$8k to spend HELP me avoid Robbins Bros in LA

[britbf]

Hi Everyone,

I went to Robbins Bros with my fiancee to look at rings and after trying loads on she chose this engagement ring

http://www.robbinsbrothers.com/Engagement-Rings/Ring-With-Sidestones/Scott-Kay-i25887.ring

and this wedding band

http://www.robbinsbrothers.com/Wedding-Rings/Diamond-Wedding-Ring/Robbins-Brothers-i10829.ring

BUT



after reading everything on PS about Robbins Bros I obviously do not want to buy our rings from there because they rob you blind on the centre stone (according to many many posters here)

Neither my fiancee or I care whether the ring is actually a Scott Kay or whether it is a local jeweler copy and as both the e ring and wedding band are so VERY simple I jut want to know where I should go to actually get her rings. We live in Santa Monica and I''d rather choose somewhere quite close to home and would really prefer somewhere in Los Angeles County - although we would go down to Orange County as we go there from time to time.

I want to buy a round cut diamond for the centre stone and my budget for that is US$5k - can all you good people on PS please help me understand what I should expect to get for that.
With regards to size my fiancee really wants a 1 carat - but is a nice 1 carat possible at this price or is that only possible at Robbins Bros because their stones aren''t so good?

Everyone says local jewelery stores will be better value than superstores with huge advertising costs like Robbins Bros but when I went to 23rd Street jewelers on Wilshire (which gets rave reviews on PS) the rings seemed a LOT more expensive.

Please help us!

 

[Taylorbug!]

Date: 3/21/2010 8:00:45 PM
Author:britbf
Hi Everyone,

I went to Robbins Bros with my fiancee to look at rings and after trying loads on she chose this engagement ring

http://www.robbinsbrothers.com/Engagement-Rings/Ring-With-Sidestones/Scott-Kay-i25887.ring

and this wedding band

http://www.robbinsbrothers.com/Wedding-Rings/Diamond-Wedding-Ring/Robbins-Brothers-i10829.ring

BUT



after reading everything on PS about Robbins Bros I obviously do not want to buy our rings from there because they rob you blind on the centre stone (according to many many posters here)

Neither my fiancee or I care whether the ring is actually a Scott Kay or whether it is a local jeweler copy and as both the e ring and wedding band are so VERY simple I jut want to know where I should go to actually get her rings. We live in Santa Monica and I''d rather choose somewhere quite close to home and would really prefer somewhere in Los Angeles County - although we would go down to Orange County as we go there from time to time.

I want to buy a round cut diamond for the centre stone and my budget for that is US$5k - can all you good people on PS please help me understand what I should expect to get for that.
With regards to size my fiancee really wants a 1 carat - but is a nice 1 carat possible at this price or is that only possible at Robbins Bros because their stones aren''t so good?

Everyone says local jewelery stores will be better value than superstores with huge advertising costs like Robbins Bros but when I went to 23rd Street jewelers on Wilshire (which gets rave reviews on PS) the rings seemed a LOT more expensive.

Please help us!

http://www.robbinsbrothers.com/Engagement-Rings/Ring-With-Sidestones/Scott-Kay-i25887.ring

http://www.robbinsbrothers.com/Wedding-Rings/Diamond-Wedding-Ring/Robbins-Brothers-i10829.ring

 

[CharmyPoo]

You picked a really expensive vendor - 23rd street jeweler does great work but really crazy prices and really bad email service.

These settings are very common and I am sure many vendors can remake it for you. I suggest you contact www.briangavindiamonds.com and ask for a custom make quote. They also have very nice rounds.

 

[Dreamer_D]

www.since1910.com is a Scott kay dealer, and is www.pearlmansjewelers.com , that setting is very inexpensive anyways so I don''t think you will get it for less custom anywhere. I would buy my diamond where i wanted from a PS dealer and then order the e-ring from one of these vendors and ask for the PS discount!

 

[britbf]

Thanks Charmypoo

When I went on briangavin.com my fiancee looked at the simple four prong setting and decided that to be honest what she wanted was just a classic four prong solitaire so now that is what we are going for should we get Brian Gavin to do the whole ring

will we save much money that way?
What does PS say about his workmanship?
how will we get the ring sized if he is over the internet?

I am so new to this and only a man so a bit clueless!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/21/2010 10:52:26 PM
Author: britbf
Thanks Charmypoo

When I went on briangavin.com my fiancee looked at the simple four prong setting and decided that to be honest what she wanted was just a classic four prong solitaire so now that is what we are going for should we get Brian Gavin to do the whole ring

will we save much money that way?
What does PS say about his workmanship?
how will we get the ring sized if he is over the internet?

I am so new to this and only a man so a bit clueless!

You will save a lot of money over what you would pay at a B&M stone. His prices are comparable or a little lower than other reputable PS vendors selling branded H&A diamonds. You can basically pick any of his diamonds and it will be killer optically, he has very high standards. You could spend less if you wanted a non H&A diamond, my favourite PS vendor for this is www.jamesallen.com but you have to sift through a large inventory to find a winner. But you can save a few thousand on a similar carat weight stone.

PS says his workmanship is awesome. Run a PS search (upper right on the screen) on "Brain Gavin" and you will see many threads of happy customers and very few complaints that were not solved quickly.

To size your ring you can just ship it back to him, costs about $30, and they will size it for free one time.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I just browsed the BGD settings and they have a lot of pretty 4 prong settings.

Take a look to see if you like anything - http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaires/