James Allen diamonds - are they even real??

[mrs-b]

I recently helped a young man choose an engagement ring for his girl. He had $2500 max. to spend and - ideally - he wanted a cushion cut diamond and a band with diamonds on it - and preferably in platinum. He had very low expectations of what he'd be able to get.

Since I know both him and his parents quite well, I offered to help. He's currently in Florida at university, so one night we spent some hours together online trawling through the James Allen site (a vendor he'd never heard of) looking for the nicest cushion we could find.

He ended up with a .63ct I VSI cushion which he pared with the French pave set ring - in platinum! With his discount, his ring came in at $2195 and he spent some considerable time on the phone with the JA sales rep, explaining that he wanted the most delicate claws possible. He told me he was holding on to the ring till December for their anniversary. i told him he wouldn't last a week.

So he lasted 2 days after the ring arrived before he proposed and - when he pulled this gorgeous, tasteful, substantial, glittering ring out of his pocket his young lady, eyes wide, said....

"Is that even REAL? I mean, it's so much more sparkly than the ones I looked at in Kays!"

So there you go; James Allen diamonds - so sparkly, they don't even look real.

 

[missy]

awww, love that! Congrats to the happy couple. You're a good friend Mrs. Blop.

 

[tyty333]

That's so sweet! And so kind of you to help him!

 

[VRBeauty]

What a lovely story! Congratulations to the happy couple! And to you, mrs-blop, for doing such a terrific job of helping them find the right ring!

 

[canvasback]

haha! Good story, and good job helping out the fella!

 

[junebug17]

This story put a big ol' smile on my face! SO sweet! And what a gorgeous ring - I'm really happy for them, thanks for sharing this mrs - blop, you did a great job!

 

[EvangelineG]

Aw, that is so sweet! It must have felt really great to be able to help them like that Mrs Blop!

 

[woofmama]

Very sweet story! Congratulations to the couple I've made a few purchases at JA myself and have been very happy

 

[kenny]

Wonderful story!

So happy you helped them.

 

[kathley]

What a nice story...beautiful ring too!

 

[SirGuy]

It's so much fun having the chance to help a friend out with this sort of thing, and have it turn out so well! Thanks for sharing.

 

[CRYSTAL24K]

A great testimonial for James Allen, especially coming from you, Mrs-Blop! You are so knowledgeable about diamonds and jewelry. Very kind of you to help him out.

Congrats to the newly engaged couple.

 

[CRYSTAL24K]

I forgot to add: The ring is a stunner. Beautiful.

 

[MissGotRocks]

How fortunate he was to have you help him! Great story - happy ending!! Her ring is beautiful!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Awesome!!!

 

[dawnxcui]

OMG I LOVE THE STORY!! SOOOOOOO SWEET

 

[apacherose]

Mrs Blop- you are sooo sweet. Thank you for sharing this story, it is so heartwarming and made me grin ear to ear. Yay!

 

[iota15]

Haha. Great job!

Great story!

And it does look like a wonderful stone!

 

[AprilBaby]

Such a priceless reaction!

 

[partgypsy]

Looks like a beautiful ring. Sounds like he got the reaction he was looking for. I think it's sweet he couldn't wait to give it to her.

Another story where doing your research, can get a gorgeous piece for a very reasonable price.

 

[ame]

I love that reaction!

 

[mrs-b]

Thanks for the kind reactions, everyone. I think - for myself, at least - one can forget how exciting that first - and, for many people, only - diamond ring purchase can be. This just took me back to the days of my youth, when any diamond was a luxury, and a nice diamond was jaw dropping. And a .63 ct stone was HUGE!

Although, it helps that the young lady in question has size 4 fingers!

And how satisfying is it to see a nice ring that cost just over two thousand dollars?! A nice experience, right across the board.

 

[Daikon]

Very nice Mrs Blop! Hopefully I will get a similar reaction soon!

 

[AGBF]

This just took me back to the days of my youth, when any diamond was a luxury, and a nice diamond was jaw dropping. And a .63 ct stone was HUGE!

My mother never had an engagement ring. My aunt had one that was 1/4 or 1/3 carat and that seemed huge to me when I was a child because it was a real diamond. When I got engaged $2,000.00 would have been way above our means. My engagement ring was an 18K yellow gold oval with two 1-point diamonds inside it. This posting of yours really rings true to me, mrs-blop.

Deb/AGBF

 

[MollyMalone]

Mrs Blop- you are sooo sweet. Thank you for sharing this story, it is so heartwarming and made me grin ear to ear. Yay!

Me too!

 

[partgypsy]

As long as it's a nice diamond, any size diamond looks big to me (maybe because I mostly wear non-diamond jewelry).
So changing from a .47 to a .60 round diamond, looks significant on my finger (just shy of size 6) and And my co-worker who I was keeping up to date on the ring creation process, the first time she saw it said "That looks huge!". I think most parts of the country, really these size stones are very respectable and significant size rings.

Though I know ones perspective can get a little distorted being on pricescope

 

[nukezero]

Couldn't last a week? I'm holding onto my rock for almost 2 months before I give it to her.... I must be breaking a record.

 

[ariel144]

As long as it's a nice diamond, any size diamond looks big to me (maybe because I mostly wear non-diamond jewelry).
So changing from a .47 to a .60 round diamond, looks significant on my finger (just shy of size 6) and And my co-worker who I was keeping up to date on the ring creation process, the first time she saw it said "That looks huge!". I think most parts of the country, really these size stones are very respectable and significant size rings.

Though I know ones perspective can get a little distorted being on pricescope

Ditto on the PS distorted.

Great story and thanks for posting. Gorgeous ring...you "rock" on the choices made. Looks so pretty on her finger.

 

[derbygal]

What a gorgeous ring!