Friendly B&M/broker in Manhattan?

[sparkly5]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a great cushion cut 2.5ct ish diamond as mentioned in some previous posts. The lack of selection online has led me to check out the diamond district this Saturday, 5/7 and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations or referrals?

Looking for a dealer with a good variety of antique vs modern cushion cuts
--Although I would like to surprise my gf, I feel like I need to get her preference on antique vs modern cuts and 8main vs modified 4main cuts. So I'm planning on bringing her along. Hopefully the dealer understands I don't want to haggle with them in front of her.

Baseline stats:
Cushion cut: Modern 8 main preferred
at least 2.3ct, pref 2.5ct
Color: at least H, pref G
Clarity: at least VS2
Cost: $25k range
If there is a way we can compare with ASET images, that would be great!

Thanks in advance!

ps - Still waiting on analysis from some online places and will post updates in my other post ASAP!

 

[stone-cold11]

I would just visit GOG, based in Long Island.

 

[sparkly5]

Transportation will be difficult to get outside the city. Also they didn't have anything within my specifications (either too small or too much $).

I would love to just visit and compare the different types of cuts, but was hoping to get lucky and find something that I could use as well.

 

[slg47]

you could try ERD? I would call ahead though so they can get some diamonds in your specs/budget for you to look at. If you call GOG they can also bring in some candidates and make a video

 

[marymm]

Just to give you a heads up, from what I understand, a good number of the diamond district shops are closed on Saturdays - I know ID Jewelry is closed on Saturdays, I don't know about ERD... but if you're planning on going next Saturday you may want to make sure the places you're interested in visiting will be open.

 

[slg47]

what about showing your GF some of the diamond videos?

 

[sparkly5]

I emailed ERD about some cushions Fri, that I somehow missed during the start of my search. Do they have a store where I could visit? Hopefully they get back to me about the ones I was looking at.

Sigh

edit: Good point about the Saturday closings. For religious or other reasons. I have a few that I googled, that I will try calling tomorrow:
http://thediamondco.com/tdc/Pages/03005-cushion.html
http://www.mdcdiamonds.com/diamondDetails.cfm?Stock=1707002&Country=US
http://www.nydex.com/find/result.php
http://www.randrjewelers.com/index.php?section=colorlessdiamonds&task=searchResults

Not sure what to expect at these stores.

Also, I feel like the videos taught me a lot, but may look different in person. Selfishly, I'm also worried that I won't find a cushion with as great optics as in the videos

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, if you are wanting good optics, you should work with Good Old Gold. If you give them advance notice, they can call in some stones within your budget. I would not attempt to go to random jewelers since not many are going to specialize in top cut quality or have a variety of different types of cushions on hand. ERD would be good if you cannot go to Long Island, but you'd have to also call them so they could have some stones in for you to look at.

 

[kenny]

I'd also recommend getting out to Good Old Gold.
They really DO have diamonds with great cut, policies, service and prices.
They can bring anything in you have in mind if you call ahead.

Take a taxi if you have to; for your budget the fare will be a drop in the hat.

You can really get taken to the cleaners by the sharks in Manhattan's diamond district.
We have read people's sad sad stories here, over and over.
They get dazzled and bamboozled into overpaying for poor cut (and other specs) and when they learn better they find out that they can't return it.

 

[Sheherizaad]

Hi there. I'm a native NYer. The diamond district is very cut throat. A lot of competition and very little quality. Where the real quality stones are housed are actually upstairs above the stores where a good 85% of the inventory is. So essentially you want to look at the databases and to glean your overall must haves (i.e. square, not rectangular shape, broad not short flashes, color range X-x, etc) then call Good as Gold, Cellini, and again I can't recommend my Jeweler enough at Bianca's Jewelry on Lexington between 54th and 55th. Just call them in advance with your specifications and tell them what you're looking for and they'll pull them in.

 

[Hospatogi]

I also highly recommend Good Old Gold. Its where I ended up purchasing my diamond from and I can say that their customer service is outstanding and that they will work very hard to find you a stone that meets your expectations and budget. I found them to be well worth the trip to long island from nj and I couldnt be happier with my AVC.

 

[N5Y0]

Sparkly5, I am in the same boat. Was thinking of a trip to diamond district soon and am from NYC / LI area. Cushion is also a must have for me. Like you, Good as Gold was either too pricey or the stones were too small in comparison to other places I found online.

Please do let me know how your trip fares. I'd love to hear your input as we are in similar situations.

 

[oldminer]

You won't find a good selection of such diamonds in the entire diamond district. You may find several diamonds over the course of a day, but not be able to compare one to another. Meanwhile the pressure and hype will likely either make you annoyed or wear you down. Either way, that's not a good combination in making a correct buying decision. If you wanted a more common shape, like round, or princess, the story would be far different, but cushions of this quality are really rare in old cuts and not common in modern cut, either.
Your better choice would be to use the ability of vendors who sort of specialize in these cuts to source some stones for you. It might take a while, but could be well worth the wait.

 

[Sheherizaad]

You won't find a good selection of such diamonds in the entire diamond district. You may find several diamonds over the course of a day, but not be able to compare one to another. Meanwhile the pressure and hype will likely either make you annoyed or wear you down. Either way, that's not a good combination in making a correct buying decision. If you wanted a more common shape, like round, or princess, the story would be far different, but cushions of this quality are really rare in old cuts and not common in modern cut, either.
Your better choice would be to use the ability of vendors who sort of specialize in these cuts to source some stones for you. It might take a while, but could be well worth the wait.

I also want to second this. It took me EONS (read 7 months) to find the perfect cusion cut for me. Now, I was even more particular because I wanted a rectangular cushion (which is even rarer), so it may be somewhat easier for you if you're looking for one more square in shape. However, the moral of the story is: find a vendor you trust, and then keep mining until you find the one you love.

I'm biased because 1) I'm a NYer and 2) I love my jeweler. However, having said that, in my opinion, it's best to get a vendor who does not believe in pressure tactics and is central or close to NYC so you don't have to worry as much about shipping charges, insurance, etc. Allen (again, Bianca's Jewelry on Lex between 54th and 55th) never ever ever mentioned anything about charging me for shipping fees, etc. Likely because he didn't have to but he also never mentioned the idea if we happened to have gotten it from overseas.

Yes, technically, they may have to ship stones from all over the world till you find one you like, but statistically speaking, it's either NY or Isreal in terms of centralization.