Can anyone reccomend reputable online jewelers?

[trueshine]

Looks like I need to purchase a new diamond for an engagement.

 

[BigDiamonds]

There is a list if you go to Resources>Diamond Vendors at the top of the page.

I think Whiteflash and Good Old Gold are the most popular around here. Great quality, service, and upgrade policies.

 

[Harriet]

Whiteflash has wonderful people who sell wonderful products.

 

[BigDiamonds]

Oh, I forgot- Engagement Rings Direct gets a ton of good reviews too, especially for cushions.

what shape are you looking for? Do you want help finding a stone? If you post what you''re looking for and your price range, people here can find you tons of options.

 

[Kaleigh]

I have bought from GOG, WF, SP, and Pearlman''s. But have to say all the PS vendors are great. If you can give us more detail of what you are looking for, shape, budget etc... That would be helpful. Keeping in mind, cut is key to buying a beautiful diamond, PS vendors are all about CUT. So you''ll be in good hands there...

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

Well I will give you the "quick" on my experience, though after writing it actually turned out to be pretty long.

I called JA and told them about a stone I was interested in and that I wanted to get an IS image taken. A couple of days later I was still trying to get more information and I was given some pressure to buy the diamond immediately by one person, but after speaking to some others that seemed to be an isolated incident. I then called and spoke with one of the gemologist name Jennifer. She was incredible, I wanted a hearts image taken and she had it shipped from their NY location to her and she took hearts image, magnified image, arrows image, ran a Sarin analysis and everything else I requested--I am a VERY difficult customer, calling all the time with questions and sending email request-- But she never put any pressure on me at all, just gave me good informative information and helped out in anyway that she could, letting me know when she couldn''t but trying her best to accommodate. She was so great I honestly feel bad taking up so much of her time . She inspected it herself for light performance and verified COMPLETE eye cleanliness of the diamond for me-for the second time as that was also done in NY. Then along with a number of other request she encouraged me to look at the diamond and make my final decision after seeing it, and she said that if I don''t like it then there are other options available.

I couldn''t believe after all of the work and trouble I was she was still encouraging me to look at it and decide then. It''s performance was just as expected though and so I will be keeping it, but all around James Allen has been VERY impressive. I have also spoken with the guy that will be setting my diamond and doing the crown work, Jim, when I send him my shank, and he is very accommodating for me as well and is VERY knowledgeable. They really care about the customer over there and will work to help our Erings look as incredible as they can possibly do for us.

All of this for a total of 2,200 dollar purchase. A small one in the world of diamonds yet they went above and beyond for me, and are still doing so. Thus I have decided to recommend them to everyone I know and have told several friends in person, and will continue doing so online and in the future! James Allen all the way! (unless WF or GOG has the diamond you want

)

 

[iheartscience]

I had a great experience with Whiteflash.com! I highly recommend Sheerah as a sales representative if you decide to go with them.

 

[trueshine]

I am looking for a radiant (square shape) 1.07 ct or better. I would like to have a colorless stone (D, E, or F) and VS2 clarity. In general, I want a diamond that will have a lot of fire, look bigger than it's size and make an excellent purchase for a reasonable price.

For the setting...can anyone advise as to which is better? Platinum or white gold. If you choose white gold, 14k or 18k...does it matter? Thanks in advance for your help...this site has already been amazingly helpful for me.

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

Date: 6/30/2007 12:29:46 AM
Author: trueshine
I am looking for a radiant (square shape) 1.07 ct or better. I would like to have a colorless stone (D, E, or F) and VS2 clarity. In general, I want a diamond that will have a lot of fire, look bigger than it's size and make an excellent purchase for a reasonable price.


For the setting...can anyone advise as to which is better? Platinum or white gold. If you choose white gold, 14k or 18k...does it matter? Thanks in advance for your help...this site has already been amazingly helpful for me.

I don't know much about radiants but I would still try with my above recommendation of Jennifer.

I have also been studying metals alot recently so I will give you the skinny on what I know, but don't take my word on it. Just use it more as a reference and guide rather than a complete factual account, as I am new to all of this myself.

The first thing to establish is how important title's, names, and society's image of a particular metal is to you. Obviously the Platinum is much more highly respected than gold at the moment, and thus if that is a big concern for you then nothing else will really matter and the decision should be platinum.

Then when you get into the gold you look at 14 and 18 k, here in America you should be fine with either, but the 18 is generally considered a little more upper class and desirable as it is more pure. so again, consider how important that is too you right off the bat.

Now to the different metal qualities.

The basics:

1)Platinum is harder than gold.
2)Platinum won't scratch, but the metal will move and bend--it is fairly malleable.
3)Platinum is "white", gold is yellow.
4)White gold is a mix of yellow gold with white metals, you will probably encounter one of two mixes--Gold with Nickel and Gold with Palladium.
5)Platinum is heavier than gold as it is more dense and will be more pure. Alot of people put a big emphasis on the feel of that greater weight.
6)18k White gold consist of 75% gold.

Now, to the importance of these.

-When you wear gold it is soft enough that scratches actually remove precious metal. However, it is also soft enough that when you wear it the everyday wear will buff it out and keep it smooth and shiny.
-Platinum is hard and malleable, so the scratches don't REMOVE any precious metal--but it does MOVE the precious metal. This makes for thousands of tiny ridges in the ring refered to as "micro-scratches," however platinum is so hard that everyday wear will not buff it and keep it looking shiny. Thus over time it will start to look dull and worn out and will require buffing--which my understanding is that buffing will usually keep it looking good for a few months and then it will pretty quickly start to get that worn "Patina" look again.

-Platinum is white. That means that no matter how long you wear it it will always look white. Albeit worn, but white.

-Gold is yellow. This is where it starts to get tricky. Gold mixed with nickel will have to be Rhodium plated to make it really appear white. 14k gold will of course appear whiter as it will have less of the Yellow gold in it than 18k and more white metals. Non-thless This means that as it is worn over the years the rhodium plating will get worn away. first on the bottom, then on the sides, and slowly else where a clearly yellow tinge will appear. This can be remedied by getting it re-rhodium plated for 15-30 bucks or so. How often you have to do that is up to your body chemistry but for most people it is once or twice a year and depending on if it is 14k or 18k it could be substantially longer for some. Also, about 20%? of people (I have forgotten the actual percentage) have nickel allergies which can develop over time.

-Gold is yellow, but when mixed with Palladium it is white enough to count as a "2nd" class white, which means that it is white enough to be "acceptable" without a rhodium plating. If you choose white gold I HIGHLY recommend that you only get it if it is a WG/Palladium mix. this will keep it white naturally and will reduce/eliminate the risk of an allergic reaction. WG/Palladium can also be Rhodium plated and then as it wears off the change in colors would be even less noticeable, allowing for longer period of time between re-plating.

of these three choices I would personally choose 18k WG/Palladium as it carries with it the prestige of 18k, the whitness of palladium and the self buffing affect of gold, thus allowing it to stay more beautiful longer with less care than the other alternatives.

I however chose a different option as I didn't have the 18K WG/Palladium mix available in my shank option.

I chose 950 Palladium with Ruthenium. This is a great option because Palladium is part of the platinum family. It is actually slightly softer than gold and a little bit lighter but it is also more malleable which means it is less prone to scratch than gold. However, just as with platinum it will develop the same worn look over time, but it can be polished a bit more easily and effectively than platinum because of its softer nature. It is also "white" and looks VERY similar to platinum. It is significantly cheaper than platinum yet carries some of the same prestige of having the purer 950 mark on it (950 parts pure where as 18k gold is only 75% pure). Again, this is valued differently by different people and different cultures.

My own plan is to get the Palladium Rhodium coated as well. Having it Rhodium plated will prevent the Patina effect, yet as the Rhodium wears off it won't be particularly visible because Palladium is white. And after it is gone the ring can continue being worn until the Patina appears at which time it can be buffed and Re-Rhodium plated, thus allowing it to be a beautiful shiny white ring for the maximum number of years. Maintanence should be similar to that of WG/Palladium but it is of course a bit whiter.


Crown--Which metal to protect your diamond?

However, I believe that Palladium is too weak to make the best choice of crown. That is reserved for either Gold/Palladium or Platinum. If you are getting a 1ct diamond I would STRONGLY urge you to choose a platinum head. I won't go into the reasons but you can get the shank Palladium and the Crown platinum. They would be close enough in color that nobody would really tell any difference (and you can always have them Rhodium plated if you went with the WG/Palladium mix) yet the Platinum would be the strongest possible metal to protect your diamond and on top of that even if intense pressure were applied it would bend before breaking, whereas the Gold would simply break. That would give you time to go get the prongs fixed instead of losing your precious diamond. There is a lot of discussion on the issues of prong/crown metals though, so I suggest you do some reading on PS about that topic in particular

 

[kcoursolle]

I''ve done business with both jamesallen.com and whiteflash.com and both were excellent to work with. I''ve also purchased settings from knoxjewelers.biz and have been very happy. Based on reputations here I would also buy from goodoldgold.com or engagementringsdirect.com.

 

[iheartscience]

I have a radiant that Whiteflash sourced for me and I like it a lot. Also, it wasn''t on any of the vendor lists that come up when I searched online. Sheerah at Whiteflash told me they have a distributor who has access to good radiants and that''s where she sourced mine from.

Also, just so you know, radiants in general don''t look big for their size. If you''re looking for a "big" look I would go for a round, pear or oval. I do like radiants best, though, so I went for it anyway! Mine''s a 1.51 G SI1 and I put it in a halo setting, so it looks pretty big on me.

 

[MWG]

Put it to you this way.......I will never buy jewelry from anyone else but a Pricescope Vendor.

 

[JohnQuixote]

WHFSR has provided extensive opinions about alloy choices. I hope won't mind some input from the other side of the counter:

Date: 6/30/2007 1:32:19 AM
Author: WorkingHardforSmallRewards

of these three choices I would personally choose 18k WG/Palladium as it carries with it the prestige of 18k, the whitness of palladium and the self buffing affect of gold, thus allowing it to stay more beautiful longer with less care than the other alternatives.

14 and 18K palladium WG alloys are notably less white than platinum. Though many are fine with it, we've rhodium-plated our palladium WG in the past because over time our clients have expressed a preference for the improved whiteness.

1. 18K yellow gold
2. 18K white gold, rhodium plated
3. 18K palladium white gold, not plated

I chose 950 Palladium with Ruthenium. This is a great option because Palladium is part of the platinum family. It is actually slightly softer than gold and a little bit lighter but it is also more malleable which means it is less prone to scratch than gold. However, just as with platinum it will develop the same worn look over time, but it can be polished a bit more easily and effectively than platinum because of its softer nature. It is also 'white' and looks VERY similar to platinum. It is significantly cheaper than platinum yet carries some of the same prestige of having the purer 950 mark on it (950 parts pure where as 18k gold is only 75% pure). Again, this is valued differently by different people and different cultures.

It's is a great choice and palladium is making a strong comeback right now (it was most common during WWII, when platinum was being used for the war effort). The price point is good and it's similar in whiteness to Pt950/Ru. It's half as dense as platinum but quite durable.

One thing: Remember that 950 alloys are 95% by weight, not by volume. That becoms especially confusing with platinum, since its atomic weight is greater than ruthenium & cobalt: Pt950Ru and Co have significantly more Ru and Co by volume in the alloy than 5%. Meanwhile, palladium and ruthenium have similar atomic weights (like the relationship between Pt and Ir) so Pd950/Ru is very close to 95%-5% by volume and weight. Though this is simply academic it may be of interest.

Using the chart below, Pd950/Ru would most resemble Pt950/Ir.

When cast, Pd950/Ru is about 110 HV making it comparable to Pt900/Ir in hardness (closer to Pt950/Ru if machined or die-struck). It requires different equipment than gold - much more like platinum - and is not as easy to cast as Pt because of greater risk of oxidization in the process. Ultimately it is more suitable for some pieces than others.

This PS journal article has more info and photos regarding WG and Platinum alloys but 950 palladium gets only a mention. I'm glad you brought it up in your overview WHFSR, as I've been wanting to update that article to reflect its increasing use since the JCK show. Maybe this will get me off my tuckus.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 6/30/2007 12:29:46 AM
Author: trueshine
I am looking for a radiant (square shape) 1.07 ct or better. I would like to have a colorless stone (D, E, or F) and VS2 clarity. In general, I want a diamond that will have a lot of fire, look bigger than it''s size and make an excellent purchase for a reasonable price.


For the setting...can anyone advise as to which is better? Platinum or white gold. If you choose white gold, 14k or 18k...does it matter? Thanks in advance for your help...this site has already been amazingly helpful for me.

all the vendors mentioned in this thread are wonderful and I''d purchase from any of them if they had what I was after. as for the setting, I vote platinum if it works in your budget. I love the patina it gets and the heaviness of it. many prefer Whitegold for other reasons and depending on the body chemisty of the wearer my require re-plating from time to time. you can search WG and Plat for more info than you''d ever want to know on the two and the pros and cons of each.

thanks John for the chart and info above

 

[Harriet]

Date: 6/30/2007 12:00:17 AM
Author: thing2of2
I had a great experience with Whiteflash.com! I highly recommend Sheerah as a sales representative if you decide to go with them.

If she''s not available, Katie''s great too.

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

Hum, I seem to have picked up some misinformation along the way! I had been under the impression that Platinum/Ru was about 213HV! whoops! lol, shoot, looks like I need to hit the books again

. I have been picking up alot of information lately, but shoot, somewhere along the way I thought Pd/Ru was about 150, WG around 160-180 and Plt/Ru about 213..but dang, I was way off

. I knew already that that was an area of weakness in my knowledge so I didn''t list the hardness of the metals in my above post. I am glad I made that decision now! Thanks for the link, This was actually one of the first sites I read in my studies, but I read a lot more information after that...ugh.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 7/1/2007 12:31:01 AM
Author: WorkingHardforSmallRewards
Hum, I seem to have picked up some misinformation along the way! I had been under the impression that Platinum/Ru was about 213HV! whoops! lol, shoot, looks like I need to hit the books again

. I have been picking up alot of information lately, but shoot, somewhere along the way I thought Pd/Ru was about 150, WG around 160-180 and Plt/Ru about 213..but dang, I was way off

. I knew already that that was an area of weakness in my knowledge so I didn't list the hardness of the metals in my above post. I am glad I made that decision now! Thanks for the link, This was actually one of the first sites I read in my studies, but I read a lot more information after that...ugh.

I don't think you had misinformation. It sounds like you were looking at machined/die-struck info. There are a number of Pd alloys currently on the market that produce 110-120 HV when cast. When machined or die-struck the 150 HV range is possible due to some harder alloys available and cold-working. This isn't a constant though; if heat is later applied (soldering for instance) that hardness is reduced - so it all varies!

There are infinite variations with alloys. The end result depends on what the craftsman's preferences are and the effects he/she is trying to achieve.For example, platinum-ruthenium has the highest melting point of the common Pt alloys but it's harder and crisper at the bench; it can be machined and grinded better. Platinum-iridium has a lower flow point and is much better for casting but more difficult to hand-tool. Palladium is less dense, so big designs are more affordable (and perhaps comfortable) than gold/platinum, but it does not fill as well so delicate or thin designs may need to be broken into pieces that can be done individually.

All in all, a seasoned craftsman should know what's best for a piece: Design, heat treatments, welding and soldering applied and the skill of the craftsmen involved are all as critical to the final product's outcome as the alloy itself. And of course, once made, the way the piece is cared for will be more significant to how it holds up over time than any other factor.

 

[Maisie]

Date: 6/30/2007 8:04:12 PM
Author: Harriet

Date: 6/30/2007 12:00:17 AM
Author: thing2of2
I had a great experience with Whiteflash.com! I highly recommend Sheerah as a sales representative if you decide to go with them.

If she''s not available, Katie''s great too.

Or Celina....