Upgrading Diamond Studs

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J

Jadewah

O.G.
Sep 16, 2009
137
49
#1
I need some advice!

March of 2013 I bought a pair of .90 ctw diamond studs. I always had the intention of upgrading them, so I went with Blue Nile due to their upgrade policy. When I first bought them, I knew relatively little about diamonds, but I have learned a bit more in the past 2+ years.

Now my dilemma…I would like to upgrade to either a 1.5-2ctw diamond studs, but I don't like the fact that Blue Nile doesn't provide any pictures of the diamonds. Most of the popular online brands do, such as James Allen, Brian Gavin, Good Old Gold, etc etc.

Though I did not spend a killing on these diamond studs. I am a little torn on what do with my current set. I know I could sell them, but I'm not too sure what the turn around is of selling diamond studs. I considered keeping them, but I doubt I would wear them when I would essentially have the same exact earrings except larger.

Any advice? Should I stick with an upgrade from Blue Nile? Should I seek out another vendor? Should I sell this pair to help fund my next set? I'm torn :shucks:

These are the stats of the diamonds if that changes anything:
Set 1: .9 ctw
Carat Weight: .45/.45
Cut:Signature Ideal/ Signature Ideal
Color: G/G
Calrity: VS1/VS1
Table %: 55/55
Depth: 61.4/61.3
Girdle: Thin to Medium/Thin to Medium

An overall lovely set, that I just "outgrew" or maybe they just shrunk!:p
 
#2
Do you only have your lobes pierced? Why not get another piercing above the lobes and keep your smaller set for those? Or save them in case you have children in the future? :D
 
#3
If you don't want to spend on another pair I would upgrade with the same company. I usually think a picture of diamonds doesn't really help. Getting the specs and cert of the diamonds are probably more useful.

Good luck! I would buy as big a pair as your budget allows if I were you..

I have a pair that's 0.75 on each side and when I got them I thought they were big. Now I feel they are getting too small and I want something bigger! Lol
 
#4
OinkMoo said:
Do you only have your lobes pierced? Why not get another piercing above the lobes and keep your smaller set for those? Or save them in case you have children in the future? :D
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I actually had them pierced before, but they have since closed and I would rather not pierce them. I would think about giving them to a child, but I'm not sure how soon that will be lol.
 
#5
Newchanel said:
If you don't want to spend on another pair I would upgrade with the same company. I usually think a picture of diamonds doesn't really help. Getting the specs and cert of the diamonds are probably more useful.

Good luck! I would buy as big a pair as your budget allows if I were you..

I have a pair that's 0.75 on each side and when I got them I thought they were big. Now I feel they are getting too small and I want something bigger! Lol
Click to expand...

I thought stats were everything too, but I've noticed on James Allen that when you look at the diamond, they all give off very different appearances. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this properly, but it seems like the "arrows" are going every which way in some and some are very even and symmetrical.

I definitely plan on buying the biggest I can afford, but I also want to plan a trip to a jeweler and see which size looks best on me. Thanks for the good luck, it's exciting but also stressful finding a pair! 😊
 
#6
Just wondering, when my daughter was a baby, I purchased her very small diamond studs (1/4 c)?
I purchased them at Macys, this was 18 years ago. I always wanted to go to bigger size. Do you have to go back where you purchased?
 
#7
LOREBUNDE said:
Just wondering, when my daughter was a baby, I purchased her very small diamond studs (1/4 c)?
I purchased them at Macys, this was 18 years ago. I always wanted to go to bigger size. Do you have to go back where you purchased?
Click to expand...

It depends on the policy of the store. I know most companies let you upgrade as long it is double what you spent. So if you spent 3k, you would have to spend 6k. I'm not sure if Macy's has an upgrade policy. I'm sure you can check the site or call though.
 
#8
Jadewah said:
It depends on the policy of the store. I know most companies let you upgrade as long it is double what you spent. So if you spent 3k, you would have to spend 6k. I'm not sure if Macy's has an upgrade policy. I'm sure you can check the site or call though.
Click to expand...
Thank you! Its something I think about every few years but never get around to it.
 
#9
Please help me understand the Blue Nile upgrade policy. 1. How much credit do you get if you decide to upgrade to 1.80 ctw signature ideal, G VS1 diamonds? What about setting? Can you use the same earring setting with head modification? If not, do you want to change setting style, metal, or color? What is your budget?

Are the diamonds in your current stud earrings GIA certified? What are the crown and pavilion angles? The answers to these questions will affect option to sell earrings independently.

Although Blue Nile does not offer photos and IS/ASET images, you can still pre screen the diamonds based on cut parameters from the certificates. You can ask AME to help you find and screen Diamond candidates if you decide to sell your earrings and start over with new vendors ( actually including Blue Nile).

When you shop for new earring diamonds, consider downgrading to VS2 clarity, and/or H-I color to keep cost down. I first got a pair of E color 1.44 ctw studs. Later, I upgraded to 2.5ctw earrings, I lowered the color to I. The lower color is plenty white, especially for earrings. What people notice first are the size and cut.
 
#11
You will get more in trade than you will selling them outright, for lack of a better way to describe it, diamonds basically depreciate. They're just not going to "keep their value" once you're reselling them. That appraisal you have is basically not their value. That receipt you have is again basically not their value. Resale is a different animal, so I'd likely say stick with BN. Yes the lack of photos is a serious downside to working with them. I really hope that they see what their competitors are doing and work on that.

NOW...I have a suggestion vs trading them in if you want to keep them and start over elsewhere--get jackets. That way you can get a different look out of them, without using the option to wear them separately, or pass them on as a gift to a future child OR unmount them and use them in something like a DBTY necklace/bracelet, OR reset them into bezel set studs which to me look better at no bigger than that carat size. Just a suggestion.

I would be perfectly willing to help you work on selecting a new pair via any of the above, though.
 
#12
Christiflora said:
Please help me understand the Blue Nile upgrade policy. 1. How much credit do you get if you decide to upgrade to 1.80 ctw signature ideal, G VS1 diamonds? What about setting? Can you use the same earring setting with head modification? If not, do you want to change setting style, metal, or color? What is your budget?

Are the diamonds in your current stud earrings GIA certified? What are the crown and pavilion angles? The answers to these questions will affect option to sell earrings independently.

Although Blue Nile does not offer photos and IS/ASET images, you can still pre screen the diamonds based on cut parameters from the certificates. You can ask AME to help you find and screen Diamond candidates if you decide to sell your earrings and start over with new vendors ( actually including Blue Nile).

When you shop for new earring diamonds, consider downgrading to VS2 clarity, and/or H-I color to keep cost down. I first got a pair of E color 1.44 ctw studs. Later, I upgraded to 2.5ctw earrings, I lowered the color to I. The lower color is plenty white, especially for earrings. What people notice first are the size and cut.
Click to expand...

Blue Nile gives you the full cost you paid for the diamonds (not the settings though) as long as it is double what you spent before. They state on the website they will reuse the setting as long as they can reuse them on your new set. I'm not too worried about that part though because I bent one of the posts and I was thinking of trying a 6 prong setting (I have martini settings now).

The diamonds I have now are GIA certified. I would need to locate the certificate to check the full details again lol oops! You're right, the exact stats would determine the value on a resale. . Maybe I should price them. I doubt I would get full price minus setting that Blue Nile would give me though 😕

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely look into changing some of the stats. As of right now I'm just trying to get a feel what I should do with these before I determine what size and how much I want to spend.
 
#13
ame said:
You will get more in trade than you will selling them outright, for lack of a better way to describe it, diamonds basically depreciate. They're just not going to "keep their value" once you're reselling them. That appraisal you have is basically not their value. That receipt you have is again basically not their value. Resale is a different animal, so I'd likely say stick with BN. Yes the lack of photos is a serious downside to working with them. I really hope that they see what their competitors are doing and work on that.

NOW...I have a suggestion vs trading them in if you want to keep them and start over elsewhere--get jackets. That way you can get a different look out of them, without using the option to wear them separately, or pass them on as a gift to a future child OR unmount them and use them in something like a DBTY necklace/bracelet, OR reset them into bezel set studs which to me look better at no bigger than that carat size. Just a suggestion.

I would be perfectly willing to help you work on selecting a new pair via any of the above, though.
Click to expand...

Yea, I figured I wouldn't get as much reselling them. Bummer!!

I prefer the "cleaner" (for lack of better words) or simpler look of just the single diamond. Essentially, no halo. I bought myself a .42 Tiffany DBTY, but that would of been a great idea.
I think I may try to find another set from Blue Nile. I guess I could go that option first and if it doesn't work out I could always keep them for a future child or sell them.

I would definitely appreciate your help once I narrow it down between a 1.5 or 2.0 ctw diamond studs. I still have to go to a store to try them on. A lot of stores tend to carry 1.0 ctw and smaller studs 😭
 
#14
Are the bigger studs meant to be worn everyday or are they for occasions when you want to have extra bling?

If I were you, I would keep the 0.9 ctw as everyday earrings, and get bigger studs for special occasions. Or, you may want to gift the small studs to your daughter in the future. Although I do not know the exact cut spec, I suspect your BN Signature diamonds are very sparkly and bright, and thus they are keepers.

If you agree, then you are free to go to any vendor to get your bigger studs. This time, go as big as you can afford, at least 2ctw, because DSS sets in very quickly and you may find yourself in the same situation as today's. As I said before, to help maximize the stud size, consider going down in color to I, and down in clarity to VS2 (or even eye clean Si1 if the vendors are Brian Gavin or Whiteflash).

If, however, you can keep only one pair, you may at least try selling the smaller pair on your own, before moving to the trade-in option. I suspect there is a good demand for your size Diamond earrings, especially that the color, clarity, and cut grade are top. You never know. It is possible that you may get more than what you paid.
 
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