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Hi,
I have a couple of diamonds I’d like you to review for your opinion on value. I’m looking for a round diamond with Ideal cut around 2 ct.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.02-carat-j-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-9312089?a_aid=dmnd1357
We recommend avoiding the IGI lab if possible. They are looser in grading than the GIA. Stick with GIA or AGS lab for the best value.
Blue Nile LD13875109
This diamond is ok. It would be a good idea to ask Blue Nile is they could run it by a gemologist and confirm that the strong fluorescence wouldn’t have any negative impact on the diamond’s brilliance.
May I ask what style setting you want to put the diamond into? I want to make sure it wouldn’t look yellow in it, different color grades suit different settings better.
I found another diamond on James Allen that’s GIA. How about this one?
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.00-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-8972741?a_aid=dmnd1357
Should I be looking at more of the I color range similar to the below?
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.07-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-8968276?a_aid=dmnd1357
Right now I’m looking at a platinum solitaire ring. Something similar to the below.
Platinum 2mm Knife Edge Solitaire Engagement Ring
For a simple solitaire setting, J color is perfectly fine. As long as you’re not going to use a diamond wedding band, there wouldn’t be any yellowness.
As for the most recent options:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.00-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-8972741?a_aid=dmnd1357
This diamond is not very well cut and also is not eye-clean.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.07-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-8968276?a_aid=dmnd1357
This one looks a bit cleaner, but there seem to be a lot of clouds. I suggest you ask JA if they could run it by their in-house gemologists to confirm the clouds wouldn’t negatively affect the diamond’s brilliance.
I found this one that looked great to me:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/2.05-carat-j-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-8740563?a_aid=dmnd1357
It’s nicely cut and it has only one prominent inclusion that can be hidden under a prong.
Thank you for sending over that selection. That seems like a great choice. Do you happen to have a similar diamond in mind on Blue Nile? I think I’m ultimately going to go with Blue Nile because you can finance the ring at 0% for an extra 9 months. My cap price on the diamond is about $12k to 13k but I wouldn’t mind something cheaper than that as long as it’s bigger than 1.85 to 1.9 carats holding similar characteristics that we discussed above for color and cut.
Absolutely. Here you go:
I didn’t find any recommendable 1.85ct options, but that shouldn’t be a problem. There’s basically no size difference between 1.82ct and a 1.85ct (keep in mind that the carat weight is the weight of the diamond, not its size). The diamonds are gorgeously cut and all of them will be very impressive in real life.
I really like the look of this diamond but was wondering if you had anything closer 1.9 ct in mind.
Blue Nile LD13982833
In addition, I’ve also been looking at Princess cut diamonds similar to the below. What do you think?
Blue Nile LD14126493
I double-checked and unfortunately, there are currently no ~1.9ct in their inventory. There’s a bunch of 1.8 and 2ct options, but nothing in the middle.
Princess cut is a beautiful diamond shape (it’s the second most popular shape right after round cut), however, if size is your priority, it’s the round cut that would always look the largest. Just check out the real measurements and see for yourself. The 2ct princess cut you sent me is smaller than all three diamonds from my previous email. That’s why the carat weight is not a good indicator of how large the diamond appears. Plus, the stone has a feather in the top left corner which might increase the risk of chipping.
Once again thanks for all of the insight. Do you happen to see any princess diamonds on the Blue Nile site for around $11 to 12k? The cut seems to be different for princess diamonds as it doesn’t appear Blue Nile carries any ideal cut princess diamonds.
I found only one: Blue Nile LD14140385. I set the filters to 1.8ct+, I+/VS2+ and this one happened to be the only recommendable option. It has a beautiful cut and no worrisome inclusions.
Princess cut diamonds don’t receive a cut grade. GIA give cut grade only to round diamonds, so if you see cut grade to any other shape, it’s just a mark of that jeweler (diamond company) and it’s completely subjective. We use our own, very strict, parameters to find diamonds with maximum brilliance.
Perfect! Thank you so much. I ended up going with that one.
That’s wonderful news!
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisal
- One free resizing within the first year of purchase
- High quality images of about half of their diamonds
- 24/7 Customer Service
- 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
- Best in class fulfillment
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