May 2010
Great Deals – May 2010 Archive Page
May 31: I looked at a number of large Pear shaped diamonds over the past few days, so todays recommendation will be for a large Pear, or Teardrop.
The diamond is a 1.51 carat diamond with G color and VS2 clarity with Ideal cut proportions. The diamond sells for $9,770.
The proportions on the diamond are beautiful, with the table and depth at ideal percentages, and the ratio of 1.48 ensuring the pear shape will be very nice and not squat.
The various feathers and clouds inside the diamond, including one large one, are all pretty much along the edge. As a VS2 they were already mostly invisible to the naked eye. Being that they are all along the edges of the diamond ensure that the beauty of the diamond is not affected at all by them, making the cheaper price a great deal.
This diamond is very cheap for its qualities and is really a great buy.
Pear diamond, 1.51 carat, G color, VS2 clarity, for $9770.
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| 1.51 Carat G-VS2 Ideal Cut Pear Diamond magnified |
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May 30: Based on two separate questions I received recently, I was looking at some more pear shaped diamonds, but larger than a carat. One person who asked was looking in the range of 1.50 carat, and the second was lookign for a pear shaped diamond ranging up $4,000, obviously the larger the better (everybody always wants larger, and no matter what the other details are, in people’s minds, larger is always more important).
Today I will recommend a diamond that is the best Pear shaped diamond up to $4,000.
The recommended diamond is a 1.11 carat Pear shaped diamond with H color and VS2 clarity. The diamond is an Ideal cut and sells for $3,880.
The diamond is very nice with a beautiful pear shape, along with a ratio of 1.53.
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| 1.11 Carat H-VS2 Ideal Cut Pear Diamond magnified |
For this Pear shaped diamond with H color, I would go with a yellow gold solitaire ring.
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| 18k Yellow Gold Wide Contour 4 Prong Solitaire Ring |
This 18k Yellow Gold Wide Contour 4 Prong Solitaire Ring sells for $465 in yellow gold will make for a beautiful ring set with the Pear diamond standing out on this uniquely shapped ring.
May 27: Today’s diamond is just about as large as you can get and still be considered a small diamond.
Today’s diamond is a 95 pointer, a 0.95 Carat diamond, wih G color and VS2 clarity. The diamond sells for $3,270.
The diamond is an Ideal cut diamond, and while the cut is really beautiful and proportional, the length to width ratio is just slightly less than perfect at 1.43. Your money, a couple hundred dollars worth at least, is being saved on this stone because it is less than 1 carat – it is just under, and the difference is not that noticeable to the eye, so you get the appearance but save the money because the stone has not reached the more expensive bracket, and the ratio being slightly less than perfect.
Today’s recommended diamond is a 0.95 Carat, G color, VS2 clarity, Ideal cut Pear shaped diamond, selling for $3270.
May 26: For today’s recommended diamond, I am heading over to the Pear shaped diamonds, also known as the teardrop, because of its unique shape of a single point on one end coming to a rounded edge on the other side.
Today’s decision as to what stone to recommend was actually very difficult. I narrowed my selection down to three great small Pear cut diamonds, all very similar in detail, with only slight differences between them. Each has a good reason to be selected over the others.
Here are my three finalists, before I make my recommendation. In truth, you can go with any of these diamonds and be making a good buy:
- A 0.90 Carat diamond, with G color and SI1 clarity, selling for $3,120. This diamond has going for it and beautiful shape, a slightly cheaper price, and a length to width ratio of 1.48. The recommended ratio range for Pear shape diamonds is from about 1.45 to 1.75.
- A 0.91 Carat diamond with G ccolor and VS2 clarity, selling for $3,420. This diamond has going for it the slightly better clarity level.
- A 0.91 Carat diamond with G color and SI1 clarity, selling for $3,330. As far as shape goes, I think this one has the best shape of the three, with a ratio of 1.53. This is a subjective opinion, and you might like the shape of one of the other stones better.
And for my selection, I decided to choose diamond #1 – the 0.90 Carat diamond with G colro and SI1 clarity, selling for $3120. This diamond has the most going for it, and is really a beautiful diamond. With all three diamonds being so similar, the extra couple hundred dollars don’t really add much value for the other two stones, so this one makes the cut and comes out victorious!
0.90 Carat diamond, with G color and SI1 clarity, selling for $3,120
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| 0.90 Carat G-SI1 Ideal Cut Pear Diamond magnified |
May 25: Today we will go a bit lower in “caratage” for our small Princess diamond recommendation. Today’s diamond recommendation will be for a 0.63 Carat diamond with H color and VS2 clarity. The diamond sells for $1260.
The diamond has a length to width ratio of 1.01 and the proportions of the stone are right where they should be for the ideal stone.
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| 0.63 Carat H-VS2 Ideal Cut Princess Diamond magnified |
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May 24: Today’s small diamond will once again be a Princess cut diamond. This one is a 0.76 Carat with G color and VS2 clarity. The diamond sells for $2,020.
The diamond is a Premium cut Princess, with a length to width ratio of 1.02 (to 1). Both the depth and the table are within the range of what is generally considered the optimum size. This diamond is cut very well, and the few little crystals and needles are so small that they will not be visible at all.
So, again, 0.76 carat Princess cut diamond, with G color and VS2 clarity for $2,020 is todays recommended diamond.
May 23: Today we will go for a small Princess cut. For me, anything less than 1.00 Carat qualifies to be in the category of “small”, even though really that still leaves a large range – anywhere from 0.01 to 0.99 Carat.
Today’s diamond will be a “small” Princess cut, weighing in at 0.85 Carat. The stone is 0.85 Carat, with G color and VS2 clarity and is a Premium cut. This diamond sells on James Allen for $2,900.
For a Princess cut diamond, the ideal length to width ratio is up to 1.10, with the actual preference at 1.05 or less. This diamond is cut with a ratio of 1.01 making it just about perfectly square, as a Princess diamond should be.
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| 0.85 Carat G-VS2 Premium Cut Princess Diamond magnified |
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May 20: Today’s diamond recommendation will be a small Emerald cut diamond.
This diamond is a 0.64 Carat, G color, VS1 clarity Ideal cut Emerald cut diamond. This diamond is selling for $1,470.
The Emerald cut diamond is a beautiful cut with a classic flair of elegance. The emerald diamond is generally not going to be as brilliant as an equivalent quality round cut diamond, but the beauty of the emerald makes up for it. While the brilliance is less than that of a round diamond, the flashes are usually going to be broader and stronger, as the facets in the emerald cut are longer.
Emerald diamonds also, like the Marquise, have proportions that lend to a length to width ratio. In the Marquise we discussed the ratio affecting how squeezed and long it would look relative to how oval and short. With the Emerald cut, the ratio will indicate how rectangular relative to how square the diamond will look.
The ideal ratio in an Emerald cut diamond is generally considered in the range of from (to 1) to 1.65 (to 1), with a 1.5 (to 1) being the standard preference.
This diamond has a ratio of 1.25 which means the length is just slightly under the ideal length and it will look slightly less rectangular and slightly closer to a square look. Obviously it is still rectangular as the length is longer than the width, but it is just slightly less rectangular than what most people consider ideal. Still a beautiful stone, and a great buy at $1470…
May 18: Today’s small diamond recommendation is going to be a Marquise Diamond.
This diamond is a 0.71 Carat, G color with VS1 clarity Ideal cut Marquise diamond.
The diamond is cut beautifully and the length to width ratio is 2.08. The length to width ration is what you get when you divide the length of the diamond by the width of the diamond. This measurement tells you how elongated or rounded the diamond will look (in squared off diamonds like the Princess cut or Cushion cut it will tell you how squared the diamnod will look or rectangular). The lower the ratio means the diamond is wider relative to its length and that will give it a rounder appearance. The higher the ration, the more elongated it will look as the length is longer relative to the width.
The ratio on this diamond is 2.08 (to 1). The accepted range on Marquise diamonds is generally about 1.75 to 2.25 (to 1). This stone is 2.08 which makes it right practically in the middle, considered the norm, at just about the ideal ratio and the ideal shape and appearance. Making this a beautiful looking Marquise diamond.
This 0.71 carat, G color, VS1 clarity Ideal diamond is selling for $2,100.
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| 0.71 Carat G-VS1 Ideal Cut Marquise Diamond magnified |
May 17: Many people prefer to buy small diamonds because the smaller size also translates into lower cost. Today’s smaller diamond is a 0.71 Carat, H color, VS1 diamond, with Ideal cut proportions selling for $2,290.
The balance between the size, color and clarity make this a very clean stone that is very nicely priced..
May 16: Continuing with the smaller, lower budget diamonds, I am today recommending a 0.75 Carat diamond.
This diamond is a 0.75 Carat, G color, VS1 clarity diamond with Ideal cut proportions, selling for $2,920.
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| 0.75 Carat G-VS1 Ideal Cut Diamond magnified |
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May 12: I am going to start going through lower budget diamonds. They will be smaller stones, generally smaller than 1 Carat. They will have higher color rating and higher clarity ratings.
So today’s recommended diamond is going to be a 0.85 Carat diamond, with G color and VS2 clarity. The diamond sells for $3,720. The diamond is cut well with very even depth and table measurements, and the polish and symmetry are excellent. These are parameters that you won’t really benefit much from, but you are getting an excellent small diamond for a very reeasonable price.
May 11: Today’s recommended diamond is going to be a beautiful and elegant Cushion cut diamond.
The diamond is a 1.20 Carat diamond, H color, VS1 clarity, Ideal cut Cushion diamond. The diamond is selling on James Allen for $5,630.
The H color is higher than I usually recommend, but it really is not noticeable H color in general is already considered “near colorless”, meaning color in the diamond is generally noticeable. H color is noticeable, but usually only when compared next to other diamonds of better color grading. In the case of this diamond, the diamond is so beautiful even with the H color, that it is still a great buy, and you are getting this great diamond at a much better price because it is rated as an H.
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| 1.20 Carat H-VS1 Cushion cut Ideal Cut Diamond magnified |
May 10: During some correspondence with a reader, I was looking at some Asscher cut diamonds, and decided that today I would use the Asscher cut as the style for my daily recommendation.
This Asscher cut diamond is a 1.20 Carat diamond with G color and VS1 clarity. It is a Premium cut diamond, and is selling for $5,990. This diamond is very clean, even for a VS1 rating.
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| 1.20 Carat G-VS1 Asscher cut Premium Cut Diamond magnified |
May 9: Happy Mother’s Day!
If you have not yet bought your mom a present for Mother’s Day, it is too late now. You are in trouble no matter what you do!
The only way to get yourself out of the doghouse might be to get something like today’s recommendation, even though it will only get there a few days after Mother’s Day. That brings us to todays recommendation – The Heart Shaped Diamond.
There is no real guidance in the industry regarding heart shaped diamonds, as far as how to relate to the details of the diamond, what is considered good, what to look out for, etc. The obvious is to look at the shape – make sure the curves are even, and the shape is nice. As far as depth, table size and the rest of the proportions, there is not any real guidance offered. Look, like in any diamond, for a fairly clean diamond, and mostly make sure the shape is nice.
This heart shaped diamond is a 1.11 Carat diamond, with G color and VS1 clarity. It is selling on James Allen website for $5,790. A lot of money to make up with mom for missing Mother’s Day, but it will do the job!
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| 1.11 Carat G-VS1 Heart Shaped Premium Cut Diamond magnified |
Happy Mother’s Day!
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May 6: Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and I hope you have already bought your mom, or helped your kids by their mom, your wife, a great gift. If not, you can still get her something really nice – I would go with a bracelet. I had a hard time choosing, so I am going to recommend a bit of a variety.
Also, I am going to recommend some bracelets from Blue Nile. They still say, as of this writing, that they can ship the items out and have them by you in time for Mother’s Day. If the timing is less important, if you don’t mind being a couple of days late, I will also recommend a bracelet from James Allen.
There is a very large selection of Bracelets at Blue Nile. I like the Garland Bead Bracelet in Platinum, selling for $890. For higher end bracelets, I would go for the Diamond Eternity Bracelet in 18k White Gold (2 ct. tw.) selling for $2100
From James Allen I would go for the 18k White Gold Pave Set Diamond Bangle 0.75ctw selling for $1875.
As well, if you want to get your mom something more personal, maybe go for a Blue Nile charm bracelet, and you can engrave the charms with the kids names.
Here are some of the bracelets I thought would make great gifts for Mother’s Day:
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| James Allen 18k White Gold Pave Set Diamond Bangle 0.75ctw |
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| Blue Nile Diamond Eternity Bracelet in 18k White Gold (2 ct. tw.) |
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| Garland Bead Bracelet in Platinum |
May 5: Today I am back to Oval cut diamonds. They are very “classic” for engagement rings, and I like the look of the extendedness of the diamond.
I debated today between two stones, one of which was larger, and the other smaller but cleaner.
The first stone is a 1.24 Carat diamond selling for $5820. This stone is H color with VS1 clarity.
The second stone is a 1.02 Carat diamond selling for $5370. This stone is a G color, with VS1 clarity.
Both stones are Premium cut. The benefit of the first is the size, as it is a much larger diamond. The benefit of the second is that the table is larger, so even though the diamond is smaller, it will give off the appearance of being bigger than it really is.
As well, the second diamond is cleaner with the clouds and needles closer to the sides, while the first stone has its cloud right in the middle. Both stones are great, and really none of these clouds will be noticeable to the naked eye anyway, so both are good buys.
One more point is that the second stone is a better color. While the H is fine on the first stone, it is starting to show tint already. While the stone might be beautiful, and it is, the second stone does rate better on that.
My recommendation for today’s diamond is going to be the second stone. The first stone’s benefit is really just the size. With the second stone having better color and clarity, with a larger table, this one gets my vote.
So, today’s recommended diamond is a 1.02 Carat diamond with G color and VS1 clarity selling for $5370.
May 4: I was not looking for a “TrueHearts”, or “Hearts and Arrows”, diamond, but while looking through a number of other diamonds, this one, with Hearts and Arrows proportions, caught my eye and I decided to recommend it.
The diamond is a beautifully cut 1.15 Carat stone with G color and VS2 clarity selling for $7,960.
The certificate is supplied by AGS and you can see that it has a cloud right in the middle. besides for that cloud, the diamond is amazing. Even that cloud being where it is is very difficult to see, even under the Virtual Loupe.
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| 18k White Gold Royal Engraved Brilliant Diamond Engagement Ring |
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| 1.15 Carat G-VS2 Hearts and Arrows Ideal Cut Diamond magnified |
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| 1.15 Carat G-VS2 Hearts and Arrows Ideal Cut Diamond TrueHearts Image Magnified |
And here is the diamond’s AGS certificate:
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May 3: I have not yet recommended any Oval cut diamonds, so today I went searching for a nice Oval for you.
I found this Oval to be very clean with a much better color rating than I was even looking for. So my recommenddation is for a 1.32 Carat, F color, VS2 clarity, Oval cut diamond selling for $6,570.
The cut on this diamond is ideal. There are no real “best measurements” for oval cut diamonds, but the thing to avoid is cuts that create a “bowtie effect”, and this stone does not suffer from that.
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| 1.94 Carat H-VS1 Ideal Cut Diamond magnified |
While the “bowtie effect” is something to avoid in the diamond itself, I like this particular ring for the Oval cut that comes to a tapered bow-tie setting.
For the setting, I will recommend this 18K White Gold Bow-Tie Channel Set with 8 round sidestones selling for $950 (in platinum the ring will cost $1720)
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| 18k White Gold Royal Engraved Brilliant Diamond Engagement Ring |
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| 1.94 Carat H-VS1 Ideal Cut Diamond magnified |
For the setting, I will recommend this 4mm Solitaire Engagement ring setting. In White Gold it sells for $550 (plus a 10% discount using the coupon code: RING10)
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| 18k White Gold Royal Engraved Brilliant Diamond Engagement Ring |
