L.A. diamond buyer

[bojack]

Hey guys, looking for a little help...also, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, I''m new here! I recently relocated to LA and am looking to start shopping for a diamond engagement ring for my girlfriend. Problem is, I don''t have any idea about where to find a quality jewerly store. I am also on a limited budget (about $3500) so I guess Harry Winston is out!! If anyone could suggest places they know or have done business with that they would like to recommend for my budget, I am all ears! (or eyes, in this instance!

) Thanks in advance!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Welcome to our neck of the woods!! I like to go to the LA Jewelry District for window shopping, but when it comes to buying diamonds, I tend to go to Liberty Diamonds. If you check out under "resources" up above and go to "Local Jewelers" you be able to get more information about them...they have offices in LAJD and in Irvine...

 

[marnes]

I am also in the market and also checked out a lot of stores. Tiffany was very expensive but provided me with a goal of what I wanted, I checked out a variety of jewelry stores in different malls too with no success. Jewelry Mart was a complete disaster. I have no desire for a flea market environment to purchase a quality diamond ring from a bunch of hecklers. The Tiffany website provides a wealth of information about what to look for when looking at diamonds or the ring itself under a loupe and education beyond the simplified 4Cs.

Eventually I ended up at Robbin''s Brothers. It was akin to going into a car dealership. They assign someone to help you find a ring for your budget and they certainly have stuff in your price range, and have private offices which allow for normal lighting conditions and microscopes for viewing diamonds up close (but I prefer the loupe).

I am personally looking at $15K-20K budget, and once they gave me a price for the diamond and ring, I asked for a copy of the diamond GIA certification, and promptly looked up similar diamonds online afterwards and found that I could save 27% if I ordered it elsewhere online. When I notified them of this, they dropped the price of the diamond by 9%, but ultimately I chose to buy a much better diamond online within my budget and am bringing it to Robbins Brothers today to make my custom ring. They will actually build the platinum band for me and copy the Tiffany one I liked so much and save me about $10K.

 

[bojack]

Thanks for the advice-- in general do you think I would get a better deal through online places (like Blue Nile or Dirt Cheap Diamonds?) I''d hate to go somewhere that "pushes" you into a ring (which is how your description of Robbins Bros sounds) Also, how much was it to get the custom Tiffany setting...that was a setting that I liked as well, except for the Tiffany price, of course!

 

[OldBride]

I just received my ring today from Whiteflash, and I am thrilled. I wouldn''t hesitate to recommend them, and I know that many others here are very happy with purchases from online vendors. And, remember, if they''re out of state, there''s no sales tax.

 

[Slykat12]

Internet venders are usually cheaper than b and m stores. Blue nile tends to charge more for the same stone than other online venders in my experiance. I personally trust internet venders more than b and M stores as I write them back and forth and thus get stuff in writting. Most here really love and trust all the PS venders.

I did not like the LA jewerly district experiance as I was shown poor quality stones by people who were not gemologists and they mocked my diamond knowledge which I feel was pretty good. Liberty is great if you are looking for a round. Don't count on a good fancy collection though. Call them first and have a couple of the best cuts ready to examine.

Online you can cruz 1000s of diamonds in a day. At the district-handfuls. I personally like the fact that I can chose exactly what diamonds I want to consder rather than having someone push what they have in the store.
Of course, if you insist on a B and M store you will pay B and M prices. There is comfort in seeing the stone first.

Just read the pricescope info esp on cut prior if you are heading out. Take the subway if u can. Or if so inclined run your specs here through pricescope and see how far your dollar goes online.

 

[blueroses]

You''ve come to the right place

Read up on the Pricescope tutorial, and surf around to check out some of the different recommended vendors who are regular posters and have lots of feedback from PSers. You will ABSOLUTELY save money, and have more control over your search. I''m with you--I hate the hard sell. Robbins Brothers has lovely settings, and hey, there stones could be great, who knows, but it feels EXACTLY like a used car lot, as was described above. My bf and I were not looking at each other while we were in there b/c we knew we''d start laughing.

Anyway, welcome to PS, and you will definitely find something great with the help of the wonderful posters here!

 

[Kaleigh]

You''ll save a bundle from buying from the online vendors here. I just bought an asscher from GOG and couldn''t find a price or quality as good anywhere.

 

[katrina_33]

Also, if you''re into seeing stones in person, there *are* great vendors in the LA jewelry district, it''s just that for the most part, they''re not on the ground floor of those buildings, and they''re few and far between. I''d do a search for past threads, there are some vendors who people have recommended consistently here. I like European Jewelry Company a lot, they spent a lot of time with my BF and I one day, got out about 10 stones for us to compare in a line up (some places only let you have a couple out at a time for insurance purposes) and have an idealscope, microscope, and anything else you''d want right there for you to use in their office to compare stones. Some people really like Oscar''s, and I''ve heard Eli''s recommended more than once as well. Oscars and European Jewelry Co both sell branded H&A rounds if that''s what you''re looking for.

The major advantage to buying locally of course is getting to go through the in person comparisons and pick one that you know sings to you, that you know is eye clean by your definition, etc. The prices downtown are pretty similar to what you''d see online, but then you do have to pay tax of course, so that''s the downside. You get less of the cut analysis info from the typical B&M, but since you can see the stones in person and bring an idealscope if you are so inclined, this doesn''t really matter.

You can''t go wrong either way if you ask me. Doing the downtown B&M thing will definitely be more overwhelming, and you''ll want to be more educated going into it. The pricescope vendors all compete with each other very closely and cater to a very educated, picky group, so with their specially selected stones, whether it''s GOG H&A''s, Whiteflash''s ACA''s, Nice Ice''s stones, DCD''s "Signature Selection," Wink''s "Infinities" or one of those I''m no doubt forgetting, you are getting a very well cut and fairly priced stone. With a little more diligence through a Jewelry District vendor, you can also get a very well cut and fairly priced (+ tax) stone that you get to examine in person and compare with other stones, and a jeweler you can return to down the line for cleaning, repair, etc.