New Year engagement rings are as popular as ever! With New Year’s Eve right around the corner, you have just enough time to order this French Set Halo from Ritani and prepare to ring in the new year!
With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, you might not have enough time to shop for an engagement ring.
So I thought I’d give you a hand and Search Ritani for Diamonds on your behalf. How about something in the range of 0.90 – 0.99 carats, F-color down to I-color, VS-1 or VS-2 in clarity?
That combination of characteristics will provide you with a diamond that will face-up bright and white. While being completely eye clean from a top-down perspective.
If you have a different range of carat weight and quality in mind, feel free to take advantage of my free Diamond Concierge Service.
I’ll run a search based on whatever range of quality and price you are working with. But for the sake of this example, I used the criteria outlined above and found this 0.90 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity, GIA Excellent cut round diamond from Ritani for your consideration.
Let's Review Our New Year's Ring Goals:
Although Ritani did not post any images for this diamond, I was able to find a clarity photograph and reflector scope images via the multiple listing service (MLS) that we subscribe to as trade members.
As you can plainly see, there is some variance in the size and shape of the hearts. So we won’t be calling this a hearts and arrows diamond, but it’s a rather nice GIA Excellent cut round.
You can expect the 40.8 degree pavilion angle to produce a high volume of light return, and the 35.0 degree crown angle to produce a virtual balance of brilliance and dispersion.
The 80% lower girdle facet length should produce pin-fire type sparkle, which will make the diamond sparkle like a disco ball on new year’s eve!
I’m not going to post all of the images provided for this diamond but will be happy to forward them to you if ask. Just be sure to remind me that I stuffed them in the images folder for this blog.
I think that this diamond would look rather stunning in the French halo setting by Ritani referenced above, but they have a lot of other ring styles also.
Ring In the New Year with Brian Gavin:
While the diamond from Ritani is a perfectly nice example of a well-proportioned GIA Excellent cut round diamond.
My personal preference would be for something like this 0.920 carat, H-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature diamond. This diamond exhibits significantly better optical precision.
Just look at the difference between the hearts and arrows patterns exhibited by these two diamonds! The “hearts” visible in the Ritani diamond look more like “lawn darts.”
In contrast, the diamond from BGD exhibits a crisp and complete pattern of eight well-formed hearts. This means that the diamond from Brian Gavin has been cut with a higher degree of precision.
There is more consistency in the size and shape of the pavilion facets. The indexing of the facets is more precise as evident by the hearts pattern.
Consequently, the benefit will be a higher degree of light return and more vivid and intense sparkle. The sparkle will also be larger in size, and bolder in appearance because of the shorter lower girdle facet length.
H&A Diamonds Cost More to Produce:
This diamond costs more than a standard ideal cut diamond because it took about four times longer to polish. The superior sparkle factor will be worth every penny!
But since the cost is definitely a factor when buying an engagement ring, you will have to decide what level of optical precision meets your needs. In this instance, both of the diamonds are technically ideal cut.
However, there is clearly a difference in production quality. As with everything in life, ideal cut diamonds are produced in a variety of qualities.
The best way that I know how to describe the difference between these two diamonds in terms of visual performance, is to compare them as if they were high-performance automobiles.
Imagine that the diamond from Ritani is a standard Porsche 911 that just rolled off the production line. The diamond from Brian Gavin is a Porsche 911 turbo, which has been fine-tuned to deliver high-speed racing performance.
Both automobiles will deliver exceptional performance in their own right. However, if you are going to give me my choice of keys, I would choose the turbocharged Porsche to ring in the new year!
Brian Gavin Blue Fluorescent Diamond:
There are quite a few options from Brian Gavin Diamonds that I think present a wonderful way to ring in the new year.
But one which particularly caught my eye is this 0.985 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond which exhibits medium blue fluorescence.
This diamond presents an exceptional value because the carat weight is so close to the 1.00 mark. There is a substantial price increase that occurs in the price per carat of diamonds between the 0.99 and 1.00 carat marks.
This diamond provides the appearance of a one-carat diamond without breaking the bank. The medium blue fluorescence is an absolute plus factor in my book!
It is likely to increase our perception of diamond color when the diamond is viewed under light sources that contain a high volume of ultra-violet light. Practically every diamond which I have ever purchased for myself has exhibited medium to strong blue fluorescence. It has always had a positive effect on the appearance!
Ring in the New Year with Victor Canera:
This 0.910 carat, I-color, VS-2 clarity, hearts and arrows round diamond from Victor Canera is another great option!
The proportions of the diamond look fantastic. And it looks great in all of the reflector scope images used to judge optical precision.
I realize that the inclusions visible in this clarity photograph might seem daunting when viewed at this higher degree of magnification.
However given the VS-2 clarity grade, the diamond should be absolutely eye clean from a top-down perspective. Since we don’t live under magnification, these inclusions are of little concern.
James Allen Engagement Rings:
This 0.90 carat, D-color, VS-2 clarity, GIA Excellent cut round diamond from James Allen is a good option, if just plain old GIA Excellent is good enough.
Not everybody necessarily needs or wants the higher degree of optical precision and sparkle factor offered by a hearts and arrows quality round.
After all, the combination of proportions and overall cut quality, place this diamond in the realm of the Top 1% of round brilliant cut diamonds produced in the average year.
Once again, this is a decision that has to do with visual performance. Do you need the turbocharged Porsche 911? Or are you perfectly happy with a standard Porsche?
The GIA Diamond Dossier issued for this diamond does not feature a plotting diagram of the inclusions. But I was able to locate the feather which I believe is the primary inclusion.
It is the small white feather that crosses over the arrowhead located in the 12 o’clock position of this clarity photograph. It looks pretty slight to me. Definitely of no consequence.
Ring In the New Year with Blue Nile Signature:
I place this 0.90 carat, G-color, VS-2 clarity, Blue Nile Signature round diamond in the standard Porsche 911 category. The diamond has an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent.
It also has proportions within my preferred range. It should exhibit a high volume of light return and a virtual balance of brilliance and dispersion.
There are some variances visible in the size and shape of the hearts in the photograph provided on the supplementary GCAL diamond rating report.
The diamond looks great in their optical symmetry analysis, it should be a great-looking diamond. But you can save yourself almost $1500 by buying this 0.91 carat, G-color, VS-2 clarity, GIA Excellent cut diamond from Blue Nile, which also has an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent. It just not dual graded by GCAL.
Wrapping Up Your New Year's Engagement Ring:
It seems clear to me that any of the diamonds reviewed herein would be a great way to ring in the new year. Clearly some of the diamonds featured are cut more precisely than others.
I’m definitely partial to the production quality of Brian Gavin Diamonds. If I can’t find what I’m looking for, then I venture into the realm of Victor Canera and Whiteflash, who usually has something to tempt my clients with.
However, if you’re not looking for something cut as precisely as the production of those three companies, some of the GIA Excellent cut diamonds available from the other dealers referenced can be quite impressive if you know how to pick diamonds by the numbers.
And I do know how to pick them… Feel free to take advantage of my Diamond Concierge Service if you are looking for a diamond online. I’m happy to conduct a search on your behalf if you provide me with a range of price and quality that you are considering.