What is a good value color/grade in a 5-6 carat tennis bracelet?

[A Brady World]

I''m interested in purchasing a tennis bracelet -- preferably in a vintage/box style setting -- in the 5 or 6 carat range, and in white gold. As the stones will probably be around 15 pts. each in such a setting, would I1 diamonds and J color still be acceptable? When I mention I1 diamonds, I mean diamonds that are not cloudy or chalky, but have black inclusions easily seen under magnification.

Also -- does anyone here have a tennis bracelet with I1 stones? Are you pleased/not pleased?

Many thanks!

 

[Kaleigh]

If you are going with I1 stones you will see the inclusions with your eyes.

 

[A Brady World]

Even in such small stones?

 

[Kaleigh]

Yes.

 

[cflutist]

I''d go H-SI or better. Also, cut DOES matter even in .15 melee. e.g.

My older tennis bracelet is 6.50 ct F-G/VS stones.

My newer tennis bracelet is 10.50 ct G-H/VS2-SI1 stones, but machine cut H&A from Isreal. This bracelet (which I got from Wink at Winkjones.com) sparkles so much more than the other one even though that one had better color/clarity.

 

[Mara]

It''s important to note that just because you go with I1 stones does not mean you will see inclusions with your eyes.

Many times there are I1 graded stones that are strictly graded, or have white inclusions...and sometimes there will be nothing visible at all to your eye...unless you get up close.

I have seen a spectacular .55c H I1 well cut stone that was just stunning and I had to jam my eye against it to see the inclusion.

So technically I1 does mean inclusions visible with naked eye, unaided by a loupe...BUT there are always going to be exceptions to that rule.

I would not rule out I1 just because...if you can source some good stones that are I1 and some that are SI2 then you may be able to save some $$ and get great looking stones. As cflutist noted, cut is very important.

Good luck!

 

[Kaleigh]

Mara and Cflutist brought up some very good points in that the cut is very important and maybe you'll able to find some strickely graded I1 stones, but if you could go up to SI1/SI2 you'd be better off. I've seen many I1 stones and I could easlily see the inclusions. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Have you actually looked at I1 stones that have black carbon spots? The most important thing is that YOU'RE pleased, so before designing any sort of bracelet, it'd make sense to get a good look at what you're going to get.

I had a pair of diamond hoop earrings with I1 stones and the stones weren't cut very well and they just didn't carry off what I was hoping they would so I sold them. I could see the black spots in the stones when I held the earrings up in front of me. This really bugged me and it'd bug me even more if I had a bracelet where I could see the inclusions. I don't like black spots in my diamonds and I'd rather have smaller clean stones than larger included ones!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

yOU WILL EASILY SEE LOWER THAN h COLOR - BUT UNLESS YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE UNDER 30 OR 40 - YOU WILL NOT EASILY SEE THE INCLUSIONS IN NICE I1''S

SORRY for shouting

 

[fire&ice]

Once set, these tiny stones won''t hold much color. Personally, I''d go with I/J/K SI1/S12 stones. But, go look at bracelets with these types of stones.

 

[A Brady World]

I decided to take the bracelet; it has 36 diamonds, each approximately 16 points. My photography skills are far from great (the first photo was taken in my laundry room, atop a side-laying bottle of fabric softener (!) -- the other two, more closeup photos were taken on the camera case. I could not get the flash to work (I''m starting to feel like my mother!)

All I can say is that it looks far more lively in person. I got it for $689, by the way. Anyhow, here goes:

 

[A Brady World]

And a closeup:

 

[A Brady World]

And finally:

 

[A Brady World]

Bump.

Okay, so it''s not what you diamond purists would like (but believe me; it looks far better in person, really!).

 

[sjz]

I think it''s a very pretty bracelet! I love vintage looking bracelets like that. The MOST important thing about jewelery is that YOU like it. If it speaks to you, and makes you happy, don''t worry about what anyone else thinks! Don''t forget to post a picture of it in the bracelet thread on SMTR.

 

[A Brady World]

Thanks! I only paid $689 for it (on eBay), so I haven''t made a major investment and can always turn it around on eBay should I ever decide to. I do that, in fact, from time to time; I enjoy a piece for a while, then resell it to buy something else. I had actually sold another tennis bracelet -- a simple line bracelet with G-H VS2/SI1 stones -- to buy this one. It was in yellow gold, and although a perfectly nice bracelet (the stones were dazzling), I found I haven''t been wearing yellow gold very much for the past few years.

Although this bracelet isn''t anywhere close to the quality of the one I sold, the stones are much larger and I''m in love with the setting. It does look far, far better in person; I''ve never been able to take good photos of diamonds, including stellar ones. And the best part of all? The price was definitely right!

 

[Mara]

Enjoy wearing it! I find that as long as you know what you are really getting when purchasing from eBay, sometimes the low-cost purchases are worth it. I bought a 10 stone 1ctw ring last year from some eBay seller, the stones were a bit lower than represented, but it checked out at the jewelers as being real diamonds, and it sparkled pretty decently and it was only $300. So it''s a fun on-the-side kind of ring and for the price it was right.