Are you on the hunt for an engagement ring but don’t want to blow the budget? Look no further. Here are some practical ways to narrow down the search for a stone that will still wow without braking the bank.
Budget: $4,500
Let’s start out with a hypothetical budget of $4,500. Adjust this according to your requirements.
Setting Ideas
A classic simple solitaire setting in 14k white gold leaves us plenty in the budget for the stone.
Some people prefer six prongs, as not only does it look like it will hold the diamond in more securely, it looks more rounded and crown-like.
So for we can use this Classic Six-Prong Solitaire Engagement Ring. This still leaves enough in the budget for a decent stone.
Diamond Shape
If you are overwhelmed by the many options available on the diamond search page let’s break it down so we know what everything means.
These are the options selected:
Natural
Shape: Round
Price: $3000 maximum
Carat: Up to 1.50
Color: H to D
Clarity: VS2 to FL
Cut: VG to Astor
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: Medium to None
Table %: 56 to 59
Depth: 60.9 to 62.5
Length to Width Ratio: 1 to 1
Entering in those settings will make sure the parameters are wide enough to show you a pretty wide selection so we will still have to do some culling.
Shape: Round
The way a round diamond returns light to the eye, makes it quite difficult to tell if there is a slight tint to it. So this means we can usually get away with choosing a stone that isn’t the iciest of stones. This is contingent on the stone being cut and polished just the right way.
To get that “lightening” effect we have to pay close attention to all the other search settings.
I know a lot of people will come at me with “the table has to be 58% and no more!” But they would be wrong about that. While there are more angle combinations that result in an ideal cut diamond where a 58% table is present than is the case with a 59% table 58% is not a hard limit. It’s only when the table starts reaching 60% where you do start to see a trade off of fire for more white light but there are plenty of ideal stones that have a 59% table if the angles are complementary.
However we can’t search for stones by reported angles so we have to use these tricks to help us get closer to finding those ideal or near ideal cut stones out there.
Three ways to increase the size
So what if the above search doesn’t give us anything within the size we want,
1. Choose a Lower Color Grade
The above search will return a great selection of diamonds which don’t require any compromise in terms of clarity nor in terms of color.
Of course if you are hoping to get something a little bigger, then the first thing I would suggest is to move the color slider to include I-J-K color diamonds instead of D-E-F-G-H colors.
This will increase the size of the largest diamonds in the search results by 20% to 25%.
2. Choose a Lower Clarity Grade
If you don’t want to compromise on color there is another way to show larger stones in the search results.
Go back to the original color range we had and move the clarity slider to show you the SI1 diamonds.
This should also increase the size of the largest diamonds shown by around 20% within the same budget.
Including SI1 diamonds in the search will require a little more examination of each stone so you still end up with a beautiful stone. There will be some SI1 diamonds which are very cloudy, or have big ugly inclusions under the table. This is why I don’t usually recommend SI1. It’s usually preferable to try for a lower color grade before a lower clarity grade, but again it depends on how you feel about color.
Ideally you want to find an eye clean diamond. For an explanation of this term see: What is an Eye-Clean Diamond and What Does it Mean Exactly?
The images are obviously enlargements of the actual size of the diamonds so the inclusions are going to be bigger on screen than in real life. Just look at the measurements of the diamond and picture the diamond at 6mm or whatever is shown in the diamond’s description. It’s not impossible to find an eye-clean SI1, but it will take a little more effort.
3. Choose Lower Color and Clarity Grades
And finally we can try for both lower color and lower clarity.
Bonus Tip
Deselect
- Shape
- Depth
- Table
You should then be shown some magnificent Astor Ideal cushion cut diamonds in the search results which can hold their own against round brilliants with some beautiful star patterning.
Send in your question
If you are looking to buy any type of diamond jewelry online you are welcome to send in any questions you may have.
As an affiliate of the some of the world’s finest jewelers I am motivated to find the right purchase that is perfect just for you. Every person has specific needs and every jeweler has specific areas in which they excel.
Thomas J Stevens GIA DG CSG
