Great Internet and NYC Diamond District Vendor

[bizgk]

Hi Everyone,

I have been reading (and hopefully learning) a lot from everyone''s posts on this very informative Web site, and wanted to share a little about my recent experience with a vendor.

I recently purchased a diamond from Mark Turnowski of www.engagementringsdirect.com and wanted to tell everyone about my great experience. His pricing was extremely competetive, and his knowledge about diamonds and patience in dealing with me made the shopping experience as pleasant as it could possibly be.

I would highly recommend Mark to anyone looking to buy a diamond (and/or ring), whether over the Internet/phone or in person in the NYC diamond district.

-George

 

[pqcollectibles]

Congrats on a good purchase experience.

Specs on the diamond and pics of your ring?? Do tell more!!

 

[Iceman]

I would tend to disagree.

 

[Iceman]

(posted on website) A .70 H SI1 $ 3,175 ? Thats high ! This is for the consumers to know if they want more then just a great experance. no specs given ?

Sorry, just the way it is.

 

[KBerly]

bizgk, just wanted to tell you that i also agree that mark at ERD is just wonderful. i gave him the desired specs and my BF's budget and he found the most perfect diamond for us...we had it appraised and got to see it before purchasing it, absolutely beautiful! i won't be able to see it again until we are engaged, but i wholeheartedly agree that mark is just great and i am so happy you had the same experience!

like i said before, he will get his very own thread when the ER is on my hand!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/11/2005 3:19:18 PM
Author: crankydave
As usual, a consumer posts a positive experience with someone outside the PS clique and it gets criticized.

Glad your experience was a positive one George!

Dave

they''re one of the advertising vendors here on P.S.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Date: 2/11/2005 3:19:18 PM
Author: crankydave
As usual, a consumer posts a positive experience with someone outside the PS clique and it gets criticized.

Glad your experience was a positive one George!

Dave

Dave: Iceman''s response has nothing to do with the "Pricescope Clique" I''m personally tired of hearing this generalization.

Iceman: This is very unprofessional and you know better

. Keep your personal and professional bias to yourself when someones commenting on a good experience with any vendor.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 2/11/2005 1:43:52 PM
Author: Iceman
(posted on website) A .70 H SI1; $ 3,175 ?; Thats high !

Well, is there a setting to go with it ? The one "pedigree cut" with these specs around here is still a hair below 2k. (link) And there''s cheaper allright counting both GIA and AGS0 and what not.

Anyway, this was a local purchase, so... what do I know

Just trying to see what you mean, Iceman

 

[windowshopper]

MY TWO CENTS:

I FOUND HIM VERY VERY NICE BUT VERY EXPENSIVE WITH SOMEWHAT LIMITED ACCESS TO A BROAD SELECTION OF STONES. HE WAS DOING A CUSHION SEARCH AND HIS PRICES WERE AT LEAST 2500 OVER BLUE NILE AND DCD (EXACT SAME STONES--I HAD CERT COPIES)

 

[Kaili]

bizgk,
I''m glad you had a great experience with Mark and I''m glad you shared it here.

My bf and I had a wonderful experience with Mark as well, and the diamond we bought from him was lower in price than others of the same quality that we found on the PS search engine. We were on a budget, so price was a HUGE issue. We also got a discount for paying "cash" vs. credit card. We were looking for round stones and we bought from him because he had what we wanted within our budget.

I don''t understand how a poster could determine whether or not you got a good deal witout any specs given, but maybe they know something about your stone that I do not??

I think it is rude for others to try to make you feel bad about a purchase that you have already made. You are posting YOUR experience, and I''m glad to hear your oppinion.

By the way, I see that you posted that his pricing was competitive, so I''m assuming your oppinions are based on research and your findings.

If you are happy with your purchase, celebrate it!!

Please post pictures when you get them, so we can admire.
Congrats!

P.S. I don''t usually hear anyone bad mouth positive feedback on an over-priced setting from some of the more prominent PS vendors, so I don''t know why bizgk is getting attacked for simply posting his good experience with ERD.

AND, Iceman, Mark is more than happy to give you further specs on the diamonds if you contact him.

 

[bizgk]

Hi,

For the few of you, thanks for the support.

As for the rest.. I have no problem with negative comments or feedback. Business is business. I was simply stating my personal experience. Although not 24/7, I spent months looking at posts on here, pricing from various places (both in person and Internet), even going to places that friends of mine have sworn was the cheapest place they found after 1 year of looking around. After all that, Mark provided me the best experience, both by not trying to persuade me that some diamonds are better than they actually are, and also giving good prices.

As far as Bluenile is concerned, Mark beat out their price on ALL diamonds they listed (for the exact same diamonds) by about 10-15%. Not sure how that could be considered bad.

It''s possible that a few diamonds might be on Mark''s web site that are priced higher than other places, but as far as I could tell, not many. When I would do PS searches, where multiple Internet companies listed their prices on the SAME diamond, he was always better, or not far off, the best price of his comeptitors. With the particular diamonds I looked at in person, even compared to the other pure Internet vendors, he was mostly better than their price, or at most $100-200 more. However, being able to go into an office, and pick from a number of different diamonds of the same spec., was more than worth it even if it meant an extra 100 dollars. I would chose that over throwing dice to chose the best of 10 diamonds with almost identical specs from GIA reports (which don''t tell you some very important details)..

I also once called up a "reputable" internet vendor (the name of which I won''t mention), and was trying to find out why one diamond was much cheaper than another of almost identical GIA specs.. the rep told me that was ONLY because THEY bought it for cheaper and were passing on the savings. I knew that was wrong on many levels.. first, they havent bought most of the diamonds they list.. second, there could be other qualities not listed on the GIA report that affect price (and how it looks, especially with a fancy cut). When I suggested this, the person told me "the only thing you need to know about a diamond is listed on the GIA report." For obvious reasons, that was enough for me stay away from that company.

Finally, I obtained a trusted out of state appraisal.. (I am having the setting made out of state by a jeweler that my girlfriend''s parents have used for over 10 years, and this jeweler recommended the appraiser). This person told me that her belief was that I paid wholesale (or less).. of course, buying out of state from local vendors is always going to be a little more than buying from Internet or a NYC diamond district vendor.. simply because of the differences in volume.. but that made me feel better nonetheless.

Sorry for the long post, but I thought I should contribute some further thoughts in light of the posts..

Once I have some pics, I will post them.. along with specs and price paid.

Have a nice day.

 

[belle]

glad to hear you had such a great experience dealing with mark! .......can''t wait to see those pics!!