Help Needed Pricing a Solitaire Ring!

[brito11]

Hello,

This is my first post on the forum but I’ve been a lurker here for quite a while! You guys give great advice!

I’ve been looking at diamonds on and off for my engagement ring (Im quite picky so my boyfriend has left the searching up to me). We are currently in Georgia on vacation and popped into a jewelry consignment store to check it out. Wasn’t planning on buying but we ended up taking a serious look at a 1.6 diamond solitaire in a platinum setting.

Specs:
shape: round brilliant
carat: 1.618
cut: AGS ideal 0
polish: ideal
symmetry: ideal
color H
clarity: vvs2

My goal has been “best bang for the buck“ and I’ve set my priority as such: cut > carat > clarity > color. The ring is out of the price range I have been searching so far, but within the budget. Truthfully, it’s smaller than I would like if I were to stretch the budget to spend this much on a stone, but I realize there are other factors besides size in the beauty of a diamond.

I’ve been quoted an initial price of 13.5k. I’ve looked at online vendors and listed some comparable stones below:

1.64 Carat round diamond

This 1.64 carat round diamond H color vvs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

1.65-Carat Round Cut Diamond | Blue Nile

www.bluenile.com

Is this a good/great price for the ring? I’ve looked at “used” diamonds in the hope of getting a good value instead of buying it at a retailer. I’m not sure if there is wiggle room in the price, but at first glance it seems similar in price to the ones I listed above, but not a screaming deal.

I’ve linked some photos of the rings and the AGS report.

- AGS report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FKLx84jdA_WxC_YMWlvz7saKGdcJ3Gys/view?usp=sharing

- photos+video (comparison with other rings, the one in question is at the top, middle is a J .7 carat SI1, the bottom is a N 1 carat I1):

Savannah - Google Drive

 

[headlight]

I can’t really get a feel for it from the photos. I’m not sure why it is being compared/displayed with stones that are not comparable, except to get you to select the obviously nicer one. I absolutely love love love the small table. Surprised it had a culet. And AGS0 offers assurance on cut quality. You should see if you can have a return period and take to a qualified independent appraiser. You want to make sure the stone matches the grading report and also that it has not endured any blemishes or other damage that you are okay to live with. The blue Nile is not one you should consider and is not comparable to the one you found on vacation. Cannot speak to the James Allen as they do not show GIA report, you have to request so we do not know proportions. It is a little smaller in mm than the one from vacation, I’m going to assume thicker girdle, probably medium to slightly thick, 4%. I think for price as compared to the other stones this is priced well for an AGS0. The date on the report is older. AGS revised their parameters for a 0 grade, I cannot recall the year, you can research it. I apologize but I do not have time to do it right now. But I think the proportions would still qualify for a 0 grade. Even an AGS 1 is still a nice stone. But based on resale and date of report I would emphasize a full return policy for you to take it to a qualified independent appraiser for an independent inspection. I think you found a good one, just do your due diligence. You mentioned smaller than you had planned... what size were you thinking?

 

[brito11]

Headlight, thank you for the helpful comments! The pictures are not the best I agree - this was my first time trying in rings in person. It was a bit overwhelming and I was trying on a lot of different rings.

The N color ring had caught my eye at first because it was priced really cheaply and did not look like an N+I1. Then it snowballed from there haha.

Why would you say the BN Nile is not comparable? Im curious to know what I’m missing.

To answer your size about size, in the 13-14k, I had some vague idea about going lower in color (I-J) and clarity (VS2-SI1) to get closer to 2 carats. I have short chubby fingers (genetics did not gift me there) so I wanted a bigger stone to offset that.

 

[jp201845]

Headlight, thank you for the helpful comments! The pictures are not the best I agree - this was my first time trying in rings in person. It was a bit overwhelming and I was trying on a lot of different rings.

The N color ring had caught my eye at first because it was priced really cheaply and did not look like an N+I1. Then it snowballed from there haha.

Why would you say the BN Nile is not comparable? Im curious to know what I’m missing.

To answer your size about size, in the 13-14k, I had some vague idea about going lower in color (I-J) and clarity (VS2-SI1) to get closer to 2 carats. I have short chubby fingers (genetics did not gift me there) so I wanted a bigger stone to offset that.

The Blue Nile stone has proportions that don't work well together so translates into a bad HCA score. The HCA is a useful tool to determine if proportions are complimentary....anything below 2 is worth considering and anything above 2 is a rejection. I haven't plugged the numbers into the HCA tool but my guess will be way over 2 so definitely a rejection on the BN stone.

 

[jp201845]

HCA score for the BN

 

[MsShnooks]

That second-hand ring has a 10yo report so it tells you nothing about the current state of the diamond and as jp2018 pointed out, diamonds can get blemished or damaged. So personally, I’d prefer to go with an online retailer. That also gives you the benefit of being able to upgrade the diamond later.

I also wouldn’t drop as low as J as that’s my original e-ring’s colour. It’s got fluorescence too (which helps) so in many lightings it looks fine. However, in some lights I can really see the tint looking from the side. I was v happy with it to start off with but then it started bothering me so much that we’re just in the process of upgrading to a beautifully cut F/VS1 of the same carat weigh.

I’ve got massive fingers (I’m very tall with very long fingers + size 7.25). What I think really helps if you want to get a better finger coverage, is the right design. Halos are an obvious one but also going with an elongated centre stone (eg radiant, pear, oval) and two side stones gives a bigger look (+ pears and ovals face up bigger than rounds of the same carat weigh). Or having a single stone with a wider band, eg a split shank pave fills the finger. There are basically lots of options for getting better finger coverage without going for a tinted or included stone. In your shoes, I’d probably try a lot more different ring styles on to see what suits and what you like.

 

[lovedogs]

I can't tell much from those photos unfortunately. The one on blue Nile is poorly cut so that isnt comparable at all. The james allen one doesnt look good to me either. You need to find something with comparable cut in order to price accurately.

I agree with others that it's a lot of money to spend for a stone with such an old report. I would require an updated report to rule out damage, etc, but first would need to see how the stone actually looks to make sure its cut well. AGS 000 usually is very safe, but obviously not 100% of the time.