cal12bears
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2010
- Messages
- 15
Hi all - I''ve been lurking/learning for a little while and decided it was time to ask for some advice. I''m looking for a radiant cut diamond, but I''ve got one major complication affecting my search. I''m visually impaired and, although I have a significant amount of vision, I can''t see well enough to compare and evaluate diamonds.
I know I''m making it hard on myself by looking for a radiant, which I''ve learned is a difficult cut to judge by the numbers. But I know I want a radiant, so I''m trying to figure out my best approach. My plan is to look for something that is great by the numbers and is sold by a vendor I can trust. I''m a bit uncomfortable relying so heavily on someone I don''t know for advice on such a major purchase, so I''d like to hear from all of you on a vendor you would recommend as giving trustworthy, great advice on radiants. From what I''ve read here, Whiteflash seems like it could be near the top of that list if I was looking for an RB, but I''m not sure whether they''re the best choice for radiants.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide - it is very much appreciated. Here are some more details on what I''m looking for:
Budget: $7000 - $9000 (total, including setting)
Carat: 1 or more. I''d like to be as much over 1 carat as I can given that a radiant likely won''t face up as large, but quality is much more important to me than size
Cut: very important, want it to be as good as I can find (but I''ve noticed that many vendors don''t rate radiant cut the same way they do others, so I''ll be relying on depth, table, etc)
Color: probably G or better
Clarity: probably VS2 or better, or something that a vendor could assure me was eye clean
I''m sure nearly everyone who is about to propose feels this way, but my girlfriend is a truly amazing person and I want this to take her breath away. She doesn''t spend a lot of money on herself and doesn''t wear a lot of fancy jewelry, so at this point my plan is to spend most of the budget on the diamond and have a fairly simple, delicate setting that will really make it pop. I hope to be buying something by mid to late February, but if it takes longer to find the right stone I can wait. I just want to do anything I can - and hear advice from anyone who will offer it - on how I can find a great radiant.
Incidentally, I''ve considered going with an Original Radiant Cut to help guarantee quality/protect myself from getting something that isn''t fantastic because I can''t evaluate it visually. But as important as quality is to me, I''m not eager to pay the premium for ORC and end up with a significantly smaller stone. Also, I''m in NYC so I could meet with jewelers here (ERD, ID Jewelry, others?). So far I''ve only gone to one place: met with Douglass Elliott at Marisa Perry Jewelry. He seemed like a good guy and is bringing in some radiants in two weeks, but I imagine I could get more for my money from pricescope vendors. Does anyone have experience with or thoughts on Marisa Perry?
Sorry for the super long post, and thanks for your help!!
I know I''m making it hard on myself by looking for a radiant, which I''ve learned is a difficult cut to judge by the numbers. But I know I want a radiant, so I''m trying to figure out my best approach. My plan is to look for something that is great by the numbers and is sold by a vendor I can trust. I''m a bit uncomfortable relying so heavily on someone I don''t know for advice on such a major purchase, so I''d like to hear from all of you on a vendor you would recommend as giving trustworthy, great advice on radiants. From what I''ve read here, Whiteflash seems like it could be near the top of that list if I was looking for an RB, but I''m not sure whether they''re the best choice for radiants.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide - it is very much appreciated. Here are some more details on what I''m looking for:
Budget: $7000 - $9000 (total, including setting)
Carat: 1 or more. I''d like to be as much over 1 carat as I can given that a radiant likely won''t face up as large, but quality is much more important to me than size
Cut: very important, want it to be as good as I can find (but I''ve noticed that many vendors don''t rate radiant cut the same way they do others, so I''ll be relying on depth, table, etc)
Color: probably G or better
Clarity: probably VS2 or better, or something that a vendor could assure me was eye clean
I''m sure nearly everyone who is about to propose feels this way, but my girlfriend is a truly amazing person and I want this to take her breath away. She doesn''t spend a lot of money on herself and doesn''t wear a lot of fancy jewelry, so at this point my plan is to spend most of the budget on the diamond and have a fairly simple, delicate setting that will really make it pop. I hope to be buying something by mid to late February, but if it takes longer to find the right stone I can wait. I just want to do anything I can - and hear advice from anyone who will offer it - on how I can find a great radiant.
Incidentally, I''ve considered going with an Original Radiant Cut to help guarantee quality/protect myself from getting something that isn''t fantastic because I can''t evaluate it visually. But as important as quality is to me, I''m not eager to pay the premium for ORC and end up with a significantly smaller stone. Also, I''m in NYC so I could meet with jewelers here (ERD, ID Jewelry, others?). So far I''ve only gone to one place: met with Douglass Elliott at Marisa Perry Jewelry. He seemed like a good guy and is bringing in some radiants in two weeks, but I imagine I could get more for my money from pricescope vendors. Does anyone have experience with or thoughts on Marisa Perry?
Sorry for the super long post, and thanks for your help!!
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