4c's

[AZhiAZiAM]

What do you know. It's getting to be that poop or get off the pot time with the girl. I've done tons of research about this clarity,color, carat cut. But since we have an honest and mixed crowd here with females and males I'd like your input on it.

 

[NismoFire]

Avoid big retailers like Kay, etc. gobble forbid you break up- they lose their resale value. (ask me how I know)


Other than that...the cut is a tricky thing. Most females will drop hints at what they want, or you can look at her jewelry box and see what the majority of her rings look like.

She'll probably never look at it in a magnifier, so the clearest, cleanest diamond isn't entirely necessary (unless you REALLY want to break the bank). I will say this, though, don't buy any darker than the I. You can actually see the discoloration with the naked eye with that one.

Go find yourself a reputable, local jeweler. They'll be happy to show you the differences.

 

[AZhiAZiAM]

i have a friend that's a jeweler but he works at a big market company... there is diamond dealers in LA and SF i think i might look into going to for a good price on a diamond then build myself a actually band. i know what kind of cut she wants oval..

 

[NismoFire]

If you're just doing a solitaire, pick the diamond, put it in a mount, give it to her, then let her pick out the mount/ring.

 

[xnjxterra]

well. i know jack squat about diamonds, other than the fact that any one would surely look purdy on my finger haha so, congrats to you!!

 

[Mirage]

I agree on not using the big chain stores, you're paying for all of their overhead, not better quality. I used Adiamor.com (which happens to be in LA) for both rings and the diamond, I was extremely happy with them and what I got ($1300 diamond with appraised value at $2200). If its not a suprise let her pick the ring she wants, you pick the diamond. I spent some considerable time researching diamonds and if you really want some help I can spend some more time after WENT passing along what I can. What I ended up getting was a 0.61 Carat Round, Excellent-cut, J-color, VS2-clarity Diamond, and it still amazes me how much it sparkles and appears bigger than a .6 compared to others. There are other measurements (physical ones not grades) and a ratio that makes a huge difference in appearance, I spent time looking for those numbers and then looking at the 4C's within that. I finally found one that had the numbers I was looking for with good grading, the lower J color and VS2 were offset by the excellent cut, polish and symmetry and it came at a good price.