B&M Store in UK - Diamond Shopping Experience!

[rockrookie]

I went shopping for a diamond ring at the weekend in my local diamond 'arcade'. I'd like to share my experience, and see if anyone can tell me if theres anything more that I could have done / asked the jeweller about the stone.

1) In the window of one of the stores, I saw a platinum ring that I liked with an emerald cut in a 4 prong claw setting. £1200 (or $1700)
2) I went into the store and asked to see the ring. I then asked more about the stone. 0.42 carat Emerald cut was all that the salesgirl could tell me. I asked about colour/clarity.
3) The 'head' jeweller then approached, had a quick look with a loupe, then announced the stone as an F/G (probably G), VS1/2. I asked if the stone was certificated - he said no. I asked about the table, crown height, girdle, depth etc (looking shocked) he said that he couldn't tell me this.

Am I right to be surprised by this experience?? Needless to say I didn't buy this ring. Having done some research via this site and others, I wouldn't buy a stone that wasn't certificated and that I couldn't verify as conforming to the AGA cut chart for emerald cut diamonds on pricescope.

So my question is - how can B&M stores hope to compete with E-tailers when they can't give you the information that you require about a stone, when almost every E-tailer of diamonds on the net can and does give you all the info you need??

Or, am I being too hard on my poor,local B&M jeweller?? (They specialise in diamond jewellery btw!!)

PS I've since seen an equivalent loose stone on the net for around $900 (£650) - so I think I'm being severely ripped off by my local store!!

Comments??

 

[pricescope]

Thanks for sharing your experience Rockrookie.

Let me try to comment…


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Am I right to be surprised by this experience?? Needless to say I didn't buy this ring. Having done some research via this site and others, I wouldn't buy a stone that wasn't certificated and that I couldn't verify as conforming to the AGA cut chart for emerald cut diamonds on pricescope.
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Not quite… Small stones less than ½ carat don’t need to have a certificate. It’ll increase their price too much. Besides, if you are buying from reputable store with good return policy, you could trust these people.

Certificates became important when you buying in the internet sight unseen or when a diamond is more expensive and grading numbers can make a big difference in the price. Same with the proportions. If you cannot see a stone, you can weed bad stones by the numbers.

In your situation you might want to ask jeweler to show you several diamonds within your budget so you’d be able to select the prettiest one without counting on proportions.

Once you found the candidate and you’re happy with the price, you can check it with an independent appraiser to confirm color and clarity.


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So my question is - how can B&M stores hope to compete with E-tailers when they can't give you the information that you require about a stone, when almost every E-tailer of diamonds on the net can and does give you all the info you need??

Or, am I being too hard on my poor, local B&M jeweller?? (They specialise in diamond jewellery btw!!) -----------


Well, most people are still buying diamonds at local stores and only about 2-3% via the ‘net. So don’t worry about B&M stores

Besides, good B&M store offers different type of experience that you might appreciate. Like having dinner in a nice restaurant we don’t mind to pay extra for the atmosphere and services.


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PS I've since seen an equivalent loose stone on the net for around $900 (£650) - so I think I'm being severely ripped off by my local store!!
!!)
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Was it simple Tiffany style setting? Its retail price is about $300. Then we have $1400 left for the diamond. I found this one in the web:
0.46 G VS1 62.9% 66% GIA med no vg vg ft 5.04x4.07x2.56 $1005

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Comments??
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I think after doing so much research and knowing what you want, you might find buying via the internet experience quite rewarding.

 

[rockrookie]

Thanks Leonid -

I appreciated your comments.

About the stone you picked...

0.46 G VS1 62.9% 66% GIA med no vg vg ft 5.04x4.07x2.56 $1005

In my very limited understanding I'd say that you chose this stone from the rest available because of the Table, Depth and Ratio which all conform to the 'ideal' cut guidelines on the pricescope tutorial. Am I right??

I'd also just like to say that G as a colour didn't look so good (even to my untrained eye), and I could definitely see the inclusions (possibly because they're easier to spot on an emerald cut) on the VS1/2 diamond in the store. I also saw another stone in the store where the ratio was definitely 'wrong', because it looked too narrow..

I now reckon that I'm going to look for a D-F, VVS1, with all the other characteristics that you've selected above...

The hunt continues.....

 

[pricescope]

Roockie,

It sounds alarming... G color diamond should be white enough unless you compare it side by side to D-E...

Yes inclusions in Emerald are more noticeable but you shouldn't see inclusions with unaided eye in VS stone. By definition VS inclusions should be seeing under 10x magnification.

Btw, this diamond was the first that came up when I made a search within your criteria.