3/4 Carat Diamond Ring Buying Guide 0.73 – 0.77 Carats

This page may contain affiliate links.

minute/s reading time

February 19

Hi Todd. Your webpage is really useful, thanks a lot for all the tips. I am looking to buy a wedding ring, and would really appreciate it if you could help me on my quest of buying the diamond. I have a ~3,800-4,000 budget, and I am giving priority to cut and color. I have been looking in blue nile, and got the following specs for my budget: .70-.74, E, VS1, Ideal Cut. It would be really helpful if you could guide me in order to get the best looking diamond I could get. Thanks and regards — Mauricio

Thank you for contacting me Mauricio, I am happy to help you with reviews of Blue Nile diamonds to help you find the brightest most beautiful options!

How to find the most beautiful diamonds on Blue Nile:

I started out today using the Build Your Own Engagement Ring featured available on the Blue Nile website and selected this 14k white gold tapered cathedral because I thought it provided an option that is a little more unique and stylish than a traditional four or six-prong solitaire.

How to search for the best performing diamonds on Blue NileThe next step was to fine-tune the advanced selection criteria to Search for Diamonds on Blue Nile in order to limit the list of available options to diamonds that are most likely to meet my selection criteria for proportions, polish, and symmetry. I did this by limiting the range for table diameter to 53 – 58% and the total depth to between 59 – 61.8% with polish and symmetry ratings of GIA Excellent and AGS Ideal, I also limited the range for fluorescence to include levels between none to medium blue, so that the search options look like this.

[separator]

Since I find that very few diamonds from Blue Nile actually meet my selection criteria for crown and pavilion angle, I expanded the range of carat weight to include diamonds weighing between 0.70 – 0.79 carats, and expanded the range of color to D-E-F, and the range of clarity to include options which were VS-1 to VS-2 since both clarity grades will provide options which are eye clean, and I expanded the range for the budget by $200 in either direction, this provided me with 45 options to choose from.

The next step is to open up the diamond details page for each diamond and take a look at the diamond grading report to determine whether the crown angle is between 34.3 – 34.8 degrees and offset by a pavilion angle between 40.6 – 40.9 degrees; this range represents the “sweet spot” in terms of aligning the two primary reflective surfaces of the diamond to maximize the volume of light return and create a virtual balance of brilliance and dispersion.

It should be noted that there are other combinations of crown and pavilion angle offset that produce a similar level of light return and sparkle factor. I will include diamonds that fall into that category in this Blue Nile Diamond Review, which is being written diamond by diamond as I find options which meet my selection criteria; however, I am going to break these Blue Nile Diamonds Reviews up into two sections, those which absolutely meet my selection criteria and those which are close and may provide the look you are looking for in a diamond based on it having more brilliance, or more dispersion, rather than the virtual balance of the two types of diamond sparkle.

Blue Nile Diamond Review: GIA 2126427358

Blue Nile round diamond reviews, GIA 2126427358This 0.72 carat, D-color, VS-2 clarity, round brilliant cut diamond from Blue Nile is graded by the GIA with an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent, with a total depth of 61.4% and a table diameter of 58% with a 34.5 degree crown angle which is offset by a pavilion angle of 40.8 degrees with a medium to slightly thick, faceted girdle and no culet. The primary inclusions consist of crystals, clusters of pinpoint size diamond crystals called clouds, and an indented natural which is of no concern.

Blue Nile Diamond Review: GIA 2151882398

Blue Nile round diamond reviews, GIA 2151882398This 0.74 carat, F-color, VS-1 clarity, round brilliant diamond from Blue Nile is graded by the GIA with an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent, with a total depth of 60.9% and a table diameter of 58% with a 34.5 degree crown angle which is offset by a 40.8 degree pavilion angle and a medium to slightly thick, faceted girdle and no culet. The primary inclusions are clouds of pinpoint size diamond crystals.

Blue Nile Diamond Review: GIA 1156912945

Blue Nile round ideal cut diamond reviews, GIA 1156912945This 0.75 carat, F-color, VS-2 clarity, round diamond from Blue Nile is graded by the GIA with an overall cut grade of GIA excellent and has a total depth of 61.4% with a table diameter of 55% and a crown angle of 34.5 degrees which is offset by a pavilion angle of 40.8 degrees with a thin to medium, faceted girdle and no culet. The primary inclusions consist of diamond crystals.

Blue Nile Diamond Review: GIA 6157910620

Round ideal cut diamond reviews Blue Nile, GIA 6157910620This 0.79 carat, F-color, VS-2 clarity, round diamond from Blue Nile is graded by the GIA with an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent and has a total depth of 61.5% with a table diameter of 57% and a crown angle of 34.5 degrees which is offset by a pavilion angle of 40.8 degrees with a medium to slightly thick, faceted girdle and no culet. The primary inclusions are feathers…

You might have noticed that none of the diamonds included in this Blue Nile Diamonds Review thus far have met the original specifications of being 0.70 – 0.74 carats, E-color, and VS-1 in clarity, and that is because none of the diamonds offered by Blue Nile within that range of characteristics met the requirements of my selection criteria for polish, symmetry, and proportions… but we did find four options which are within tolerance of that range of clarity and color which do meet my preferred selection criteria and which will display an excellent volume of light return and sparkle factor.

Now let’s review the Blue Nile diamonds which are cut to proportions that are slightly beyond my preferred range and discuss the pros and cons of each diamond in terms of visual performance… note that all of these diamonds will exhibit a similar degree of light return because the pavilion angle measurements are within my preferred range, the only variance will be the crown angle which will determine whether the diamonds exhibit more brilliance or dispersion/fire.

Blue Nile Diamond Reviews: GIA 2166769436

Blue Nile round diamond reviews, GIA 2166769436This 0.70 carat, E-color, VS-1 clarity, round diamond from Blue Nile has an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent with a total depth of 61.7% and a table diameter of 55% with a crown angle of 34.0 degrees which is offset by a pavilion angle of 40.8 degrees with a medium to slightly thick, faceted girdle and no culet. This diamond will likely exhibit just a hint more brilliance than dispersion and is perfect if you like lots of white sparkles!

Blue Nile Diamond Reviews: GIA 5131252086

This 0.72 carat, E-color, VS-1 clarity, round diamond from Blue Nile has an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent with a total depth of 61.8% and a table diameter of 57% with a crown angle of 35.5 degrees which is offset by a pavilion angle of 40.8 degrees with a medium to slightly thick, faceted girdle and no culet.

The slightly steeper crown angle of 35.5° is likely to produce a higher volume of dispersion/fire than brilliance, so this diamond probably exhibits more colored sparkle than white sparkle. The primary inclusions consist of clouds, indented naturals, feathers, and needles. The comments on additional clouds and surface graining not shown indicate the presence of inclusions that are present within the diamond, but which are not indicated on the plotting diagram provided on the diamond grading report.

People often express concern about inclusions that are not indicated on the plotting diagram. However, it really just means that the diamond grader found some inclusions within the diamond that are extremely minimal in appearance, which should be mentioned because they are present within the diamond, but which are not likely to be easily located using 10x magnification, and thus are not included on the map of inclusions which is intended to be used as a visual reference to identify the inclusions within the diamond.

“Clouds not shown” simply means that there are additional clusters of pinpoint size diamond crystals present within the diamond… and “Surface graining not shown” means that the diamond grader was able to detect some of the grain lines of the diamond crystals using magnification, but did not plot them because it would make the diamond look like it has steaks running across the diamond which nobody else is likely to see without using significantly higher levels of magnification, such as 30 – 40x.

Blue Nile Diamond Reviews: GIA 2151856111

Blue Nile ideal cut diamond reviews, GIA 2151856111This 0.72 carat, E-color, VS-1 clarity, round diamond from Blue Nile has an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent with a total depth of 61.6% and a table diameter of 58% with a 36.0 degree crown angle which is offset by a pavilion angle of 40.6 degrees with a medium to slightly thick, faceted girdle and no culet.

Here again, the diamond is likely to exhibit more dispersion/fire than brilliance, with a high volume of light return. The primary inclusions consist of crystals and clouds of pinpoints.

Blue Nile Diamond Reviews: GIA 3165882234

Round Diamond Reviews Blue Nile, GIA 3165882234This 0.74 carat, E-color, VS-1 clarity, round diamond from Blue Nile is probably the best option for you, it has an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent and a total depth of 61.7% with a table diameter of 57% and a crown angle of 35.0 degrees which is offset by a pavilion angle of 40.8 degrees with a medium to slightly thick, faceted girdle.

The crown angle is only one-tenth beyond my preferred range and the pavilion angle will produce a high volume of light return.

Of the options discussed thus far, besides the ones which meet my preferred selection criteria, this is the best option thus far as it will exhibit more of a balance of brilliance and dispersion with a high volume of light return.

The crown angle is only one-tenth of a degree beyond my preferred range and that’s not enough to make much of a difference… certainly not one which the average person would likely distinguish without a great deal of coaching. The primary inclusions within this diamond are crystals, pinpoints and an indented natural, all of which should be really minimal in a VS-1 clarity diamond.

Wrapping up my Review of Blue Nile Round Diamonds:

I hope that you found the information contained within this series of Blue Nile Diamonds Reviews helpful and that it helps you narrow down the options currently available from Blue Nile in terms of round brilliant cut diamonds with ideal proportions, in the range of 0.70 – 0.79 carats, which are D to F color and VS in clarity, with an overall cut grade of GIA Excellent. Please consult me if you have additional questions and/or would like assistance with another diamond quest, and be sure to check the latest Blue Nile Coupon codes.

About the Author

Dive deep into the glittering world of diamonds with Todd Gray, the CEO of Gray Matter Development, LLC. Todd has 35+ years of experience as a diamond buyer and trade consultant. He ghostwrites content for several online vendors and is an avid Freediver, currently exploring the Cenotes of Yucatan, Mexico. Dive into brilliance with Todd Gray!