Budget around RM5K for diamong plus ring.

kambingkoh gosh, i feel bad keep disturbing you, but what are your thoughts on the two below?

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=1283956314

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=%201328089625

first one is cheaper of cos, but i am wondering if it's worth it to trade off color, clarity and price increase of around RM 2.5k for the second one just to get an increase of 0.1 carat

do you think the 0.71 is noticeably larger than a 0.63 in real life?

In my opinion, yes the difference is noticeable.

hey thanks for reply. appreciate it especially from another sifu here.

personally, as long as eye clean (to naked eye), i don't mind the clarity being downgraded.

a bit worried about the color G though... not sure if it's noticeable in real life though i know unless you compare with another one side by side, no one can really pick it out since G is not that yellow anyway

so, what's your opinion? which one would you get for a proposal ring?

If you want value for money stone within 30-pointer, I think this is the one:
https://black.briangavindiamonds.com/diamon...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link)

Including shipment, I think will be approximately USD 900. You can try to nego for free shipping though, they might give, but no guarantee, given that the price for this stone is pretty cheap for a E VVS1! I don't really prefer 57% table width myself, because I believe smaller table return better fire. Is just that the value for money that this diamond provides is hard to beat.

I like something like this more: https://black.briangavindiamonds.com/diamon...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link), but the price... it is more expensive!!!

p.s. They do restock quite a number of 30-pointers recently. Feel free to have a look: https://black.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link)

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: Mar 14 2019, 12:02 AM

Nah, it's okay.

The E VVS2 has 63% depth... it is actually slightly deeper than desired. If you ask me, not quite worth it to pay the price difference. Other than the slightly wide table, the proportions of the 0.71ct seems better.

Nonetheless, try to get the real photo and compare.

0.71ct is not noticeably right away if you ask me, but if compare side-by-side, or used to seeing diamonds for some time, then one may be able to see it.

Anyway, you got a budget?

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: Mar 14 2019, 12:23 AM

Still around 10-12k for stone alone. Expected setting to be around 3k, so preferably kept under 15.

The two options you gave me where both are WF's ACA are really nice looking from the scope diagrams, but I am just asking around locally to see if I can avoid the hassle of buying online and doing wire transfers and all.

The E VVS2 is quoted to me at a shade under 12k and the 0.71 was 14.5k both inclusive of the rings.

I am now thinking if I should instead get one of the ACA's (which are around USD 3K) and then set it locally. A bit of a hassle, but I am quite confident with WF when I see those scope pictures showing ideal cuts.

Here is another one that I personally like by the numbers :
https://black.briangavindiamonds.com/diamon...?a_aid=myengexp (affiliate link). Unlike Whiteflash, you might need to pay for shipping though, but you can try to request for free shipping, sometimes may get it. If no, shipping should be USD 50 and above. Just check with the sales consultant for the images.

FYI, the 0.71ct G VS2 price is relatively cheap compared to what you can get for a super ideal. But again, we don't know the cut quality base on numbers alone.

And there is one more player in the super ideal realm-https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD10413
I am not affiliate with them but from what I know, a lot people like their diamonds. The diamond they distribute is known as Crafted by Infinity. Note that this brand is distributed by many other retailers, High Performance Diamonds is just one of them. I seldom promote them mainly because their prices are usually higher than both Whiteflash and Brian Gavin Diamonds. However, with the recent announcement that they have cut down on the cost, I am sure their prices are pretty competitive. What I really like about this company is always the Crown Angle and Pavilion Angle pairing. They seem to strike a very good balance. I started to analyse abit on this after their customers keep giving them good reviews. Also, the Crown Angle and Pavilion Angle correlates with what my wife's Lazare diamond is doing. To be honest, my wife love the Lazare more than the ACA, but we have to go case-by-case basis. Not all Lazare perform as good and not all ACAs are not as good. Anyway, I can agree that Crafted by Infinity has very good consistency in their Crown Angle and Pavilion Angle pairing. It is evident in their ASET which you can see on their grading report. They provide free ASET, Idealscope for you to play with too! Together with free shipping to Malaysia when I last check.

Overall, you choices are plenty. Buying from overseas are very safe as they are shipped using FedEx International Priority and the item is insured. There are no taxes for loose diamond, and you can get superior cut at a reasonable price. Using Money Match to transfer can assure that the recipient will receive the full exact amount, and you don't have to be worried about the recipient complaining and demanding for the differences. Anyway, I don't think they will demand if there are some bank charges at their side, I am pretty sure all these super ideal players will gladly absorb the charges, but since Money Match provides bank beating rates, I don't see why we will use banking service. Depending on various factors, they might be slight slower sometimes, but the benefit gained far outshine the cons. Besides, you can get RM 50 off using my referral code REF_ACOO for your first transfer.

For ring setting RM 3k... Are you planning to get platinum? Anyway, if you are getting 18k white gold, with your budget, you can already get 2 x ring settings from Memory Jewellery lol. But if you want comfort fit, you can consider iDo Jewellery. Price is higher, but they use palladium in their 18k white gold, which makes their ring hypoallergenic (highly unlikely to cause sensitivity to skin). Standard rings use nickel, which might cause sensitivity issue to a minority group of people. In other words, they are relatively safe for most people.

And if you don't want to do the ring setting first, you can request for a ring style holder, spring holder to hold you loose diamond for you to propose first, then only bring your other half to select the setting. This is because you save yourself some headache if you don't know the ring size or the design she likes. High Performance Diamonds give it for free, while both Brian Gavin Diamonds and Whiteflash can give it for free. Just remind them again to put it into the package before they ship. Warning: Ring setting will hold the stone much more secure, for spring holder, if you don't clip it nicely, it might cause the stone to fly out, so handle with care, don't shake it vigorously whatsoever. It might also fly out when you clip, so clip it in a secure room. That being said, I won't recommend you to do the proposal on a sandy beach... Just In case.

And since your special day is in April, you don't have much time left if you want to make the ring setting instead of using a spring holder... So give a good thought about it these few days.

Good luck.

No, I am not a sifu. Just sharing my limited knowledge with you guys here.

G colour is okay if you have a high performing diamond to mask the yellowish tint. Otherwise, the lowest you wanna go is F. Personally, here are my priorities:

P1: Cut, no compromise.
P2: Carat weight, girls' best friend so it has to be.
P3: Colour, cuz it is something which you and other people can observe.
P4: Clarity, does not really matter as long as it appears eyeclean and there are no internal cracks (feather) near the edges.

Imagine this very common conversation:

Girl A: WAHHHH, your diamond super shiny and colourful!! That's P1 right there.
Girl B: Is it? Thank you.
Girl A: How many carat? There you go, P2.

Never have you heard "Wahhh, your diamond super shiny and colourful! What colour and clarity your fiancé buy for you?"

Hahaha.. Spot On~! Coudn't agree more bro

Size does matter eh?

Oh yes, was thinking of platinum as I like the heft making it feel more premium. I don't think the ring will see much everyday use tbh, so I think the weight if fine. Plus, her skin doesn't take well to silver and some other metals, so I am a bit worried about white gold with nickel. Anyway, this is still being considered as I know palladium will also work well with sensitive skin.

After some thinking, I think I will sacrifice a small bit on cut as I don't think I need a super ideal (no one but a trained gemologist would notice). Before embarking on the search, I never thought there'd be this much thinking to be done haha. If I didn't come searching here, I would have just walked into any shops in supermarket and buy over the counter.

I was quoted a decent price for this: https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=5316892153 so, I think I am likely to go with it.

The ASET is not up to par with those Black by BG or WF's ACA, but I think kinda acceptable for "layman" purpose. Based on what I learned from sifu's here, the crown angle is off by a bit and the light return at 11 and 5 o'clock is wrong angle.

kambingkoh Is this an acceptable piece? Do you know if that inclusion at the 2 o'clock is a feather? However, most online reference says feather on a VS2 and above will not have any structural issue. Is that correct?

I read this thread from front to back back then and I can see your valuable input.

Thinking about it more, yeah I do think you got those priorities right. However, for cut, as a layman, I can only see more or less sparkles. After a threshold is cross for it to be good proportions, I feel like I can't tell between "perfect" and "slightly under perfect".

And under the lights of those gem stores in shopping malls, my eyes just go starry and everything looks kinda good hahahaha...

It is leaking light and with some light obstruction, but the overall proportions look okay, not best, but not bad. I won't say is a bad stone from economy and practical point of view. Its just that personally I'm not into that.

In case you need more images, here are some extra ones:
https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view...amond-095305197

In case you want to know how much this exact diamond is being sold at BlueNile, here is the price : USD 2623, wire price is cheaper at USD 2583.66.
https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD...ck_id=221807580

You may try to price match if you want, and see whether the seller can price match.

Enchanted Diamonds did not state their price, so you may consider contacting them and get a quote as well. If you manage to get a quote, you can use that to try and price match as well, since they can ship to Malaysia for free

I don't think I mind the crown angle and Pavilion angle pairing. 35.5 CA pair with 40.6 PA is okay for me. Just that this diamond is leaking light bothers me. The 11 o'clock and 5 o'clock thing is just a very small matter compare to the whole table being whitish.

The 2 o'clock does look like a feather, it is at the edge, so I might be slightly worry, but since the same jeweler is going to set it? I supposed they will take responsibility for it should anything happen.

Hope this helps?

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: Mar 15 2019, 09:44 AM

Hi kambingkoh , i used to be a complete dummy when it comes to diamond. have been lurking around this thread for a while and i must say i have learned a lot from you and all sifus here today i happened to go diamond ring hunting and came across a lot of choices . However the one that caught my eye is this GIA 5181507577, quoted at RM7688. Appreciate it if i could have your advise, thank you

This is interesting. What caught your eye about this stone

Hi, I have set a budget of RM7k for both the stone and ring. Among the many choices offered by Habib, tomei and wah chan, this is the one I believe is the bang for the buck.

By the way sorry I forgot to mention that the price is including 18k white gold ring 😃

Guys,
how do you guys think about this diamond?

gia report number 7318129932

Considering of getting higher carat diamond i have somehow gave up "cut".(which is extremely important :/)
however it looks shiny for me. Haha

got this at about 2kSGD.

worth it?
i know its late but i wish to know some of the opinion.

Now, this is am interesting one. Have you tried the HCA tool? https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca?, the score is 1.5, and so we can guess that the pavilion and crown angle is working together, which makes sense because the crown angle is sooo steep, and the pavilion angle is sooo shallow. Crown angle and Pavilion angle always work as an inverse of each other - one steep one shallow, whichever also can. The steepness of the crown and the tall crown height will make this diamond to have excellent fire I presume, but that is assuming the light return is not bad, which I am not too sure in this case since the total diamond depth is pretty deep. But since you saw the diamond and like it, i think it meets your requirement.

The reason this diamond is getting a so-called good cut is because the numbers... But this doesn't mean it will be that bad in real life if it is not leaking light or leaking too much light and the relationship is good between the crown and Pavilion angles, which is the case here.

Now, the not-so-good part: The calculated ideal weight is actually between 0.47ct - 0.48ct. In other words, it will look like a ideally cut 0.47ct or 0.48ct. Take a look at this 0.45ct, which has a bigger face-up size than your diamond:

https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view...amond-276952094



https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD...s&action=newTab


So you might wonder why 0.5ct? This is because the extra carat weight is hidden in the diamond total depth. Meaning all the extra goodness of the carat is hidden from the normal viewing position, which is facing-up, but yet, you are paying something extra for what you cannot see. And why would they cut it to 0.5ct? I can only guess they did it on purpose because 0.5ct is much more tempting than a 0.45ct right, as far as the number sounds. And one of the factors to determine the price is carat weight, not the face-up diameters.

Take a look at BlueNile. This diamond looks pretty good looking overall, but it has the same specs as yours as far as the 4Cs are concerned. Check out the price... So is it overpriced? If compare to BlueNile, I would say the price you paying is pretty fair since SG has taxes. But if compare to the earlier 0.45ct, I would say it has a better overall value than your diamond. This is because the face-up size is bigger, the diamond is 3EX, the overall look is very good-looking, and yet, it is still cheaper. And since this stone is on virtual inventory, other vendors may be able to offer even cheaper price. I would guess you can get it between RM 5300 to RM 5500 for this diamond in Malaysia. This is because you are saving the 7% VAT, so you won't reach RM 6k or SGD 2k.

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: Mar 17 2019, 11:08 AM

So I guess the thing that caught your eye is the price? I am not sure how good is the optical precision of the diamond, but the below diamond seems to have better face-up size than the diamond you have your eyes on.

It also has very good optical precision at the same time. And... It also has better clarity, and better HCA score.

Memory Jewellery is able to source it for you, Zcova is able to source it for you, Tailored Jewel is able to source it for you. Together with a ring setting, you should max at RM 7k or maybe lower.

Let me know if you have further questions.