threshold was eye clean - eye clean is always assessed when the diamond is freshly cleaned and full of distracting sparkle. But after a few hours of wear, once the diamond has picked up skin oils and water residue and lotion and whatever else your hands might encounter, the sparkle is (understandably!) somewhat muted, and any inclusions become much much easier to focus on.

By choosing a higher clarity stone than you requested, your fiance ensured that your diamond will look unblemished even after a full day of wear.


I looked on James Allen quickly, and the best 3ct oval that I saw is an F VVS2 priced at $48.1k. Dimensions are 11.19mm x 7.93mm. Yes, it’s bigger than yours - just barely! And yes, I scrolled past several stones that faced up larger, but I wouldn’t have recommended them.

3.00 Carat oval diamond

This oval cut 3 carat F color vvs2 clarity has a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

I can’t see much in your photos so I’ll stop here. My general point, though - purchase of any stone is going to involve some sacrifice somewhere. We don’t have any idea how your fiance chose your stone, but I can say right away that his choice mitigated some other potential unhappinesses. Your stone is also set into a halo, which is a size equalizer - that extra quarter mm honestly most likely wouldn’t have had any memorable impact.

Ovals aren’t like rounds. When you’re buying a round there’s a smorgasbord to choose from and you can be as nipticky as you like. With ovals... Especially in larger sizes... Once you’ve decided on narrow colour and clarity ranges, you kinda gotta take what you can get. Maybe you’ll have two promising stones to choose from, if you’re lucky, but most likely of your four or five options one is a clear winner. By having his jeweller call the stone in, your fiance (most likely!) wasn’t trying to take the easy way out, but realized he was way in over his head and that if he wanted to buy an engagement ring any time soon he would do best actually trusting his chosen trusted jeweller.

Please enjoy your new ring! It is beautiful, and your fiance maxed specs out within the parameters that you asked for, and it is proportional on your finger. And it most certainly does NOT look like a 2ct.

Thank you

 

[oval regret]

Congratulations on your engagement and on your gorgeous ring, which is truly impressive and mesmerizing!
I can't help but wonder whether you are troubling yourself without valid reason. I understand that you want your diamond to face up like its weight but the question is: Have you actually seen in person, either loose or set in a ring, other well cut 3ct oval diamonds, in order to judge how big they face up compared to the one that you received or are you just comparing the mm of your stone with the dimensions of other oval diamonds of the same carat weight that you found online?
The reason I'm asking you is because sometimes we have a preconception of how big a diamond should look on our hand based on its carat weight, without actually having seen one of the specific size in person, in order to be able to judge with certainty. It happened to a dear friend of mine!!!! Everybody in her social circle is wearing diamonds which are approximately 1ct or even smaller and she asked for a 1.5 ct from her fiancé, because she was convinced that her 1.5ct stone would look significantly bigger than everybody else's. When she finally received the ring she was very disappointed because she felt that it looked small on her size 6 finger !!!! I checked the specs of the stone based on the GIA report and run them through the HCA tool and the dimensions were perfect. The diamond faces up exactly as it should based on its weight and it sparkles like crazy!!! Of course, she checked online for other stones of the same carat weight and found many which faced up bigger but I explained to her that actually those diamonds were very shallow and cut badly so they wouldn't sparkle and have the fire and beauty that her stone has!!!!
Enjoy your gorgeous ring and your engagement!!!! You are a very lucky and blessed girl! And if down the road you feel like having some more finger coverage (even though truly you don't need it based on what I see in your photos!) you can reset in a halo with bigger melee diamonds or even a double halo!!! So many options!!!!! Wear your ring in good health!!!

Thanks

I see...

For a 3 carat oval, the approximate size conversion is 10mm by 8mm. Yours - 10.82mm x7.84mm - is already pretty near the mark.

I guess I drive myself crazy by looking too deep into diamond database and rare carat reports
Thanks for the support

 

[yssie]

Thanks


I guess I drive myself crazy by looking too deep into diamond database and rare carat reports
Thanks for the support

There’s so much more to diamonds than depth. And 66% isn’t overly deep, anyway. 76% - we’d have questions.

Remember that most of these easy-answer tools are very, very, very quick to toss the baby out with the bath water. They don’t take nuance into account at all. If you’re shopping for large high colour/clarity ovals and you’ve only got a small number of choices, you really need to check the bath to make sure the baby’s not in it before you upend it out the window like these sites would have you do.

 

[yssie]

If you post the GIA number and some closeup photos of your stone we can tell you more about it. Closeup photos can be challenging to take - it might take a little while to get the hang of it - and as you learn more about how your stone behaves, both to your eyes and for the camera, you’ll either come to love it or you’ll discover precisely what you do and don’t care for, and one day when you buy another diamond you’ll have much more information to work with.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

There’s so much more to diamonds than depth. And 66% isn’t overly deep, anyway. 76% - we’d have questions.

Remember that most of these easy-answer tools are very, very, very quick to toss the baby out with the bath water. They don’t take nuance into account at all. If you’re shopping for large high colour/clarity ovals and you’ve only got a small number of choices, you really need to check the bath to make sure the baby’s not in it before you upend it out the window like these sites would have you do.

I find it hilarious that that site showed that her stone was basically 10/10 in all aspects yet the "gemologist" disproved.

OP, ignore it. You've come to arguably one of the most pickiest sites as far as diamond consumers go & they all have assured you that this was a good purchase regarding the parameters you set.

Trust me, these women don't sugarcoat things here & would tell you if you got a dud or overpaid to the point of being blindly taken from.

Just try to stop comparing, as the saying goes, "Comparison is the thief of joy." & Enjoy this time & your pink newly engaged cloud!
99.9% of others in the world would die to be in your position right now.

 

[Groovy Chick]

Please re-read Yssie's post. So many wise words especially about there always being some sacrifice.

Be thankful your fiance went high with clarity on such a big diamond. When I spotted the inclusion in my pear all those years ago, not only could I never unsee it but when people leaned in to look at my ring, all I could think was 'can they see the inclusion?' Ugh.

Plus, your oval could have had a nasty black bow-tie.

Honestly, I think sparkle is overrated. I know that sounds wacko, but there is more to diamonds than just sparkle, although I'm sure yours will sparkle plenty. If you wanted maximum sparkle, you needed to go with the ideal RB, but then you get a way smaller table. Go look at your ring under a tree and the diffused light will make it look amazing. You'll fall in love with it, I promise.

Put it this way... if you saw your exact ring on someone else, you'd be jealous as all hell

 

[lovedogs]

My personal suspicion is that you are unhappy at least in part bc you specifically asked to be involved and your fiance surprised you rather than involving you. I'm sure your fiance was trying to do something sweet, but it seems as though you would have preferred being hands on in the process.

 

[Groovy Chick]

A couple more thoughts...

First, no one is perfect, but you love your fiance, right? No diamond is perfect either. Learn to love your diamond WITH its 'perceived' imperfection.

Second, get this: You know the second diamond e-ring I got that had a slightly small table? I mentioned it early in this thread. Well, when we recently bought my 2 carat, I was supposed to sell that stone. I took photos of it to upload, but now I can't bear to sell it! Ridiculous

Now go fall in love with your ring. This is the happiest time in your life, trust me.

 

[K98]

Hi there,

Sigh, I feel like we overpaid for a 3 carat. Im in a little bit of regret because I relied on my fiancé to do his due diligence. I knew he was looking for an engagement ring and I wanted to part of the process. Somehow he was secretive about it and took matter in his own hands. He asked what I wanted and my reply was a 3 carat oval, eye clean, between E-H color ring. He went ring shopping and told me he paid $55,000 for it. When he bought the ring home, it looked more like a 2.25 carat in halo setting. I was a little disappointed.

I checked the Gia report. Here are the specs:
E color, VS1,
measurement 10.82mm x7.84mm x 5.18 mm
table 57%,
depth 66.1%

Based on the view on top, most of the face up carat of the diamond is gone due to the deep depth. Similar to an iceberg, the diamond weight is in the bottom, causing the diamond to appear smaller than its actual carat weight. I originally wanted a 3 carat oval because I wanted a bigger looking stone even if it means to sacrifice the fiery round brilliance look. That was the reason why I chose oval. Now that it looks more like a 2 carat will a dull look, I would have much preferred a 2 carat round. I know I should be appreciative but I’m super unhappy because every time when I look at the ring, I feel like he overpaid and the jeweler didn’t offer him the best option. The jeweler told him the stone was specifically ordered and my fiancé had to put a deposit before even seeing it. My fiancé was too trusting with the jeweler and I also take some of the responsibility for not being more specific. There is also a no exchange policy

Based on the symmetry and pictures, do you think we could’ve found something that looks bigger face up and eye clean for less? Also, do this look like a 3 carat with halo? Thanks e

It absolutely looks like a 3ct to me, and it’s gorgeous.

I wanted to address something I didn’t see mentioned in the other responses—I don’t think it’s unusual to put down a deposit on special order stones (and the shape/size/quality of this one would definitely be special order at most places). I had to order two dinky little 0.52 round brilliants for my recent 3-stone and the jeweler didn’t have any G/VS2s in inventory, so they took a 25% deposit and ordered some sight-unseen to me. They called me when they came in so I could see them in person to make sure I was happy with them, but it didn’t strike me as shady that they asked for a deposit sight-unseen. I can’t speak to the no-return policy, but at least the deposit aspect seems normal to me! I feel like part of what bothers you about this purchase is that you think the jeweler may have been pulling high pressure tactics, but my jeweler is a very reputable family owned business praised by others on PS and their policy is similar.

Your diamond really is gorgeous. And I will say, as an old married lady giving unsolicited advice based on experience, you will likely never care so much about tenths of a millimeter in stone spread as you do during your engagement. This anxiety will pass, and when it does, I’m confident you will adore this diamond.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Your ring is gorgeous and a 3 ct oval looks bigger than a 3 ct round, so with that halo, it definitely looks more like 4 cts! So I hope you can enjoy your ring!

Now for advice to keep this from ever happening again, because it could have been worse.

I did go with my husband to pick out my ring long ago, but neither of us knew anything at all at the time. Thankfully, I found PS and learned a lot before buying another diamond ring. See, the real problem is, you are like most of us...very particular, very detail oriented. Almost no men are like that for things they aren't interested in (okay, we see a few OCD men here, but it's maybe 1 in 1000). Most will go to a jewelry store and be sold whatever they have which generally means overspending and not getting exactly what she wants. From about the first Christmas we were married, my husband surprised me with some jewelry that I hated. I seriously never wore it. I gently told him later on that I had very particular taste in jewelry and clothes and he could never read my mind in order to get me something I really want. So if his purpose is to please me with a gift, he needs to let ME choose the items and he can get them. That has served us well over the years. I get what I love and he is relieved that he doesn't have the stress of shopping or getting me something I dislike. This is extremely important as you add to your jewelry collection over the years. You must make it clear to him to NEVER surprise you! Make a wishlist of very specific items that you want (you pick them out and get item numbers, etc.), and let him "surprise" you from that list. Honestly, we don't even bother with that anymore. My husband asks me what I want for a holiday, I tell him, he says okay, and I order it since it's just easier for me to do it!

People who find PS before getting the ring are pretty lucky because we often help guys get a better cut diamond for a better price. It's hard when people come after the ring is purchased. So please come here before you choose your next diamond jewelry! I will add one more thing...I'd never EVER use this jeweler again, because no return policy is absolutely NOT okay. That was a big red flag. A reputable jeweler gives up to 30 days for a diamond to be returned and sometimes a credit or refund for the setting. The purpose is to get a ring the recipient will love, and exchanging should always be an option with a surprise e-ring.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think partially I’m convinced that the depth/cut affected the shine.

Ovals are almost never going to have the light performance of an ideal cut round. Almost no generic fancy cuts do. That's kind of the trade-off for a larger face-up size or preference for other shapes. I doubt the depth is an issue, because the specialty cut ovals that we know about here have excellent light return and are cut deeper than a generic oval and do face up smaller. So yours might actually be better than some with a shallower cut!

 

[lillibear]

Im sorry that you’re dissatisfied with your oval. But your fiancé did good since he got exactly what you asked for and he probably felt some level of satisfaction in picking it out by himself based on the parameters you supplied. Ovals are hard to choose but the best cut ones I have seen are deeper and face up smaller.

I hope you learn to appreciate your gorgeous oval engagement ring and your wonderful fiancé who spent a lot of money trying to make you happy.

 

[Polabowla]

I do understand the feeling of being newly engaged & wanting to show off your ring, but secretly not liking it.
My original e ring was not to my taste at all, set super high so it always got stuck & a very poor quality stone . i had no say in choosing it & i rarely wore it after the first year or so. I have it now for sentimental reasons only.
After 17 years together, dh generously bought me a ring i truly love, but what a pity to not enjoy a ring for so long.

 

[motownmama]

I know nothing I say as a stranger is going to totally affect your thinking......but....I live in an area where some women wear HUGE engagement rings. I myself have a 2.5 round in a 3-stone and that’s not big compared to many women.
I think your ring looks AT LEAST like 3 ctw. I’d love to see more pics, more angles, more pics next to props for comparison etc. I think it’s killer! But, I’m not you. Good luck

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

If it makes you feel any better, everyone starts to experience diamond shrinkage syndrome with time anyway!

Seriously though, my diamond faces up "smaller" too due to the high crown of the antique cut, so I hear you. People still comment about it being huge and I've even been told it wasn't real. Ultimately it sounds like you have your diamond for now. I hope you can come to love it. I understand being frustrated with your honey not including you, and feeling you could have helped the situation. While dating my hubby bought some studs for me that were absolute duds. He has quickly learned it's best to let me pick it out and a lot of stress off him too. Like suggested above, use this as a relationship building situation. And remember, you are one lucky lady!

 

[Groovy Chick]

I hope you're feeling better about your ring now. Tbh, I'd rather have a ring that faces up smaller than larger. I don't like the thought of people guessing the carat weight in their head then me telling them what it is and them thinking 'oh it's only that much'. I'd rather they guessed in their head, then got told more than what they guessed and thought 'jeez I'm jealous as heck now'

Remember, what it looks like doesn't change the fact that you have a three-carat stone I doubt I'll ever own a 3.

 

[Groovy Chick]

Just a thought... if you haven't bought your wedding band yet, you could use the melee diamonds for your wedding band and replace the melee diamonds with something larger around your oval. I never thought I would own an e-ring with a halo in a million years let alone one with the size of melees I now have, but I ADORE it. I used to think a halo detracted from the center stone. Now I think they enhance it.

Or you could set aside the melee diamonds to be part of an eternity ring.

 

[La2020]

I know nothing I say as a stranger is going to totally affect your thinking......but....I live in an area where some women wear HUGE engagement rings. I myself have a 2.5 round in a 3-stone and that’s not big compared to many women.
I think your ring looks AT LEAST like 3 ctw. I’d love to see more pics, more angles, more pics next to props for comparison etc. I think it’s killer! But, I’m not you. Good luck

Wow.. That is seriously some huge diamond you have there. From where I come from.. 1 carat is pretty big... And anything bigger for daily wear.. Either You will get stares.. Or they assume it is not a real diamond.

 

[La2020]

If it makes you feel any better, everyone starts to experience diamond shrinkage syndrome with time anyway!

Seriously though, my diamond faces up "smaller" too due to the high crown of the antique cut, so I hear you. People still comment about it being huge and I've even been told it wasn't real. Ultimately it sounds like you have your diamond for now. I hope you can come to love it. I understand being frustrated with your honey not including you, and feeling you could have helped the situation. While dating my hubby bought some studs for me that were absolute duds. He has quickly learned it's best to let me pick it out and a lot of stress off him too. Like suggested above, use this as a relationship building situation. And remember, you are one lucky lady!

Ya I am experiencing that right now.. I just upgraded more than 2x my original size 3 months back .. And I kicked myself for not getting much bigger. never actually seen a 3carat in real life.. Dun think I ever will. Op is so lucky!

 

[Groovy Chick]

I've done quite a bit of research on ovals (I'm even considering buying a 1 carat oval!) and I believe your fiance absolutely nailed it with your stone.

As ovals get bigger, the variations in table size gets bigger too. From everything I've read and from the big ovals I looked at in a store today, yours looks like a 3 carat in both the photos and going by the measurements you gave.

I suggest you do some research coming from the angle that you're worried your stone looks too big. It's funny how when we are worried about something we are more likely to read the results of our Google search as confirmation of our fears.

Seriously, your ring is exquisite.

 

[Polyhex]

My suggestion for you is to get your diamond professionally cleaned, and go and see 2.5-3 ct ovals in person and compare them to your diamond. Pay attention not just to face-up size, but to fire, scintillation, and brightness. I think it's likely your fiancé did an excellent job, but either way you will see for yourself.

 

[ringbling17]

Hello! First Congratulations. I’m sorry to see that you’re disappointed with your ring.
I’m wondering though would you be able to exchange the diamond. If you just received it I’m sure the store has some type of exchange policy. I can’t imagine spending that much on the ring/ diamond and the store doesn’t have something in place for their customers.
Can you contact the store and let them know the circumstances.
Personally I would so happy with your ring tbh. It’s the color you asked for, size you asked for and high clarity. To me it looks even bigger than a 3 carat diamond especially in that setting.
But you have to be happy in the end.

 

[LLJsmom]

Just seeing this now. My first impression of your ring was, that center is HUGE. And then the halo looks very nicely done. Just FYI. It's beautiful to me.

 

[aac2013]

Your diamond definitely looks 3+ carats. Brick and mortar stores generally have much higher overhead costs vs the on-line vendors yet the price your fiancé paid falls within a reasonable margin from similar stones posted on-line with the same specs. Ovals are hugely popular right now so there are not nearly the options as say a round. I think your fiancé scored pretty darn well on this buy with maybe a few points subtracted for leaving you out of a decision in which you wanted to be directly involved.

Congrats on the engagement and beautiful ring!

 

[SomethingNew]

All I want to say is, I would die to own one of these Elyque oval.

Distinctive Gem | The Synergy of Science & Beauty

Known for our August Vintage cut, DG is a family owned & operated online diamond business built on customer service. While we accommodate almost all jewelry requests and custom work, we specialize in ideal cut vintage and modern diamonds that are comprised of the highest optical performance you...

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They have deep cuts, like 66.8%, this example is 3.29 ct but with face size similar or even smaller than yours (10.7x 7.67x6.16). But the stone is FULL of fire and scintillation. This is one of Jonathan's signature cut and I wouldn't care at all that it faces smaller than some other shallow ovals. Because I can imagine people will be able to see this from a mile away.

What i am trying to say is I agree with many posters above, and to @Polyhex point, you might want to compare some stones with bigger tables and see how they perform compared to your stone.

This is an old post, I would love to hear if you are still feeling the same or you've gone a different direction. Congrats on your engagement, it's one of the happiest moment in life, pls do enjoy.