How do you find your diamonds?

[hawk25]

For those who haven't seen my other thread, I'm shopping for a 0.65-0.69ct RB, excellent/ideal cut (AGS-0 or GIA-3X preferably), maybe between H-J. I'm lucky to have time on my side, since I know those stones will be pretty hard to find. I don't have to buy for another 2 months or so. I'm just wondering how the generous PSers find the diamonds to suggest to us new people?

I've seen the PS search page, which seems really easy. Is that search engine thorough? Or should I be checking each site like JA, WF, BGD individually every time? I'm hoping for a method where I can easily check once a day or so. Any tricks PSers can share?

 

[bunnycat]

When I'm looking for stones (for whomever), I kind of take it on a case by case.

For a serious budget, we already know ID Jewelry is very good at pulling rabbits out of hats (like what you might need) but you will need to contact them personally. If they know you are looking for a PS quality stone, they can find something in your specs and they have some nicely priced settings that won't kill your budget and send you some stone images of it to look at here on PS to evaluate.

Other times, James Allen might be recommended. There's a lot of sifting to be done there to find a good stone, but maybe the person likes a setting they have. People here look there often because there are easily viewable images of stones (though no performance data) and so it's easy to work with several kinds of budget that way.

Other places tend to be a little more "focused" on branded stones (H/A) and that commands a premium, which if you are on a serious budget, might be better to do without unless you WANT the assurance of a branded H/A stone.

Good news is, you have time to browse. So I'd poke around on some of the main sites and see what catches your eye and ask more questions here and spend some more time learning about what makes a nice diamond. Feel free to post links and ask why one might be better than another. It would be a good educational exercise.

 

[BriBee]

Bastetcat hit the nail on the head! The nice thing about IDJ is that you can call them with your specs and they will do the looking for you, so that might take some of the stress/pressure off checking various sites everyday until you find something.

 

[JulieN]

Not sure why you think they are hard to find?

 

[hawk25]

Not sure why you think they are hard to find?

If anything I was curious of how the more experienced PSers was doing it. Like if I'm shopping for a computer deal, there are different ways I could go about it, some more efficient than others. Was also curious of how thorough the PS search engine was.

 

[JulieN]

It has the complete inventory of all the vendors who are on it... obviously vendors who are not on it, you have to search yourself.

 

[swingirl]

Specify your budget. You have very narrow specs and that might be making your search difficult.

 

[bunnycat]

Not sure why you think they are hard to find?

If anything I was curious of how the more experienced PSers was doing it. Like if I'm shopping for a computer deal, there are different ways I could go about it, some more efficient than others. Was also curious of how thorough the PS search engine was.

One thing that might be good is to get away from the idea of "deal" when thinking of diamonds, unless you are planning on going the wild wild west route on your own of second hand shopping where you are going to need LOTS of education.

There is a thread going now on just this idea of "deal" and "worth" and resale of diamonds versus what you paid for them with a lot of angst. Then it turns out in the other thread the poster made where they are posting stone specs they are interested in, everything they were told is true that they refused to believe in the other thread....Generally boils down to you are going to get what you pay for.

So my advice is don't think of "deals" but concentrate on what your preferences are. What kind of stones are available low and high in those preferences from different vendors and what you are willing to pay extra for for similar specs on a stone? Do you want absolute assurance of light performance and are willing to pay the premium that comes with that? Do you want lots of data on the stones performance? Do you want a nicely cut stone, but aren't concerned if it's not perfect H/A symmetry and it doens't have to have super ideal specs and a basic Idealscope image is fine? Do you want someone to do all this thinking for you (costs extra but takes much less time) or are you willing to dig around with PS help? Those are the things you need to balance.

 

[hawk25]

You're right bastetcat, I've been known to be obsessive about getting a good 'deal' on almost everything I buy (like trying to get a 0.69ct to avoid the price jump to 0.70ct...yes, I'm quite quirky lol), but I guess I have to act differently this time. I'm definitely not comfortable with going second hand. Thanks for the help everyone

 

[bunnycat]

You're right bastetcat, I've been known to be obsessive about getting a good 'deal' on almost everything I buy (like trying to get a 0.69ct to avoid the price jump to 0.70ct...yes, I'm quite quirky lol), but I guess I have to act differently this time. Thanks for the help everyone

probably a bit of a deal:

http://diamondbistro.com/index.php?a=2&b=33494

The way I think of it is, I am wearing this stone for a LONG time. I want this stone to sparkle it's A$$ off. Is that worth a little extra to me over the course of 5-10 years before I might consider getting something different if at all? Absolutely! So for me, paying some few hundred extra for the assurance I wanted compared to a similar stone with similar cut and specs was worth it, and i finally got a decent upgrade policy. The money is spent, but that amount will always be available later too towards something else if I want to one day. That is something else you have to consider. Some of the vendors have better upgrade policies than others, where you only have to spend more instead of double.

 

[kenny]

I'd check the site of your favorite vendors every day.

I do that for fancy colored diamonds every morning.
Since they're in Israel new diamonds are posted as I sleep.
Special ones often sell the day they're listed.
Some are reserved before I wake up.

I realize you are shopping white diamonds which are much more plentiful but still, if your specs are very narrow you are also looking for a rare thing that you must grab the moment you see it.

 

[JulieN]

You're right bastetcat, I've been known to be obsessive about getting a good 'deal' on almost everything I buy (like trying to get a 0.69ct to avoid the price jump to 0.70ct...yes, I'm quite quirky lol), but I guess I have to act differently this time. I'm definitely not comfortable with going second hand. Thanks for the help everyone

I see too many men here that are focused on finding a deal... I'm not sure which type is worse, the one whose budget is just insufficient for their impossibly high standards, or the ones who just keep searching for the (imperceptibly) bigger and better deal.

I strongly suggest you do not cut out .7s, because a lot of cutters are going to try to jump that .7 ct mark. You could be cutting out 50-80% of your pool of candidates doing that.

 

[kenny]

You're right bastetcat, I've been known to be obsessive about getting a good 'deal' on almost everything I buy (like trying to get a 0.69ct to avoid the price jump to 0.70ct...yes, I'm quite quirky lol),

I suspect sellers know there is higher demand for 0.49s, 0.69s, 0.99s and 1.49s so they raise the price per carat on those.
Nothing wrong with that ... supply and demand.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

How about starting by telling us your budget, and we can just suggest stones for you?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You're right bastetcat, I've been known to be obsessive about getting a good 'deal' on almost everything I buy (like trying to get a 0.69ct to avoid the price jump to 0.70ct...yes, I'm quite quirky lol),

I suspect sellers know there is higher demand for 0.49s, 0.69s, 0.99s and 1.49s so they raise the price per carat on those.
Nothing wrong with that ... supply and demand.

That is exactly right! I have found that right under the "magic numbers", the price per carat can be almost the same!

 

[hawk25]

How about starting by telling us your budget, and we can just suggest stones for you?

I'm actually not in a position to buy just yet, which is why I just posted the thread generally, not specific to my needs. I have a feeling if I ask for any suggestions now, it'll already be sold by the time I get to buy them.

But in any case, it would be $2000 for the diamond only, possibly in this setting:
http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement...lloped-shared-prong-engagement-ring-item-3362

Purely for education purposes (first try at picking a stone), is there anything wrong with this one? Am I right in saying the feather at 7 o'clock can be covered with a prong?
http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-...-I-color-VS2-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-173978

The GIA report says there's a cloud and feather. I found the feather, but can't see the cloud (and its listed first, so I should be noticing it first?), unless its the inclusions at 1 and 3 o'clock

 

[JulieN]

Looks like it has a little bit of leakage.

First off, that feather is probably not visible IRL. Second, since it is very small and white, you are probably better off not pronging it, as prongs could possibly concentrate pressure onto that area.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would never recommend spending $2400 on a setting and $2000 on the diamond. Those side stones are too large for that size center stone. You are far better off going with one of the rings with smaller diamonds (or none) on the shank and putting more money into the diamond.

Like this: http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/side-stones/18k-white-gold-0.30ct-common-prong-round-shaped-diamond-engagement-ring-item-928

And then spend $3400 on the diamond!

 

[hawk25]

I would never recommend spending $2400 on a setting and $2000 on the diamond. Those side stones are too large for that size center stone. You are far better off going with one of the rings with smaller diamonds (or none) on the shank and putting more money into the diamond.

Like this: http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/side-stones/18k-white-gold-0.30ct-common-prong-round-shaped-diamond-engagement-ring-item-928

And then spend $3400 on the diamond!

Ah that thought did cross my mind, but then I rationalized it by saying that the sidestones would be 0.10ct each (admittedly having a hard time picturing the size of a 0.10), so it -might- look fine. I see your point though.

 

[JulieN]

It depends... while I don't think .10s are the best match for a .7 center, if she has very large fingers I would probably want a little more than a thin pave band... this one for example: http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/side-stones/18k-white-gold-common-prong-diamond-engagement-ring-item-7737

For most normal size fingers I like Diamondseeker's pick.

 

[hawk25]

It depends... while I don't think .10s are the best match for a .7 center, if she has very large fingers I would probably want a little more than a thin pave band... this one for example: http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/side-stones/18k-white-gold-common-prong-diamond-engagement-ring-item-7737

For most normal size fingers I like Diamondseeker's pick.

She has a size 7.5 finger, which I have a feeling is on the larger size. When I told that to a salesperson at Birks, he gave me a look and asked if I was sure . That pave band seems too small IMO

 

[JulieN]

Well, .10s are about 3 mm, which I don't think is too big if it is diamonds!

The one i posted are supposed to be 4.5 pointers (.045 cts) which is a very nice proportion to a .7 ct center.

 

[bunnycat]

Well, .10s are about 3 mm, which I don't think is too big if it is diamonds!

The one i posted are supposed to be 4.5 pointers (.045 cts) which is a very nice proportion to a .7 ct center.

I think Julie's pick might be the most suitable, especially if you don't know her exact finger size (easier to size than pave) though you should try to get as close as you can. It would look a lot better with a smaller stone (ie- under 1 ct) than the $2K setting, but still keep the same idea. Then you ought to be able to move the extra money over in to the stone because I agree with Diamondseeker you should have that ratio reversed, spend more on the diamond and try to get it towards .75.

 

[hawk25]

I think I was a fan of the side diamond coverage on the top of the finger (well, based on the 3D views of it). How about this one? It's the same basic idea, same number of stones (6), but only 0.4ctw vs 0.6ctw, and the same price as JulieN's pick (a little strange it's only $15 extra for 0.2ct more). Would it coordinate with a 0.70ct (or possibly a 0.75ct because of the money saved)

http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement...ound-diamond-engagement-ring-11009w-item-9000

I was thrown off by JA showing sapphires, but the recently purchased section and 3D views show it having all diamonds. Picture error?

EDIT: I contacted JA and apparently they offer a version with sapphires at no charge. I would pick the diamonds though

 

[JulieN]

Would it coordinate with a 0.70ct (or possibly a 0.75ct because of the money saved)

http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement...ound-diamond-engagement-ring-11009w-item-9000[/i]

Yes, I think this is the best version. A thin pave is maybe too thin, the .10s compete with a .7 center, and four (4) .045s are just not enough coverage. While I think it would go even better with a 1 ct in proportion, I think it would look smashing on a 7.5 ring size.

Here they are in 14K and Plat:
http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/side-stones/14k-white-gold-common-prong-six-round-diamond-engagement-ring-item-745
http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/side-stones/platinum-common-prong-six-round-diamond-engagement-ring-item-1518

I want to pair it with this: http://jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.81-carat-J-color-SI2-clarity-sku-198316
It looks like a good J color, and the feather for sure looks eye-clean, and the cloud has a good chance of being eye-clean or eye-cleanish as well...