Noob in NYC

[exlaxin]

So I am planning to propose to my GF of 5 years in about a month and I am looking for a little bit of advice. Here''s a little background on my situation:

Currently I''m a senior in college. I''ll be graduating in late May and then moving down south in June to start work. My girlfriend is will be visiting me as soon as she finishes school and staying with me through graduation and then driving south with me. I would like to propose to her in May when she comes to visit. The issue is that I currently have limited funds, however I''ll be making good money as soon as work starts.

Currently I''m looking to spend around $4,000 on a ring, but it would need to be from a place where I could pay it over time as I won''t be able to pay it all off until August most likely. This has lead me to look at Ebay since I could use paypal which gives you 6 months of no interest, bu obviously I''m hesitant of Ebay. However I did find a ring that I know she would like and the store has a location in NYC:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-35ct-DIAMOND-PLATINUM-ENGAGEMENT-RING-ROUND-EGL-NR_W0QQitemZ8923511332QQcategoryZ92906QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://www.utopiadiamonds.com

Has anyone dealt with this company before?
Or can anyone recommend any upstanding and reputable stores in NYC?

At this point I''ve done enough research and looking online and I want to go to some B&M to see the actual diamonds, so I''d like to head to a place that won''t BS me and will just let me look and learn.

Any help is much appreciated and I can always give more info, I just tried (unsuccessfully) to keep it short.

 

[sunkist]

Hi Ex, welcome to Pricescope!! This is the best place to learn about diamonds before you buy! That is a beautiful ring you found, but here''s the thing. First they have misrepresented some information on the site. One place says the stone is graded by GIA (which is a reliable company) but then they say it''s graded by EGL (who is not reliable) and they give an EGL certificate. On the EGL cert it says the center stone is an H. In actually it''s probably a J, because EGL usually upgrades their stones. A J is not bad, it''s just not an H if that''s what you think you are getting. The cert also says the center stone is SI2 for clarity. There are some SI2 stones that are eyeclean, but you have to see it to make sure. And being that this is EGL, it may be a SI3 or even and I stone! This means you''ll see inclusions on your stone.

I have no experience with Utopia Diamonds. Maybe someone else here can say something. Try doing a search.

If you''re in NY I would totally go to Good Old Gold!!! You can find their info here under vendors. When I first started researching diamonds I went to their website and I thought it was the best tutorial on everything about diamonds. They walk you through everything. So go the store, check out the website, and look at Pricescope and ask questions. You''ll learn a lot

The most important thing you''ll learn is about the cut of a stone. An ideal cut is what makes a kickin'' stone, and if you''ve got an ideal stone it will actually look larger than what most people walking around are wearing.

So good luck finding the perfect diamond for your sweetie!

 

[mrssalvo]

don''t know about payment plans..but you should think about checking out

GoodoldGold

and

Mark T at engagement rings Direct. Both have very good reputations. You will want to make sure you make and appt. with either before stopping in. GOG can get very busy I here.

Also, Pearlmans Jewelers offers 12 months no interest so you might take a look at his site too.

 

[exlaxin]

Unfortunately Good Old Gold is a little too far away for me. I''m actually in NJ so NYC is no prob, but getting to LI would probably be too much of a hassle.

Sunkist: I also noticed the inconsistencies in the posting, however it looks like they use the same format for all their auctions and all of their other ones are GIA so I assume they forgot to change it on that one. Either that or they''re very bad to trying to slip past the bidder

I agree about the cut of the diamond being the most important, that''s definitely one of my top consdierations for my small budget.

Pearlmans looks worth checking out but most of their settings alone are over $4000!

Thanks for for the help so far, and please keep em coming!

 

[mrssalvo]

please, please be very careful with ebay. we had heard so many more bad stories than good ones when it comes to jewelry purchases there

. If you type in ebay in the search box you can follow a few threads.

If your wanting to stay local then mark T would be the perfect one to help.

 

[Kaleigh]

I''d give Mark Turnowski a call. He''s in NYC and you need an appointment to see him. www.engagementringsdirect.com Also in NYC is www.thefacetscollection.com Ask for Isaac. Good luck!!!

 

[moon river]

Please, please listen to these PSers. They know their stuff. Ebay can be real ''iffy''. You can find the right ring with the vendors mentioned. You can email them before going to any of them and ask all kinds of questions. They are very helpful.
PS won''t guide you down the wrong road. Keep us posted.

 

[exlaxin]

Trust me I''m not going to buy from Ebay. I was using it mainly as a way to find looks that i like and noticed that that seller has a store in NYC. I''ll be sure to give a few of the above mentioned stores a call this week.

If I do end up stopping by to look at Utopia Diamonds I''ll post back and give my impressions since it seems like no one has dealt with them before.

 

[chickflick]

Hello! Congrats on your upcoming engagement.

You''ll find a few topics on Utopia Diamonds if you do a key word search within this forum. A few people have some good things to say but I think there were one or two drawbacks to that seller. it''s going to be your call. I found this out when I saw that very ring on eBay myself about a month back! I thought it was quite pretty and a good price but I ended up going with James Allen (another good choice but they''re in Maryland.)

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

 

[valeria101]

Wonder if Wink has layaway? Shop at www.winkjones.com

Wonder if looking for a different shape than round brilliant and princess (more popular and hence priced higher) will not end up with more diamond for the money. And at least some fancies look rather large for the weight (ovals, pearl and marquises come on that list, IMO).


How about Blue Nile? At least there is a fair amount of feedback about them, and the address seems allot more 'tried and true' than the mysterious Utopia thing.

 

[pricescope]

The stone 1.02ct has 6.40mm diameter I.E. as a 0.95ct stone - it is rather deep 63.2% for 58% table.

HCA: 3.6 - Very Good (Worth buying if the price is right). Assuming the grading is accurate, similar EGL graded stones are listed in the web at about $3,000.

 

[SquareCut]

Instead of using Paypal get a credit card that charges no interest for the first 90 days. I think HSBC offers a credit card with no interest for the first 12 months.

 

[exlaxin]

Thanks a lot everyone I really appreciate all the input/ideas!

 

[Kaleigh]

While you are waiting. Read the tutorials on here. They are very helpful. You will learn a lot in a short time. That way when you go to buy you will be armed with knowledge on CUT. Remember CUT is key to buying a beautiful stone. Soooo glad you''re not buying on Ebay. My motto for erings is to stay away from ebay. The horror stories we hear are awful and at times heart breaking. Stick around and learn.