Who''''s Who?

[MacClure]

ew here and this is my first post, so i ask for understanding in advance and apologize for what will probably be a long post.

why''d i name the subject of my first post "Who''s Who?" i''ll get to that in a moment. but first....

i''m not a jeweler, appraiser, gemologist or have any affiliation with, or personally know, anyone here or anywhere else. i know nothing about the diamond business at all. prior to ''studying'' here recently (a couple of weeks now), all i knew about diamonds was the differences in clarity and color. i''ve always thought the higher the clarity scale, the better the diamond (as i write this, i now know much different, and much, much more...thank you all!). i found pricescope while googling diamond info, online vedors, etc. what brought me to the internet was not only a hunger for diamond knowledge without the pressure of dealing with sales people, but also to find a reputable diamond source...be it by means of the internet or B/M, as you folks call them. prior to finding pricescope, i''d only come across Blue Nile and Diamonds.com. wanting to know each site''s reputation, i googled ''em. Blue Nile came up on Forbes.com as a one of their ''best of the best'' recommended websites for diamonds and jewelry. so, i spent alotta time on the Blue Nile website. tons of time. building the e-ring (as you folks call it . i googled (good ol'' google..lol) reviews for Blue Nile. Great reputation as far as Bizrate''s concerned. Blue Nile''s lookin'' real good...tons of positive reviews, great return policy, GIA/GCAL Certs...Forbes recommends ''em...i''m gettin'' ready to buy, if i can only decide between the Asshcer cut (yes, i''ve seen one in person...it lured me in!) and the Princess. but, while viewing the Blue Nile GIA certs for the locations of the imperfections within the diamond, i noticed things on the cert other than clarity and color scales...depth and table percentages? polish, symmetry, girdle and culet? what the heck''s that all about? back to google. ...on to pricescope. oh, my goodness. lol...i thought i knew about diamonds? lol...yeah, like i know how to tie my shoes! not only am i learning tons about diamonds here at pricescope, i''m now aware that, in addition to Blue Nile, there''s many ''recommended'' vendors shared by these forums. which one do i chose from? well, now i''m gettin'' to the question of my subject line in this post...Who''s Who? google ''em? nope...plug the recommended vendor''s name into the search here at pricescope...see what the people here, whom i''ve come to trust, have to say about the various vendors.... uh oh, seems there''s been some wars goin'' on...crap. accusations being made, supposed ''lies'' being told about one another. hey, i''m in desperate need for a top quality, beautiful diamond for my precious girl. a girl who knows nothing about diamonds, who asks for nothing (but my last name...) and would probably take a ring from a bubble gum machine at this point (hey, she''s the one who told me that. maybe i should try that and see how much she really loves me! lol...). i''m the one who''s been sneaking around the websites for hours and hours, turning into days and days...reading review after review, post after post...all in search of the most perfect diamond i can afford...for the most perfect girl. i swear she is...and, i''m in my forties, i know what i''m talkin'' about. she''s as beautiful on the inside (most important...i''ve learned the hard way) as she is on the outside...anyhow, where was i? oh, lol...the vendor wars. i''ve become so frustrated with this stuff that instead of lookin'' for my diamond, i''m tryin'' to figure out Who''s Who...until recently, i had no fears of shopping on the internet. as a matter of fact, i love to. but, now, i''m one of those folks who''re now very hesitant to purchase online ...i can''t stand the shopping mall jewelry stores and salespeople. i hope no one here is offended by that...anyhow...i hope a few folks can understand where i''m comin'' from and can hopefully share some words of encouragement.
...i dunno, maybe head back to Blue Nile...

i tried to post in the "who''s who" area of the forum, but for some reason was not allowed access to post. so, i do apologize if i posted in the wrong forum.

i sincerely appreciate all who''ve shared here...i''m learning tons.

with much gratitude for everyone''s effort here,

most sincerely,

ron...

 

[Joeys Minx]

Welcome to the board. I understand what you are saying completely. My fiance and I are in the same boat. Bluenile seems very reputable to us and we are also looking seriously at whiteflash as well. We also really like their lifetime trade up policy as well. We are thinking of maybe getting a 1/2 ctw of a diamond from their ACA or one of their premium selections. Then in a few years we can always trade it in for a bigger diamond. Good luck!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Based on recommendations from people here, I''ve talked to Winfield''s, Good Old Gold, WhiteFlash, and James Allen. They have all been very nice and helpful in answering my questions (mostly by email). Most of them have great information right on the websites and you can really narrow down your selections. I chose to focus on diamonds they each had in-house. Of those 4, James Allen seemed to have the most to choose from, but I have tentatively chosen my diamond from Winfield''s because he just happened to have what I wanted! I loved all the information on the GOG and WF sites, but they just didn''t have many diamonds in at this time that met my specifications. So you don''t get overwhelmed with choices, I''d recommend choosing about 3 of them to search.

Congratulations to you and your soon-to-be fiance! Those were such sweet things you had to say about her! I hope you do find the perfect diamond!

 

[MacClure]

joey''s minx and diamondseeker...

thank you both very much for your input. yes, i kinda agree with buying from a jeweler who has diamonds in stock. that way, i''m hoping, they''ve personally inspected my gem and can give me advice (let me know how the stone performs in person instead of relying on certification alone) before i buy. in addition to blue nile, i too have been considering james allen, gog, wf and dbof. over a week ago, a friend of mine recommended a local jeweler who''s he''s known for years. so, i visited the guy. this jeweler had two GIA diplomas on the wall and was also an appriaser. however, it seemed the more questions i asked, the more bothered the guy got. he was courteous, but seemed to try to steer me toward the two stones he had in stock. not only did these stones not fit the description of type of stone i informed him i was looking for, they had no certification. i informed him a few times that in addition to the stone, i wanted certification. his response was that i was purchasing a stone, not a piece of paper. although i completely agree with him that my girl won''t be wearing a piece of paper on her finger, i still need that GIA pedigree that describes the physical characteristics of my diamond. heck, i thought that getting an independent GIA or AGS certificate with your diamond was a given. i dunno, even though i spent alot of time with him (which, by the way, i appreciate. i know that his time is money.), i just didn''t feel totally comfortable. i''m not knocking B/M''s at all. i''d prefer shopping in person. but, it''s too much pressure when you''re trying to look at a diamond, but there''s the salesperson sitting across the glass from you and you know time is money. in addition to that, most don''t seem to possess much knowledge about what they''re sellin''. you see, i need time, obviously alot of time, to decide. the internet gives me that time to discover, learn, shop, read forums and ask questions.......

again folks, thanks for takin'' a few moments and replying to my previous post...

still lookin'' for that asscher, princess or...has anyone heard of the Jubilee cut? wow....

sincerely, ron.

 

[Kaleigh]

Ron,
Have you checked out www.gooodoldgold.com ?? I bought my asscher from them. They have jubilees as well as many other cuts. Great selection, and great prices as well. Good luck!!

 

[valeria101]

Date: 1/20/2006 7:10:33 PM
Author:TierHog



Who''s Who? [...] ... seems there''s been some wars goin'' on...crap. accusations being made, supposed ''lies'' being told about one another.

Yeah.. why not. Gossip stays ''on record'' on the Net. ''On the ground'' you would never get to know so many previous buyers anyway and they would not know each other. It is a different environment - good at unraveling some quirks of the good old ways of doing business and sure enough, carrying away its own.

What else is new !

 

[MacClure]

kaleigh....thank you for your suggestion. i''m lookin'' on GOG....

sincerely, ron...

 

[MacClure]

still researching the asscher cut (still up in the air about forkin'' over the extra cash for the royal asscher). pricescope search for asscher cut brought me to some good advice. i very much appreciate the input from dave at diamondsbylauren and john at whiteflash. i thought you guys shared some very good insight. thankyou for sharing advice for all budgets....even tho'' i''d still like to purchase a vs2 or higher ...i have thought of larger size and lowering my color to h. anyhow, just thought i''d express my sincere thank you for your inputs...and to others also. i must add that i do enjoy hearing honest advice from the persons who actually see these diamonds in person, and then take the time to post their experiences online for me to decide...like i said tho'', as long as they''re honest and straightforward. keep up the asscher posts...i''m steerin'' towards them and away from the princess cut...

most sincerely, ron.

oh, how about any advice from from the folks at goodoldgold or james allen? guess i''ll do another pricescope search...

 

[ep6585]

Date: 1/21/2006 10:10:14 PM
Author: TierHog
kaleigh....thank you for your suggestion. i''m lookin'' on GOG....

sincerely, ron...

I bought my wife''s Jubilee from GOG and was very happy with their service, price, and quality.

 

[Joeys Minx]

What exactly is a Jubilee?

 

[researcher]

I bought my stones (and rings) from Whiteflash, and have to say they are AMAZING to work with! I hate to admit it, but I was so crazed with my diamond search that I sent them an entire spreadsheet. Yes, it was insane. But patient Denise at WF went through each and every stone, both with the manufacturers and with me. Her service went above and beyond anything I''ve ever seen. After all of that, I ended up with two stones NOT on my spreadsheet that I wanted them to call in. Both were not stones in WF''s stock, but they called the manufacturers and had them sent to WF. Once there, the WF team took photos of the stones, ideal scope images, and ran Sarin reports. Then, Brian, the WF diamond cutter (and VP of WF), personally called me to discuss both stones. He knew that I was leaning towards the bigger stone with higher clarity, but he convinced me to go with the cheaper, smaller stone (which was being sold for more by the other online vendors). He said the color was better because it was a better cut stone, and the stone was completely eye clean. Also, he explained that the feather in the other, bigger stone was too close to the corner, and that there would be a good chance of it breaking during setting or by hitting the diamond wrong. I never would have considered the placement or type of inclusion before--I just figured a VS2 was better than an SI1. At any rate, WF then sent my now hubby and me the stone for us to examine and take to a local appraiser. At this point we had not paid for the stone or put a deposit on it (although we did give our credit card number as insurance). We took the stone to our appraiser, who said it was an extremely well cut stone. We then sent it back to WF to get it set. Even though the setting we wanted was not made for stones in my size (3+ ct), the WF team made it happen (they created a whole new wax mold just for me). We were so happy with the results we went right back to them for BOTH of our wedding bands, and we plan to keep WF as our jeweler of choice

 

[Joeys Minx]

That is a great story I would love to work with them when it''s time to get my ring as well. Show the pics researcher!

 

[researcher]

Date: 1/22/2006 2:25:58 PM
Author: Joeys Minx
That is a great story I would love to work with them when it''s time to get my ring as well. Show the pics researcher!

You will not regret working with them. They have made amazing rings for me and my friends

Here''s a photo of my rings....

 

[ep6585]

Date: 1/22/2006 1:58:43 PM
Author: Joeys Minx
What exactly is a Jubilee?

The Jubilee is a cut of diamond. Here''s a LINK to GOG''s Jubilee webpage.

I also recently bought a pendant from WF and was very happy with their service, price, and quality.

 

[Joeys Minx]

Those are very nice researcher! Hmmnn...so the jubilee is basically a square w/out the sharp edges? that is really neat.

 

[MacClure]

hey folks, thank you very much for your input....and, i think i''m gonna go for the asscher instead of the princess. you see, i''m a round brilliant kinda guy (might get one for myself, why not?). but, even tho'' my proposal will be a shocker, and like i said in an earlier post...she''ll love whatever i get her, i notice that the costume rings she has are square and emerald cut styles. asschers or royal asschers are different. (still up in the air about getting a royal asscher versus the asscher cut. any suggestions?) the asscher cut, or square emerald cut (whatever it''s referred as) is like a compromise for my taste. and, quite simply, the ''asschers'' are beautiful and elegant. they have that ''gem'' look....whaddaya think? i''m dyin'' to do this soon....RESEARCHER, thanks for your story. that''s the kinda service i''d like to have. i''d like them to send me the stone so i can see it...or, since their service seems top notch, i''ll TRUST their opinion and have ''em set it....then....send it! (big smile) soooo i can get on with my proposal...then go for our wedding bands. and, of course, get some photos up!

as usual, i appreciate all you folks share...

good old gold or james allen....you folks around for comment?

sincerely hoping seattle seahawks win ''cuz i''m on the west coast (and very new to football!),

ron....

 

[callista]

Hi TierHog!

My BF is like you, he loves the round brillant, but I am a SE/ Asscher gal.

I think in order for you to decide really on a SE/ asscher vs. RA, you have to go see them in person. Your eyes are your best assets when it comes to asscher over numbers, but numbers are a great tool when you shop for fancies.

Don''t know what part of CA you are from, but if you are around or near the Bay Area (SF, SJ), I''d recommend going to the SF jewelrymart (vendors: Derco, Girraux, and Gabriel and Sons) and Joe Escobar. I went to see them last week and been meaning to share my experience with everyone, but have been tied up at work.

Prior to my trip, I thought I knew enough about asschers that I didn''t need anymore education, but after my trip, I learned quite a bit more!

I saw some awesome asschers and baaad ones alike. I even saw an SI1 and SI2. The SI only had a feather on the upper right portion of the table at an angle, and I didn''t even know it was there until the jeweler pointed it out. Other than that, it looked great!

I had some great, informative customer service, and some I-know-you''re-not-gonna-buy-so-why-should-I-help-you-but-I-guess-I-should-or-the-boss-will-kill-me customer service.

I''ll elaborate more on my experience later, but if you are interested in purchasing an asscher online, definitely go to GOG (they really do have awesome asschers!) or whiteflash.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 1/22/2006 11:46:04 PM
Author: TierHog

... i think i'm gonna go for the asscher instead of the princess.

Kind' of on the side.... about the Royal Asscher: this must be a new, but Diamonds by Lauren has started listing some. The shop is more about fancy color than fancy cut, but this time there is a brand behind the cut so the point is moot (IM)).

There isn't much to look at on their website (yet?), only several stones on the list here.

The note about these stones being priced '25% above non-branded' is somewhat euphemistic, but... regardless, 'thought I'd mention.

 

[MacClure]

callista...i''ve seen an ''asscher cut'', but not royal asscher. the cut looks elegant, like an emerald, but square. i live about 2 and a half hours from san fran, so the trip would be worth it to purchase in person. now, what i need to know is who do you recommend i go to? ''cuz i don''t need to deal with the ''i need a job so i think i''ll sell jewelry'' sales kid. so, please, while we''re talkin'' diamonds, share your experience. i''ll look up the info on the whereabouts of the vendors you speak of if you don''t include it.....valeria...thanks for your input. i agree about the ''value'' or cost of a royal asscher. look, i''m not rich...and even if i were, i wouldn''t ''blow'' my money. however, i have no problem spending my hard earned money on QUALITY. like i''ve written in my previous posts, my girl won''t know the difference, but i will...and how i feel about this purchase is important also. i need to know that every time i look at her beautiful stone...it''s the best i could afford. thank you both for taking the time to help me out......


most sincerely, ron....