Just engaged, need diamond advice.

[satchmo]

Hi

I got engaged a few days ago and myself and my fiancee are planning to go window shopping for a ring in the next day or so to see what is available to us. I have spent a small amount of time researching diamonds and what to look for, 4 C''s etc etc... but I would be grateful to learn from all you wise ones on this site what we should be looking for based on our budget, which is approx $8,500 – $9,500. I am not living in the US, rather in Ireland, however I strongly feel that as Ireland is now such a ''rip-off country'', we may get more for our money looking on-line.

I am tending to lean more-so towards an emerald, princess or radiant square shape (however I think it''s difficult to find the latter of those 3 cuts in Ireland?!).
I would prefer to go no lower than 1.0 carat (preferably bigger!) but don''t want to compromise quality i.e.: end up with a yellow-tinged diamond...
If we do decide to make the purchase in Dublin, naturally we''d rather go out shopping and give the shop assistants a strong impression that we''ll know if they''re trying to rip us off..

Also if there are any posters here living in Ireland, I would be grateful if they have any tips on where and where not to go to purchase a ring in Dublin.

Cheers in advance.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/30/2004 719 AM
Author:satchmo

I strongly feel that as Ireland is now such a ''rip-off country'', we may get more for our money looking on-line.

Not too many websites put up enough of a show to make for an entertaining browse

Diamonds may be better and better priced, but it takes a special kind of fanatic to prefere the electronic experience to diamond shopping for the New Year Eve

Anyway, there is the ocasional exception that shows diamonds in way more detail than they''d show in person. Quite spectacular for shopping around purposes, I think.

This one comes from GoodOldGold.com.

Diamonds cut to optical precission come with such detailed presentation - there''s much more than pictures if you browse the sites. Superbcert, Whiteflash, Niceice, Dirtcheapdiamons (the shop is better than the name) than the come to mind - not an exaustive list by all means.

There should be room for quite a bit more than 1 carat for the price, 1.4-1.5 I think. Considering no-excuse white and clean material with a top cut, how about F-G/VS2-SI1 for grades ? For example: 1.5 cts princess or 1.37 cts radiant... there seem to be quite a few choices actually - those came up from one shop only.

Hope the 0.2 worth helps a bit for starters.

 

[oldminer]

I think you can readily find out what your budget will get you on the Internet by doing a Pricescope search. Armed with this, you can enjoy shopping because you will know how much premium you''d be paying to buy something similar in a store in Dublin. You will probably find no sellers there willing to work on Internet level profits, but you might find some good people who have a diamond you really like for a price that seems worth the extra to buy it locally. It is as much a meshing of personalities as it is a financial event.

Be casual. Don''t be pressured. Enjoy a little friendly give and take. Just stay in control. You can always say you and your fiance'' need a little time to discuss the matter over a cup of coffee somewhere..... I would suggest you don''t toss out the word "Internet" needlessly as it may cause a defensive wall to come up that will shorten your pleasant shopping and make the trip more adversarial.

We have seen numerous couples visit the US and pick up their chosen diamond in person adn attempting to save the large VAT. While I won''t recommend doing it, the tax saving has paid for a very nice few day visit for some of these folks. Hope they didn''t get caught.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Yes, GoodOldGold and DirtCheapDiamonds are good sites, along with White Flash (among others of course), for giving you an idea of the stone through pictures and additional measurements.

Since you have a rather broad range, I would suggest either narrowing your search down (deciding you want an F-G VS2-SI1 radiant or whatever) or picking a vendor and seeing what that vendor has in your price range, if you are really open to any of those three shapes. You might email a few vendors to see what kind of response you get and take it from there.

Some ideas:

1.58 H VS1 princess for $9262 (price reduced to reflect PriceScope discount which you get when mentioning PriceScope)

1.20 G VS2 emerald for $5563

1.42 G VS1 radiant for $7832

1.34 D VS2 princess for $8972

1.50 G SI1 princess for $8986

1.12 F VS1 emerald for $8602