Help me decide - Looking for <0.5ct

[fire&ice]

You must buy from Tiffany's. They have the best stones. No stones available at any other store. Internet vendors, we throw shoes at the infidels. We roast their stomachs in hell. Actually, no internet vendors exist. Tiffany's is the only place that sells geniune diamonds.

To the PS women - I must now inform you are too far from reality to even suggest Tiffany's is not the place he must shop at. I throw shoes at the lot of you.

To Jlim - Tiffany's has the best quality diamonds at the best prices........I TRIPLE GAURANTEE IT!

Mo Al-Sahaf, Spokes person for Tiffany's (Former Iraqi Information Minister)


I'm beginning to think this thread is getting too far from reality.

 

[*Monique]

Jlim,

When do you plan to propose?

I agree with Mara and suggest you go to many stores to look at rings, loose diamonds, and settings. It will be helpful to compare the size, and quality of the stones.

I am in Detroit area, and I have a Scott Kay setting from Tappers that I love.

 

[slmulkey]

Comment on .5 carat size-

I went to a wedding a few weekends ago and the bride had a .5 ct diamond on her 3.25 ring size finger (they were unbelievably tiny!). I thought that the ring looked cute. I thought it was nice since I knew that he didn't make much money and was all that he could afford. That being said, cute is not how most women would like their engagement ring to be described.

So, I think that .5 isn't too small, but I do think that it is too small for you $4500 budget. If you are unwilling to try and find out what she wants, I think a .75 high color/clarity diamond (since you have a preference for high quality stones) would be a safe bet.

 

[jlim]

Ok, I lied. I'm gonna post 1 more time.

fire&ice - your stereo question. The only way another store can sell for less if it was a non-authorize dealer. Case in point. The speakers which I bought cost $1900 from authorized dealer. Non authorized dealers sell them for $1000-$1200. So, the markup percentage is about 1.7x. Comparing these to your Tiffany numers, a $4000 ring goes for $8000, it is 2x. So, what's the point of your stereo comparison? We as consumers do it all the time. We buy something from store A for $6 instead of store B across the town for $4.50. The markup 1.3x. But ok, you can dismiss it saying it is only $1.50. But I look at percentage markup. 1.3x is still 1.3x.

Anyway, I can go on and on debating you but I'm not going to. On last example is a lawn mower. Most lawn mower have a B&S engine on it. What makes a B&S engine in a Toro mower sell for $550 (Super Recycler) when a fully loaded Sears Craftman model sell for $350?? It's all marketing and brandname recognition and how they package the whole mower around the motor.

Any I do take offence in your last remark. I hate to have a civilize debate with someone when they have to resort to sarcastic remark in order to prove their *intellect*. Reminds me of the person I debated in a car forum. She's a Honda person and although I do like Honda, I recognize that European cars offer something that Japanese cars don't and vice versa. When cornered, she would say, "Fine! Go buy your german car and while you are waiting to be towed (as you know German cars are less reliable than Japanese cars in general) while I enjoy driving my boring but dependable Honda".

And for each and everyone of you to tells a person who bought or is thinking about buying a Tiffany that he is wasting his hard earn money, he's foolish, he's blinded by marketing etc. shame on you.

Also, I do notice a trend with buyers who chose ct. over clarity/color. Often time you'll say in your post, "I got this 1.7ct H&A blah blah blah I/VS2 BUT the I color looks so white you won't know". I see you defending your purchase each and every time BUT from my short time here and looking up Tiffany's post, I've yet to find ONE SINGLE post of any Tiffany buyer saying anything bad about your ring.

And I am sticking to what I believe. I want a D/E IF/VVS1 0.5-0.7 ct. ring because FOR ME anything below VSS2 are inferior. That's my belief. But if my gf. is dead set on a Tiffany (if I so find out), she'll get a Tiffany eventhough it would kill me to look at a ring that is I/VS2 (because I do not have a tree that grows money) which is no different to my eye (coz' I'm no expert) but I know deep down it is an inferior diamond.

Now, I'm gonna lay down on my sofa and listen to some music through my NON-BOSE speakers.

Monique - I'm planning middle of next month. The first time we went out together to watch a movie 2 years ago. Unfortunately the sequel of the same movie is coming out in July

So, it is either wait for the 2 years we went out or wait for the sequel to come out

 

[fire&ice]

Yep, you see sarcasim. I see reality - trying in a humorous way to maybe reach you.

Your mind has been made up. Do what *you* want.

I'm done. I have been informed this thread is *indeed* to far from reality.

Good luck.

 

[dimsummy]

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On 5/1/2003 6:20:29 PM jlim wrote:

And for each and everyone of you to tells a person who bought or is thinking about buying a Tiffany that he is wasting his hard earn money, he's foolish, he's blinded by marketing etc. shame on you.

Also, I do notice a trend with buyers who chose ct. over clarity/color. Often time you'll say in your post, "I got this 1.7ct H&A blah blah blah I/VS2 BUT the I color looks so white you won't know". I see you defending your purchase each and every time BUT from my short time here and looking up Tiffany's post, I've yet to find ONE SINGLE post of any Tiffany buyer saying anything bad about your ring.

And I am sticking to what I believe. I want a D/E IF/VVS1 0.5-0.7 ct. ring because FOR ME anything below VSS2 are inferior. That's my belief. But if my gf. is dead set on a Tiffany (if I so find out), she'll get a Tiffany eventhough it would kill me to look at a ring that is I/VS2 (because I do not have a tree that grows money) which is no different to my eye (coz' I'm no expert) but I know deep down it is an inferior diamond.
----------------

Huh?

I think the people here were very nice and trying to be helpful. You asked for honest opinions, not necessarily vindication.

Get whatever turns you on.

 

[pqcollectibles]

I know you read my post. I didn't defend a thing about my White Flash ACA H SI1. Rather, I was/am astounded that CUT makes a HUGE difference in perception of ANY diamond.

You really gotta get off your sofa and boogie on out to some diamond brokers, some Maul stores, and LOOK 4 YOURSELF!

You've gotta see the "Ideal" cuts that are called that because they are using "Ideal" as a marketing term. Yes the measurements may fall into the parameters, but when you look at them they don't sing to your eye. You get home and crunch the numbers in the Cut Adviser and you see why they didn't sing. Then you check the Price Stats and see that XYZ store is asking double or more what a similar diamond sells for online.

You've gotta see the true "Ideal" cuts that really do sing to your eye. Come home and crunch the numbers. Yes they are very good diamonds, but they are way more expensive than here.

Go to HELZBERG'S!!! Yes I said HELZBERG's!!! They carry Hearts and Arrows. And you will behold a sight for your eyes to see. But the price is still more than double vendors here.

My first advise to you was you could compromise and go larger. You didn't want that. You were dead set on stats. Fine. My second advise was to find out what your gal wants. You said you're planning to have someone shop with her and report back to you. Hooray!!

You still need to get off of that sofa and shop for yourself so you can see, live and in person, what the folks here have been telling you for 3 pages now. You cannot make this buying decision in the abstract, comparing Costco and Tiffany's and Walmart, stereo equipment and cars and jeans.

YOU HAVE GOT TO USE THE KNOWLEDGE YOU LEARNED HERE, YOUR OWN 2 EYES, AND CONSIDER YOUR GAL'S WISHES!!!!

You have a good budget to buy a really, really nice ring. A poor college student, NeedaRing, just got his gal's e-ring and they are on their proposal trip as we speak. He spent half what you are talking and he got a very nice ring. One of the PS appraisers checked the diamond for him and reported everything checked out A-OK here in Need's thread.

Whew! I'm done.

Guess I just joined the ranks of the number crunching Diamond Fanatics! LOL

 

[jlim]

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On 5/1/2003 5:41:29 PM *Monique wrote:

I am in Detroit area, and I have a Scott Kay setting from Tappers that I love.
----------------

Monique - Tappers sound familiar but the Tappers I'm familiar with is a restaurant. Is Scott Kay in any way connection to Kay Jeweller? I've been to Kay Jeweller in 12 Oaks Mall (ok Maul) and I didn't like the store, the people nor the merchandise I saw.

 

[*Monique]

Tappers is a jewelry store in West Bloomfield that has an enormous selection of settings, including designer settings, some offered at a discount not available in other jewelry stores.

Scott Kay is a high end designer of platinum settings and wedding bands. I think their settings are very beautiful. No relation to Kay jewelers that I am aware of.

 

[fishy]

0.5 (even 0.4) D/E IF/VVS1 in Tiffany? Not possible!

 

[valeria101]

Date: 5/1/2003 6:20:29 PM
Author: jlim

But if my gf. is dead set on a Tiffany (if I so find out), she''ll get a Tiffany

Well, regardless... as long as you ask and listen, there''s no way to go wrong.

 

[cinnabar]

I want to stick up for jlim - I would rather have a whiter diamond and if that means smaller, that''s fine by me.  My e-ring is a .94ct D VS2 (in yellow gold, shock horror).  I didn''t want anything larger, even though the budget would have covered a 2ct diamond if I''d wanted to trade colour for size.

I''m not American.  I''m not Asian either.  I try to respect other cultures'' preferences though.

I knew as soon as I saw jlim''s original post, that everyone would pound him for wanting a D/E diamond; most people on this forum prefer an H/I and it always looks to me like they exert pressure on everyone to conform to that "norm".

jlim, I agree with you about knowing you have a D even if no one else notices.  I love knowing I have the most perfectly colourless diamond, rather than saying "it''s an I, but no one would know".  To me, that''s like saying "it''s a CZ, but no one would know". 

I agree with the advice that jlim should get what his girlfriend -and he - would like and if she wants a 1ct stone and it fits the budget, that''s great.  But I don''t think that it''s an automatic assumption that she *will* want a bigger stone.  The "no diamond is too big" viewpoint does seem to me to be exclusive to Americans (which includes Asians who have grown up in America).

I don''t think smaller is always better either though ... I love big dogs and have a Maine Coon cat.

Like everyone else here, I''d be interested to know how this story turns out.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 1/22/2005 4:41:39 PM
Author: cinnabar
I want to stick up for jlim - I would rather have a whiter diamond and if that means smaller, that's fine by me. My e-ring is a .94ct D VS2 (in yellow gold, shock horror). I didn't want anything larger, even though the budget would have covered a 2ct diamond if I'd wanted to trade colour for size.

I'm not American. I'm not Asian either. I try to respect other cultures' preferences though.

I knew as soon as I saw jlim's original post, that everyone would pound him for wanting a D/E diamond; most people on this forum prefer an H/I and it always looks to me like they exert pressure on everyone to conform to that 'norm'.

jlim, I agree with you about knowing you have a D even if no one else notices. I love knowing I have the most perfectly colourless diamond, rather than saying 'it's an I, but no one would know'. To me, that's like saying 'it's a CZ, but no one would know'.

I agree with the advice that jlim should get what his girlfriend -and he - would like and if she wants a 1ct stone and it fits the budget, that's great. But I don't think that it's an automatic assumption that she *will* want a bigger stone. The 'no diamond is too big' viewpoint does seem to me to be exclusive to Americans (which includes Asians who have grown up in America).

I don't think smaller is always better either though ... I love big dogs and have a Maine Coon cat.

Like everyone else here, I'd be interested to know how this story turns out.

The story may already have "turned out." This thread is 20 months old.

Different strokes, right? There are people who like D color (even if no one can tell). Same thing for VS and above in clarity, ex/ex in sym/polish and levels of precision in patterning.

To borrow a phrase from Dancing Fire (one of our esteemed regulars) - It's all about getting a "mind clean" stone... What you "mind" matters.

It's up to you to determine values driving your personal level of "mind clean" - If that means getting a D VVS H&A that's wonderful. If "mind clean" means better price for a beautiful G SI1 Ideal that's wonderful too. If "mind clean" means Tiffany on the receipt, so be it.

How boring it would be if we all valued the same qualities equally.

Trust your own level of "mind clean" and don't "mind" others'