| Anonymous Reader
Hi Sebastian,
I’m a newbie and am looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend. She is very simple and has communicated her preferences to her best friend who I have been working with. I have also spent the last month researching like crazy. I have also visited various stores in the NYC diamond district.
To be honest, I just don’t have an eye for these things, and for the most part the diamonds look pretty much the same to me. So, the girlfriend has expressed to her friend that she wants a cushion cut center stone in a platinum Halo setting.
The karat, clarity and color are not important to her, and in the example from Brilliant earth she sent her friend was 0.91 carat, J color, and SI1 clarity. Did not see the cuts/symmetry/polish ect. Her ring size is 5-1/4. With that being said, I do want to go way above and beyond. I have landed on the following:
Carat – 1.9 to 2
Color – H or I
Clarity – VS 1/2 or SI1
Symmetry & Polish – excellent (GIA)
Budget is $15,000 (center stone + setting).
I found a few nice settings for $2,000 and $3,000, so budget for center stone is 12,000 to 13,000.
What are opinions on the following two options?
My question is that it seems there are plenty of center stones on James Allen for my budget, however, to your point, its difficult to assess the brilliance/sparkle. Any chance you can point in the direction of some good options?
Your Diamond Teacher |
| Thank you for your inquiry. I am happy to help. And congratulations on your upcoming engagement! The GIA grading reports you attached look perfectly fine. Have you seen these two diamonds in person?
Regarding sparkle, brilliance and fire….James Allen will provide an ASET image of the diamond’s ability to reflect light and their GIA trained Gemologist will evaluate the diamonds for you. I will say, however, this is not truly necessary. The fact of the matter is, a diamond will sparkle unless there is something terribly wrong with it! And the symmetry and polish need to be at least Very Good, they don’t need to be Excellent. Also, keep in mind, when looking at sizes, it is not just about the carat weight. You need to look at the millimeter measurements. A 1.90ct diamond could actually be larger than a 2.00ct diamond if the spread of the 1.90ct is wider! Or you could have two 2ct diamonds that are different millimeter measurements. I selected three diamonds for you to consider. Let me know your thoughts.
SKU-4910313 – 1.90 CARAT G-VS2 CUSHION MODIFIED CUT DIAMOND
SKU-5145406 – 1.90 CARAT H-VS1 CUSHION MODIFIED CUT DIAMOND
SKU-5319257 – 2.07 CARAT I-VS1 CUSHION MODIFIED CUT DIAMOND |
| Anonymous Reader
Thanks Sebastian,
For the two I sent you, I have seen them in person, and they seem eye clean. Attached are the ASET and IDEAl images of the 1.9 carat. Anything that I should be concerned with?
Your Diamond Teacher |
| The ASET images look great! Nothing to be concerned about. |