Help with Mom's 50th Birthday Present

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jessi5786

jessi5786

O.G.
Sep 17, 2007
1,203
37
#1
Hey Everyone!

I am by no means a jewelry expert and I was hoping you all could help!

I was thinking either a diamond pendant or a diamond cross pendant both from Tiffany's...

How low are you ladies willing to go in terms of clarity and color?

A SA showed me some pendants in the 0.50 ct range that were VS1 or VS2 and G,H,I in color...She said that since the diamonds are cut a certain way, and since the diamonds are small it doesn't really matter...

I once bought my mom the same pendant in the smallest ct size, I think it was 0.17 but she said she felt it was too small for her to wear. She's not into flashy jewelry, but I think she wants to look age appropriate. How small is not too small, if you know what I mean?

I am trying to keep the cost under $4000 but I'm trying to be flexible.

Here are the links of what I'm looking at:

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/ite...-t+diamond+pendant&selectedsku=23700131&mcat=

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Ite...+-r+-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+diamond+cross&search=1

If you ladies have any entirely different suggestions, I'm open to those too!

:ty:
 
#2
Diamonds of G-H color will face up white to the average person. As far as clarity, as long as it is eye clean, you can go as low as SI1. It all depends on each individual diamond.

I'm not sure if Tiffany's sells SI1 clarity.

The bottom line is, if getting it from Tiffany's isn't a must, you'll get a bigger bang for your buck going to a private jewelers. I was just up the block at a jeweler's near me with my fiance and he was looking at a ring with a .5 carat stone, set in an intricately designed two-tone ring for $2000. The diamond was bright, sparkled like crazy, and had zero inclusions visible to the naked eye. And the price wasn't a special deal or anything, but it goes to show you that it wasn't "Tiffany's pricing."
 
#3
Tiffany's only sells VS quality stones. I've seen some beautiful ones at
Costco for a quarter the price. They also sell only VS quality stones there. You may want to check them out.
 
#4
I like this website for diamonds they have a tutorial on this clarity and stone issues if you go to the tab of education they talk about shape, clarity and all.. and I like the sutff in there oh yea and the link is this www.bluenile.com. enjoy!! and hope you find what you are lookin for.
 
#5
I recently purchased a roberto coin cross pendant and its sooo pretty and HIGH quality stones for over $1000 less then a smaller one from Tiffanys that i was compairing it to. Roberto Coin makes some very nice pieces and he puts a ruby on the back of all of his pieces for good health.
 
#6
I agree with the others that Tiffany is way overpriced, and you can get a much bigger diamond of equal or better quality elsewhere for less. That said, if you're set on getting it from Tiffany, I think the size diamond has to do not only with your mom's age, but also your mom's size. If she is very petite a smaller diamond might look age/size appropriate for her. But if she's average/large, then a half carat might be too small.
 
#7
For a solitare stone pendant, it would be a good idea to go to local jewlers to compare....even though Tiffany is truely spectacular....its not much of a eye difference and you can get alot bigger for the price point you mentioned....

really depends on your preference, but I like the solitare vs. the cross.....
 
#8
I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. Tiffany's only sells the best of the best diamonds so I wouldn't worry about that at all.

I'd focus on your mom's personal style instead. I'm 53 and would happily and proudly wear either the cross or the pendant. If it were me, personally, I'd prefer the cross only because it has a little more personality (for lack of a better word) to it. I mean, it represents something and the older I get, the more I appreciate those types of things.

You are a lovely, wonderful, thoughtful daughter and your mom will be thrilled with either choice. Nothing is as much fun as opening a gift box from Tiffany's.
 
#9
Thank you all for your opinions! I don't know, I guess I'm using a major name brand as a crutch since I don't have a lot of experience with diamonds. Can you refer me to some other names or websites to browse? Are Blue Nile diamonds reputable?

It seems like a lot of tPFers prefer getting more for their $$ by purchasing from other companies, which I agree with, but is there anyone out there that purchases only from Tiffanys? I mean, besides the name, there must be a reason why they're so popular, no?

Also...can someone advise me on where I should be in terms of clarity and color, the SA told me the cut on the stones I was looking at is all the same to enhance brilliance.

Ooh and my mom is pretty petite, 5"2 medium build...I think a half a carat would be ideal because of price, lol but also because it's her 50th...0.50...lol, or am I just being weird and corny?
 
#11
50 and .50 sounds really cute! have you looked into clusters? But if you have your heart set on a .50 solitaire why not go for a heart shape tooo!

btw G/H SI1 would be best for this size. You can go as low as SI2 but you need to see the stone in person to compare.
 
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