Diamond at Whiteflash, setting at Robbins Bros

[Timscarey]

Im buying a 1.044 ct princess at Whiteflash ( AGS 0, I, SI1, depth 71.9, table 69.7, from their expert selection), and having not been crazy about their settings, went to Robbins Bros to look and found this setting which I really love, and think my girlfriend will love as well.



http://www.robbinsbros.com/productSearch/productDetail.asp?prod_id=21925&pType=ring&intIsJewelry=0

Now the problem is that at RB the price for the setting is only $350, and they want to charge me $300 more to set my diamond. Is this standard practice? The other problem is that Whiteflash says that if I buy the diamond and have it set somewhere else, then my 10 day money back deal is voided. So If my girlfriend for whatever reason doesn''t love the diamond, I''m stuck with it.

Whiteflash is offering to make me an estimate for a similar custom setting, which I''m sure will be expensive, and they say will take a couple of days to get back to me, and probably a couple of weeks after that to make the ring.

Problem is I want to propose this week on her birthday. So the only way to do this would be to buy the diamond and have Robbins Bros set it, voiding my WF guarantee and paying the extra $$ for the setting work.

Is this too risky? Stupid?

Suggestions appreciated.

 

[mrssalvo]

Will RB''s sell the setting seperately? If so, I''d buy the setting and ship it to Wf and have them set their stone in it.

 

[belle]

Date: 4/17/2006 1:15:49 PM
Author:Timscarey
Im buying a 1.044 ct princess at Whiteflash ( AGS 0, I, SI1, depth 71.9, table 69.7, from their expert selection), and having not been crazy about their settings, went to Robbins Bros to look and found this setting which I really love, and think my girlfriend will love as well.



http://www.robbinsbros.com/productSearch/productDetail.asp?prod_id=21925&pType=ring&intIsJewelry=0

that''s unique!

Date: 4/17/2006 1:15:49 PM
Author:Timscarey
Now the problem is that at RB the price for the setting is only $350, and they want to charge me $300 more to set my diamond. Is this standard practice?

yes, it is standard practice. hopefully they are taking full responsibility to set the stone. this is especially important with fancy shapes.

Date: 4/17/2006 1:15:49 PM
Author:Timscarey
The other problem is that Whiteflash says that if I buy the diamond and have it set somewhere else, then my 10 day money back deal is voided. So If my girlfriend for whatever reason doesn''t love the diamond, I''m stuck with it.

it would be too great of a risk to guarantee money back on a diamond that is set somewhere else. what if the stone is damaged during setting (or unsetting)? it is a solid policy and totally understandable.
jewelers are very busy. i''m not sure you would even have a chance to get the diamond set and potentially ''unset'' in less than two weeks anyway.
your girlfriend will love the diamond. it''s a DIAMOND!

Date: 4/17/2006 1:15:49 PM
Author:Timscarey
Whiteflash is offering to make me an estimate for a similar custom setting, which I''m sure will be expensive, and they say will take a couple of days to get back to me, and probably a couple of weeks after that to make the ring.

if it''s not more than $650..you''re even

Date: 4/17/2006 1:15:49 PM
Author:Timscarey
Problem is I want to propose this week on her birthday. So the only way to do this would be to buy the diamond and have Robbins Bros set it, voiding my WF guarantee and paying the extra $$ for the setting work.

this week!?

have you confirmed that rb will be able to set the stone in that amount of time? jewelers are very busy and even a simple setting job can take a few days.

 

[belle]

Date: 4/17/2006 1:26:45 PM
Author: mrssalvo
Will RB''s sell the setting seperately? If so, I''d buy the setting and ship it to Wf and have them set their stone in it.

doh!

of course! great idea mrss

 

[Jelly]

Get her a simple solitaire setting (maybe $125) from WF to propose with and let her pick her own setting! She'll be thrilled I'm sure. You could get that in a day or two.

Unless you know she loves that setting, $600 is too much to spend on a solitaire, 14K white gold setting. Plus, if she's anything like the girls here, she'll LOVE picking out her own setting.

 

[AmberWaves]

We bought a setting at RB, and the diamond from WF. Instead of having RB set the stone and possibly damage it, we decided to send it where the most money was put into- the stone (Whiteflash). We sent our RB setting to WF, and got it back in a few days. Most time was spent waiting for WF to get the setting in the mail! I''d rather void the RB policy than the WF policy. Good luck.

 

[FireGoddess]

Absolutely - I would do what Amber did. The setting cost is minute compared to the diamond. I would rather have the people selling me the diamond set the stone in case something were to happen. Get the setting from RB, ship it to WF, and have them set the stone!

 

[Kay]

That''s a cool setting, but your girl may enjoy picking out her own, I know I sure did. If you are sure you want that setting, I agree to go with the advice others are giving you and buy the setting from RB and send it to WF to let them set their stone. I think the $300 setting fee is a total ripoff. DH bought my diamond from WF, but we found a solitaire style at a local jeweler in San Diego that we liked better than the styles WF had on their website. We paid $350 for the platinum setting and $50 for labor to set the stone. My stone was insured by Chubb as soon as we bought it, so we would have been covered if the setter damaged it (from a financial perspective only, I would have been devastated if the stone we spent months searching for was lost). I also made an appointment with the bench jeweler to bring the stone in and have them set it in front of me. (Ok, so I was a little paranoid about letting go of my precious, but it was fun watching him set it.)

 

[joshzele]

So in a related question to this thread. I was looking to buy a diamond from WF and the setting from elsewhere. I guess its established that sending the setting to WF is easiest. The question I guess I have is after WF sets the diamond, do you still send it to an independant appraiser after its set? Do most of you who order online send to an independant appraiser? I know WF rep is pretty solid from all I''ve read here, but I just want to make 100% sure.

Thanks! Great thread by the way, I do love that setting.

 

[MissAva]

I don’t know the percentages of who sends their rings to get an independent appraisal and who does not, however I choose Richard Sherwood to do my appraisal, he has an excellent reputation here in Pricescope.

An independent appraisal gives your insurance company less wiggle room if heaven forbid something out to happen to your ring. It also gives you that extra comfort of knowing what you are paying for, and any issues of concern that you might have.

And yes Whiteflash is very solid here, they work to earn and then keep your bussiness and are friendly to boot!

 

[esguy27]

I bought my fiance''s stone from Whiteflash and a Ritani setting from Robbin''s Bros. Never once did my salesperson at Whiteflash tell me that my 10 day inspection period was void if WF did not set the stone for me. That sounds a bit strange to me. You may want to follow up with WF and make sure you''re understanding it correctly.

When Robbins Bros set the stone for me, they initially quoted me $125 over the phone. On a subsequent phone call, they said it would be $300. Ultimately, I ended up paying them $125 to set it for me while I waited.

Not sure if this info is helpful but there it is anyway