Ring envy wears off, VERY quickly.
That said, it's a diamond. "Bang for buck" is the dumbest, most overrated aspect of diamond buying. Let me see if I can articulate this.
A diamond is rare. It should be rare. Prices are essentially commoditized. You'll pay a bit of a premium at places like Tiffany, but at the end of the day, it's all in the same ballpark.
I know a lot about diamonds. Cut is the most important thing. I'd rather have a slightly more included less white diamond than a terribly cut VVS1 in an E color.
Again, that said, all aspects are important because the entire purpose of buying a diamond is rarity. If you get a 2 carat K color, SI2 clarity, but "no one can tell" it has inclusions and the color is shit, it's still a shit diamond.
Get the best diamond you can for $20,000 or Whatever you're spending.
There is a reason a 1 carat, VVS1, Ideal Cut, E color diamond is ~$12,000 and a 2 carat, SI2, good cut, J color diamond is $10,000. To me, a bigger diamond is just a show off. If it's a shit stone, who cares?
Let me give you some perspective. A 2 carat, essentially flawless, ideal cut, colorless diamond is around $100,000.
Same size, 10x the price.
Long story short, don't fall for sales guys trying to sell you a bigger rock that is a shit diamond. Diamonds should be essentially colorless, no inclusions, and ideally cut. Anything beyond that, you begin to marginalize the entire concept of a diamond.
If the whole pitch is "you can't tell it sucks," just get a cubic zirconia.
My minimums:
- Ideal cut
- D, E or F color (maybe)
- VVS1 is lowest clarity I'd go
- No less than 1 carat (or what's the point)
- No Florescence
- Excellent symmetry
- No Culet