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Help me buy a tennis bracelet tomorrow in NYC……! (And not get taken for a ride!)

BeckiOz

Rough_Rock
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Jan 26, 2022
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So we made it to NYC as planned and had a chance to quickly pop into a couple of stores today.

I’m after a 4-prong setting tennis/line bracelet. White gold 7ins.
We live in England, and I have struggled in my home town to find any to try on above 5/6ct, and thought I might want a little bigger, so was looking forward to trying on some more for size On this trip to NYC for my 40th.

Budget $10-15,000 for the right one, but happy to spend less!

On the tips here, I emailed ID jewellery in advance and gave my wish list, and they said come on in, Monday quieter than Sunday.
We struggled to find the store today - had to call them in the end, as there’s not even a plaque by the door! We only had a few minutes before closing, but the only possible over 6ct he had was 7.95ct lab grown diamonds, I think he said $5600.

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I don’t know anything about lab grown, apart from that they’re cheaper than natural, but he did his best to pitch it. he said he will have more choice tomorrow afternoon, so we’re going back tomorrow

On the way out, we passed Diamonds by Siag next door so stepped in quickly, as I was keen to try slightly larger to make sure that I was happy they also had similar size/setting, but in natural diamonds 8.4ct and quoted us $12,700 (they said they wouldn’t recommend/don‘t stock lab grown.

(Didn’t get a pic!)

So, when we go back, we’ll have more time to get info on colour /clarity etc, but I’d love some quick advice about Lab vs natural and thoughts on price for what I’m looking for? Any other stores in the same area to look at?

As the guy helpfully said in the store about the lab grown …. ‘Someone could tell you these are high quality natural diamonds and you’d never know’
I was already aware of it, but it has us feeling nervous to make the right decision tomorrow/Weds - they might each be really good honest but different quality bracelets, or we could be being taken for a ride as inexperienced buyers….

When you’re looking at bracelets in 2 stores, it’s hard to compare, and I certainly wouldn’t have recognised that the 2 nd bracelet was worth double the first!

(For fun, we also took a look in Tiffanys - the only one they had to show us (apart from much much bigger) was a 6.22ct Victoria line bracelet with 0.31ct flower clasp 2carats smaller and the price was……

0E06FB5F-45A0-4424-8C94-349DD4BA15E5.jpeg

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………$42,200!! I know they use the highest quality stones, and was platinum set, but still!)
 
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DejaWiz

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Apr 23, 2021
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Wow...that IDJ LGD bracelet is stunning!

Lots and lots of great Jewelers in and around NYC. You may want to reach out to Diamonds by Lauren and Distinctive Gem, which are both in the area.
 

oncrutchesrightnow

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Apr 17, 2006
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I remember your initial thread and the rest of your classic collection. IMHO the 6 carats looks perfect on you for the outfit you had on when you tried the bracelet. The near-eight carats looks noticeably bling. If you want more wear out of the bracelet, you might go with a six carat one. But if your dream is to get a big ol’ blingy tennis bracelet, the eight carat does not look tacky or anything.

re LGD vs EGD, I love my LGD tennis bracelet. Whatever you do, don’t sacrifice quality. Get either a smaller EGD or a bigger LGD but do not get mediocre diamonds just to go bigger. Just my opinion, tho.
 

BeckiOz

Rough_Rock
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Jan 26, 2022
Messages
16
I remember your initial thread and the rest of your classic collection. IMHO the 6 carats looks perfect on you for the outfit you had on when you tried the bracelet. The near-eight carats looks noticeably bling. If you want more wear out of the bracelet, you might go with a six carat one. But if your dream is to get a big ol’ blingy tennis bracelet, the eight carat does not look tacky or anything.

re LGD vs EGD, I love my LGD tennis bracelet. Whatever you do, don’t sacrifice quality. Get either a smaller EGD or a bigger LGD but do not get mediocre diamonds just to go bigger. Just my opinion, tho.

Thankyou.
I don’t think I’d wear it often by day, more of a special occasion, usually evening piece, hence being tempted by the slightly larger size. Agree the 6.5looked fab too - just perhaps not $42k of fab!
 

oncrutchesrightnow

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Thankyou.
I don’t think I’d wear it often by day, more of a special occasion, usually evening piece, hence being tempted by the slightly larger size. Agree the 6.5looked fab too - just perhaps not $42k of fab!

Oh yeah, not 42k of fab. :) And IDJ’s diamonds have a good rep so you don’t need Tiffany’s anyway. Have fun tomorrow!
 

RMOO

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Can't wait to see what you find today!
 

AprilBaby

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I would have no problem with the first one. A diamond is a diamond.
 

pinkjewel

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Well, the big difference it would seem between lab and natural diamonds (besides all the obvious ones) is that the resale value of lab diamonds is pretty poor- or at least not on the same level as a natural diamond. So, if that is at all important to you it certainly is something to consider. Now, as they get more common and there is a larger market and demand might that change? Possibly, but who knows for sure? I would personally stay with natural diamonds, but in the end it's you who needs to decide what your comfort level is. Good Luck with your shopping! I am sure you will find something beautiful whichever way you choose to go. Please come back and show us what you choose.
 

Rockdiamond

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is that the resale value of lab diamonds is pretty poor-
Without a doubt, this is a very common point raised about Lab Grown Diamonds.
But to be fair....selling natural diamonds is also extremely tough for consumers....

Or better put: consumers of Natural Diamonds who are trying to sell them are ( in the vast percentage of cases) going to lose money compared to what they paid.
We could just as easily make the case that someone selling a Lab grown diamond for which they paid $5k, (which compares to a $25,000 natural diamond) has a lot less to lose......
 

pinkjewel

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Without a doubt, this is a very common point raised about Lab Grown Diamonds.
But to be fair....selling natural diamonds is also extremely tough for consumers....

Or better put: consumers of Natural Diamonds who are trying to sell them are ( in the vast percentage of cases) going to lose money compared to what they paid.
We could just as easily make the case that someone selling a Lab grown diamond for which they paid $5k, (which compares to a $25,000 natural diamond) has a lot less to lose......

lol- David, I actually did think of that.

You sell both, so I have a question for you. Do you offer a trade in(up) for lab diamonds like you do for the natural diamond rings you sell? Do other places that sell both lab and natural diamonds? I have no idea, but I am curious.
 

Rockdiamond

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lol- David, I actually did think of that.

You sell both, so I have a question for you. Do you offer a trade in(up) for lab diamonds like you do for the natural diamond rings you sell? Do other places that sell both lab and natural diamonds? I have no idea, but I am curious.

I didn't mean to threadjack- and this is a great subject/question.
From my perspective, there's no difference when it comes to trade up....but this really does deserve its own thread as different vendors have differing policies.
 

BeckiOz

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Jan 26, 2022
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Yes we did!!

We'd had a tricky start to our holiday (missed our flight due to a 5 hour hold-up on the motorway on the way to the airport) so we lost a day of an already short trip. This meant we only had 3 days in NYC to shop!

I'd like to shout out to David Friedlander @Rockdiamond at Diamonds by Lauren - he was fantastic and had a couple of natural diamond bracelets in for us to look at, but we didn't give him enough notice to be able to get the lab grown in store for us to try.

A really great guy though - super knowledgable and honest, no pressure to buy something that wasn't quite right for us when we came to the conclusion that we were happy with lab grown, and that the timescales were too tight to come back the next day. Highly recommended.

The guys at ID jewellery were also fantastic, and after trying a couple of alternatives they found for us, and i hard sell, we went for the one that IDJ showed us on the first day-, just short of 8ct lab grown, D/F, VS, and I love it!!

H took a bit of persuading from both David and the guys at IDJ on lab grown diamonds, but I think he's happy now to have a smiling wife, but a lot more cash left in his pocket!!


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oncrutchesrightnow

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Beautiful! More photos!

BTW did you mean to attach the one photo with red marks?
 

BeckiOz

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Jan 26, 2022
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Beautiful! More photos!

BTW did you mean to attach the one photo with red marks?

Doh! No, that is a photo of a friend's child who came up with a weird rash that she wanted me to diagnose :lol:
I'm too late now to edit / remove the post, so apologies to anyone grossed out by rashes!!

Will try to take some more pics soon!
 
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AprilBaby

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What a gorgeous bracelet!
 

Dandi

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It's stunning, what a beautiful choice!! :kiss2:
 

BeckiOz

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Jan 26, 2022
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Thanks everyone, I'm totally in love!
 
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