Which pieces of jewelery is it worth getting the best quality diamonds for?

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N

Nelmi

O.G.
Aug 25, 2010
193
4
#1
Which pieces of jewelry do you think are worth worrying about the quality of diamond and which aren't? Which are the bottom quality/color/cut you would consider for:

stud earrings
solitaire necklaces
solitaire rings
and how about for pave anything...
 
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#2
Nelmi said:
Which pieces of jewelry do you think are worth worrying about the quality of diamond and which aren't? Which are the bottom quality/color/cut you would consider for:

stud earrings
solitaire necklaces
solitaire rings
and how about for pave anything...
Click to expand...

My stud earrings are H VS2 hearts and arrows but that is definitely overkill. I've seen J SI2 earrings that looked extremely good, but they WERE ideal cut.
So they had the sparkle--and no one gets close enough to your ears to see the color in a well-cut J (which can be seen from the side, not the top) or the minor sort of inclusions visible in SI2.

Ditto for solitaire necklace.

Solitaire ring--gets tricky here. If going with round, ideal cut you can get away with a certain amount--but not as much as in earrings and necklace. If going with other shapes, the cut will hide less and you need better quality. You can definitely see a lot more--but different people see different things. To me, I like a white diamond, even from the side, for a ring(Ilike my rings in high settings that show the side). I have an F color and don't think I'd want to go below G, for an e-ring. And I'd really prefer E or F (the idea of a D is nice, but it costs too much money).so far as inclusions, I like not only eye-clean, but don't want to see big black spots with a loupe, either. I have an SI1. What I want is easily possible in a GIa or AGS graded SI1--SI 2 I've heard it's possible but I think it gets harder. And I've never seen one. If I had a fancy shape, I don't think I could go this low. A lotofthe fancies just show EVERYTHING and you need to go up toVS (and with something like an emerald cut, VVS). I would stay with ideal or very good cut.

I don't like pave in general very much.

I have to say, all the above is theoretical--if I see a diamond in person and I like it and it looks good to me (including through my 10X loupe) I would take it and be happyand not care what the paper specs said it was.

But in general my criteria would be-- high color/eyeclean/looks sparkly--though there does have to be a balance. I don't think I'd prefer an F with no sparkleto a J with a lot of sparkle. But in real life,you don't usually have to make that choice.
 
#3
I think anything that's received as a special gift either one you give yourself or a gift from someone really special should be at the very least "VERY GOOD" in terms of quality.
 
#4
The only thing on that list that I would worry less about the quality of diamonds is pave. Color, imho, seems to be the most important thing in pave.

My basic diamond studs were given to me I was 17. I absolutely hate them. They are I colored and SI2 clarity. Their cut is good. They are 70 points total weight. I wear them very rarely.

I have a necklace with a very good cut, but it does not compare to my excellent diamonds, even though it is much larger in carat weight than my excellent cut diamonds, I wear it a lot less.

My engagement ring is ideal cut. I think it is awesome! I love it.
 
#5
To me, color is the most important factor. I won't go below I color for any solitaires or pave, as the combined effect will multiply a yellow cast.

Cut is second. It has to reflect as much sparkle as possible. To me, this is the entire point of a diamond.

Clarity, depends on the piece. My 1 carat studs are SI, and the only major inclusion is hidden under a prong. So pretty much invisible unless someone holds my head very steady at the perfect angle and gets right up to my ear. The rest, at least eyeclean and no clouds.

Basically, what black jade said...high color/eyeclean/looks sparkly.
 
#7
I think all diamonds should be ideal cut, regardless of what type piece of jewelry they'll be housed in. There can be some compromise in color, a little compromise in clarity (assuming a round brilliant cut), but never a compromise in cut. I think the one piece of jewelry I'd go lowest on in terms of color/clarity is studs, because the only people who are going to get close enough to really see any imperfections is your dentist and dental hygienist. Ok, maybe your hairdresser too. :smile1:
 
#8
For me, anything I want great sparkle from. Definitely rings. Definitely stud earrings. But I also would want my pavé to sparkle, really all of it.
 
#11
^^I would probably weigh out what quality to do between necklaces and earrings based on how often you would be wearing. Exp: I wear my diamond studs 24/7 with rare exceptions if I'm feeling like a hoop look, etc. I change out my necklaces with a higher frequency so would not spend the money for an ideal cut diamond,with high color/clarity. etc. This to me, would be a highly personal decision based on how you would wear it.
 
#14
I'd say highest quality for rings, with earrings and necklace, depends on your criteria.
And you might have other criteria. A lot of people put heirloom diamonds or diamonds out of old e-rings (when they upgrade) into pendants, for instance. If you HAVE a diamond and want a pendant, I see no reason to spend $$$$ and buy a new one which is ideal cut.

My stud earrings are ideal cut and have such great specs because I have three sons, one will get e-ring and the others will get an earring apiece and I wanted the diamonds they got to be of good enough quality that you could put them into a ring and not be frustrated with the look of it. There really ARE different standards. I bought a ring that I made a pendant out of. the diamond looked really crappy in the ring, very substandard, but it made a wonderful sparkly pendant that everyone compliments and loves. Something about not only the distance away, but the way it moves around on one's neck as a pendant. Pendants move the most.
 
#15
Solitaire rings need to be top notch because people are able to examine it quite closely (both by the person wearing the ring and people taking the person's hand to examine the ring more closely). I've heard that for diamond stud earrings and solitaire necklaces you can cheat the clarity a little because they won't be examined so closely. As for pave I would imagine you would want good colour but clarity would not be as big of a concern.
 
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