Edmonton Vandenberg''s Jewelers

[Lazymonkeygod]

Just bought a ring from Vandenberg''s downtown.

Wondering if anyone has any insight on this.

Carat: .89 ct
Color: E
Clarity: SI1
Cut: Hearts and Arrows Ideal

I keep getting comments that I paid too much for this. But can anyone tell me what it''s actually worth? Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mrssalvo]

welcome lazymonkey...

you can go to the home page and do a search there...i couldn''t find anything with the exact specs but goodoldgold has a .90 E VS2 H&A for $5772...your stone being an SI would be priced a bit lower. there were a couple other stones that popped up but all ran around that price...Do keep in mind that internet pricing will be lower most of the time than tradition stores b/c the overhead is lower. Goodoldgold however also runs a store out of Long Island.

 

[Lazymonkeygod]

This is what I''m afraid of...The quotes that I get from online, is completely different from the quotes I get from local jewelers. The quotes that I''ve been getting from the local jewelers around Edmonton is at least 45% more than the quotes that I''m getting online. You said goodoldgold is selling something like that for $5772, but when I go to shops to ask for diamonds with that quality they quote me $10k+ at least. I really don''t know who to trust anymore, is mark up for diamonds in Edmonton really that outrageous?? Anyone experienced with shopping in Edmonton?

 

[HEPennypacker]

Lazy, allow me to refer you to the following tutorial:

https://www.pricescope.com/isitsafe.asp

 

[Lazymonkeygod]

Thank you for your link. I understand the pros and cons of buying online. I don''t think I''ll buy from online anyways because I need that piece of mind that the store is here locally and have many years of history. I''m just a little amazed at the incredible price difference between online and local jewelers.

 

[HEPennypacker]

Yes, the price differences can be very large. I hope your peace of mind is worth that much!

 

[Lazymonkeygod]

Yeah, my piece of mind is pretty expensive. I''m not happy about it, but can anyone from Edmonton tell me where locally they could''ve got a diamond with the specs above for anything less than 7k? I know you can easily find one online for cheaper, but I''m more concerned with something in a local store.

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 12/18/2007 6:20:36 PM
Author: Lazymonkeygod
Yeah, my piece of mind is pretty expensive. I'm not happy about it, but can anyone from Edmonton tell me where locally they could've got a diamond with the specs above for anything less than 7k? I know you can easily find one online for cheaper, but I'm more concerned with something in a local store.

HI:

I grew up tin Edmonton, but no longer shop there for jewellery. Recently, my sister got a beautiful Ebel watch at Paris Jewellers on the West End--can they get something for you with a GIA/AGS cert to match your requirements? Seems to me they have a large store/inventory and they were very accomodating when my sister was buying a high end watch. Worth inquiring after......

David Keeling posts here (has pictures in the gallery section) and is a custom/designer downtown Edmonton. You could seek him out and ask as well.

Wish I could be more helpful......

cheers--Sharon

 

[Lazymonkeygod]

Thanks canuk-gal, all inputs are greatly appreciated.

 

[yamsicle]

Hi Lazymonkey,

I live in Edmonton and when we started looking for rings, we went to Vandenberg''s. The staff there are very nice, but I found they did not really listen to me. I wanted a VS2 stone, and they kept showing me SIs. And I found that we had to chase them down. Perhaps they didn''t need our business. As well their pricing was not what I was willing to pay. For a one carat princess cut SI stone (I can''t remember the colour), they wanted 12 grand. Once the custom engagement ring and wedding band were factored in (in white gold), it came to around 15 grand. I went with through Pearlman''s and we are paying about 10 grand plus GST for a the 1.02 carat VS1 F cushion in the Ritani endless love setting in white gold, including the wedding band.

The store is beautiful and you have the convenience of servicing by the vendor you purchased from, and if you do not want to buy online, you are pretty limited. We also went to Swedish Jeweler''s, and the prices were about 1 grand cheaper, but still expensive. If you have bought the ring already, and you are happy with it, that''s all that matters!

 

[Lazymonkeygod]

Thank you yam.

To be honest though, I looked around and every other place sells it for the same or even more without the setting factored in.
I had them custom make the setting for me with about .32 ct of smaller diamonds and a unique design and above that they waived the tax. The setting like that would cost around 1k when I looked around so really I only paid about 7k for the stone, so I guess I didn''t really get ripped off that much...

 

[yamsicle]

It''s good to hear you are ultimately happy with your purchase.

What I''d like to know is, where are the pictures of this lovely setting?