I recently had a post about how I bought a .92 J VVS2 Ideal RB from Blue Nile and I was going to compare it to a stone that I had one hold in a local store. The local stone is a Lazare .948 J VVS2 RB. I brought the my 'internet' (their words) stone in and the first thing they did was plop them both into their ISee2 machine. The Lazare scored an 8.5 (rated 9.1 on previous documents) while my Blue Nile stone rated 9.5!
The salesman's jaw dropped at that point. He then redid the Lazare stone and came back with an 8.7. The Lazare lacked symmetry compared to the Blue Nile stone. We checked out the hearts and arrows on both stones and while with the Lazare you had to hold your head in one position for all hearts to appear (and even then they were a little tricky to see), the Blue Nile stone has extremely strong and pronounced hearts and arrows. Putting them side by side in a white 'boat' folded card, the Lazare was definitely on the higher end (less color) of the J range.
The Lazare (store) stone had measurements of: 6.33 - 6.42 x 3.86 mm
The Blue Nile stone had measurements of: 6.21 - 6.23 x 3.87 mm
In person with the stones side by side, the Lazare's larger size was readily apparent. I probably spent a good hour and a half just comparing the two stones. Now here's the fun part. The manager came out and asked me straight up, which one would I be picking out based on what I've looked at. Of course I said my (Blue Nile) stone. It's 1877 dollars less than their original price for the Lazare!
Now I had already decided on buying the setting from them. The setting was 1300 - platinum band with 4 sidestones on each side, TW .25 carats. Total cost of my stone set in their ring would be $5212.
Apparently she was desparate to keep my business, because she came back with a price of 4700 for the stone and 1000 for the setting, total of $5700 for the ring if I bought the Lazare.
Cue another hour of thinking and examining the two stones side by side. I had to weigh the pros and cons here.
Lazare:
Pros - signature stone, holds its value, slightly larger technically, looks larger, slightly less color, local store bought (free appraisals, free cleanings, customer service, lifetime warranty, upgrade policy)
Cons - Have to return a cherry stone from Blue Nile, return/shipping hassle, lower Isee2 score
Blue Nile:
Pros - higher ISee2 score, $488 cheaper, no return/shipping hassle
Cons - no warranty should it be chipped/scratched while setting (requires insurance claim), lack up local store benefits
I LOVE the stone I bought online, but here's a great deal on a Lazare that looks much larger than the carat different shows. They're both incredibly brilliant stones.
So what did I do in the end? I bought the store's Lazare stone and setting for $5700. She's going to love it. She'll love it even more when I tell her what I went through to get it and the (what I consider) amazing discount I received.
The ring should be available Wednesday; I'll have to take some pictures to show everyone. I can't wait!
Original post at: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/diamond-is-on-hold-ready-to-pull-the-trigger-advice.83695/
The Lazare (store) stone had measurements of: 6.33 - 6.42 x 3.86 mm
The Blue Nile stone had measurements of: 6.21 - 6.23 x 3.87 mm
In person with the stones side by side, the Lazare's larger size was readily apparent. I probably spent a good hour and a half just comparing the two stones. Now here's the fun part. The manager came out and asked me straight up, which one would I be picking out based on what I've looked at. Of course I said my (Blue Nile) stone. It's 1877 dollars less than their original price for the Lazare!
Now I had already decided on buying the setting from them. The setting was 1300 - platinum band with 4 sidestones on each side, TW .25 carats. Total cost of my stone set in their ring would be $5212.
Apparently she was desparate to keep my business, because she came back with a price of 4700 for the stone and 1000 for the setting, total of $5700 for the ring if I bought the Lazare.
Cue another hour of thinking and examining the two stones side by side. I had to weigh the pros and cons here.
Lazare:
Pros - signature stone, holds its value, slightly larger technically, looks larger, slightly less color, local store bought (free appraisals, free cleanings, customer service, lifetime warranty, upgrade policy)
Cons - Have to return a cherry stone from Blue Nile, return/shipping hassle, lower Isee2 score
Blue Nile:
Pros - higher ISee2 score, $488 cheaper, no return/shipping hassle
Cons - no warranty should it be chipped/scratched while setting (requires insurance claim), lack up local store benefits
I LOVE the stone I bought online, but here's a great deal on a Lazare that looks much larger than the carat different shows. They're both incredibly brilliant stones.
So what did I do in the end? I bought the store's Lazare stone and setting for $5700. She's going to love it. She'll love it even more when I tell her what I went through to get it and the (what I consider) amazing discount I received.
The ring should be available Wednesday; I'll have to take some pictures to show everyone. I can't wait!
Original post at: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/diamond-is-on-hold-ready-to-pull-the-trigger-advice.83695/
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