First off, Hello! (+ a few questions)

[fmm]

Hello everybody. This is my first post here and i just wanted to say that this seems to be a very nice and helpful community you have here, and i decided to join here after i lurked a few of the diamond forums out there.

I have a few questions. I''m planning to propose this year, and like everyone here i want to get the best bang for my buck, since i''m not exactly rolling in the money (student with a few loans to pay, i have a job, but still...). I first found the bluenile.com site wich features prices that are twice cheaper for diamonds than in my country (romania). The settings are a bit expensive though. Even so, i found it to be a good alternative. However i''m having a few doubts about ordering a ring online from a different country, what if it doesn''t fit right on my fiances hand or whatever, i''ll be stuck with a very valuable piece of jewelry. So i decided to search for a loose diamond and find a jeweler in my area witch might mount it on a local setting which i can test and or easily exchange.

I stumbled on this site
http://www.dancodiamonds.com/index.php?colomn=1&vector=1
The prices here seem ridiculously low, and even if most of the diamonds seem of lower grade i stumbled on quite a few very good ones with great price tags. I was wondering if some of you had any experience with this shop, or if you have any opinion on the matter. Could it be a ripoff? I see that they say the diamonds are certified but it seems the site has very little information on it.

Also a few general questions:
1.say i buy a diamond which has a certificate, how do i know that the certificate is for the diamond i''m buying? i mean, the diamond doesn''t have an id code stamped on it right? Say i bought one online and then i went to a local jeweler to fit it on to a setting, how would i know if he switches it with another?
2.the free shipping featured on most of these online diamond shops is for worldwide destinations or most of them just include the country in which the store is located

Thanks in advance and sorry for my spelling errors which i am sure are plentiful

 

[stone-cold11]

Shipping is vendor dependent, so ask them.

To identify diamond, most would have a clarity plot of the inclusions in the diamond and/or inscribed with the report number. The inclusions in a diamond is like a finger print, each diamond is different. So what you do is when you are going to leave the stone with the jeweler for setting, get him to look through the stone with you under a microscope and show you which inclusions mapped to the clarity plot of the stone, have him plot it out and signed that that is the diamond you pass to him. When you received back the diamond, go through the process again and verify it is the same stone before accepting it. Maybe get an independent appraiser to verify it again if you are worried.

Also, diamond prices varies with which lab grades it. Certain labs are discounted by the trade because they are known to be less strict in terms of color and clarity grades. In the US, the labs that commands the best value are GIA/AGS, stone from other labs are discounted, ungraded or in-house graded stone even more.

 

[hihowareyou]

I''ve never seen the site www.dancodiamonds.com but I would be very wary of anything that looks too good to be true. I had a glance and there seems to be a lack of information. The fact that some grades are listed G-H for examples makes me think that they might be graded in house, certainly not diamonds from the most respectable labs - GIA/AGS. I clicked on a few stones and the images/details didn''t load. If you are thinking of using them then make sure you call them up and ask LOTS of questions.

If you want peace of mind then have a look at the vendors are supported by the members on here. Read up on them both good and bad, at least you know what you are about to get yourself into. Diamonds are expensive and not worth taking a huge risk on (in opinion).

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/23/2010 5:39:50 AM
Author:fmm
Hello everybody. This is my first post here and i just wanted to say that this seems to be a very nice and helpful community you have here, and i decided to join here after i lurked a few of the diamond forums out there.

I have a few questions. I'm planning to propose this year, and like everyone here i want to get the best bang for my buck, since i'm not exactly rolling in the money (student with a few loans to pay, i have a job, but still...). I first found the bluenile.com site wich features prices that are twice cheaper for diamonds than in my country (romania). The settings are a bit expensive though. Even so, i found it to be a good alternative. However i'm having a few doubts about ordering a ring online from a different country, what if it doesn't fit right on my fiances hand or whatever, i'll be stuck with a very valuable piece of jewelry. So i decided to search for a loose diamond and find a jeweler in my area witch might mount it on a local setting which i can test and or easily exchange.

I stumbled on this site
http://www.dancodiamonds.com/index.php?colomn=1&vector=1
The prices here seem ridiculously low, and even if most of the diamonds seem of lower grade i stumbled on quite a few very good ones with great price tags. I was wondering if some of you had any experience with this shop, or if you have any opinion on the matter. Could it be a ripoff? I see that they say the diamonds are certified but it seems the site has very little information on it.

Also a few general questions:

2.the free shipping featured on most of these online diamond shops is for worldwide destinations or most of them just include the country in which the store is located

Thanks in advance and sorry for my spelling errors which i am sure are plentiful

Hi fmm, welcome to Pricescope and thank you for your very kind words!

I know nothing about the vendor you linked but it makes no mention of the type of lab report this diamonds have ( if any) and this along with various other factors can greatly influence price. Also it appears as if most are low quality stones, I2 and I3 clarity, these are highly unlikely to be eyeclean or even well cut come to that.

Concerning your questions;

1.say i buy a diamond which has a certificate, how do i know that the certificate is for the diamond i'm buying? i mean, the diamond doesn't have an id code stamped on it right? Say i bought one online and then i went to a local jeweler to fit it on to a setting, how would i know if he switches it with another?

The best thing would be to get an independant appraiser to verify the stone and report match as soon as possible on receipt of the diamond. The appraiser could map out the inclusions on your diamond so you can identify your stone easily. Also a good jeweller could be willing to map out the inclusions on receipt of the stone for setting with you, make sure this is in writing signed by the jeweller. Then once the ring is completed you can check with them that everything is in order. If you purchased a GIA graded diamond that has a Diamond Dossier, these stones are inscribed for identification purposes.

2) Concerning shipping it would be best to check with the vendor as to prices if applicable.

It is cut quality which can make or break the beauty of a diamond, so if you are new to this it would be well worth reading the Pricescope Tutorial, read through the subtopics on the left as this will give you a thorough grounding in diamond basics.

 

[fmm]

Thank you all for the kind welcome and the elaborate advices. Indeed, you are right, i shouldn't take a chance on such a valuable item. I shot an email towards this company and even if they responded quite fast i think i'll go with a more trusted/used saler, i was hoping that someone already bought from them and can give me some feedback, but since that's not the case, i'm not gonna take the risk. Their responce was

"Most of our diamonds are certified by a third party (GEMS) although some are also certified in house. We mostly sell to wholesalers as evidenced by our prices but many individuals also purchase from us. There is no minimum order and we ship via UPS all over the world. We provide you with a 30 days money back guarantee no questions asked. and accept payment through paypal."

Also their paying and ordering method seems very strange, you just click that buy button and it sends you directly to paypal, they don't ask for a name, an address and such, it's kinda weird.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,
My recommendation for anyone looking to buy is do a search of the company here on PS and if nothing pops up, then it''s best not to risk purchasing through that seller. There are so many respected companies that most of us here on PS have boughten diamonds from and IMO it''s safest to follow that route.