Found a contender, suggested comps?

[toolifog]

Hello all,

I'm an obsessive person by nature, and tend to over-analyze EVERY purchase decision I make. I happened across this site a few months back, and have spent many tormented weeks tumbling down the proverbial rabbit hole that is a diamond purchase. I've finally reached my wits' end, and for the sake of my sanity, must conclude the quest this week. I believe I've found a very nice stone, but would love a second opinion and a few suggestions regarding comparable options.

My priorities:
- Budget: strict $5000-$6000 budget for a round stone (major emphasis on value/price)
- Size: >= 1.0 carat in size (slightly bigger would be nice, but perhaps not feasible within my budget constraints)
- Clarity: "Eye-clean", SI2 or better
- Cut: Ideal/excellent, probably HCA 2.0 or lower
- Color: Approx. "I" or better, must look essentially colorless in its halo setting

Other considerations: soon-to-be fiancee's top priority is to maximize "sparkle", so I'd imagine cut should be my top priority. Her best friend just got engaged, and my girlfriend says the ring is visibly "shiny" from across the room; turns out it's a > 2 carat stone, so now I'm feeling the added pressure of trying to not be completely upstaged by the result of what was likely a much larger budget. She's far from high maintenance, and the pressure is entirely self-imposed, but I just can't bear the thought of disappointing her...


The contender:

1.01 GIA triple ex, I VS2
Depth: 61.3
Table: 55.0
Crown: 34.0
Pavillion: 40.8
HCA: 1.0

I've got the stone on hold at JA and have requested an idealscope image, but it seems I'm allowed to identify 2 other options for comparison. I'd greatly appreciate some suggestions for other stones that match my criteria.

Others I'm contemplating:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1512472.asp 1.01 triple ex I-SI1
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1542547.asp 1.02 triple ex I-SI1
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1486612.asp 1.23 triple ex I-SI2, a bit more than I'm looking to spend and not sure if eye clean, but the size is enticing...

Thoughts? Other suggestions? I'd really appreciate any help in assuaging my madness

 

[JulieN]

all 3 of your choices look very nice.

This one is a little bit bigger. http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1543212.asp

 

[toolifog]

Thanks for your input. I've put the 1.02 on hold as well, and am trying to decide on the 3rd stone. Any thoughts on that 1.10 vs the 1.23 above? Should I expect a tangible size difference in the setting between 1.0 vs 1.1 vs 1.2 carat center stone? Or does the cut have a greater effect on visual size perception? Other considerations I'm overlooking?

Any further input/advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Can you ask them to examine the 1.10 and the 1.23 for eyecleanness and higher I color before deciding which one for the idealscope image? The greater size would be good, but not if it isn't 100% eyeclean or if more towards J color.

 

[toolifog]

Wow, what a horrendous chain of events.....

I just returned home to find out the stone I placed on hold several days ago has been sold, before JA even got back to me with an inspection report . Is this a common occurrence? This seems like awfully shady business practice -- almost like a bait-and-switch. When I asked for an explanation, their customer service representative could only tell me that when she placed the hold, their system had not yet updated to show the stone was unavailable, but she was "happy to assist me in finding another diamond"...

Now it appears that some vulturous lurker has swooped in and purchased the 1.23 I posted earlier. Admittedly, this is my fault for not placing it on hold (albeit, "On hold" doesn't seem to mean much), but in combination with JA selling the first stone out from underneath me, I'm quite devastated

 

[JulieN]

This happens to almost every vendor. It is not a unique problem.

I really would not worry about it, there are plenty of stones.

 

[toolifog]

Can you ask them to examine the 1.10 and the 1.23 for eyecleanness and higher I color before deciding which one for the idealscope image? The greater size would be good, but not if it isn't 100% eyeclean or if more towards J color.

They couldn't tell me anything regarding eye-cleanliness or color characteristics without a full inspection. I added the 1.10 to the comparison after finding out the 1.23 sold today. Contemplating whether I even want to do business w/ JA after my experience thus far.