Amateur looking for some advice

[WindyCitySox169]

So after doing some research and going into Shane Company this past weekend with the hopeful soon to be fiance I decided reach out to the community to get advice. We have a family friend who had priced us a setting and a stone + mounting for $9,500 out the door. The diamond in question was 1.25 carat, G, XXX cut (GIA Stone) and SI1 (I don't have the other specific to run the HCA unfortunately).

With Shane & Co. we looked at comparable rings and tried the rings on the setting we had liked the best. Unfortunately the problem at the end was the stone we liked best didn't match the setting as the stone was a much better cut and when looking at it from the side, the pave diamonds reflected more yellowish as opposed to blue that the center stone displayed. So in terms of matching up with the setting the significant other actually preferred the lesser stone as from the side you couldn't tell the difference in cut which I think is a mistake to go down that route as I think buyers remorse will take effect. However she liked the thicker band to go along with a stone in the range of 1 1/4 carat +.

Here is Shane Company excellent cut from above and then the side (you can see the difference on the side):



I don't have the exact specs on those as the store manager was going to send a more complete description to my email as I have more than enough papers to keep track of. Although not a huge fan of going there, their warranty seems pretty good, but the prices still seem high as opposed to what you can find online (although skeptical of buying a stone without seeing it). And would prefer to get the most quality for my money as opposed to settling.

That leads me to two questions. What is the forum's, or your personal view of buying a stone online? Are places like Enchanted Diamond pretty good about return policies if you don't like the ring. Additionally for a setting like that is there a good place to look, that is the look she likes, to have that type of setting but more quality stones that won't show a yellowish look when you look at the side? To me that is a concern and don't want to match a center stone to the pave setting but instead the reverse if I can make it work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ecf8503]

Can't really tell from the pics, but is it just a 4-prong head on a pave band w matching wb? That's easy to find.

My first thought is to look at Brian Gavin diamonds - you'll get top of the line cut in the center stone, and he can custom make anything you like setting wise, with beautifully cut, and not yellow, melee.

 

[WindyCitySox169]

Can't really tell from the pics, but is it just a 4-prong head on a pave band w matching wb? That's easy to find.

My first thought is to look at Brian Gavin diamonds - you'll get top of the line cut in the center stone, and he can custom make anything you like setting wise, with beautifully cut, and not yellow, melee.

Yeah sorry for the blurry pics but really the only important one is the second where you can see the yellow melee. Thanks for the advice though will look into it.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Please give online a chance. Friend situations are much more often bad news than good. Both Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash carry top quality diamonds and operate brick and mortar stores. They have hundreds of testimonials on here and I have personally bought diamonds from both. They have excellent diamonds and good return policies, upgrade policies, etc. Brian Gavin has been mentioned and they also carry great diamonds as does High Performance Diamonds (Infinity brand). There are other good online vendors as well, but they don't hold much inventory in-house but list stones from suppliers. Some are better than others about pictures of stones, idealscope images, etc. Enchanted Diamonds is fairly new and they do offer pictures on a lot of stones, video and light return images on some. James Allen has stone videos which are great and they will provide a max of 3 idealscope images upon request. So you have to narrow down the stones you want most at the outset. Most people post images here for feedback.

 

[sarahb]

Go online, far better quality, quantity, better price, etc. Once was on your side looking in--wow, what a difference. You will not go wrong with the venders DS mentioned. Online just plain rocks it.

 

[EvangelineG]

I actually feel like there is less risk buying online, especially when buying a round brilliant.
-no pressure from sales people
-I can take my time and carefully research every aspect.
-I can get advice here from people far more knowledgeable than myself.
-the vendors recommended by the PS community undergo intense scrutiny. They conduct their business "in front of" a community of highly educated consumers and professionals. It takes a high level of integrity and service to be successful when every move is being posted about on a public forum!
-explicitly stated return policies.
-access to way more info on the diamonds performance than any local jeweller can or will offer
-access to some of the best diamonds in the world! Not to mention some of the most talented designers and bench people.
- more choice

The only major disadvantage in my book is not being able to physically try on settings before you buy, but since your desired setting is straightforward. That shouldn't be an issue. I would check out each of the vendors DS mentioned above!