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help with lower budget engagement ring

I feel I should clarify a bit. When I stated her wants, those were my recommendations based on her describing what she liked. She didn’t say the biggest size within the budget, I did (although it is typed under her wants). She isn’t interested in the details and would not at all be upset if the size were .7 instead of .8.

She just trusts that I can find something she will like, based on her descriptions, since I have trained her to not just go into any jeweler unless she is very educated. And she knows I have people (all of you, thank you!) who know more than I do and are willing to help.

So yes, I am generally looking for the biggest size within budget, but also looking for a good value.
And I would for sure go lower color and clarity than E VS1 if it made a big difference. What I’m not sure is if going from .7 to .8 makes a big difference. And if not, then the E VS1 seems to be a better stone.

The .7 E is 5.64x5.68.
The .8 I is 5.88x5.93
(the .78 H VS2 posted above is $2960, so is over budget, I don’t know why it’s more than the E VS1, they are from the same vendor)

So, does anyone have experience in how those two stones would appear? Is it worth it to gain that bit of size?

*she just said they could go up to $3500 in total if it would make a difference. I’m not sure it would since you are most likely crossing the .75 threshold price, but I haven’t yet looked at what is available.

And THANK YOU. I appreciate ALL comments!!
 
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if you have the certificate for the I color .8 ct. so you have the depth, you can put the dimensions of both stones into https://www.diamdb.com/

and her ring size and can see what the difference in size of stones looks like. I don't think I saw the cert. for the .8 or I would have done it for you. Or did you mean the .8 J color that @DejaWiz posted.
 
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It's said that people can notice a difference of .20mm. So theoretically one could see the difference. Is the difference in size worth the trade-off of dropping in color 5 grades? That's something only you and she can decide. I started with an I, upgraded color and cut quality to a G and I can't wait to go up to an E. But I'm a man and there's no pressure for me to have a big diamond (except from myself, lol).
 
This is a lovely old cut and a nice bezel setting. Just posting this in case its of interest. Its a larger stone than the moderns above. But, again, she has to like old cuts.
www.jewelsbygrace.com

.86ct Old European Cut Diamond Ring

Talk about having bang for your buck! We converted what was a pendant into this 2-tone ring instead, and if we may say so ourselves, we love the results! The .86ct diamond looks much bigger than its weight due to the cushion-shaped bezel. We added a shank in 14kt yellow gold and viola, a...
www.jewelsbygrace.com www.jewelsbygrace.com
 
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rockysalamander said:
This is a lovely old cut and a nice bezel setting. Just posting this in case its of interest. Its a larger stone than the moderns above. But, again, she has to like old cuts.
www.jewelsbygrace.com

.86ct Old European Cut Diamond Ring

Talk about having bang for your buck! We converted what was a pendant into this 2-tone ring instead, and if we may say so ourselves, we love the results! The .86ct diamond looks much bigger than its weight due to the cushion-shaped bezel. We added a shank in 14kt yellow gold and viola, a...
www.jewelsbygrace.com www.jewelsbygrace.com
Click to expand...

@rockysalamander That is a lovely setting and stone. Vintage and modern looking all at once!
 
thanks Rockysalamander, but I do know she wants a very simple solitaire. That ring you posted would definitely be great finger coverage!
 
How does this look. It’s .86 I VS2 . Downside is there isn’t a plot inclusion. They said it is definitely eye clean, but as the inclusions are a feather and cloud, I would prefer to know where the cloud is.344FCA33-E720-4CA7-833F-D937C5B5ECE4.pngDAC036C2-1F5A-4AD3-A6A8-67C3A8F4B98D.png
 
You have to request the Certificate which will show the plot. It looks like there's some leakage going on under the table. Maybe it's just the angle.
 
I did request the certificate. They said diamonds under a carat didn’t always 7A38D69B-B372-41B5-A945-F9B41AF67229.pnghave a plot. Don’t know why?
 
miss1020 said:
It gets an HCA of 1.3
Click to expand...

That's strange. I haven't seen that report style before. Maybe @Garry H (Cut Nut) could comment on the diamond and report. I think you might be giving up some fire but gaining some brightness with that shallower crown.
 
This looks like the cloud. Its not as big as the highlight.
1631412538138.png
 

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mwilliamanderson said:
That's strange. I haven't seen that report style before. Maybe @Garry H (Cut Nut) could comment on the diamond and report. I think you might be giving up some fire but gaining some brightness with that shallower crown.
Click to expand...

That is right re: performance. With a 34/41, you will get a bright but less firey stone. But, you get a big increase in spread \over the others getting to 6.13 mm.

This is a good balance as long as that 41 is not 41.1...where it might fall off the performance curve.

One more I found. The twinning wisp is at 8 o'clock near the table. The crystal is at 4 o'oclock in the center near the bottom of the star points, but this looks very eye clean.

 
rockysalamander said:
This looks like the cloud. Its not as big as the highlight.
1631412538138.png
Click to expand...

Good eyes. This screen shot has something on the 12:00 arrow.
I'm not crazy about the large table reflection on this particular stone and I see lots of tint. My 2 cents...take it with a grain of salt. I do understand trying to find the right balance. 878C3215-EDC8-4E17-B983-19D48289D297.png
 
mwilliamanderson said:
Good eyes. This screen shot has something on the 12:00 arrow.
I'm not crazy about the large table reflection on this particular stone and I see lots of tint. My 2 cents...take it with a grain of salt. I do understand trying to find the right balance. 878C3215-EDC8-4E17-B983-19D48289D297.png
Click to expand...

I wish we could see a video of the stone in hand. But, I still think this might be a good compromise.

@miss1020 Would it be worth having them send you just the diamond first and make sure you are happy and then you can get it set? I believe that JA will send an insured return envelope.
 
That's getting way too close to ring of death for me.

Screenshot_20210911-215701.png
 
@rockysalamander , thanks, I put the stone on hold.
I could see the feather but not the cloud. Are you saying that 41 angle might not really be 41? How would I find that out? And when you say you see lots of tint, do you mean it could be a lower I color?
 
Yes, I just checked it out. I thought depth was supposed to be 60-62.5 and the crown 34-35. That depth is 62.7 and the crown 36.5. What am I missing?
 
miss1020 said:
@rockysalamander , thanks, I put the stone on hold.
I could see the feather but not the cloud. Are you saying that 41 angle might not really be 41? How would I find that out? And when you say you see lots of tint, do you mean it could be a lower I color?
Click to expand...

If you look at the plot that @DejaWiz posted just above, that white suggests poor light return. When that is all white, its called the 'ring of death". A stone that has these angles is basically at the very edge of good performance. So, the white makes sense to me. IT means
miss1020 said:
Yes, I just checked it out. I thought depth was supposed to be 60-62.5 and the crown 34-35. That depth is 62.7 and the crown 36.5. What am I missing?
Click to expand...

Oh crud. I pasted the wrong URL. Too many open windows. Let me go find the right one. I have about 10 mins before my kid falls off the cranky cliff.
 
I like that first one! They’re both good proportion wise. Pay for higher clarity or pay for higher color?
 
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@rockysalamander , no worries. I know just a little bit and definitely don’t know what I don’t know, so I have to ask!

So the rarecarat one Looks nice. How do I know if the cloud is a problem?
 
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