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What have you regretted sacrificing?

What qualities in a diamond have you sacrificed on and then regretted? Check all that apply…

  • Carat

    Votes: 17 30.9%

  • Color

    Votes: 20 36.4%

  • Clarity

    Votes: 11 20.0%

  • Shape

    Votes: 8 14.5%

  • Cut quality

    Votes: 21 38.2%

  • Price

    Votes: 4 7.3%
  • Total voters
    55
oncrutchesrightnow

oncrutchesrightnow

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
Messages
3,079
Just making conversation.

I realized the other day after responding to someone else’s thread that I have never regretted sacrificing clarity in exchange for improving anything else. But I have majorly regretted sacrificing color for size.

E0939018-ACEC-4704-A58F-955534591399.jpeg

And on one occasion regretted sacrificing size for price.
 
My first ever diamond purchase pre PS, I picked an EGL E SI3 (LOL what is an SI3 right?). Anyway it was independently valued later as a H I1.. While the colour never bothered me.. the mind clean thing did - lol and eye clean!

Fast forward years later and lots of experience stalking instagram I have a found a sweet spot in terms of colour (warm ish is fine), clarity (anything that I can't see so SI2 lol thank god for not having good eyesight), cut (old cuts so definitely more forgiving in some regards than modern cuts), which enables me to get the carats that I wanted for the price I was willing to pay.

But now DSS is sinking in but that's a separate issue :)
 
maryjane04 said:
My first ever diamond purchase pre PS, I picked an EGL E SI3 (LOL what is an SI3 right?). Anyway it was independently valued later as a H I1.. While the colour never bothered me.. the mind clean thing did - lol and eye clean!

Fast forward years later and lots of experience stalking instagram I have a found a sweet spot in terms of colour (warm ish is fine), clarity (anything that I can't see so SI2 lol thank god for not having good eyesight), cut (old cuts so definitely more forgiving in some regards than modern cuts), which enables me to get the carats that I wanted for the price I was willing to pay.

But now DSS is sinking in but that's a separate issue :)
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ESI3 is like Nine Inch Nails reverse N — an industrial diamond
 
I have an E Si2, at the time I wanted the largest brightest whitest diamond for our budget. Although my diamond is beautiful and icy white, I would sacrifice colour for improved clarity now.
Although ...as I’m aging my eye sight is getting worse so those inclusions are getting harder to see.
 
We had a $2k budget and picked up a 0.50 carat + sides for about 0.70 twc, SI, G-H if I remember rightly, uncerted ring.

I like that it's second-hand. I like the overall style.
I had trouble finding a larger ring for my up to $2k and ended up spending about $1.5k I think. It's like all the stores were trying to stay at a price point so it was actually hard to get bigger and spend like $1,800 or something.
I wish I had larger. I wish I'd been able to spend more of my budget to get larger. I wish I hadn't listened when I heard everyone say keep to "colorless" or "near colorless". I could have been happy with a much much lower color and a larger stone.

When they got engaged I tried to tell my friends the same, forget the whole D-G, VVS-VS thing and go larger, you'll never see the inclusions in a 0.33 - 0.50 SI stone in person, the E colour won't matter when it's less than 5 mm across. None listened, they or their partners all wanted "the perfect diamond". Whateva. Only one wear her rings at the moment and she told her husband even before their 1st anniversary that she wants a 1 carat diamond for their 10th anniversary. The other ditched their engagement rings for other rings (CZ eternities, diamond eternities, gemstone rings, plain gold bands) within a few years as have I.
 
Nothing.
Except maybe sacrificing the fact I can’t get all the antique cuts I want to lol.

But I feel completely satiated with my OEC ER stone.
 
I sacrificed cut on a ring that I have since sold. It was an antique cut- it wasn’t a bad cut at all but it wasn’t the shape or faceting pattern that I really wanted. I ended up selling it at a ridiculously low price and put the $ towards my current antique cut.
 
Rhea said:
We had a $2k budget and picked up a 0.50 carat + sides for about 0.70 twc, SI, G-H if I remember rightly, uncerted ring.

I like that it's second-hand. I like the overall style.
I had trouble finding a larger ring for my up to $2k and ended up spending about $1.5k I think. It's like all the stores were trying to stay at a price point so it was actually hard to get bigger and spend like $1,800 or something.
I wish I had larger. I wish I'd been able to spend more of my budget to get larger. I wish I hadn't listened when I heard everyone say keep to "colorless" or "near colorless". I could have been happy with a much much lower color and a larger stone.

When they got engaged I tried to tell my friends the same, forget the whole D-G, VVS-VS thing and go larger, you'll never see the inclusions in a 0.33 - 0.50 SI stone in person, the E colour won't matter when it's less than 5 mm across. None listened, they or their partners all wanted "the perfect diamond". Whateva. Only one wear her rings at the moment and she told her husband even before their 1st anniversary that she wants a 1 carat diamond for their 10th anniversary. The other ditched their engagement rings for other rings (CZ eternities, diamond eternities, gemstone rings, plain gold bands) within a few years as have I.
Click to expand...

May I ask why you and your friends decided to ditch your engagement rings for other types of rings? I've heard of other people doing the same - they either switch to bands/something with a much lower setting because it is more practical for everyday wear or they switch to natural diamond alternatives (lab, CZ, moissanite) because they were able increase the size of their rock without paying a fortune. As a first-time ring buyer, would love to hear your thoughts and experience!
 
The first diamond I ever bought was a dud, but it was big. I was convinced I needed a big rock bc I have big hands.

Big mistake.

It was independently graded as 2.01 carats, SI2, and M color, I wouldn’t be surprised if it came back as N or O and I1 from GIA. It also had a lousy, early modern brilliant cut. It would briefly sparkle after being in an ultrasonic, but was mostly quite dead.

I hated the color and the cut. One inclusion in particular really bugged me, but clarity I cared least about. It also turns out it was too big, practically speaking.

I now have a 1.3 carat, E color, gorgeously cut OEC. It’s an eye clean SI1, and it is perfect for me!
 
ringupthebling said:
May I ask why you and your friends decided to ditch your engagement rings for other types of rings? I've heard of other people doing the same - they either switch to bands/something with a much lower setting because it is more practical for everyday wear or they switch to natural diamond alternatives (lab, CZ, moissanite) because they were able increase the size of their rock without paying a fortune. As a first-time ring buyer, would love to hear your thoughts and experience!
Click to expand...

I'm not really sure. Most of us have 0.33-0.50 ct in various designs like halos or three stones. I'm in Europe and upgrading isn't really done here, or most places outside of PS I suspect. We are a special breed here.

A few just flat out want larger rings. It really was the case that when buying the man or the couple were sold the whole "perfect" thing. I don't know about the cut of their rings, but places taught colourless and high clarity and we stupidly all fell for it. I tried to warn others, I was married years before most of my friends and had mostly quit wearing my ring by then, but they did the same, just under half carat so it was less expensive and with other high stats because "perfect like our love" or "she deserves perfection" or some other barfy thing. Within a couple years most just wanted bigger. To a point, of course, I'm not talking 2 carats and dead, but I stand by not being to see inclusion or colour as well when something is 4-5 mm. Hell, I'd even say (try not to faint) that getting the best cut isn't as important as size at that size if you don't get to upgrade later.
 
Sacrifices? Sure
Regrets? Nope

Drawn from strictly personal preference, I always initially prioritize the 4Cs as such:
1. Cut (always taking the minutia into account)
2. Clarity (eye-clean is my minimum standard, regardless of the actual lab grade for clarity)
3. Color (although I usually prefer to start in the D-F range, there are some immaculately brilliant G-K that face up extremely white)
4. Carat (I have no problem shopping in the off size ranges to save a load of cash, such as 0.9x, 1.4x, 1.9x, etc).

There are situations and scenarios where a re-ordering of the prioritizations is necessary:
My wife prefers a higher color grade, so she tends to prioritize color over everything else. I wanted to get my wife an F-H VS2 pushing/nearing 2 carats (around 8mm), but we ended up with an E SI1 that just misses the 1.7 carat mark (measures at 7.7mm). She's completely enamored with it, still.
 
Rhea said:
I'm not really sure. Most of us have 0.33-0.50 ct in various designs like halos or three stones. I'm in Europe and upgrading isn't really done here, or most places outside of PS I suspect. We are a special breed here.

A few just flat out want larger rings. It really was the case that when buying the man or the couple were sold the whole "perfect" thing. I don't know about the cut of their rings, but places taught colourless and high clarity and we stupidly all fell for it. I tried to warn others, I was married years before most of my friends and had mostly quit wearing my ring by then, but they did the same, just under half carat so it was less expensive and with other high stats because "perfect like our love" or "she deserves perfection" or some other barfy thing. Within a couple years most just wanted bigger. To a point, of course, I'm not talking 2 carats and dead, but I stand by not being to see inclusion or colour as well when something is 4-5 mm. Hell, I'd even say (try not to faint) that getting the best cut isn't as important as size at that size if you don't get to upgrade later.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for sharing!
 
My biggest “ragret”, lol, was not staying within super ideal proportions with my first diamond and not purchasing from a seller with a great upgrade program. :boohoo:

Five years later when it came time to count my losses and sell for less than half what I paid, I was only able to upgrade cut quality and color when I would have loved a size increase.
 
I am one to prioritize cut, clarity and color as not negotiable. I don't regret my original, small but beautiful vintage engagement ring, and I don't regret choosing a smaller size diamond for my "upgrade" (it's a great size in "real life" standards but relatively smaller by PS standards- a gorgeous 1.4 ct, VS1 E chubby pear). It's very wearable for me day-to-day.

I do sometimes wonder how it would be to wear a super-huge solitaire though :cool2: the PS folks have such gorgeous bling! I didn't really consider looking at things more than 1.5ct and now it doesn't seem as huge as it did a few years ago.... :lol-2::lol-2::lol-2:
 
I haven’t really regretted any sacrifices I’ve made because I had the opportunity to really get to know my own tastes and preferences. My mom is really into jewelry as well so growing up I got to see a lot of it, plus I was always interested in sketching, browsing, increasing my own knowledge base etc. It’s not like my tastes haven’t changed over time, of course they have, but anything I honestly loved doesn’t cause me regret now (even if I rarely to never wear it). Or, if there’s something I receive as a gift / inherited and it’s not what I would have chosen, I find myself more easygoing with it because it wasn’t my money, and it’s about the sentiment.

Honestly I think the thing that is most common for people to regret is a lack of information on your own personal preferences. Rhea mentioned this upthread, when you don’t really know what you like and what you want and you get steered by someone else, you may grow to regret it over time. This may play out no matter what advice you get, because the only way to be sure is to trust your own eyes and mind. And gather all the info you can get, of course (at a bare minimum checking out the grading report, making sure it’s a reputable lab, and seeing how it performs in different lighting).
 
mwilliamanderson said:
My biggest “ragret”, lol, was not staying within super ideal proportions with my first diamond and not purchasing from a seller with a great upgrade program. :boohoo:

Five years later when it came time to count my losses and sell for less than half what I paid, I was only able to upgrade cut quality and color when I would have loved a size increase.
Click to expand...

I think that this is so common! Despite being such a big purchase, it seems very rare for people to purchase through a vendor with a solid upgrade policy, and most people don't get into the "nitty gritty" for cut parameters, and may not know to look for lab reports, etc. I've been shocked how trusting consumers are- most folks really trust jewelers and often don't even know what to ask!
 
If someone started this thread 10 years ago, I would have said color. I had a G and wanted an E.
But today, I'm ridiculously happy with my J. I don't know when color stopped bothering me, but I'm glad it did. I realized I love all diamonds, D-Z provided they're beautifully cut.
 
I would have liked to have gotten a 3 ct for my 15 year upgrade. However, I am completely satisfied with what I purchased given what we could spend at the time. I got to select exactly what I wanted within our budget (which was large so no complaints.) For me, I wanted the iciest, whitest super idea I could buy, so color was the most important at the size range we were considering. (I agree with other posters though that if my budget were under $10K, then I would prioritize size over color and clarity so I could get at least a 1 - 1.25 ct diamond, though I would NEVER compromise on cut!) But for me, once my budget allows for at least a 2ct super ideal, then I start to prioritize color first and clarity second.
 
Thanks for everyone who responded. it really is hard to convince people that tiny differences in cut make big differences in appearance. And then they end up with a one carat diamond that faces up smaller than their friend’s 0.85 carat diamond. Or a VS diamond that has a big black spot in the middle because it is too deep. Even though they have a grading report from a reputable lab that says “ideal.”

I will always be on Team Color :)
 
Rhea said:
I'm not really sure. Most of us have 0.33-0.50 ct in various designs like halos or three stones. I'm in Europe and upgrading isn't really done here, or most places outside of PS I suspect. We are a special breed here.

A few just flat out want larger rings. It really was the case that when buying the man or the couple were sold the whole "perfect" thing. I don't know about the cut of their rings, but places taught colourless and high clarity and we stupidly all fell for it. I tried to warn others, I was married years before most of my friends and had mostly quit wearing my ring by then, but they did the same, just under half carat so it was less expensive and with other high stats because "perfect like our love" or "she deserves perfection" or some other barfy thing. Within a couple years most just wanted bigger. To a point, of course, I'm not talking 2 carats and dead, but I stand by not being to see inclusion or colour as well when something is 4-5 mm. Hell, I'd even say (try not to faint) that getting the best cut isn't as important as size at that size if you don't get to upgrade later.
Click to expand...

Interesting to hear your experience. We always hear that Europeans are happy with smaller diamonds. But your friends wish they had gone bigger. Maybe it’s a generational shift?
 
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