Proposal!!! What is a big diamond?

[boobsboobsboobs]

My (soon to be) brother in law has asked for my help picking a ring for my sister for a post lock down proposal!

Obviously, we can only look online at the moment but it seems that some sites like blue nile offer quite good value and we hope to visit Hatton Garden when we can.

I know that she wants a big solitaire on a platinum band... but what is big?!

One carat? Two carats? Somewhere in between? Just looking for a general consensus.

I don't want to bring up rings now as it would be so out of the blue over the phone / FaceTime and I don't want to alert her

He has a decent budget so it would be balancing the size and the quality!

@DillyDilly I wouldn't mind at all - I'd rather that than my DH winged it alone...

I'll have a think though as I want it to be perfect for her - thank you!

Jcurve is right. And if you sell a diamond ring you won’t get back anything near the amount of insurance valuation. I speak from many years experience of buying fine jewellery.

You can get a lovely stone for £10k if you go down to a G colour and VS2 and ignore all the nonsense about flawless being the best. Flaws have near to no bearing on the brilliance (it’s all about the cut), but flawless stones are heavily marketed to us as necessary and anything else will be an inferior pockmarked stone

Ten grands a lot of money to spend on a ring that, for whatever reason, isn’t perfect for her. She’ll have to lug it around on her finger for the rest of her life. She may say she loves a style but may not know it doesn’t suit her or whatever once she tries it on.

Tell him to buy a cubic zirconia ring on QVC U.K. and present her with that on the day they get engaged with a view to choosing something that’s her idea of perfection later in a shopping trip together.

Personally I’d be happy with the platinum clad QVC ring that looks £10k worth!

Just to say that I think the quality is important. Mine is only 0.7C but is very high quality (DH's uncle works for a company that provides diamonds to Tiffany and we got it a "tiffany" diamond without the price). The difference in the sparkly ness is obvious. I think a PP who showed a picture of hers shows the same - the bright white colour on a high quality diamond is unmistakable. [I have an inherited diamond that is the same size but much lower quality and you can tell the difference]

When I got mine I was working in the City. By investment banking standards, mine was small compared to the front office/banking staff. But it is big compared to my friends or back office teams. So with a budget of 10k I'd be going for at least 1c but the highest quality I could find.

@BlingLoving thank you, that's very useful - do you mind me asking the quality of both diamonds? And does the good quality one ever look dark in some lights?

Thank you so much everyone for your advice - I'm going to send the link to this thread to my future BIL so he can read the different views on whether he should choose with my help or they should choose together.

I've received so much great advice, it's very much appreciated!

If you have a ring valued for insurance it is usually more than you paid for it (a lot more if you've had it for years) as its covering the cost if replacing like with like, made at todays full retail prices.
It bears no resemblance to what its "worth" if you tried to sell it.*

Very much this. The idea that diamond rings go up in value from their purchase price is not true. As an investment, jewellery is very poor value. You should buy and enjoy a ring for how it looks not what you think it's worth. It's inevitable you will lose money on a purchase. Mass market jewellery depreciates, like a car.

That's just the diamond isn't it? If his budget is £10k then it doesn't leave much for the band.

I thought you meant at the reception.

So my friend is a ring designer

She always says to me. Clarity isn't really worth it

Not one of her fiends is going to get their magnifying glass out and go. Ohh. That's a vs1!!! Good clarity

Whereas people do notice size and styles

Someone said about gaudy

You do have to be careful

Friend of mine had a 100k necklace. With a huge pear diamond. Made into a ring. Using 24 carat gold

The diamond was so big and the gold was so yellow it looked like it came out of a Christmas cracker. Was worth thousands.

Hatton garden you can get a diamond about a carat for about £3500. Then Get it set.

Someone said about gaudy

When we were shopping for my wedding ring in the Brum jewellery quarter (recommended BTW), one shop had a ring with a massive diamond in it. I asked who on earth would buy a ring like that and the response was "travellers".

You could also get a lab grown diamond.

I do believe that clarity / quality is important.
Personally I can notice a dull/bad quality diamond compared to a sparkly beautifully cut smaller diamond.
Maybe that's just me though!

So you can see thy e difference between vs1 and a vvs1?

@Hoggleludo @Dillo10

I've read that cut has the biggest impact on sparkle / brilliance! So if you get a very well cut diamond you can afford to go lower on clarity as it only shows under magnification.

I've learnt so much today - mostly that diamonds are v expensive!!

@Hoggleludo no of course not, but every compromise cuts the efficient light transfer and each compromise compounds that effect. My ring sparkles in almost no light. I see lots of diamonds that look like pieces of glass. Somewhere along the line the compromises kill it.

Crosspost with you OP. Yes cut counts though!

I do believe that clarity / quality is important.
Personally I can notice a dull/bad quality diamond compared to a sparkly beautifully cut smaller diamond.

But cut has nothing to do with clarity (which is also not synonymous with quality). A dull diamond is just as likely to be D as M coloured, IF as I1. Dull diamonds reflect mostly a poor cut. Sparkle reflects a good cut.

For those of you who like emeralds, here is mine! Oval cut surrounded by 1.5 carats of diamonds. Most definitely for occasional wear only.

That’s beautiful @Caniche!

My major tip is go to greys antique market in Bond Street. There you get stones and rings based on their actual value so10k will buy something truly spectacular. My dad deals in Art Deco jewellery there and we got a wonderful ring for my engagement .

Just had my silver anniversary yesterday and my beautiful platinum engagement band and wedding ring still gorgeous.

I chose a one carat solitaire. It’s a triple excellent cut, VS1. At the time I would have loved a two carat diamond but I definitely don’t feel like it’s small when I wear it and I love the setting.
Have a look online on James Allen to get an idea of diamond specs. You should bear in mind there may be taxes to pay if you order from there though (you can chat to a real person online and they will tell you what they are).

I think it’s utterly ridiculous to spend the equivalent of a house deposit without consulting the person who’s going to be wearing it

People who spend £10k on rings don’t spend the same on house deposits . The OPs sister has been clear about what she wants, don’t let him propose with a fake

I would love to know where you could buy a house with a 10k deposit! In any event, diamonds are a safer investment than property. My colleague with her 4.2 carat engagement ring taught me that 😂.