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Shooting to spend $4,000, first time buying, so confused

M

MaoKhan

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 5, 2013
Messages
6
Hi guys, I stumbled upon you guys and have lurked alot and am blown away by how much this community helps out new buyers. I have been shopping and am having a nightmare with local dealers. I feel that they took advantage of my naivety and felt like it was ok to only disclose bits of information to me at time.

I feel like I have done enough homework to understand that Cut is the most important thing here. My girlfriend and are so simple and I'm pretty sure she would want a simple ring, so I'm thinking a Round Solitaire with a white gold setting. I'm a little worried about the Carat, can it be too big? She's a small asian girl, about 5'3".

I'm not too sure how much to compromise with color, but I'm thinking at least I or H?

I felt that the suggestions for this topic were very helpful [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/engagement-ring-shopping-2500-budget-seeking-advice.182780/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/engagement-ring-shopping-2500-budget-seeking-advice.182780/[/URL] and would really like to find a setting similar in design.

Thank you all for whatever advice I can get. Oh btw, I was shooting for propose at the end of Jan, but when things fell through, yah I'm a little anxious now. Is it possible to get a ring back in that time frame?
 
MaoKhan|1357447870|3348620 said:
Hi guys, I stumbled upon you guys and have lurked alot and am blown away by how much this community helps out new buyers. I have been shopping and am having a nightmare with local dealers. I feel that they took advantage of my naivety and felt like it was ok to only disclose bits of information to me at time.

I feel like I have done enough homework to understand that Cut is the most important thing here. My girlfriend and are so simple and I'm pretty sure she would want a simple ring, so I'm thinking a Round Solitaire with a white gold setting. I'm a little worried about the Carat, can it be too big? She's a small asian girl, about 5'3".

I'm not too sure how much to compromise with color, but I'm thinking at least I or H?

I felt that the suggestions for this topic were very helpful [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/engagement-ring-shopping-2500-budget-seeking-advice.182780/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/engagement-ring-shopping-2500-budget-seeking-advice.182780/[/URL] and would really like to find a setting similar in design.

Thank you all for whatever advice I can get. Oh btw, I was shooting for propose at the end of Jan, but when things fell through, yah I'm a little anxious now. Is it possible to get a ring back in that time frame?
Click to expand...

For that level of budget, I don't think you can go too big. You'll be in the 3/4 carat area, which for a fine-boned girl will look lovely on her hand.

Do you like this stone? http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.756-g-si1-round-diamond-ags-104062031033

Or either of these two (I love fluoro)? http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...0.774-h-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104061762003 http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...0.774-i-vs1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104062572013

That will leave you another $600-800 for settings, which will be sufficient for a basic 4 or 6 prong white gold setting, like these:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/ashleigh-14k-white-gold-5853w14

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/e...lassic-truth-solitaire-18k-white-gold-5369w18

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/melissa -18k-white-gold-5366w18

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/e...re/six-prong-solitaire-14k-white-gold-5351w14
 
Thank you for the fast response! When you ask me if I think these diamonds look nice, what do you look for first? Do most ppl calculate the HCA to weed out stones, and then to other variables? Does Fluorescence make the diamond a little cheaper?
 
On the first diamond you posted, it mentions Hearts and Arrows in the name. Doesn't that generally increase the price of the diamond? Do most ppl think its worth it?
 
MaoKhan|1357449860|3348629 said:
Thank you for the fast response! When you ask me if I think these diamonds look nice, what do you look for first? Do most ppl calculate the HCA to weed out stones, and then to other variables? Does Fluorescence make the diamond a little cheaper?
Click to expand...

Fluoro does make diamonds cheaper, but BGD checks all of his stock to ensure that there are no bad side effects, such as milkiness or negative impact on light performance. So for that reason alone, if you don't mind your stone glowing blue in a nightclub, it's a good way to save a few bucks. :))

All three of these stones are AGS000, the highest light performance a stone can have. They all have good HCA scores, with the third being slightly better than the other two. Each one of them is lovely - it's just your own personal preferences as to which combination of color and clarity you like the most.
 
looks like you are in the right track. I love flour (as you can tell) and i think those BG blue would be a great choice.

your budget isnt too low at all to get something nice. My budget was only slightly higher, so i know what it can get for you. I just wanted to chime in and say if you know how she feels about fancy cuts, you could look into those, those tend to be cheaper.
 
Ooh thanks for the response, does it make much of a difference between a stone that has 1.5 HCA to say 1.9?

I'm so tempted by these BDB but I'm just not sure if it could be a turnoff for my SI. She's fairly conservative, not really into jewlery, heck she only wears sterling silver.
 
As for the hca, its not really a ranking tool so much as an exclution tool. Like an under over type thing.

As for clarity- think of it this way. You want an eye clean stone and to not have any inclusions that are dangerous to the stone. BGD ill tell yiu if its eye clean or not. As long as its eye clean, the clarity isnt a big deal. Youre not wearing the gia cert on your finger or caring a loupe around to look at it. As long as its eye clean the only real difference to you between IF and SI1 is the price.

Id reserve those if you like them
 
 
Thank you two for the feedback. Something came to mind, is it possible to save on tax shopping through online vendors? Or do most vendors charge a tax now?
 
Re tax - you'll have to ask the vendor. It depends on your state and the state the vendor is located in but yes, often you can save on tax. Technically, in some states at least, you're supposed to pay it anyway when you file your income taxes.
 
Interesting, VR. I was under the impression that if you were purchasing out of state, you were always exempt from sales tax. I had no idea that some states would still try to sting you. I guess various governments try to get their pound of flesh one way or another!
 
Thank you all for the help!

I ended up with this rock http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2715434.htm

and ended up with a simple tiffany 6 prong solitaire

svzJG.jpg


I went with Whiteflash because they turned out to be right down the street from me :wacko:
 
Ex choice... :love: beautiful stone in a classic setting.. :appl:
 
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