Greetings!

I popped into the other forum to lend a hand, but wanted to properly introduce myself.  I've been lurking this forum and browsing DBL for about 4 months now.  My journey into searching for the right diamond ring all started on a warm June day last year.  A good friend of mine had recently moved into my city for a new job and was still getting acclimated and meeting new people.  He called me up one night and asked for some good 'date' places.  "What was that one sushi place we went to that one time?"  "That really cool bar you took me to last time I was in town--that was downtown right?"  Apparently, an attractive blonde that was just his type had caught his attention at work.  I gave him some great tips on where I would go and what I would do.

As time drew closer to the weekend, my friend had built up a bit of apprehension.  The lovely blonde gal had mentioned that she was going to meet up with one of her female friends along the way that night.  This made my friend a bit more relaxed and he also saw an opportunity to invite me out to be his wingman.  I agreed and I was hoping that her friend was going to be single and entertaining.

Things didn't quite go as planned for anyone that evening.  My friend expected a date where he could impress this lovely blonde.  The lovely blonde expected a fun evening out on the town, but not a date.  I expected the blonde's friend to be single and without the company of her boyfriend.  I also expected that we might go to one or two of the spots that I suggested to my friend--not all four ideas in one night!

My friend was not able to impress this lovely blonde as he had hopped, but he is now pretty happy that he helped the two of us meet.  This lovely blonde is going to be my future wife and that is the reason that I am here today.  We have been dating for a little over a year, living together for about six months, and traveling the country and world together.  I have been blessed to find such a great woman to share my life with and now I'm trying to find a ring that is even a quarter as beautiful and unique as her.

Glad to meet you folks and hope to learn more about you than I've already picked up from lurking!

crh

First off, we know our budget--which is not enough to fill ALL of the wants.  Especially since we really like some of the finer settings that are on the site.  She wants white gold or platinum for a setting, and is fully against yellow gold unless it is just in some nice detail work like this:



We really, really love this setting:



As far as the stone goes, we're not 100% set yet.  We are however looking for either a FY/FIY colored radiant.  She does not like the look of cushions much at all, but has found some radiants that stand out pretty well.  While I love the look of the stones with step cuts and emerald cuts; she is not interested in them at all.  We have been trying to control the cost of the stone by also considering some more 'complex' and alternative colors to FY/FIY.  However, we just haven't fallen in love with any particular stone just yet.  We have both decided that we would be willing to drop the size of the diamonds that we have been looking at to ensure that the stone is both eye clean and of an acceptable color.

I have a pretty open time line in my mind; but of course we're attending four of her friends' weddings this summer and fall [and counting], so there is a bit of outside pressure to announce our engagement.  I'm taking my time and checking DBL daily as well as keeping an eye on a couple of other sites.  I'm just not nearly as impressed with any other site I've come across as DBL.  Price, value, selection, photos, and videos on this site really make it unique and push me to want to do business here.

I love those settings myself.  That first one is just divine to me!!  I keep coming back to look at it myself.  I also love the other setting you posted.  I love the way the diamonds just peek out a little on it.

Have you considered looking at slightly lighter colors as well?  I have a Y-Z color that a reputable jeweler would have sworn was deeper in color because it was set so well (it's my avatar here).  I'd be glad to share the links to the photos of it.  So just a thought that maybe a low color or a FLY might work?  Just had to toss it out.

I think you have great taste though!  And i do understand how you would want to do this sooner than later so she's not at all these weddings without a ring of her own

I also understand the draw to this site.  Like you I looked around forever at a few places, but kept coming back to this one over and over again.   Right now I have my dream stone in a simple solitaire, but some day I hope to be able to set it into something beautiful.  I just don't know what yet LOL

Good luck searching and feel free to run everything by us.  I seriously love hearing and seeing ideas.  And I never get offended if my ideas are not at all right for others.  It's just fun to dream with others and see the final product

+1 djm.    Well said.  (And I'm sure he's equally happy to have another guy posting on the site.)  

I'm glad you're already in contact with David.  You couldn't be working with a better jeweler or nicer person.

Welcome, crh!  You are definitely in the right place.  David locates the most awesome diamonds.  Good Luck!

David is a good guy IMO.  You are definitely in good hands with him.  I truly appreciated his prompt responses in e-mails even "after hours"

I hope today brings some great choices for you!  I can't wait to see everything as it goes along.

I need to apologize to CRH as we've been a little slow getting all the new yellow diamonds marked into inventory.
There's about a dozen new light ( and darker ) yellows ranging from 3/4ct up to 1 1/4cts.
We got these specifically to show CRH- but some will inevtibly end up winning our hearts and minds, and make it into inventory.

I'll try to have a few posted here later tonight.

Oh I can't wait to see what was found 

ITEM #: R3456
 Diamond, Loose

  WEIGHT: 1.00ct
  SHAPE: Radiant Cut
  COLOR: Fancy Intense Yellow
  CLARITY: I1
  MEASUREMENTS: 6.16 x 4.84 x 3.47 mm
  TOTAL DEPTH: 71.7%
  FLUORESCENCE: NONE
  GIA COLOR REPORT #: 15070880

Price: $4995

This is such a beautifulo thread!!  Congratulations!!  I am so excited to follow your journey with this!

You weren't kidding when you said you had some that I would be interested in!  

R3458 - Amazing!  However, that particular stone is out of my reach on price when we include the sensational setting.

R3456 - Very interesting.  I see the rating of I1.  Is that because there is what looks like a small feather near the bottom of the first facet just southwest from the center?  Just west of the center, it also looks like a reflection of a feather or something else.  I would definitely love to see some more photos of this stone and get your impressions of the clarity.  Obviously I love the color of this one, if it is eye-clean, this could be a real contender.

R3461 - I love the dimensions on this stone.  This 1.6ct must look close to 2ct at that depth.  What are your impressions of the color and the way the fluorescence comes into play?  That is a monster rock for that price!

I'll be going over these stones with my blonde tonight and will give you some feedback more than my initial impressions ASAP.  Thank you David!

crh

We were originally looking at R3337.  It looks like a very lovely stone, but I'm afraid that it is just a bit "too dark" for what we want.  I would love to have the already sold R3098.  That stone would be perfect.  It was a little smaller in carat weight than what we were looking to buy, but the dimensions and color more than make up for that.  The price was also very friendly.

There are many stones that have caught our eyes, but we just haven't nailed the perfect one just yet.  It's a delicate balance between wants and affordability.  We're looking for a radiant cut stone in the 85+ points range that "looks like a full carat" and "looks yellow".  Ideally, we would get a fancy intense yellow stone, but we're wiling to compromise down and get something that has a nice yellow presence--perhaps fancy yellow or fancy light yellow.  We're also intrigued by some of the more "complex colors", but those are much harder to judge and will take a lot of consideration.

My check sheet is sort of like this:
1)  Radiant cut
2)  Looks like a carat (.85+ or very favorable dimensions)
3)  Looks yellow (not too much brown, not too dark)
4)  Eye Clean!
5)  Affordable (that hasn't been much of a worry with DBL thankfully!)

Any of these can eliminate a stone, but no single one is uncompromisable except for the first and fifth.  If I can't afford it, then I can't buy it.  Also, she does not like cushion cuts at all.  In short, we're willing to compromise in the areas of carat and color.  We are set on an eye clean stone, so anything SI2 or better.  Cut and cost; however, are pretty firm.

I appreciate the welcome, sage advice, and the fresh sets of eyes!  This is a very nice community.

crh

My three tips on shopping for yellow diamonds, particularly on colour:

1. David is a brilliant photographer and tries really hard to give people an idea of what the stone is going to look like in many different lighting environments, it's practically impossible to portray a stone in all conditions. As well as looking at the photos, call David and ask him what it looks like "live", and possibly in comparison to other stones you may be considering.

2. Don't be put off by "brownish" or even "brown" yellow. Often they look just darker, mellower yellow. And anything with the B-word carries a hefty discount because people are snobbish. So much the worse for them. Same goes for fancy deep; it may be considered "a poor man's vivid", but sometimes the only thing that's poor(er) is the cutter, because again it trades at a discount.

3. Bear in mind that the right setting can do wonders for the colour; don't compare set with loose stones, because if properly set they can look one or even two grades darker. Again, ask David. He has most likely seen the stone loose, and anyway has a durned good eye for colour.