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Custom Engagement Ring - NYC

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jalexander

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 12, 2009
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I'm looking at getting a custom engagement ring made. I live in NYC.
Procurement: I'm currently looking at a few stores in the DD. First choice right now is Roman Malakov on 47th Street. It was referred to me by a friend.

What I'm looking for and the price:
Diamond: $5200
Princess Cut
F
1.10 Carat
VVS1 Clarity
Very Good Cut

Ring: $1200
Platinum 95% Pure
Based on the Cartier Declaration Engagement Band

1. If the diamond is GIA certified and meets my specifications should I be all right? (I'd prefer to purchase both the ring and diamond at one place.)
2. Is it possible to have a gemologist review the diamond before I purchase it. Is this typical? I'm not very well versed and am worried about being taken for a ride.
3. If you are getting a ring custom made would you work on an installment system. Down payment and final payment on procurement?
4. How many mock-ups is typical for the ring?
5. Would it be better to buy the diamond online and have the ring custom made in the city?
6. I'd be very interested in anyone's experience in having a custom engagement ring made. (when i signed onto this forum it seemed as if you can't solicit or make referrals. that's what I'm looking for though)

Any advice would be much appreciated.

-Joe
 
since you are in NYC I would highly recommend setting up an appointment with Mark T at www.engagementringsdirect.com. He is also located in the diamond district. It can be a scary place and he is very well respected on this forum. He also makes custom settings and does do a cad/cam drawing ahead of time for you to see and approve.
 
I''ll answer some of the issues:


Diamond: $5200 The price "might be fine, but it is difficult to know at a distance and this is not an AGS0 cut. You say GIA.

Very Good Cut This comment makes me a bit concerned. Who said it was "Very Good Cut"? The seller? What standard are they using?
1. If the diamond is GIA certified and meets my specifications should I be all right? (I''d prefer to purchase both the ring and diamond at one place.) Purchasing at one place is good because if there is damage during setting, the jeweler will be responsible.

2. Is it possible to have a gemologist review the diamond before I purchase it. Is this typical? I''m not very well versed and am worried about being taken for a ride. Make sure YOU select an Independent appraiser. 2 or 3 excellent ones are in 608 Fifith Ave. DO NOT let the jeweler take you to HIS gemologist. It is a waste of everyone''s time and your money, too.

3. If you are getting a ring custom made would you work on an installment system. Down payment and final payment on procurement? YES

4. How many mock-ups is typical for the ring? You have asked for a definite design and one go around ought to give you the right work.

5. Would it be better to buy the diamond online and have the ring custom made in the city? People who live in cities with large diamond districts are fortunate in that they can decide to go either way. You often can find the very top cut diamonds easier on-line, but you get a lot more human interaction with a face to face buying situation. I recommend having the seller mount the stone to avoid problems with damage on the pointy ends of the princess cut.

I strongly recommend that at the moment of delivery of the final ring you go back to YOUR appraiser to be certain the diamond is the one you agreed to buy, that it is properly set, and that there are no damage issues. Do not pick it up until you have made the appointment with the appraiser. A delay of even a few hours can create responsibility issues and YOU will be the one with the problem.
 
Comment:
Very Good Cut: This comment makes me a bit concerned. Who said it was "Very Good Cut"? The seller? What standard are they using?

Response:
If the diamonds I'm looking at are GIA can I look at the reports and judge the quality of the cut strictly from the report? I've created a qualification list below. Any comments from the experts?

For Cut:
The categories which I know are -
Polish - (should be EX or VG?)
Symmetry - (should be EX or VG?)
Fluorescence (none?)
Table - (should be 68% or smaller?)
Depth - (should be higher than the table 72-75%?)
L/W Ratio - (Should be less than 1.05?)
Girdle - (not really sure what it should be can anyone advise?)

Clarity - (VS1 - VS2)
Color - (E or F)

Comment:
I strongly recommend that at the moment of delivery of the final ring you go back to YOUR appraiser to be certain the diamond is the one you agreed to buy, that it is properly set, and that there are no damage issues. Do not pick it up until you have made the appointment with the appraiser. A delay of even a few hours can create responsibility issues and YOU will be the one with the problem.

Response:
Should I have a gemologist look at it before i make a down payment as well? And then a second time when it's set and I pick it up? Do appraisers typically come to the seller or do I bring the ring to them?


Additional Question 1: What defines a AGS0 cut? Is this a GIA qualification? My understanding is that this defines a diamond as being of the highest caliber of cut? How would this compare to a diamond meeting the above qualifications. It appears that there is a large price increase and I'm unsure if it is worth it.

Additional Question 2: Is there a difference in quality between having a ring made via CAD/CAM and hand made. Is a CAD/CAM ring reverse cast, as I doubt they mill the platinum. I Was told that a hand made ring is of a higher level of quality than a CAD/CAM cast ring. Just curious if anyone can shed some light on this.

Again thanks for all of your comments. Also if you know of any good Gemologist Appraisers I would be much obliged.

http://www.justappraisers.com/ - this was one referral which i got.

-Joe
 
Date: 5/12/2009 3:00:27 PM
Author: mrssalvo
since you are in NYC I would highly recommend setting up an appointment with Mark T at www.engagementringsdirect.com. He is also located in the diamond district. It can be a scary place and he is very well respected on this forum. He also makes custom settings and does do a cad/cam drawing ahead of time for you to see and approve.
Click to expand...
Ditto, and goodoldgold is a bit farther of a drive, but well worth it!!!
 
That''s obviously simple. Thanks.

-Joe
 
I purchased mine from ID Jewelry,

they are great and very knowledgeable, I'm very happy with my purchase

i recommend you try them

I came across this thread recently

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/amazing-three-stone-ring-from-i-d-jewelry.112584/

this is a recent thread about someone else's experience
about appraising and dealing with ID Jewelry
 
I called up ID jewelry. I talked with Yekutiel. He is very comfortable with having a third party appraiser look at the diamond before I proceed with the ring and immediately before the final purchase. I''m meeting with them and several other jewelers today. I''ll post updates for anyone using this post as a starting point in the future.
 
I met with Yekutiel at ID Jewelry. He showed me exactly how to look at a diamond:
1. Through a 10x magnifying viewer
2. Through an Ideal Scope.
3. Through an ASET Scope.
He even quizzed me making sure I could identify the defects. It became a lot more clear as to what the defines a diamond in regards to clarity. So when you look at one VS2 vs another VS2 i could understand they WERE NOT the same because the type of defect could be very different.
I''ve included a GIA cert for the particular diamond which I''m interested in.

5101644725 GIA CERT.jpg
 
ASET Scope

5101644725 ASET.jpg
 
Idealscope
 
Idealscope

tester 3.JPG
 
His asking price is this diamond is $5300 the Ring Fabrication is $1,100. The diamond price appears to be very competitive.
 
I''ve heard very good things about ID Jewelry and Yekutiel. Props to them for providing ASETs! That one looks pretty nice. A tad too much green for my tastes, but it''s really not bad at all, likely to be a better performer than the vast majority of princesses out there. It also has very nice spread for its weight. F/VVS2 is a little bit of color/clarity overkill IMO - you could get a similar appearing diamond for a lot less money if you drop to G-H/VS2-SI1. But if those are the color/clarity specs you''re looking for, and the price is right, it''s likely to be a very pretty diamond.
 
Date: 5/13/2009 10:36:34 PM
Author: jstarfireb
I''ve heard very good things about ID Jewelry and Yekutiel. Props to them for providing ASETs! That one looks pretty nice. A tad too much green for my tastes, but it''s really not bad at all, likely to be a better performer than the vast majority of princesses out there. It also has very nice spread for its weight. F/VVS2 is a little bit of color/clarity overkill IMO - you could get a similar appearing diamond for a lot less money if you drop to G-H/VS2-SI1. But if those are the color/clarity specs you''re looking for, and the price is right, it''s likely to be a very pretty diamond.
Click to expand...


i concur--and i personally would not pay for a vvs2 in any brilliant cut stone as the more facets the less visible inclusions are to the eye (depending on the inclusion of course). i would only pay the VVS premium in a a step cut stone where everything is so obvious
 
I'm comfortable with the specifications. Correct me on my naivety here, when looking at diamonds in the VS1 range I could see much more noticeable inclusions. Typically there would be a feather of roughly 1/16-1/32 of the diamonds diameter. When looking at diamonds in the VS2 range inclusions of this type where not apparent. In response to Bgray's comments I personally could tell the difference. To the naked eye, there would be no way to see the difference under a 10x scope I could tell.
 
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