blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from australia

[lauraj]

Hi,

My boyfriend and I have started looking at diamonds (yay) and we would like to get it set in australia but would like to buy the diamond online. Ideally we would like a 1.3-1.5 cushion cut G colour square (L/W) shaped stone. We have looked at james allen and blue nile. Has any one had any good or bad experiences with those two being sent to australia.

any advice would be really appreciated

thanks

 

[sleeprequired]

Re: blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from austral

Hey I'm (sort of) in the same boat. I'm from Australia and been looking around online too. You've landed on a great forum. Make sure you ask a lot of questions and learn as much as you can about the right proportions of stones which relates to cut. Cut above all other c's here is the primary focus because you can get a flawless D diamond and if poorly cut it'll be a dud as far as performance goes.

Have a look at whiteflash and Brian Gavin diamonds too and this will vary from person to person but it is generally accepted around here that f-g vs2-si1 (as long as its eye clean) is where most people sit and then try to maximize the second most important c. Carat.

There will be variations to this but that's the general advice. For the right proportions for your stone ask around, I'm not the right person.

 

[stevo84]

Re: blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from austral

Hi

We are in the same boat living in Sydney.

Hoping to maximise a round cut diamond in our budget of $5k and get it set in Sydney.

Would be happy with <1.0 carat for better quality cut.

Looking forward to any advice people may give too in relation to customs.

What kind of tax should I be expecting to pay to import a diamond?

Im in NYC at the end of this month. Would it be possible to pick up the diamond in the US?

 

[farmer gal]

Re: blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from austral

Of those two choices I would choose James Allen. Cushions can have very different appearances, and I would want to see what I was buying. What is your budget?

 

[melave]

Re: blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from austral

Hi all

I have bought from both Whiteflash and ID Jewelry http://idjewelryonline.com/index.php and both have been wonderful to deal with.

Steveo have a read of this thread [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/bgd-or-any-store-shipment-to-australia-ausfta-experience.175153/#post-3189157#p3189157']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/bgd-or-any-store-shipment-to-australia-ausfta-experience.175153/#post-3189157#p3189157[/URL] it may have the information you are chasing. You could pick it up while you are over there but technically you are meant to still pay the GST on it.

 

[TitanCi]

Re: blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from austral

I've bought a loose stone from JA.com without any problems and won't hesitate to buy from them again in the future, but that's in the states. I'm sure you'll have a great experience with them if you decide to buy from them.

However, I know people say Mark from engagementringsdirect.com has an "eye for cushions", so I'd contact him.
ALSO, goodoldgold.com has these really awesome chunky faceted August Vintage cushions, so you may be interested in those. They have a really different look to them.

 

[snoopkat]

Re: blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from austral

lauraj - my advice would be to check out diamonds in person if you are set on a cushion cut. If you're based in Sydney, go to Cerrone and they will be happy to match prices for you. If you are determined to buy online, I recommend Engagement Rings Direct, they are known as the cushion expert on PS.

Keep in mind also that you will most likely incur duty (5%) and GST on top of that since your diamond will definitely cost more than AUD$1000

 

[Venti25]

Re: blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from austral

Hi,

Just wanted to clarify, you only pay 10% GST on whatever diamond/diamond ring you buy over $1000. We have the FTA with the US which means you shouldn't have to pay the 5%. If you do you can get a refund but you probably don't want to have to go down that path, easier to get it right the first time.

I bought a completed ring from JA just the other month and they handled the customs documents so I only paid the gst amount through the courier. Make sure whoever you go with is aware of this so they inform the courier and have the right documents. Whiteflash/JA etc should know about it but it doesn't hurt to let them know in the buying process so they have all the forms ready.

I would never buy off blue nile (especially a non RB) because you can't see the diamond you're buying. Unless of course it's in the VVS range or better where there's less chance of having a visible inclusion. If I had my time again I'd be demanding IS, asets etc (even if this stone is amazing I'll never now HOW amazing it could be..until my IS and ASET arrive, look what you've done to me pricescope!). Pity I found pricescope after I bought. Oh well, this wasn't an ER anyway, when that time comes...

Edit: I can't help you with picking a cushion but for 5k you should be able to get an AMAZING one I bought a ring with H Si1 (eye clean) RB, and it's really quite hard to tell even next to a mounted E RB, the difference is there but only in some lights and once mounted it's much harder to tell. It's more like E is colourless H is colourless but slightly "whiter (warmer/opaque)" in some lights whilst the E will be transparent. In other lights when I wear both they look identical. It might be different for a cushion but other people might be able to explain better what the "lowest" colour you can go is. Just keep in mind if you want to get melee etc you need to match the colour with the stone. I would have gone down to an I but the melee I got was G/H.

 

[Dandi]

Re: blue nile vs james allen - buying a diamond from austral

Hi Laura, a friend of mine recently purchased a ring from JA and had a fantastic experience (we're on the surf coast south of Melbourne). I have purchased loose diamonds from Brian Gavin Diamonds, as well as completed pieces from Whiteflash and ID Jewelry, and only paid 10% GST - no 5% duty.