can diamond mounting be purchased online?

[dianek]

I am looking to remount my diamond. Saw an Ingwer L7258 mounting today in platinum. Jewelry store gave price of $1344 + $100 to mount my stone. This seems very high to me (perhaps I haven''t been jewelry shopping in recent years!). I thought it would be easy to find big discounts online, but that doesn''t seem to be the case. Does anyone know of a reputable online Ingwer dealer? Would it then be easy to take the setting to a jeweler & have my stone mounted, or is this all a bad idea? I would appreciate any advice.....PS I would prefer the same setting in white gold, to save $$$. Thanks!

 

[MrYoung]

This is not an absurd price for what you are looking for. Precious metal prices are through the roof.

Why are you so ambitious to shop online? Shop locally. Support your community. Make a relationship with a jeweler that you can know personally, trust and use for any questions, concerns, cleaning and polishing, more. IF price is of concern, grab a quote and ask a jeweler if he/she can beat it.

Furthermore, you shoudl be able to find a similar setting in WG. Post a picture and I/we can help.

Good Luck.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 1/20/2008 12:28:42 AM
Author: MrYoung
This is not an absurd price for what you are looking for. Precious metal prices are through the roof.

Why are you so ambitious to shop online? Shop locally. Support your community. Make a relationship with a jeweler that you can know personally, trust and use for any questions, concerns, cleaning and polishing, more. IF price is of concern, grab a quote and ask a jeweler if he/she can beat it.

Furthermore, you shoudl be able to find a similar setting in WG. Post a picture and I/we can help.

Good Luck.

Shopping locally has it''s place, no arguments there.

Why put the OP on the defensive by saying why be so ambitious to shop online??

Last I checked most of us do buy from online vendors...

 

[MrYoung]

I apologize, but I do feel strongly about this subject. Online vendors definately have a place and can be great.

I makes me sad to see local family owned brick and mortar stores go out of business because they cant compete with onlne vendors. The jewelry industry is one of the last industries that is based upon trust. Diamond dealers will send millions of dollars of inventory to retailers simply based on the retailer''s word. When purchases are made online, they often go out of state and lets face it, nobody pays tax on purchases out of state. You are "required" to by your state, but nobody does.

Look at the DRC and the Congo. Yes, this is an extreme case, but the DRC looses millions of dollars annually from thier nations largest export- diamonds. The diamonds are smuggled out of the country without being taxed and there isnt any money for police, schools, infrastructure, more. This type of conflict diamond effects hundreds, if not thousands of times more people then the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Obvioulsy, not a single US state needs these taxes as much as the DRC. However, is a little bad better then a lot of bad? Theyre both bad! Sticter laws pertaining to online vending and taxes that should be collected would be a start.

Im not saying that you can trust online retailers, because there are MANY reputable online retailers. And Im certainly not saying that it is evil to purchase form online dealers, because it is not. My point is that if the current trend of online purchases continues, and the current trend of brick and mortar stores closing continues, then the only places to shop will be online and department stores. This brings us further and further away from a perfect market and closer and closer to what DeBeers did with diamonds. Imagine barren strip malls. Where is the sense of community? If there is no "downtown" what do we have but suburban sprawl? Im sorry- but this is not the reality I want my children to grow up in.

As far as outsourcing, one could even blame our current recession, among many other things, on the longevity of US outsourcing. We have been, literally, teaching other countries how to do jobs that we require. Labor is cheaper- the cost of this is/was great for the US''s needs. The problem is, we have been teaching these countries, China for manufacturing and India for electronics/programming/etc. for example, for so long, that they can now have a say in price. Poeple who will worked for one firm and were taught programming can leave thier company and start a new one. Now, you have an educated person operating a company that charges x+2, or you can start over and teach another individual that same job for X+5. Either way, you pay more then X. Furthermore, when our dollar drops and these other countries dollar rises- we are now paying MUCH more on our current contracts.


What it comes down to is at lease TRY and support your local jeweler. Find what you want and ask him or her. "Im IN LOVE with this setting and I can afford it online for X. Can you match this price for me?" Your money will go back into your community. I think you would be surprised at how many jewlers would be happy to accomodate you- any you may even make a new friend!

Warm regards,

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Were you looking at a chain type store, or was it more of a privately owned one? I don''t think that the price you were quoted is that far off, especially since it is platinum. White gold would bring the price down some, but gold prices are high as well.

 

[mrssalvo]

Honestly, with the price of plat. where it is, the price your store gave you isn''t crazy high. shopping online is great, but by the time you add shipping costs and setting fee''s etc. you might not really save any money at all. and I agree, shopping local can have it''s perks. you might also find it harder to find someone local to set your stone (that you didn''t purchase from them) into a setting (that you didn''t purchanse from them). why would they want to take the risk?

just about any jeweler can order in ingwer settings so I agree with contacting a few of the popular online one''s for quotes and then trying to bargain with you local store, if the price difference really is substantial.

I''d try if I were looking:

www.whiteflash.com
www.questjewelers.com
www.winkjones.com (Winfields)
www.engagementringsdirect.com
www.goodoldgold.com