Question for the ladies . . .
- Thread starter 007
- Start date
lovethesea
Active Member
definetly quality. I get compliments on mine ALL the time.
when its clean.....man does it sparkle.
when you see a good one next to a BIG "so so" stone, you see it right away.
when its clean.....man does it sparkle.
when you see a good one next to a BIG "so so" stone, you see it right away.
sevenley
Member
Definitely quality....I have a pair of good quality diamond earrings that I always wear. They sure do sparkle. Lesser quality diamonds just look more like glass.
Plus, it's the thought too. I have a heart pendant that my guy gave me which I wouldn't part with for the world.
Oh, he's the one that also gave me the earrings.
Lee
Plus, it's the thought too. I have a heart pendant that my guy gave me which I wouldn't part with for the world.
Oh, he's the one that also gave me the earrings.Lee
caillou
Member
I'm not a lady but I'll pass along some advice my jeweler gave me.
He said as far as quality goes you don't need a museum quality piece. It's pointless. If you get something in the clarity scale of IF (internally flawless) down to VVS2 even VS1 you're fine. None of these are inclusions you can see with the
[hr]
eye. I certainly wouldn't go down to the SI1's but you'd be fine with any of the above. Go to your jeweler and take a look at them between IF and VS1. I promise, unless you have a loop to your eye you will not tell the difference. Even the VS1's are very nice.
F , IF, VVS1, VVs2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, I1, I2, I3
(nice range.....................)(ok range....) (dremel tool range)
As for color I'd go anywhere between D and I maybe J no K's or below.
(D, E, F,) (G, H, I, J),( K, L, M),( N, O, P, Q, R),( S, T, U, V etc....
(colorless)(near colorless)(Faint yellow)(verylightyellow)(light yelloww) etc.
It's not as if you're trying to pull something over on her (or him??) Gotta be PC it's that diamonds are so personal and you need to find one your happy with. Ask your jeweler if he's honest and you have a good relationship with him he'll probably tell you the same thing. Hope it helps
He said as far as quality goes you don't need a museum quality piece. It's pointless. If you get something in the clarity scale of IF (internally flawless) down to VVS2 even VS1 you're fine. None of these are inclusions you can see with the
[hr]
eye. I certainly wouldn't go down to the SI1's but you'd be fine with any of the above. Go to your jeweler and take a look at them between IF and VS1. I promise, unless you have a loop to your eye you will not tell the difference. Even the VS1's are very nice.
F , IF, VVS1, VVs2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, I1, I2, I3
(nice range.....................)(ok range....) (dremel tool range)
As for color I'd go anywhere between D and I maybe J no K's or below.
(D, E, F,) (G, H, I, J),( K, L, M),( N, O, P, Q, R),( S, T, U, V etc....
(colorless)(near colorless)(Faint yellow)(verylightyellow)(light yelloww) etc.
It's not as if you're trying to pull something over on her (or him??) Gotta be PC
it's that diamonds are so personal and you need to find one your happy with. Ask your jeweler if he's honest and you have a good relationship with him he'll probably tell you the same thing. Hope it helps
bergamer
Active Member
ya quality is important, BUT REMEMBER THIS!!!!
when your wife or fiance is with her friends- they compare diamonds like we compare fish or fish tanks.
(the attitute with my g/f almost reminds me of guys comparing- well you know what)
you might have a perfect diamond, but if it is small and expensive, her friends will look at it and say, "well yes it looks beautiful" (and they are thinking, ya but its tiny and I have larger stones on my ears)
It is better to get a larger stone, although make sure that it does not look like urine yellow
- imp
btw, i just noticed that you were asking the ladies- opps
when your wife or fiance is with her friends- they compare diamonds like we compare fish or fish tanks.
(the attitute with my g/f almost reminds me of guys comparing- well you know what)
you might have a perfect diamond, but if it is small and expensive, her friends will look at it and say, "well yes it looks beautiful" (and they are thinking, ya but its tiny and I have larger stones on my ears)
It is better to get a larger stone, although make sure that it does not look like urine yellow
- imp
btw, i just noticed that you were asking the ladies- opps
swnewb
Member
Originally posted by MolaMola
Go for quality, but the setting is super important too. Big stones get in the way, the setting gets beat up and you become a magnet for muggers. Go for small, good quality and tell her it's for her own personal safety.
I should have tried that when I bought a ring last year. Ended up getting her a 1 1/4 carat diamond solitare. It was was of good quality too. She ended up dumping me a few weeks ago anyways
So I went out and bought my first SW tank:happy: That will show her
caillou
Member
All I'm trying to say is there are really good quality diamonds that are not "museum" quality. I'd rather give my wife an H color VVS2 that's 2 carats than an 1/2 carat D color F(lawless) for the same price. BTW stay away from Marquis cuts if you plan on having children (whoa, getting a little ahead of the game here but gotta think long term, my kids have come away from many diaper changes with some serious looking scratches)
molamola
Member
Brilliant and Emerald cuts in a white gold band are quite lovely and very practical. I've never cared much for marquis for the same reason of cutting oneself. They're pretty, but man if you ever go to scratch your face and it's flipped to the inside of your hand, say goodbye to your right nostril, your upper lip, or that precious beauty mark.
tangman99
Active Member
Ahh! Diamonds! Now that's an area that I spent of lot of time in many years ago. I'll share some of my experience with you.
First, quality is what matters and you have to look hard to find it in some places. Most Mall jewerly stores sell diamonds in the SI class which is ok. You can not see flaws in an SI diamond with the
[hr]
eye. You will need a loop. VS diamonds require a microscope. However if you go SI, go at least SI1.
For color, I or better. Shoot for a G. D's are fine if you are buying an investment diamond, but we are talking big carat and IF or higher. Not many have wallets that big.
Flouresence is another quality item. You want low or no Flouresence. A diamond with high flouresence will glow like a firefly under black light. Not a desired trait.
Now one biggest area that most people mess up is they buy a nice VS1 diamond G color, good clarity but no one tells them about how the diamond is cut. A brilliant cut is what you are looking for, but this does not guarantee an ideal cut diamond. Less than 5% of all diamonds have a true ideal cut. If the cut is not ideal, the light will enter the table and scatter out the bottom or sides. You won't get the sparkle effect and you have a very nice diamond that has little or no sparkle.
The biggest con in diamonds is a shallow cut diamond. Malls are full of them. It makes the diamond look big because the table is large but it is flat and light does not reflect right. You get a larger look but no brilliance. The next is a deep cut which you can usually get cheaper because the diamond is tall and looks small. This is the worst as you get no size and no brilliance.
Without going into too much detail an ideal cut diamond will have close to the following allowances:
The table size (flat part on top) is usually 53% of the total width of the diamond at the girdle (widest part)
The height is usually around 60% of the width with about 44% of the height being from the girdle to the point and 16% of the height being from the girdle to the top.
If you take the angle from the plane of the girdle along the crown, it should be around 35% and 41% from the girdle down to the point.
Any nice diamond over 1 carat certified by a reputable gemologist will give all of these measurements. If you shop the malls, you will notice that most diamonds are IGI certified. This is for a reason as they tend to rate diamonds to benefit the seller. Look for a GIA certified diamond. This is an independent lab that will give you an unbiased rating. There are others also beside GIA. It is possible to find an SI2 diamond with IGI certificate that you can see flaws with the
[hr]
eye, but they are usually not that apparent. You will never find a GIA certified SI2 diamond that you can see flaws with the
[hr]
eye. An IGI diamond that had a borderline VS2 and G color rating would probably get an SI1, H rating from GIA. They are not dishonest ratings, they just tend to make borderline decisions go in favor of the retailer.
One last bit of advice. Buy a loose Diamond from a Diamond broker. You will get a much better selection of higher quality diamonds at a much better price. The Reference prices shown on diamonds in Malls are pure BS. There is no such thing. Diamonds are traded and valued by a market price like Gold, but much less volatile. You can find a chart that will show you the market values for different grades of diamonds. A good diamond broker will usually sell you a loose diamond at Market plus 10%. This is a huge savings over what a mall will charge you.
Find a broker and tell him you want an ideal cut, GIA certified diamond that falls within ideal tolerances. You will usually have to go over 1 carat to get a certification of this type. A broker will usually allow you few days to get an independent certification done on the diamond to verify you are getting what the certificate states. You want to do this without fail. It keeps everyone honest. When you have it certified, don't show them the certificate. They will fill out a certificate and mapping of the flaws which should match what you have. If you have a GIA certified diamond, tell the person cerfitifying it that if there is any doubt, go to worst rating. You will have to pay for the certification or you can do what I did and agree to buy the ring and have it mounted by jeweler and he may not charge you. Now depending on how paranoid you are (and I never take a chance) do not let the diamond leave your site. A good gemologist will do this anyway. He will bring over the scales, microscope and calipers where the diamond is always in front of you.
Last but not least, protect that diamond with a 6 prong titanium mount. 4 prongs are risky in that if you break one prong, the diamond is most likely gone. You can break up to three prongs in a 6 prong mount if not adjacent to one another and be ok. You will loose a little of the brilliance with a 6 prong as more diamond is covered by the mount, but it's good insurance. And get a jewelry rider policy to insure it.
Sorry to go on so long. I love this subject and have not discussed it in a long time.
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
First, quality is what matters and you have to look hard to find it in some places. Most Mall jewerly stores sell diamonds in the SI class which is ok. You can not see flaws in an SI diamond with the
[hr]
eye. You will need a loop. VS diamonds require a microscope. However if you go SI, go at least SI1.
For color, I or better. Shoot for a G. D's are fine if you are buying an investment diamond, but we are talking big carat and IF or higher. Not many have wallets that big.
Flouresence is another quality item. You want low or no Flouresence. A diamond with high flouresence will glow like a firefly under black light. Not a desired trait.
Now one biggest area that most people mess up is they buy a nice VS1 diamond G color, good clarity but no one tells them about how the diamond is cut. A brilliant cut is what you are looking for, but this does not guarantee an ideal cut diamond. Less than 5% of all diamonds have a true ideal cut. If the cut is not ideal, the light will enter the table and scatter out the bottom or sides. You won't get the sparkle effect and you have a very nice diamond that has little or no sparkle.
The biggest con in diamonds is a shallow cut diamond. Malls are full of them. It makes the diamond look big because the table is large but it is flat and light does not reflect right. You get a larger look but no brilliance. The next is a deep cut which you can usually get cheaper because the diamond is tall and looks small. This is the worst as you get no size and no brilliance.
Without going into too much detail an ideal cut diamond will have close to the following allowances:
The table size (flat part on top) is usually 53% of the total width of the diamond at the girdle (widest part)
The height is usually around 60% of the width with about 44% of the height being from the girdle to the point and 16% of the height being from the girdle to the top.
If you take the angle from the plane of the girdle along the crown, it should be around 35% and 41% from the girdle down to the point.
Any nice diamond over 1 carat certified by a reputable gemologist will give all of these measurements. If you shop the malls, you will notice that most diamonds are IGI certified. This is for a reason as they tend to rate diamonds to benefit the seller. Look for a GIA certified diamond. This is an independent lab that will give you an unbiased rating. There are others also beside GIA. It is possible to find an SI2 diamond with IGI certificate that you can see flaws with the
[hr]
eye, but they are usually not that apparent. You will never find a GIA certified SI2 diamond that you can see flaws with the
[hr]
eye. An IGI diamond that had a borderline VS2 and G color rating would probably get an SI1, H rating from GIA. They are not dishonest ratings, they just tend to make borderline decisions go in favor of the retailer.
One last bit of advice. Buy a loose Diamond from a Diamond broker. You will get a much better selection of higher quality diamonds at a much better price. The Reference prices shown on diamonds in Malls are pure BS. There is no such thing. Diamonds are traded and valued by a market price like Gold, but much less volatile. You can find a chart that will show you the market values for different grades of diamonds. A good diamond broker will usually sell you a loose diamond at Market plus 10%. This is a huge savings over what a mall will charge you.
Find a broker and tell him you want an ideal cut, GIA certified diamond that falls within ideal tolerances. You will usually have to go over 1 carat to get a certification of this type. A broker will usually allow you few days to get an independent certification done on the diamond to verify you are getting what the certificate states. You want to do this without fail. It keeps everyone honest. When you have it certified, don't show them the certificate. They will fill out a certificate and mapping of the flaws which should match what you have. If you have a GIA certified diamond, tell the person cerfitifying it that if there is any doubt, go to worst rating. You will have to pay for the certification or you can do what I did and agree to buy the ring and have it mounted by jeweler and he may not charge you. Now depending on how paranoid you are (and I never take a chance) do not let the diamond leave your site. A good gemologist will do this anyway. He will bring over the scales, microscope and calipers where the diamond is always in front of you.
Last but not least, protect that diamond with a 6 prong titanium mount. 4 prongs are risky in that if you break one prong, the diamond is most likely gone. You can break up to three prongs in a 6 prong mount if not adjacent to one another and be ok. You will loose a little of the brilliance with a 6 prong as more diamond is covered by the mount, but it's good insurance. And get a jewelry rider policy to insure it.
Sorry to go on so long. I love this subject and have not discussed it in a long time.
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
lovethesea
Active Member
Originally posted by TangMan99
One last bit of advice. Buy a loose Diamond from a Diamond broker. You will get a much better selection of higher quality diamonds at a much better price.
.
thats what we did. WAY better prices. Ours actually had limited settings available. I didn't want too much else except 2 smaller round diamonds set down from my center oval in platinum. Simple and elegant. Like I said, I get compliments daily. Also going with someone like this you can bump up your size a bit with the savings. (something my now hubby wasn't thinking about
lovethesea
Active Member
give it back? hmmm, I dunno about that!
tangman99
Active Member
Originally posted by MolaMola
Holy cow! When you say, "Glow like a firefly," do you mean glow green, or that violet color?
Also, how do you rate other precious stones? Is it just based on the richness of color, or are there other factors?
The diamond itself will have a deep blue or violet hue. It will look almost like it is lighting up. I had heard once when flouresence was first discovered that many of the retailers were trying to market them as a rare blue diamond until it became common knowledge that it is a flaw.
I know very little about other stones. I've always been into diamonds and only round ones at that.
alison
Member
Hi 007, it all depends on the girl. I myself have never been given a diamond ring, but earings because I'm single, but I prefer something of pretty good quality with small inclusions, that way you can have something a little bigger, rather than going with a flawless diamond, and geting a tiny little thing. I never see the difference myself. Oh, and going 1 carot or bigger is better. But it all depends on the woman, and her age too, and how flashy they want it, and price, and all that stuff. But at my age of 26, that's what I'd go for, just my opinion. Like everything size kinda does matter. lol. ~Ali