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Hi Diamond Pro Team,
I’ve been a reader of your site now for about 2 months and am getting ready to purchase an engagement ring. Your site has been extremely helpful in narrowing down diamonds!
Overall, based on your reviews, I think I would like to stick with the James Allen company because of their customer service, lifetime cleaning/repairs, and many great reviews. However, for the most brilliant diamond, I’ll also consider other online companies (however, lifetime cleanings and repairs are very important to me – I would like to be able to send a diamond to a company I can trust rather buy the diamond/ring from another online retailer and take it to a local jeweler that I cannot trust as much for cleanings/repairs). Overall, I am aiming to have a “brilliant”/sparling diamond, one with an ideal cut that appears colorless and no inclusions to the eye; I absolutely love the True Hearts collection from James Allen.
Overall here are my parameters:
$11k overall budget (diamond and setting)
Setting from James Allen that I’m aiming to purchase is the PLATINUM TAPERED SIX PRONG DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING
A carat size between 1.1 to 1.3.
Currently, I’m looking at these diamonds:
What is your thought? Should I go with an H color diamond and get a little bit bigger of a carat? Will the H appear “yellow” to the naked eye or will it still appear brilliantly clear as the G? Or, do you suggest a different stone altogether that will provide a great “brilliant” shine but will also be “eye” clear.
Thank you for your advice, I greatly appreciate it!
Generally speaking, the cut is the most important of the 4C’s (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/4cs-diamonds/). A perfectly cut diamond will have great light refraction and therefore lots of brilliance (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/cuts/).
In case of rounds, we like to keep the depth under 62.6% and the table in the range of 53-59% to maximize the brilliance (https://www.diamonds.pro/education/round-cut/). We suggest sticking with J+ stones with none, faint or medium fluorescence for white gold/platinum solitaire settings.
You may have a look at some rings in our ring gallery, for example here: https://www.diamonds.pro/ring-gallery/classic-platinum-solitaire-setting/, https://www.diamonds.pro/ring-gallery/stunning-solitaire-setting/, https://www.diamonds.pro/ring-gallery/beautiful-and-eternal/ or https://www.diamonds.pro/ring-gallery/love-my-ring/. Even I or J colored stones don’t look any yellowish in solitaire settings.
Even though JA’s True Hearts (or BN’s Astor cut) aren’t our choice #1 when selecting a diamond for our readers, it’s sometimes possible to find a good option there that would be worth the money. We use our own strict parameters for picking out diamonds and we haven’t found those particular cuts to be noticeably or consistently more brilliant.
Both the stones you found are perfect choices. I personally like the H colored diamond more (www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.20-carat-h-color-vvs1-clarity-true-hearts-cut-sku-4580560?a_aid=dmnd1357).
If you’re looking for a truly spectacular diamond, Brian Gavin Diamonds is the way to go. Brian Gavin is known as one of the world’s experts when it comes to perfectly cut diamonds (https://www.diamonds.pro/reviews/brian-gavin/). They focus on each aspect of the stone, therefore, all their diamonds are extremely brilliant. Here are some options:
www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.318-i-vs1-round-diamond-ags-c-104104597086?a_aid=y
First of all, I LOVE the 1.294 carat suggestion, it shines wonderfully and it is an amazing diamond. My one concern when I originally saw the diamond was the “imperfection,” however, after looking at the diamond more in depth, I realized it would be “eye-clean.” Do you agree that it would be “eye-clean”?
I also went ahead and put a “hold” on the above diamond so that I could sleep on it tonight and call tomorrow with the final decision.
Yes, it’s definitely eye-clean. It’s a gorgeous diamond. Let me know how you decided. If there is anything else I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime.
Just wanted to follow-up on this. I went ahead and bought the above diamond from Brian Gavin. Thank you for all your assistance!
That’s wonderful news! You chose a great diamond for yourself.
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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