July 2010

Great Deals - July 2010 Archive Page

July 28: Today’s recommended diamond is a Princess cut diamond.

The diamond is a 1.03 carat diamond, with H color and SI1 clarity. The diamond is a Premium cut Princess diamond, and it sells for $3,680.

The diamond is a very nice diamond, with nice proportions. It has some marks, but because it is a Princess they are covered by the faceted table.

1.03 Carat H-SI1 Premium cut Princess cut Diamond magnified

 

 

 

July 27: Today’s recommended diamond is a Round Brilliant diamond.

The diamond is a 1.06 carat diamond, with J color and SI1 clarity. The diamond is an Ideal cut Round diamond, and it sells for $4,020.

As you can see, I have recently been recommending lower budget diamonds, still generally above a carat. I have been pushing the edges of the colorless range, and today’s J is the final limit in the range, and sticking to the low end in the range of the “clean” levels of clarity.

This is a beautiful stone with great proportions and the markigns are mostly along the edges, with one crystal on the table, though even after knowing where it was (based on the plot in the certificate), I still had a hard time seeing it.

Go now to James Allen to see, and buy, this diamond!

 

July 26: Today’s recommended diamond is a Round Brilliant diamond.

The diamond is a 1.08 carat diamond, with I color and SI1 clarity. The diamond is an Ideal cut Round diamond and sells for $4,630.

The diamond has a few wisps across the Table, but that’s it, and is a very nice diamond for this price level. It is definitely a good buy.

1.08 Carat I-SI1 Ideal cut Round cut Diamond magnified

Go to James Allen now to see more information on this diamond, and buy it!

 

 

July 25: Today’s recommended diamond is a Round Brilliant diamond.

This diamond is 1.00 carat diamond, with I color and SI1 clarity. The diamond is an Ideal cut Round diamond, and it sells for $4,460.

The diamond is cut beautifully with great proportions. I see a couple of wisps in it, but didn’t notice anything else, which is good, as the internal marks are not very visible.

The GIA certificate is not online, but you can request an image of it from James Allen if you are considering buying the diamond.

Go now to James Allen website to learn more about this diamond!

 

 

July 22: Today’s recommended diamond is a Round Brilliant.

This diamond is one of those diamonds that is a great find. You can’t let this one get away..

The diamond is a 1.03 carat diamond, with I color and SI2 clarity. The diamond is an Ideal cut Round diamond, and it sells for $4,070.

1.03 Carat I-SI2 Ideal cut Round cut Diamond magnified

1.03 Carat I-SI2 Ideal cut Round cut Diamond certificate

Go to James Allen website now and find out more about this diamond!

 

 

July 21: Today’s recommended diamond is a “small” Round Brilliant. “Small” because it is smaller than 1 carat.

The diamond is a 0.98 carat diamond with G color and SI2 clarity. The diamond is an Ideal cut Round diamond and sells for $3990.

The diamond is fairly clean. The diamond being just under a carat makes it discounted a significant amount – just for a 2-point difference.

This is as close to a carat as you are going to get, while saving the money of less than a carat.

 

 

July 19: Today’s recommended diamond is a “small” Round Brilliant diamond, but on the “small” side – below 1 carat.

If you are looking for a diamond with a budget of about $4000, this diamond is for you.

The diamond is a 0.90 carat diamond, with H color and SI1 clarity. The diamond is an Ideal cut Round diamond, and sells for $3,970.

This stone is very nice and clean, definitely eye clean, and is a great buy at this price. If you are looking for a diamond in this price range and budget, check out James Allen and get this stone!

 

 

July 18: Today’s recommended diamond is a Round Brilliant diamond.

Today’s diamond is a great diamond, and is under $5000.

The diamond is a 1.02 carat diamond, with H color and SI1 clarity. The diamond is a Premium cut Round diamond, and sells for $4,940.

The flourescence is a little higher than I would like, but is not really much of a factor. The proportions are very nice and the diamond is very clean for a diamond rated SI1.

Go to James Allen for more details on this diamond and to place your order!

 

 

July 15: Today’s recommended diamond is a Round Brilliant diamond.

This is one of those diamonds that we call a real find. A real “metziya”, as they say in yiddishism in this industry. A steal.

The diamond is a 1.16 carat diamond, with H color and SI1 clarity. It is an Ideal cut diamond and sells for $5,620.

This diamond has great proportions, and despite being a low color and clarity, in the “eye clean range”, is a beautiful diamond with almost no inclusions. There is a feather and a natural inclusion mapped in the certificate, but they are on the side hidden in the facets, and are even difficult to see with the loupe, and will be invisible to the naked eye.

This stone is a steal at this price. It is priced this way because of its color and clarity rating, but it is a far better stone than the rating indicates.

1.16 Carat H-SI1 Ideal cut Round cut Diamond magnified

Act now. Buy this stone before it gets picked up by someone else. This one is a real steal.

 

 

 

July 14: Today’s recommended diamond is an Asscher cut diamond.

The diamond is a 1.21 carat, F color, VS2 clarity Ideal cut Asscher cut diamond. The diamond sells for $6,540.

The diamond is a beautiful cut with great color and proportions, and very well priced for such a nice stone. It has some tiny crystals and feathers inside it, but they are very small and do not affect the physical appearance of the diamond.

Table: 66%

Depth: 68.7%

Ratio: 1.02

Go now to James Allen website to buy this stone!

 

July 13: Today’s recommended diamond is an Asscher cut diamond.

The Asscher cut diamond is an intricately cut diamond that is prone to showing off everything it’s got. Meaning, similar to an emerald cut, because of the way the facets are cut and formed, everything is very visible. The color, the inclusions, and every aspect of the diamond is easily seen. You should therefore be very careful when selecting an Asscher cut diamond, and make sure you are getting good quality.

Today’s recommended diamond is a 1.71 carat diamond, with G colro and SI1 clarity. The diamond is Ideal cut and sells for $10,760.

1.71 Carat G-SI1 Ideal cut Asscher cut Diamond magnified

 

July 12: Today’s recommended diamond is a Cushion cut diamond.

When looking for a Cushion cut diamond, one needs to look for a diamond with better specifications that what one can look for in many other diamonds.  The minimum standards one should look for in a Cushion cut are higher than by other diamonds. Because of the large open facets, and the fact that the Cushion cut has a duller, less shiny appearance, one has to go with as high a color and clarity that he can afford, and definitely no lower than a G color and a VS2 clarity. On a really tight budget, one can go lower, to the same I and SI2 of other diamonds, but it is really only in a pinch.

 

The diamond being recommended today is a 1.30 carat diamond, with G color and VS1 clarity. This diamond sells for $8230.

Cushion cuts diamonds go great set in four pronged rings with either sidestones or surrounded by stones around the center diamond, such as a Pave setting.

 

 

For this diamond I selected this 18k White Gold Channel Set Princess Cut Diamond Engagement Ring that sells for $1200 in white gold. This ring offers an extremely refined look, enhancing the center stone. Very fitting for a Cushion cut diamond.

 

 

 

July 11: Today’s recommended diamond is going to be the result of a discussion based on a question recently received by email.

Someone sent me an email asking for my advice. The sender of the email was looking for a Princess cut diamond, with a maximum price of $10,000. But he didn’t just want the best Princess cut diamond he could get for 10k or less – he wanted the best value Princess cut for 10k or less. Meaning he was willing to give up on getting the best ratings of clarity and color for great value. He would go with a lower clarity rating, as long as the diamond still looks great physically. etc.

When searching for a diamond, I came across the following two diamonds that became finalists for the best value Princess cut diamond under $10,000.

1. This 1.60 carat Ideal cut Princess cut diamond, with G color and SI1 clarity selling for $8990.
2. This 1.57 carat Premium cut Princess cut diamond, with F color and SI1 clarity selling for $9260.

They are both beautiful diamonds, very nicely cut and very well priced. I recommended both as great value diamonds. They are both larger than the average in this price range, and that is because of the SI1 rating. Yet in both of these diamonds, the SI1 ratings do not affect the physical beauty and appearance of the diamond, as the wisps and clouds are not visible to the naked eye.

My final recommendation would be to choose diamond #1. The 1.60 carat diamond. The diamond is slightly larger, though the difference is really negligible with all else being equal. The diamond is slightly cheaper. There are more wisps and clouds in this diamond than in diamond #2, but they can hardly be seen anyway, so that is negligible as well. As well, it is a G color diamond rather than F, and since the average person cannot tell the difference between the two, the G color, as a factor on its own, is a better value buy.

My decision is that while either diamond would be a great buy, diamond #1 is giving you slightly more for your money.

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July 8: Today’s recommended diamond is an Emerald cut diamond.

The diamond is a 1.51 carat diamond, with G color and SI1 clarity. It is an Ideal cut Emerald cut diamond selling for $8,910.

For a diamond rated SI1, this is very clean. It has some wisps that run across the Table, and the truth is that the way the facets on an Emerald cut are cut with very long facets, the diamond is very clear across the top and the wisps are fairly visible. Yet, they are only wisps and rated at SI1 you are paying a discounted price for a great diamond.

 

 

 

July 7: Today’s recommended diamond is a Pear cut diamond.

The diamond is a 1.60 carat, G color, SI1 clarity, Ideal cut, Pear cut diamond. This diamond sells for $10,020.

This diamond has great proportions and is beautifully clean for a diamond rated as SI1.

Depth: 63.8%

Table: 56.0%

Ratio : 1.68:1

 

 

 

 

July 6: Today’s recommended diamond is an Oval cut diamond.

The diamond I am recommending is a 1.67 carat, I color, VS1 clarity, Premium cut, Oval cut diamond. The diamond sells for $7590.

This Oval cut diamond has great proportions, just below Ideal cut proportions. The ratio is in the preferred range, albeit at the low end. And it is a very clean diamond.

 

July 5: Today’s recommended diamond is a Marquise cut diamond.

The diamond I am recommending is a 1.04 carat, G color, SI1 clarity with ideal cut proportions. This diamond sells for $4,430.

Everything about this diamond is great. The 1.81 ratio, the depth and table proportions and the appearance.

 

1.04 Carat G-SI1 Ideal cut Marquise Diamond magnified

To compliment this beautiful diamond, I would recommend this 18k White Gold Common Prong .30ct Brilliant Diamond Engagement Ring featuring a single row of round brilliant-cut diamonds in an ethereal setting with sidestones, this ring will have a simple yet elegant display of glittering diamonds across her finger. This ring sells for $725 in White Gold.

18k White Gold Common Prong .30ct Brilliant Diamond Engagement Ring

 

 

 

July 4: Happy 4th of July!

I am not recommending a diamond today, even though I had one all picked out already. Go out, get away from the computer, and go enjoy the holiday!

 

July 1: Today’s Princess cut diamond will continue the move up in size and price…

Buying diamonds online can be a tricky business, though very worthwhile. As discussed elsewhere, buying diamonds online gives you access to such a vast amount of diamonds and choices that you just can’t get when you walk into a regular plain old Bricks and Mortar store. They don’t, and cannot, carry such a large amount of stock. As well, when buying diamonds online, you are getting your diamonds at much cheaper prices than what the traditional B&M store can offer. The online stores don’t have anything near the overhead that a traditional store has, and the online store can therefore offer the same goods for much cheaper.

That means, if you budgeted a certain amount of money for a diamond ring, if you buy it in a store, you might be able to only buy a certain size and quality diamond. If however you bought it online, for the same budget you can buy a diamond that is bigger and better (you can get some combination of improved color and clarity), or you can buy the size and quality fo diamond you originally intended to buy but you can do so while saving hundred, or even thousands (depending on the diamond), of dollars.

So, today’s recommended Princess cut diamond is a 2.26 carat, I color, VS2 clarity, Prmeium cut Princess cut diamond. This diamond sells for $14,840.