Here is a brief synopsis of my ring buying experience...
I started looking into buying an engagement ring back in Sept. 2002. A friend of mine had purchased his engagement ring from Diamond.com (http://www.diamond.com) so I decided to check them out. The website was very easy to navigate but I wanted to check out some other sites as well. I did the usual search engines searches and came up with a huge number of sites. After a couple weeks of research I noticed a lot of the diamonds listed on many of the sites seemed to be the exact same diamond! This was confirmed when I looked at some of the GIA or AGSL reports which had the same report number. This bothered me a bit because I wanted to work with a company that was more than just a broker. I wanted to buy my diamond from someone who actually had -=SEEN=- the diamond.
Along the way I found some very informative site like DiamondTalk (http://www.diamondtalk.com), PriceScope (http://www.pricescope.com) and DiamondChitChat (http://www.diamondchitchat.com). I started checking out the websites of the jewelers who frequent (or had frequented) those sites and eventually I stumbled across GoodOldGold (http://www.goodoldgold.com). I have to admit, I initially just glanced at the first page and dismissed the site because it didn''t have all the bells and whistles that the big dogs have (like BlueNile and Diamond.com). I eventually came back to the site however due to the large number of positive comments I had read on the forums. I also checked out their BBB record. Spotless for the last 36 months (which is much more than I can say about some of the big dogs)
. After delving deep into the knowledge base that is GoodOldGold I emerged feeling confident enough to visit some local jewelers...
Out of the 5 jewelers I visited only one of them was able to give more information than just the 4C''s spiel. I went to Tiffanys in SF just for fun and was ignored after a gentleman and his wife/girlfriend walked up to the counter requesting to see some 6ct. stones. The salesperson that was helping me immediately shuffled him off to a viewing room after handing me a small pamphlet on the 4C''s and why Tiffany diamonds are the best.
What I found interesting was the lack of knowledge at many B&M jewelers. Not one jeweler was able to give me any information on the cut of the diamond other than "It is the best" or "I''ve certified it myself so I can assure you it is an ideal cut." When I would ask what constitutes an "ideal cut" I was usually told that it took many years of gemological study to understand. I was even told by one jeweler to stop asking so many questions and to stop "trying to be a gemologist."
So back I came to the internet. The information on each diamond on GoodOldGold was truly astounding. Jonathan even posts Sarin analysis files for many of his stones that allow you to view a 3-D model of the diamond. Very cool. After another 2 months of searching I finally decided to go with GoodOldGold. Jonathan, Marie and Christen were always prompt with their responses and were more than happy to answer my endless questions. I ordered my diamond (http://www.goodoldgold.com/new_page_14.htm) on a Thursday and had it in my hands the next morning at 10am. I had the diamond appraised by Nancy Stacy (http://www.jewelry-appraisal.com) who was a pleasure to work with and very thorough. I shipped the diamond back to GoodOldGold for the setting and had my finished setting/diamond a week later.
In case anyone plans on shipping their diamond anywhere and wants to have it insured, DO NOT SHIP IT THROUGH MAILBOXES, ETC. They are a complete rip off. I shipped my diamond through them with FedEx and they charged me 4x the price that FedEx charges. I could have saved a bundle if I had filled out the FedEx shipping form myself and dropped it off at any FedEx location. Better yet, I found out you can ship via the USPS with Registered Mail which includes insurance up to $25k (http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/registeredmailservice.htm).
All in all my diamond buying experience was fun and my experience with GoodOldGold was outstanding. I will definitely be buying from them in the future. Now on to the excitement of planning the proposal!
Binister
Here are some of the sites I found helpful in my search:
http://www.jewelry-appraisal.com
http://www.mondera.com
http://www.bluenile.com
http://www.diamond.com
http://www.goodoldgold.com
http://www.diamondtalk.com
http://www.bridaltips.com
http://www.pricescope.com
http://www.diamondcuttersintl.com
http://www.diamondchitchat.com
http://www.niceice.com
http://www.whiteflash.com
and perhaps the most important...
http://www.bbb.org
I started looking into buying an engagement ring back in Sept. 2002. A friend of mine had purchased his engagement ring from Diamond.com (http://www.diamond.com) so I decided to check them out. The website was very easy to navigate but I wanted to check out some other sites as well. I did the usual search engines searches and came up with a huge number of sites. After a couple weeks of research I noticed a lot of the diamonds listed on many of the sites seemed to be the exact same diamond! This was confirmed when I looked at some of the GIA or AGSL reports which had the same report number. This bothered me a bit because I wanted to work with a company that was more than just a broker. I wanted to buy my diamond from someone who actually had -=SEEN=- the diamond.
Along the way I found some very informative site like DiamondTalk (http://www.diamondtalk.com), PriceScope (http://www.pricescope.com) and DiamondChitChat (http://www.diamondchitchat.com). I started checking out the websites of the jewelers who frequent (or had frequented) those sites and eventually I stumbled across GoodOldGold (http://www.goodoldgold.com). I have to admit, I initially just glanced at the first page and dismissed the site because it didn''t have all the bells and whistles that the big dogs have (like BlueNile and Diamond.com). I eventually came back to the site however due to the large number of positive comments I had read on the forums. I also checked out their BBB record. Spotless for the last 36 months (which is much more than I can say about some of the big dogs)
Out of the 5 jewelers I visited only one of them was able to give more information than just the 4C''s spiel. I went to Tiffanys in SF just for fun and was ignored after a gentleman and his wife/girlfriend walked up to the counter requesting to see some 6ct. stones. The salesperson that was helping me immediately shuffled him off to a viewing room after handing me a small pamphlet on the 4C''s and why Tiffany diamonds are the best.
What I found interesting was the lack of knowledge at many B&M jewelers. Not one jeweler was able to give me any information on the cut of the diamond other than "It is the best" or "I''ve certified it myself so I can assure you it is an ideal cut." When I would ask what constitutes an "ideal cut" I was usually told that it took many years of gemological study to understand. I was even told by one jeweler to stop asking so many questions and to stop "trying to be a gemologist."
So back I came to the internet. The information on each diamond on GoodOldGold was truly astounding. Jonathan even posts Sarin analysis files for many of his stones that allow you to view a 3-D model of the diamond. Very cool. After another 2 months of searching I finally decided to go with GoodOldGold. Jonathan, Marie and Christen were always prompt with their responses and were more than happy to answer my endless questions. I ordered my diamond (http://www.goodoldgold.com/new_page_14.htm) on a Thursday and had it in my hands the next morning at 10am. I had the diamond appraised by Nancy Stacy (http://www.jewelry-appraisal.com) who was a pleasure to work with and very thorough. I shipped the diamond back to GoodOldGold for the setting and had my finished setting/diamond a week later.
In case anyone plans on shipping their diamond anywhere and wants to have it insured, DO NOT SHIP IT THROUGH MAILBOXES, ETC. They are a complete rip off. I shipped my diamond through them with FedEx and they charged me 4x the price that FedEx charges. I could have saved a bundle if I had filled out the FedEx shipping form myself and dropped it off at any FedEx location. Better yet, I found out you can ship via the USPS with Registered Mail which includes insurance up to $25k (http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/registeredmailservice.htm).
All in all my diamond buying experience was fun and my experience with GoodOldGold was outstanding. I will definitely be buying from them in the future. Now on to the excitement of planning the proposal!
Binister
Here are some of the sites I found helpful in my search:
http://www.jewelry-appraisal.com
http://www.mondera.com
http://www.bluenile.com
http://www.diamond.com
http://www.goodoldgold.com
http://www.diamondtalk.com
http://www.bridaltips.com
http://www.pricescope.com
http://www.diamondcuttersintl.com
http://www.diamondchitchat.com
http://www.niceice.com
http://www.whiteflash.com
and perhaps the most important...
http://www.bbb.org
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