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Help... In a hurry.

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rmcdo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
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32
Some time ago, I decided it was time to purchase ''one of those'' rings for a certain someone. So far so good...

I''m not a big fan of all the wedding hype and other baggage that come with mined stones. I have a PhD in engineering, so the idea of a man-made stone appeals to me. She has a PhD in chemistry, I hope it will appeal to her too. So, I had decided on a synthesized stone. So far so good...

Budget... Not sure what to say here. I have more in savings than I think she would feel comfortable wearing on a finger. Don''t really have a rational way to set a budget - need to do that before being thrown to the wolves. Point is, price wasn''t the reason for going synthetic.

Now the complicating factors...

I don''t think either one of us would want a colored stone. Rare they may be, white is for me.

I want her to be a part of choosing the stone/ring, but I still want it to be as much of a surprise as possible.

I live in a small town in CA. She lives in Baltimore MD. Things start getting complicated...

My ''plan'' was to contact some jewelery stores in Baltimore and arrange to have some stones ready to look at when I come to visit (Thanksgiving weekend).

I came up with this some time ago, but have done absolutely nothing to make it happen until today. Hence the hurry...

Now that I''m looking into it, I can''t find a suitable store (that works in synthetics). I don''t know that white synthetic stones matching my hopes exist. Reading online about the individuality of each stone caused by its cut leaves me with much apprehension about buying online (or in person for that matter).

Rather than being pressured into picking a stone after visiting a store or two in an unfamiliar city, I''ve changed the plan a bit.

''Plan B''... Buy a loose stone before traveling to Baltimore. Present it to her and go shopping for settings during T-day weekend.

So, is it possible to do a good job of buying a stone (mined or synthetic) in this time frame?

Given:
1) I live in a small town.
2) My full time job is pretty demanding (> 60hrs/wk)
3) I need stone in hand before boarding the plane Nov 25 early AM

If it is possible, where do I go to find the best selection (and best) synthetic stones?

If it isn''t possible, what do you recommend?

From what I can find, these are the manufacturers:

Apollo - White diamonds, < 0.5ct, sold in jewelery only. No retailers. No details of stones given online.

Gemesis - Colored diamonds, retailers exist - not where I need them.

Other smaller places which sell various colored stones:
Chatham Created Gems
Lucent Diamonds
New Age Diamonds

Thanks.

Rob
 

EEFranklin

Shiny_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
125
Rob,

D.NEA sells man-made diamonds in white as well as blue and yellow. Ourselves and Apollo are the only ones currently with gem-quality whites. Our loose diamonds are listed online with full details and in many cases, actual photos. We have whites up to .60ct currently, and what is online will most likely be all that is available before Thanksgiving.

If you wanted something larger, you could possibly consider a light blue, which is an icy white color, or trade it up later for a larger size. Plus, you can return it after Thanksgiving if she doesn''t like it.

Also, Lucent treats mined diamonds and are not lab-grown, just ''lab-colored''.
 

neatfreak

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Messages
14,169
Rob-if you are willing to go with a mined stone there are MANY very reputable online vendors who can provide you all the information you want and more to help you purchase the stone you want within the timeframe you want. If you head on over to RockyTalk here there are many people there that can help you pick a fabulous stone (if you want to go mined).

I would start with Brian Gavin Diamonds-Leslie and Brian are some of the most fantastic people around, with beautifully cut stones and great prices. And Leslie will call you after hours if you need to. They will make it easiest but other vendors are fantastic too, Good Old Gold, Engagement Rings Direct, High Performance Diamonds, etc.

If you want a white MMD you are going to have very slim pickings unfortunately.
 
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