Please Help!

[b52holly]

Hey guys, I''m new to the whole diamond thing but I''ve read up a lot and think I know wat to look for. My girlfriend is more simple than most (no offense ladies) but I know she doesnt want me to get ripped off. We went to this place in Arundel Mills Mall in Maryland called the Manhattan Jewelry Exchange and they showed us a .72 ct princess cut GIA cert. H, VS2, ideal, 1.01 l:w ratio center diamond and two matching .35 ct G, VS2 (orSI1 i cant remember). They looked really nice and they said they could put it in a platinum setting that she liked (would even lower it so it didn''t stick up too much) for $3500. Shes not picky...we liked the stones but we just don''t want to get ripped off. Does anyone know anything about this place?? Does this sound too good to be true? Please let us know what you think...we''re poor medical students and would appreciate any help you can give us..thanks!

 

[alexah]

I've never heard of the MJE, no.

Do you have any info about the cut of the center stone? 'Ideal' is thrown about quite liberally by many places... could you get us info on table, depth, girdle, crown height, etc?

I found this stone .72 H VS2 for $2232.

I'd figure about $300-ish for each of the side stones.

That leaves $700 for the platinum setting... which is low...

 

[lmurden]

I'm from Silver Spring, Maryland and I know that place well because me and my fiance' went there and thought it was a joke. Don't bother. Take your time and do your research here on pricescope. If you know what style of ring you want then check out some of the online venders. I got my ring from Blue Nile.com and they are great and my ring appraised for twice what we paid. I did get a second appraisal just for safety. Other on pricescope love White Flash.com, Gold Old Gold.com, Superbcert.com, and so on. Please take your time and don't buy anything until all your questions are answered and you feel comfortable.

 

[synth19]

^ great advice, some great info on this site... I'll be here for awhile...lol

 

[b52holly]

Thanks for all of your input so far...please keep posting as I can use all the help I can get. Is engagementringsdirect a good place? Also whats the deal with dirtcheapdiamonds- can you actually go see them (I mean I'm less than an hour from frederick, md) Anyone have the scoop on that?

About the diamonds cut- I dont remember the numbers as that was the first day looking and saw a lot of numbers and diamonds. It looked nice though...
And it was GIA. so i dunno. If I go back there I'll post up the numbers for that stone.

Ok- questions about princesses...for the center stone of .7 ish what should I be looking for for depth and table % ?? I know I need a thin-thick girdle and what are your opinions on fluor with princesses?
Thank you all so much

 

[vision]

be careful with term 'ideal'. it is very misleading and could mean nothing if you are a layman.
but if it is what is says, it is a great deal.

 

[quaeritur]

You can go to DirtCheapDiamonds. They don't have an actual showroom, but if you make and appointment and tell them what stones you're considering, I believe they can accommodate showing them to you in their offices. I've dealt with them on the phone, and they've been most friendly and helpful

.

 

[alexah]

As far as what you should be looking for, I found the chart on Gem Appraiser's website invaluable... just click on the part about AGA cut grade & select princess from the drop down. oh- and, generally speaking, look for princesses w tables 3-6 less than depth, tho it's not necessarily a deal-breaker