Buying many small diamonds - prices/ct?

[Jammyjen]

I have been looking thinking of buying diamonds for an eternity ring - maybe 3 ct altogether. Given the nature of an eternity ring, the 3 cts will probably need to be made up of c. 30 stones - baguette or emerald cuts.My questions:
1) what king of price/ct is right for such small stones?
2) obviously they will be too small to make it worthwhile certificating. Anything I can do to make sure that they are the real McKoy?
3) are there any dealers you can recommend who sell small stones like this? - I realise that I will need to make sure that they are all roughly the same size and colour.

 

[pricescope]

Jammyjen hi,Check out these links:
www.gemstones.com/amulet_bin/menu/diamonds/pricing.html?NxqKcDBrwwx
www.tradeshop.com/master/melle.shtml

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Those links seem fine, but in this case I think you probably should be finding a decent B&M and paying the $ for the making and diamonds in the same excercise.
My experiance with USA indicates a stand alone store not a part of a mall chain is the place to go.
Baguettes are prone to chipping during setting and taking stones to mounters and expecting them to pay for chipped stones is unrealistic when the job could cost them more than they quote. Also selecting diamonds that you the jeweller are responsible for setting means if you are setting them yourself - you will choose more carefully.The internet is not especially price competitive in this area, so you will probably find smaller differences in cost anyway. Tell us where you are and we will see what we can do for reffferals.
Garry