I just want to thank everyone here at PS and PS themselves, for such a great, extremely informative site. I could not have picked out a nice stone and e-ring for the woman formally know as my girl friend - without this place.
Having never ventured into the world of diamonds (and not being a jewelry person) I knew I needed to arm myself with some knowledge after the first shopping trip to a mall store. Although I didn’t end up with a ring from any vendors at this site (a very hard decision I might add) or a mall store, I was able to make a deal with Todd at the Diamond District in Bonita Springs, FL. He is a co-owner and the only dealer I came across that actually was willing to match an online store. We sat down at his computer and pulled up comparisons. He was very accommodating in letting me use his microscope, Hearts & arrows scope and my newly purchased Ideal-scope. He was never pushy, arrogant, too busy and disinterested in helping me pick a stone that many would fine small (.70 ct. RB, D SI1, in a wg solitaire, EGL cert, table within spec, depth a bit out of spec, girdle thn-med, polish vg, cut vg). I know that a “D” isn’t the best value, but the stone was quite beautiful, showed well, and with a cut that lends itself to extremely nice fire & scintillation. We came to a price where a stone of this magnitude should fall on the PS comparison charts. I left knowing that the price/worth ratio was equal.
Even though the last paragraph might have sounded like a shameless plug for the BM vendor, I must conclude by saying just a few things; First, Be prepared and know what things are worth. I could have easily paid too much for this ring, as good a salesman as Todd was, he still has a BM store to pay for. My firm belief is that every BM store is going to be priced high over what an e-commerce site will be. Some BM’s are going to offer junk and expect a price that one should pay for an AGS0, Hearts & Arrows stone. Go in knowing how much you’re willing to spend for the quality that’s offered. Be prepared to walk away if it isn’t what you want. If you have a budget, stick to it. Buy the best for your money.
Second, Educate yourself! I must have read every vendor’s site, every PS forum, every PS site education article (two to three times), compared every Ideal-scope pic, Hearts & arrows pic (and all the other comparison tools) that I could pull up. I examined every AGS, GIA, EGL cert that was listed. I felt I could identify a good diamond over a bad, a great diamond over good. Long nights on the computer. Hell, I even wanted to educate some of the sales staff at a few BM’s that had never even seen an Ideal-scope!
Third and last is that you can’t always buy a diamond on spec alone. My opinion is that you need to look at these beautiful objects in hand. Maybe the one I purchased isn’t perfect and I knew that going in, again, I didn’t pay a price for perfect. If you want perfect then by all means go for it. I think far too many diamonds may be passed up on spec alone. Go out and look at them. Make sure you do your homework. Knowledge is King!
No, I don’t hold myself up to a Diamond expert, nor will I ever. The Diamond game with all its variables, is far to complex for that. I do know that I can’t wait until the next diamond purchase. I guess its called Diamond fever. My Girl will benefit, and I’m heavily considering some self adornment, all because of the PriceScope experience. And the next stones will be perfect and purchased on-line.
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