Anyone who purchased a diamond online

[AnotherConfusedMan]

Hey all...newbie here looking for some good advice on a first purchase...obviously confused about everything.
Anyway...Would you all recommend buying a diamond online? I''ve been looking around this site and came across a few, particularly Union Diamond. Anyone have experience with them or another online retailer that you would recommend? I kinda got the creeps from local jewlers speaking broken english trying to sell me.
Thanks for any advice

 

[chrono]

I''ve never dealt with Union Diamond, so I cannot comment on them.

I have dealt and purchased from:
www.goodoldgold.com
www.Whiteflash.com
www.Winkjones.com

Others have had success with
www.jamesallen.com
www.engagementringsdirect.com

Some use Blue Nile but I don''t recommend them because they do not provide me with enough information to make an informed decision about something that costs a lot of money and has strong emotional implications behind it.

 

[neatfreak]

I have purchased from Engagement Rings Direct and Mark is just a DOLL. Everyone Chrono mentioned in her post is fantastic as well.

I think you would find that we are the biggest proponents of online shopping here. But you need to learn a lot first. Start by watching the videos at Goodoldgold.com and reading everything you can under the KNOWLEDGE button at the top.

best of luck!

 

[Jenn5504]

I am a HUGE fan of buying diamonds online. MUCH better selection and with the right vendor you''re going to get much more info on the stone than from a local jewler. I recently purchased a replacement ering from Whiteflash and they were wonderful to deal with.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/8/2007 1:18:44 PM
Author: neatfreak
I have purchased from Engagement Rings Direct and Mark is just a DOLL. Everyone Chrono mentioned in her post is fantastic as well.

I think you would find that we are the biggest proponents of online shopping here. But you need to learn a lot first. Start by watching the videos at Goodoldgold.com and reading everything you can under the KNOWLEDGE button at the top.

best of luck!

Welcome to PS!

Ditto what is said above, learn about cut basics and how to consider the C''s such as carat, colour and clarity to decide what would be a good mix for you. Once you read up about diamonds, comparing and shopping won''t seem as daunting.

 

[oozze]

I am a newbie too....and still looking for my diamond.
Some price from Whiteflash or other store are lower in PS, but not on their website. How can we get PS price? We tell them that we saw them from PS?
In addition, Can you get lower price than PS? What I mean is that can you maybe ask for additional 1 or 2% more discount?

Thks!

oozze

 

[chrono]

Date: 8/8/2007 1:42:16 PM
Author: oozze
I am a newbie too....and still looking for my diamond.
Some price from Whiteflash or other store are lower in PS, but not on their website. How can we get PS price? We tell them that we saw them from PS?
Yes, tell them you found them through PS.

In addition, Can you get lower price than PS? What I mean is that can you maybe ask for additional 1 or 2% more discount?
Not likely. They already run on very low margins but it never hurts to ask.

Thks!

oozze

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 8/8/2007 1:42:16 PM
Author: oozze
I am a newbie too....and still looking for my diamond.

Some price from Whiteflash or other store are lower in PS, but not on their website. How can we get PS price? We tell them that we saw them from PS?

In addition, Can you get lower price than PS? What I mean is that can you maybe ask for additional 1 or 2% more discount?


Thks!


oozze

Hi oozze,

You just tell WF or the other vendor that you saw the diamond on PS and you want the PS discount. Some vendors will give you an additional 1-3% for paying by bankwire instead of CC, so ask about that too. But really, that''s about all the bargaining you can do. Their prices are already very low and margins aren''t huge.

 

[96TL]

I purchased from Union Diamond. I dealt with Tony Rixon. It was a great experience, and everything went very smoothly. I was extremely happy with the stone, and felt like he went out of his way for me. It is currently at Leon''s waiting for a setting to be built. 3 more weeks!

This is my post from last month.


I just wanted to let you guys know I recently had an excellent experience with Tony at Union Diamond. I had originally found a stone on his website (through Pricescope) that looked excellent on paper. I called him up for more information, but he didn''t have it in-house. He requested the stone, and shortly later it came in. After inspecting it, he told me it had one black inclusion that he felt I would be unhappy with. I was pretty let down, since I thought this had to be "the one". It was a 3.05 ct stone and it was in my price range. Thankfully, he was honest about it and didn’t let me discover the inclusion for myself. He mentioned that there was a large yearly diamond show coming up, and that he usually found great deals there. I told him exactly what I was looking for and what my price range was, and he promised to keep his eyes open for me. I wasn’t to confident that he would find something, and felt like I was back at "square one".
A few days later (during the show), he made his way to a computer and sent me an e-mail with a picture (from the cutter) and all the specs on a particular stone he had found. He sounded pretty excited about it. The stone looked and sounded perfect! The best part was that it was also in my price range, and it was actually slightly larger at 3.13 ct! He had the stone sent back to his office, and sent me a few more pics. It looked great! I wired him the funds, and the next day I had my stone. He was kind enough to upgrade shipping to Saturday delivery (so I wouldn''t have to suffer through the weekend) and he also included a 10x loupe so I could inspect it upon receipt. I am extremely happy with the way it worked out, and I feel like I got an amazing deal and a beautiful stone.

 

[hedarud]

I am working with Barbara from Union diamond, these guys are fantastic. I already had them send me 2 stones, i picked one, confirmed it to be true 1000% to the GIA cert and sent it back for it to be mounted on a custom setting they are doing for me from a pic.....ring should arrive this week, i will update you folks asap....

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,

I've purchased diamonds for earrings from Whiteflash and am very happy with the stones AND I will be purchasing from them again in the future. If you go over to the "Show Me The Ring" Forum, there are tons of pictures of all the jewelry that has been purchased online by various vendors.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-forum-engagement-ring-folder-eye-candy.5429/

 

[surfnrg]

As far as Union Diamond, I spent a lot of time speaking with Jeff Skelpsa (GG) over the phone. They have a large database of stones available to them (similar to other vendors), but the majority of them are EGL-Europe certs. The "great price" compared to other online vendors still has much to "you get what you pay for"

No certs or pictures available online. Usually 2 business hour return on requests for Certs, to your email.

Just remember to subtract 1-2 color grades, and possibly a clarity grade before seriously considering a stone.

 

[96TL]

Date: 8/8/2007 6:43:46 PM
Author: surfnrg
As far as Union Diamond, I spent a lot of time speaking with Jeff Skelpsa (GG) over the phone. They have a large database of stones available to them (similar to other vendors), but the majority of them are EGL-Europe certs. The ''great price'' compared to other online vendors still has much to ''you get what you pay for''

No certs or pictures available online. Usually 2 business hour return on requests for Certs, to your email.

Just remember to subtract 1-2 color grades, and possibly a clarity grade before seriously considering a stone.

That is true, but the particular stone I purchased had a GIA cert. They can locate one for you I''m sure. They did for me, and quickly I might add.

 

[autumngems]

I bought my marquise from Union Diamond and they were awesome to deal with, I dealt with Leah and am talking to her now about sidestones for another diamond. She took lots of time to help me find "my special diamond" and believe me I emailed her like crazy each day. They had the best price too and when I received it the packaging was impressive. It comes in a lovely blue box with your cert and all inside (your lady would like this) and I even had a free bracelet enclosed.