Gerard mcCabe , Signia classic ring, overpriced or not ?

[Confused_LOLO]

Hi everyone, today I went for some ring shopping and research with boyfriend for a little while. Went into this shop Called Gerard McCabe (Adelaide , Australia ) and tried on some rings.
http://www.gerardmccabe.com.au/Jewellery/Signia_Classic_Ring29.aspx
He asked for our budget for the stone and any requirement we looking for from the diamond. My boyfriend told him that he is willing to pay around 7-9k aud on the stone, and the ring with the stone included should be less than 10k. And I am hoping with this budget, I can get a 1 carat cushion cut diamond as a solitaire prong setting, or a round brilliant in a bezel setting.

In a friendly tone, He told me that 1 ct diamond needs to be 18,000 AUD$ , and I should go to Shields With my budget.
http://www.shielsexpress.com.au/
I tried to ask where his diamonds are from, he told me is from everywhere around the world, mostly Canada.

Is this way overprice, or is this the correct price if I were to get a diamond ring from a local jeweller?
Boyfriend is leaning towards local jeweller just in case I need to find someone to check the prongs, and also if I am not satisfy with the sizing of the ring. But he has nothing against getting it from the Internet if that's what I prefer.

My requirement for the ring :
Color : i or above
Clarity : eye clean
Cut : ideal or excellent
Carat : stretchable around my budget, but hopefully 1ct or above

Is 9k $aud sufficient to buy the stone or ring from local jeweller as they tend to have higher mark up price than online retailers?


Thank you

 

[distracts]

So, I know most of the Australians on the forum buy online because they can get better deals, but jesus christ, that ring is ridic overpriced!

Your budget is more than enough to get an ideal-cut one carat diamond with a simple solitaire setting. I don't know how much taxes/customs will cost, but here are some options within your budget:

Round:
1.014 ct H VS2 - http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782647.htm
1.216 ct I VS2 - http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2645118.htm
Setting: http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/cameron-solitaire-engagement-ring-72.htm

Cushions:
1.32 ct H VS1 A Cut Beyond - http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/1.32-carat-h-vs1-a-cut-beyond-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-98718.html
1.23 ct F VS1 X Factor - http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/modern-x-factor-cushion-gid-81977.html
Setting: http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/abby-cathedral-solitaire-diamond-engagement-ring-bpid-39-17.html

Even if you buy from online overseas, you can still use a local jeweler to check the prongs and do any resizing or repair work that won't void your warranty (if there is one). If you get your finger sized before you order the ring, the sizing really should not be an issue. You do not have to buy jewelry from a particular place to have it checked or repaired by them (with the exception of designer brands). I understand your fiance's worries, but I wouldn't pay twice the value of a ring just for the convenience of buying it in person. I don't know any Australian PSers who have bought diamond rings in Australia, because of the price, so it MAY be the going rate for any quality ring.

 

[Confused_LOLO]

So, I know most of the Australians on the forum buy online because they can get better deals, but jesus christ, that ring is ridic overpriced!

Your budget is more than enough to get an ideal-cut one carat diamond with a simple solitaire setting. I don't know how much taxes/customs will cost, but here are some options within your budget:

Round:
1.014 ct H VS2 - http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2782647.htm
1.216 ct I VS2 - http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2645118.htm
Setting: http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/cameron-solitaire-engagement-ring-72.htm

Cushions:
1.32 ct H VS1 A Cut Beyond - http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/1.32-carat-h-vs1-a-cut-beyond-cushion-cut-diamond-gid-98718.html
1.23 ct F VS1 X Factor - http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/modern-x-factor-cushion-gid-81977.html
Setting: http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/abby-cathedral-solitaire-diamond-engagement-ring-bpid-39-17.html

Even if you buy from online overseas, you can still use a local jeweler to check the prongs and do any resizing or repair work that won't void your warranty (if there is one). If you get your finger sized before you order the ring, the sizing really should not be an issue. You do not have to buy jewelry from a particular place to have it checked or repaired by them (with the exception of designer brands). I understand your fiance's worries, but I wouldn't pay twice the value of a ring just for the convenience of buying it in person. I don't know any Australian PSers who have bought diamond rings in Australia, because of the price, so it MAY be the going rate for any quality ring.

Hi Distracts, thank you so much for the reply , it is very useful for me. I am a total newbie to diamonds, but recently been trying to research more about them I love The engagement ring direct , they seems to have quite a big variety settings available. Very pretty as well ! Maybe I can look at them before deciding on the simple solitaire prong I will definitely try to find out more about a cut above and a cut beyond, as well as x factor.

Moreover, After reading what you think about the price of the diamond and the quoted price from whiteflash, i prolly will not try to get my ring in Australia anymore.
Thank you so much !

 

[distracts]

You're welcome! I am sure that if you do a search on Australia using the PS search function you'll find a lot of posts about people who have been in your same predicament. I really don't understand why diamond prices in Australia are so high.

A Cut Above is Whiteflash's super-ideal cut. They all have ideal proportions and thus ideal light return and are hearts and arrows diamonds. There are lots of other places with super-ideals - Brian Gavin Diamonds, Good Old Gold, High Performance Diamonds (or anywhere that carries Crafted By Infinity diamonds), just to name a few. You can get close-to-ideal diamonds from most of these places for less, like diamonds that have ideal light performance but don't have perfect hearts and arrows.

A Cut Beyond is ERD's newly-cut antique-style cushion line. These are also specifically cut to have good performance. If you like antique cushions, they are a good choice (the other really good one is Good Old Gold's August Vintage line, but I think they cost a little more). They'll have bigger, chunkier facets than modern cushions, and will create bigger flashes of light and reflect more colors from the environment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT_zp-3zwBM

X Factor is ERD's modern cushion line. I don't know that I've seen any of them on PS but they look pretty good from the website. Brian Gavin Diamonds and Good Old Gold would also be places that could source really good cushions.