Buying the diamond and band separately?

[PRed]

I know it''s easy to purchase the two separately, but who do I get to set the stone? Is a common jewelery store (Zales, BBB) in the mall a capable and reliable option? Or could I send either the stone to the company I buy the band from? Just wondering how feasible it is and if it''s more trouble than it''s worth - though my FI''s worth just about anything...

 

[Independent Gal]

I'd go to a high end jeweler to get the stone set. They probably won't charge that much more (maybe less!) than a maul store, and you'll likely have more skilled craftsmen to do it. I doubt Tiff's or Cartier would do this, but, for example, I had Lester Lampert in Chicago set a stone for me, when I hadn't bought the stone OR the setting from them, and they charged me.... I think it was $70? Something like that. Plus guaranteed BOTH the stone and the setting while they were in their posession.

Do you live somewhere with a decent family owned jewelry store or high end jeweler? Somewhere that's likely to take real pride in their work?

It's really not that much trouble! Just go in, hand over the goods, go back the next day (or two days later) and pick them up. Kind of like getting trousers hemmed or clothes dry cleaned. Same level of hassle. You can always call first to see if they do the work to save you a trip if they don't.

 

[SpeedracerII]

I did this and had the setting manufacturer set the stone. In this case I bought the stone from GOG and the setting from WF. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/whats-better-than-one-box-from-wf.67872/ Whiteflash charged $70 to set the stone since it was not their stone. I think this is a typical fee form what I''ve seen. I dropped off the stone with them and I had the stone insured in case it was damaged in the setting process (not very likely). This way the the setting manufacturer is still responsible for the setting. If I had sent the setting to the diamond vendor, the setting warranty would likely have been voided.

 

[BigDiamonds]

It really depends on your situation. Depending on the designer of the setting, the designer themsevles may have to set the stone in order to uphold the warranty (as was the case with my Ritani because of the way the setting is made.) If you aren''t dealing with that wrinkle, any high-end jeweler will do. I would NOT trust my stone with a low-mid range mall jeweler. It''s not worth the risk or the hassle.

 

[PRed]

There is a great 90 year old family jeweler literally right at the outlet of my neighborhood. I plan to visit them shortly and see how they''d deal with a situation such as this. What is actually involved in the setting of the diamond into a band, by the way?

FYI, I''m planning to buy a stone from James Allen but the band from Blue Nile or Whiteflash.

 

[SpeedracerII]

Date: 8/26/2007 12:06:12 AM
Author: PRed
There is a great 90 year old family jeweler literally right at the outlet of my neighborhood. I plan to visit them shortly and see how they''d deal with a situation such as this. What is actually involved in the setting of the diamond into a band, by the way?

FYI, I''m planning to buy a stone from James Allen but the band from Blue Nile or Whiteflash.

I would suggest you have the stone shipped to BN or WF. I''m not sure BN will set someone else''s stone so call and ask. This way they will extend their warranty on the setting. And I''m sure the fee won''t be much different. Might be cheaper. If you have the local jeweler set the stone, I''d ask if they will warranty the setting (probably not since it is not theirs), more likely they will want to sell you one of their settings that is similar and extend their warranty which will probably come with strick bi-yearly inspections.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Optimally I''d suggest buying both stone and setting from WF. That would make the whole thing SO much simpler. But I actually did buy a stone from GOG and had it set locally, but I also chose the jeweler with the finest reputation in a nearby city to do it.

 

[Kit]

If you live near the DC metro area, go to Quest. That''s where I had my stone set into my setting --both purchased from 2 separate vendors.