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You are here: Home / Jewelry Recommendations / Are These Jared Diamonds a Good Buy? / Is this 1-1/2-tcw “Princess Cut” Diamond Engagement Ring from Jared for $2,800 a good buy? No. Did you notice it has no center diamond? Get a much better, similar ring for $2,655.

admin / November 20, 2020

Is this 1-1/2-tcw “Princess Cut” Diamond Engagement Ring from Jared for $2,800 a good buy? No. Did you notice it has no center diamond? Get a much better, similar ring for $2,655.

Intro

It’s item number 991750908 at Jared. See it live, unless it’s discontinued.

It has a total carat weight, of all the diamonds on the ring, of 1-1/2 Carats.

The “Center Stone” is a total of 1/2-carat. (It’s not truly a center stone. Rarther, it’s a grouping of four 1/8-carat stones!

Clarity of the diamonds in the Jared ring: I2-Clarity. That’s pretty far down the scale:

Color of the diamonds in the Jared ring: I-Color. That’s a little far down the scale, my dear friends.

A very interesting (disappointing) thing about the Jared ring: its light performance is probably poor. Here’s why:

That’s not a singular, true 1/2-carat center stone, at the top, where a center stone usually goes. It’s a group of four 1/8-carat diamonds. (See the first image in this article.)

Here’s why that’s a bad thing, in my view: The brilliance of these diamonds will be severely compromised. There are four borders between four diamonds. That sets up all kinds interference with the light performance.

In a single-stone Princess Cut (or any other shape), the diamond is all of one piece. (See the image of the James Allen ring, below.)

So the light flows directly through it. But in the Jared group of 4 diamonds, the four borders between the diamonds will mess up the flow of light in that whole group. It’s not even close to the light performance of a single true center stone.

Another problem is visible from the side view of the ring. You can see that the diamond is blocked from view. This means it is also blocked from gathering much light.

Diamonds sparkle by gathering light from the sides and reflecting it out through the top. These diamonds will struggle to do that. Look:

Compare that to this true center-stone, single diamond Princess Cut at James Allen:

Note that the Clarity and Color grades are significantly better in the James Allen diamond ring.

E-Color for the James Allen diamond is four entire grades better than the Jared score of I! (It’s also one grade short of D, which is a perfect color score.

SI1 Clarity for the James Allen diamond is four entire grades better than the Jared score of I2!

Also note that the light performance will be much better. Here’s why: The diamond at the center is a true single center stone. PLUS, it’s not blocked from the side by a frame. (This is the entire reason for the traditional, much-better 4-prong setting!)

Finally, note that the James Allen true, singular, center stone is 1-Carat. That’s twice the size of the 4-piece, 1/2-total carat “center stone” at Jared!

Even better, the James Allen huge 1-carat center stone is IGI-certified. On the other hand, the Jared diamonds are just tiny little things, all put together, and they are not the size of diamonds that would be certified. They’re nothing special, sorry to say.

This ring is much better, my friend. And it costs less money.

You’re welcome. 😉 It pays to know how to shop for a diamond. I’m here to help.

How to get the James Allen deal

At James Allen, you don’t just add a ring to cart. Shopping there is slightly more interesting (and gives you more control and choice).

  1. You choose a setting (the metal ring, which in some cases comes with accent diamonds).
  2. Then you choose a loose diamond to add to it.

But it’s not as hard as it may seem.

At least, it’s easy if you have someone walking you through it for the first time.

Here’s exactly how to get this deal (or a very similar one) at James Allen: 

1. Select this 14K white gold setting.

2. Then go to my pre-set James Allen diamond search results and select a diamond from the first 2 or 3 diamonds in the list. 

(James Allen diamonds are unique, so I can’t send you straight to a specific diamond. It would sell out quickly. But there are many many others in the inventory. The price will be close to what you see here.

Also, of course the inventory is always changing, so you may see slightly different prices when you search.)

Click the image to execute the same search at James Allen. Inventory is always changing so exact diamond search results will vary.

That’s it, you’re done.

You just avoided getting a diamond ring you could be disappointed with.

You got a much better one, for less money.

It’s easy to get great deals on better diamond jewelry — for less money! Here’s how:

  1. Scroll up to the section on “How to Get the James Allen Deals.”
  2. Follow the easy directions there.
  3. Feel 100% confident that you bought the best diamond for the money

How to search this site to save up to tens of thousands of dollars at trusted diamond retailers, vs most any Costco, Kay, Jared, or Zales ring you’re considering

Search and save. You could save enough for a new compact car. Or a honeymoon. Or several expensive dinner dates. Or that guitar you’ve been wanting.

Read this very short note on how easy it is.

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Note that we make every effort to make all content as accurate as possible. And mostly succeed. But every human makes mistakes, so be sure to confirm all specifications and all information about any diamond you buy, and about any competitors' offers, directly with the sellers, before you buy.

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