Bluenile or Local Jeweler? pls help

[freedom2016]

Hello
I used to come here all the time years ago but have noted posted in forever. I am hoping to get everyone's input on this.
I am looking for an 11 stone 1ct diamond ring. I want G/H color VS2, Blue Nile has the aria for $1720.

A local jeweler 2 minutes from my office can custom make me the ring, size it for me and have it fit perfectly with the wedding band I want to pair it with. Their price is $2025..... for the exact same ring, size, cut/color, carat, etc.
They are saying its a better choice as they are custom making it for me vs getting it from bluenile as they are selling me stock that are made by the 100's.

what do you guys think? On one hand its 300 more to buy local BUT the place is right there so its easier if i have an issue, lose a stone, need sizing, etc, but again its 300 more.
i would LOVE to hear what you would do......... this is a well known jeweler with a good reputation.
what do i do?
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR SHARING YOUR OPINIONS.

 

[OoohShiny]

What is the quality of their stones like?

Are they ideal cut melee? (if they are called melee at ~10pt size?)

Whiteflash and High Performance Diamonds both are able to provide the highest quality smaller stones, and can customise as/if required, so do not commit to anything without dropping them a line first.

I'm not sure if B2C would be able to assist but they are also a PS-recommended seller.

 

[freedom2016]

Hi Thank you for responding. I dont know if they are "ideal cut melee" or not. I thought the quality of the stones was G, VS2,

am i wrong?

 

[freedom2016]

the local jeweler also said bluenile and online dealers get their stock by the hundreds from china and it is not the same quality as getting something custom made locally.
I dont know if there is truth to this at all...............

what do you guys think? My apologies for my lack of knowledge about these things, i thought insisting on G and VS2 was all i needed to do.

 

[soxfan]

I'd call IDJ- you'll get the best stones and the price will be the same as Blue Nile I bet......

 

[freedom2016]

I am chatting online with whiteflash now. i'll call IDJ next.

THANK YOU! anything else to add?

 

[distracts]

I have a 2 ct Blue Nile eternity and it is quite good quality. Not ideal cut melee but looks to me to be excellent cut.

Given that the local jeweler is talking down the BN eternity while probably having never seen one, I wouldn’t trust him. I don’t trust jewelers who bash others in order to get business rather than competing on their own quality and service.

 

[freedom2016]

yes, and i didnt ask the jeweler what quality their stones are. I thought it was just clarity and color that mattered.
what are the quality options? what should i ask the local jeweler about the stones they are offering?

and yes, i agree, i dont like that they bashed bluenile and online jewelers, but figured maybe they all do that. ??

 

[freedom2016]

https://www.b2cjewels.com/ladies-di...ound-diamond-band-in-18k-white-gold-5-8-cttw-

is this any good? whiteflash and brian gavin said they will send me quotes on Monday.

 

[freedom2016]

i asked what the quality was and they just told me the color and clarity.?

what am i missing?

 

[soxfan]

i asked what the quality was and they just told me the color and clarity.?

what am i missing?

You aren't missing anything. They are. Don't use them. I'd wait for Whiteflash and BG quotes on Monday. Those are both excellent options, if they come in over budget, call IDJ. See how awesome Pricescope is???

 

[marymm]

The Blue Nile Aria band is a stock item, with H-VS2 melee, so I suggest buying it in your size and having it sent to you for your examination. If you like it, great; if not, Blue Nile's 30-day return policy includes free shipping return label.

Going custom generally means no returns. You may as well check out BN first; even if you decide to return it and go custom by trying on the Aria you may be able to narrow in on some design preferences which is always helpful when going custom...

 

[distracts]

i asked what the quality was and they just told me the color and clarity.?

what am i missing?

Cut quality. As long as the clarity is pretty decent (si2 and above), a diamond's sparkle has more to do with its cut quality than anything else. A D FL diamond with a bad cut will be dull and lifeless next to an L Si2 with an excellent cut. Since color is less apparent in small sizes, and it is easy to get diamonds with good clarity in small sizes, the cut is what determines how sparkly (and thus pretty) your band will be. MOST jewelers know very little about cut quality and don't know how to order well-cut diamonds - in any size, but especially in smaller (melee) sizes like you are wanting. IDJ is a jeweler that does. Whiteflash and High Performance Diamonds both have lines of ideal-cut melee, so you are guaranteed that they will sparkle well. I don't know what the price difference is there but if it is around the same as the bands you are looking at, I would go with that.

The Blue Nile eternity I have is this one - https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-eternity-ring_9697 - and I am quite happy with the cut quality. However I bought it secondhand and if I was having to pay full price for it I would probably go to Whiteflash instead if they could make something similar for around the same price.

I don't know that I've ever seen a band by B2C so I can't comment on that. I know someone from there posts on these boards though.

Basically though, if the jeweler doesn't even know about cut quality, there's no way they can ensure the stones going in the band have good cut quality and sparkle well. PS is a forum obsessed with cut quality, so we're probably never going to recommend going with that option.

 

[denverappraiser]

I’m mixed here. There’s a lot of misinformation you're getting from the salespeople on both sides. I’ll start by saying that a $300 ‘premium’ for a local store and local service is totally worth it for most people. This is a product that you are expecting to keep for a lifetime and $300 is tiny. The premium is routinely many times that.

#2 Blue Nile, and most of the other big providers, including probably your local jeweler, use a combination of overseas and local labor to make these things. They’ll make the ring in one place, size it in another, and have it set by a third. I’ll add to that that some of those craftsmen in China are pretty darned good and some of the ones in the US are lame. The address isn’t what makes the difference, quality control is.

#3 There is definitely a difference in melee (that’s the word diamond people use for little diamonds like we’re talking about). It’s NOT just color and clarity. Sellers tend to use the word ‘ideal’ rather loosely, but they should at least understand the question. Be aware that this difference has a significant effect on your budget. You didn't mention your sizes but I can easily see this being a $500-1000 topic no matter who you buy from.

#4 Not all warranties are the same, either online or in the neighborhood. Read the fine print. You mentioned losing a stone, and you might, and I would not assume that it will be automatically fixed no matter what. Read the terms and conditions for every vendor you’re seriously considering.

#5 Finishing work is critical and not all craftspeople are the same. Fundamentally, good finishing is hand work that takes time, and time is money. You may or may not want to spend your money here, and they may or may not be able to deliver even if you do, but the explanation that their people spend more time making it perfect is not crazy talk. As with the above, this is easily a $500 or more issue.

 

[freedom2016]

I'd call IDJ- you'll get the best stones and the price will be the same as Blue Nile I bet......

Forgive me but what is IDJ, I tried to google it and found one company but they emailed me and said
“We are wholesalers that only deal with the trade, sorry.”

So I’m clearly an idiot and writing to the wrong people. Lmao

 

[freedom2016]

You aren't missing anything. They are. Don't use them. I'd wait for Whiteflash and BG quotes on Monday. Those are both excellent options, if they come in over budget, call IDJ. See how awesome Pricescope is???

Yes! I actually used to spend a lot of time here in my former life. Glad I came back for this help. You guys are awesome and I’m so appreciative!

 

[lovedogs]

the local jeweler also said bluenile and online dealers get their stock by the hundreds from china and it is not the same quality as getting something custom made locally.
I dont know if there is truth to this at all...............

what do you guys think? My apologies for my lack of knowledge about these things, i thought insisting on G and VS2 was all i needed to do.

Haha the jeweler is lying to you in order to make a sale. Run away from them, quickly. And buy the one from blue Nile

 

[freedom2016]

Cut quality. As long as the clarity is pretty decent (si2 and above), a diamond's sparkle has more to do with its cut quality than anything else. A D FL diamond with a bad cut will be dull and lifeless next to an L Si2 with an excellent cut. Since color is less apparent in small sizes, and it is easy to get diamonds with good clarity in small sizes, the cut is what determines how sparkly (and thus pretty) your band will be. MOST jewelers know very little about cut quality and don't know how to order well-cut diamonds - in any size, but especially in smaller (melee) sizes like you are wanting. IDJ is a jeweler that does. Whiteflash and High Performance Diamonds both have lines of ideal-cut melee, so you are guaranteed that they will sparkle well. I don't know what the price difference is there but if it is around the same as the bands you are looking at, I would go with that.

The Blue Nile eternity I have is this one - https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-eternity-ring_9697 - and I am quite happy with the cut quality. However I bought it secondhand and if I was having to pay full price for it I would probably go to Whiteflash instead if they could make something similar for around the same price.

I don't know that I've ever seen a band by B2C so I can't comment on that. I know someone from there posts on these boards though.

Basically though, if the jeweler doesn't even know about cut quality, there's no way they can ensure the stones going in the band have good cut quality and sparkle well. PS is a forum obsessed with cut quality, so we're probably never going to recommend going with that option.

This is so great, helpful, informative, etc. thank you for all of this. Much appreciated

 

[freedom2016]

I’m mixed here. There’s a lot of misinformation you're getting from the salespeople on both sides. I’ll start by saying that a $300 ‘premium’ for a local store and local service is totally worth it for most people. This is a product that you are expecting to keep for a lifetime and $300 is tiny. The premium is routinely many times that.

#2 Blue Nile, and most of the other big providers, including probably your local jeweler, use a combination of overseas and local labor to make these things. They’ll make the ring in one place, size it in another, and have it set by a third. I’ll add to that that some of those craftsmen in China are pretty darned good and some of the ones in the US are lame. The address isn’t what makes the difference, quality control is.

#3 There is definitely a difference in melee (that’s the word diamond people use for little diamonds like we’re talking about). It’s NOT just color and clarity. Sellers tend to use the word ‘ideal’ rather loosely, but they should at least understand the question. Be aware that this difference has a significant effect on your budget. You didn't mention your sizes but I can easily see this being a $500-1000 topic no matter who you buy from.

#4 Not all warranties are the same, either online or in the neighborhood. Read the fine print. You mentioned losing a stone, and you might, and I would not assume that it will be automatically fixed no matter what. Read the terms and conditions for every vendor you’re seriously considering.

#5 Finishing work is critical and not all craftspeople are the same. Fundamentally, good finishing is hand work that takes time, and time is money. You may or may not want to spend your money here, and they may or may not be able to deliver even if you do, but the explanation that their people spend more time making it perfect is not crazy talk. As with the above, this is easily a $500 or more issue.

It’s my right ring finger so size 7. This is a lot of good information. Thank you !!

 

[freedom2016]

I’ll circle back here Monday when I get the quotes and will wait to hear what you all recommend.

Wow. Thank you.

I’m going to come here more often! Love it

 

[sarahb]

@freedom2016, take this purchase slow & easy--its easy to get caught up in the emotion of the transaction. And most of all, do your homework. Listen to what everyone is saying here. Cut is King, & its important that you thoroughly understand what your local jeweler is saying & what he is not saying to you.

I too, decided to go local at first, & bought the ring on a Friday...then returned it the following Monday. It did not live up the expectations I had envisioned with my purchase. I ended up going to WF, thankful I did.

One piece of sage advice I've picked up here: spend the money once. Get the best quality stone(s) you can afford. You are doing the right thing by working through these decisions with the forum here, tons of great advice here for you! Good luck!

 

[Bron357]

Firstly it’s extremely unlikely your local jeweller is actually hand casting the ring himself. That is a specific skill and most local jewellers, including mine, send their orders out.
Is the quote actually for a hand cast ring ? Have you seen some examples of the work he does, checking with a Loupe for quality of finish, prong work etc?
Many jewellers buy cast settings wholesale and then “amend and finish” them to suit. This is not really different to what Blue Nile or other large online vendors are offering.
There is absolutely nothing “wrong” with Chinese or Indian made goods, they do what they do well and have been doing it successfully for a long time. My only complaint is their settings are sometimes “light” ie not much gold. A ring might come in at 3 or 4 grams of gold, my hand cast ring weighs 12 grams.
Are you seeing the diamonds for the ring prior to work commencing? My jeweller showed my all mine, including the melee, to make sure I was happy with colour and quality. There is melee and there is melee!
It can be difficult dealing with a local jeweller if the quality isn’t up to your expectation, they tend to argue “there’s nothing wrong” and on Pricescope there’s plenty of stories where buyers have repeatedly gone back do try and fix shoddy prong work, poor finish, lower quality diamonds. Large online vendors tend to just say “send it back”.
Big online vendors normally allow you to return it no problem within 30 days. Does your jeweller offer the same, if the ring / diamonds aren’t as you expected can you say no, and get a full refund?
It makes sense to support your local guy IF he is worth supporting but it is your money and your ring so don’t rush in without checking on the issues above. It’s too late after the event if the diamonds are milky or the ring finish poor if your local jeweller says its NOPE to a no problem full refund.

 

[sep004]

They pull from the same stock, especially if they have to search for a stone with your specs. I know this from experience. There will be a much higher mark up at the jewelry store unless they give you a discount on something in stock. If they have to search for a stone for you, get the GIA number from them and you may find the same stone on Blue Nile for much less. Blue Nile will tell you where your stone is located. Do a live chat with them, ask, and they'll tell you. Most of the stones I've inquired about are in Belgium, NY, and India. I double checked that this was correct with my custom jeweler who can get them directly from the source.

Leon Mege's website discusses RapNet and I think this is a good resource that I wish I would've read sooner:
simple-guide-to-buying

 

[new-beginning]

IDJ is ID Jewelry in New York City and they are NOT wholesale only unless they have just changed in the last week or so.

 

[tyty333]

They pull from the same stock, especially if they have to search for a stone with your specs. I know this from experience. There will be a much higher mark up at the jewelry store unless they give you a discount on something in stock. If they have to search for a stone for you, get the GIA number from them and you may find the same stone on Blue Nile for much less. Blue Nile will tell you where your stone is located. Do a live chat with them, ask, and they'll tell you. Most of the stones I've inquired about are in Belgium, NY, and India. I double checked that this was correct with my custom jeweler who can get them directly from the source.

Leon Mege's website discusses RapNet and I think this is a good resource that I wish I would've read sooner:
simple-guide-to-buying

FYI - This is an 11 stone ring, not a solitaire.

 

[lovedogs]

ID jewelry in new York.

https://idjewelry.com/

 

[sep004]

FYI - This is an 11 stone ring, not a solitaire.

Ah, ok. Didn't realize that. Then I definitely think that most PS vendors would beat the quality of a local jeweler for pieces like that.

 

[MK Malone]

For what it’s worth, there is talk in another thread about Costco having a 1 carat eternity band on sale this week for $999. Or a half eternity for $899 (I think). Someone bought the full eternity and says it is beautiful. I know many here have discussed Costco’s quality in color and clarity for all their rings.

 

[anon34985]

For what it’s worth, there is talk in another thread about Costco having a 1 carat eternity band on sale this week for $999. Or a half eternity for $899 (I think). Someone bought the full eternity and says it is beautiful. I know many here have discussed Costco’s quality in color and clarity for all their rings.

I just purchased the 1ctw eternity band and it should be here Monday! However, I think the sale ended yesterday now it’s $1199, the half I’ve seen in store is really beautiful! It’s .63ctw and it is $899!

 

[freedom2016]

ID jewelry in new York.

https://idjewelry.com/

THANK YOU! chatting with them now.