Need Help finding a Center Stone

[diamondjoy]

Hi ya'll,

First time poster. I've been browsing the forum and getting tons of great information. My BF and I are looking for a ring. We went to a couple of stores and tried some settings on. We figured out the halo setting is what we liked but felt we needed to educate ourselves on buying a center stone and found this brilliant forum. We would love the most bang for our buck as far the center stone. With that being said, we would rather have a better quality diamond that sparkles than a bigger poor performing diamond. I thought that I would be stuck on a round diamond but after looking more closely at the different cuts I'm open to princess or radiant as well. I believe all of these cuts will look good in a halo setting. Plus, after reading many different posts, these other cuts are lower in cost per carat then the round cut. The settings we like most seem to be in the $1500 - $2k range. The budget is $8500 total. Here's what we are looking for:

Cut - Round, Princess, or Radiant, Ideal
Carat - 1 to 1.25
Clarity - VS1 - SS1, Eye clean would be nice
Color - E through H

We welcome all suggestions and input!

Thanks!

 

[JulieN]

welcome to PS!

I think princesses in perfectly square halos look rather severe, and prefer to round off the corners of the halo.

Radiants are probably the cheapest per carat. Did you want a square one? (If so, is off-square ok?) Or did you want a rectangular one?

Please pick a shape... it is confusing enough with only one shape.

 

[diamondjoy]

welcome to PS!

I think princesses in perfectly square halos look rather severe, and prefer to round off the corners of the halo.

Radiants are probably the cheapest per carat. Did you want a square one? (If so, is off-square ok?) Or did you want a rectangular one?

Please pick a shape... it is confusing enough with only one shape.

Thanks, PS!

Sorry for the confusion. With so much to consider and being new to all of this, it's overwhelming. My first pick would be round. I'm open to other shapes that look good in a halo setting as round is the most expensive per carat. I agree with you on the princess looking severe and decided to take it off my list. As for Radiants, I gravitate towards rectangular or off square.