longtime lurker, first time poster... just beginning the whole process

[weagle]

Hello all,
As I begin my "hunt", I want to be well informed and who else to come to, but you smart PSers. I am most interested in ovals. My C''s priority rank is: Carat, Cut, Color, Clarity. I want a diamond that holds it own in size to the eye. ( i want it to look as big or bigger than the actual carat weight) Do ovals do this well? I am willing to sacriface in setting (getting a plain band) for the larger stone. I want to put the money in the middle! I can always have it reset or get a complimentingwedding band. What is the nicest ( and largest) ring that I can get for around $7,000? I am willing to go down to an I in color and S12. Thanks bunches !

 

[Kaleigh]

I love ovals and just got one for my 20th anniversary. I don''t think they face up as large as say a RB of similar carat weight. Another thing about ovals is you have to see them. You can''t go by specs alone. Go with a vendor that will provide you with lots of pics. You also want to avoid a big bowtie. That''s what''s hard about ovals, so many of them have them. You want to find one that has a minimal bow tie. I bought mine from www.goodoldgold.com and dealt with Jonathon during my search. HTH and good luck!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I was thinking ovals face up larger than rounds, but I''m not positive. And don''t fancy cuts like oval and pear show more color than an ideal cut round? I''m thinking you may want to be careful on the color, but from what I saw, you can probably get around a 1.5 I color oval for your budget.