Q&A: Looking for an Oval-Shaped Diamond for a Halo Setting Within a $4k Budget

There are two main rules when choosing an oval:
1) The depth shouldn’t exceed 74%.
2) The bowtie should be as minimal as possible.

Picking out a beautiful oval cut is a bit of an art. A smaller table may refract light a bit better, but the difference won’t be noticeable. Unless the depth doesn’t exceed 74%, it’s alright. Regarding the color, we usually recommend H+ color as ovals tend to show their true color more than rounds (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/color/). For J-H color, you can get diamonds with none, faint and medium fluorescence. The medium fluorescence may help the diamond look a tad whiter. In case of G-D stones, it’s better to avoid medium or strong fluorescence as it may cause a hazy/milky look (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/fluorescence/). Ideally, it’s better to avoid extremely thick and extremely thin girdles (if possible). Other thickness is okay and won’t have a significant impact on brilliance. A girdle is an issue that has little to no impact on the visual appearance of a diamond.

Oval cut diamonds don’t have their own official cut scale given by GIA. Some companies use their own internal grades, but we don’t put any stock in those. We just use our own guidelines and strict parameters to find the best stones possible. Therefore, I wouldn’t pay attention to the cut grades you see at all. We suggest purchasing diamonds with GIA/AGS certs only as those two labs are the most reliable and consistent. I also always recommend checking the actual measurements when comparing two or more diamonds, not the carat weight only.

Here are some beautiful diamonds:
Blue Nile LD12325513

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.20-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-7718085?a_aid=dmnd1357

H+ colored diamonds are perfectly okay for halo setting and they look colorless when set. As for the girdle, it’s a perimeter that’s between the crown (top) and the pavilion (bottom).

Let me know what you think of the diamonds whenever you have time to have a look at them.

Here are my comments about the diamonds you found:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.94-carat-f-color-si1-clarity-sku-7052194?a_aid=dmnd1357 – Perfect stone.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.90-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-7399131?a_aid=dmnd1357 – Nice one but it has just a little bit of a bowtie.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.90-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-7776943?a_aid=dmnd1357 – Nice diamond, I don’t see any red flags.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.90-carat-g-color-vs1-clarity-sku-6814286?a_aid=dmnd1357 – This stone has a bit of a “side” bowtie.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.07-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-sku-7620924?a_aid=dmnd1357 – This diamond is not eye-clean because of the feather. Also, there are lots of clouds, it might look a bit cloudy.
The diamonds you found (except the last one) are actually really nice. I just tried to differentiate between them a bit and highlight the ones that are truly perfect.

How about these?
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.90-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-sku-7486872?a_aid=dmnd1357
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.90-carat-f-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-7574836?a_aid=dmnd1357
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/0.90-carat-e-color-vs1-clarity-sku-7949757?a_aid=dmnd1357
Those stones have great measurements too.

That’s wonderful news! It was my pleasure helping you.