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I am from Romania, and I am looking to buy a diamond and have been browsing bluenile and jamesallen and just about everything in between. My budget is really, really tight, in the range of $400-450. Since I live in Romania, I have to pay 24% VAT at the customs office, so it would amount to a total of approx. $500. I’m looking for a 0.25 – 0.30 carat diamond, eye-clean, sparkly, J-I color. Initially I thought about getting one from bluenile, but the fact that you can’t really see what you are buying made it very difficult for me to decide. They do have smaller diamonds (<0.30 carats). Should I take my chance on a diamond such as this one:
Blue Nile LD03159924
Below are some selections from jamesallen.com, but I don’t have any experience in judging diamond flaws.
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/?CaratFrom=0.05&CaratTo=10.00&Color=J,I&Clarity=SI2,SI1&Cut=Ideal,Excellent&PriceFrom=400&PriceTo=500&Sort=Price%20asc%20,DefaultOrder&?a_aid=dmnd1357
I went ahead and picked 3 candidates that seem rather OK to my untrained eye:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.30-carat-j-color-si2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-123214?a_aid=dmnd1357
That being said, I would very much appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction.
I love this one for you:
www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.31-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-198802?a_aid=dmnd1357
It’s the best of the three and it’s the cheapest. I would definitely go for it.
Thank you very much for your help! I have one more question. The diamond seems a bit flaky on the inside. Will this really be noticeable?
Have a great day!
The flaky stuff looks like a smudge on the outside from a fingerprint. There are a couple of tiny inclusions, but they will be eye-clean and not impinge on the appearance at all.
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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