Is $15,000 a realistic budget for a 2 ct. I/J

[HarmanRabbJr]

Cut is the most important, so I've been looking at diamonds that score less than a 2 HCA, but I haven't found an I/J on Blue Nile, JA or Brian Gavin that I really like. Are my expectations bigger than my billfold?

 

[JulieN]

These all look like they have potential, don't worry about their HCA scores.

Nice and big: http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.21-carat-J-color-VS2-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-185639
http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.11-carat-J-color-SI1-clarity-sku-129934
http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.01-carat-I-color-SI2-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-175246
http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.06-carat-J-color-SI2-clarity-Very-Good-cut-sku-96396

Need to ask if eye-clean, get Ideal Scopes.

 

[Dhollis83]

I'm almost in the same situation as you! 15k budget for a 2c diamond, only difference is I want a radiant instead of a round. I've been looking at H colors that bring me up to the high 15k range or low 16 k range. I've been doing some research on possibly going down to I color which brings it down to 13-14k . I did find out that for a round diamond, you can easily drop to I color without seeing the color difference once the stone is face up and in the setting. You just need to focus on finding a very well cut stone that has a lot of fire. Unfortunately I haven't been as lucky , apparently radiants, emerald cuts and asscher cut diamonds collect color at the corners and you should go lower than an H. I'm still hoping someone can prove me wrong on this. Since the I color stones that I have seen ( round) are so beautiful. If anyone has seen an eye color clean I radiant let me know lol