Helzberg diamonds

[nic3456]

OK, my girlfriend has picked out the exact ring she wants. The only problem is the one she wants is at a jewelry store in our local mall and they claim the design is one of their exclusive ones. (its the "Katherine" at Helzberg Diamonds. My problem is that I do not want to pay the over inflated prices they have (muchless sales tax) ($2999 for 1/2 ct center with 1/2 tw sidestones set in 18kt white gold) I went to bluenile and compared the center stone and looks like I can get the center stone of the same quality as helzberg for $900-$1100(certified) and buy 4 -1/8ct sidestones from dirtcheapdiamonds for $300(non-certified) leaving me with just trying to come up with the setting. My questions are how easy can a custom jeweler create that setting, what price could i get from them and is it normal for diamonds below 1/4 ct in weight to not be certified (does it make a difference if the the sidestones are not certified?) I would like to take the $$$ saved and spend it on a larger/higher quality diamond. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Help a man in love (but stressed!)

 

[nic3456]

Here's a link to the ring at helzberg....


http://www.helzberg.com/hdsim/jsp/catalog.do?link=catalog&product_id=1538429&BV_SessionID=@@@@0091941038.1083590272@@@@&programId=&channelId=%2FCommerce+Navigation%2F%3C%21--B--%3EEngagement+%26+Wedding&rootChannelName=%2FCommerce+Navigation%2F%3C%21--B--%3EEngagement+%26+Wedding&BV_EngineID=cccdadclgfmlfeecflgcefkdfkjdffk.0


(Nice length of the link!)

 

[valeria101]

I can't see the ring from profile, otherwise, it sounds like you need a solitaire princess with a couple stone channel set in the band. I can't pretend I saw the exact same, 'cause I haven't, but the difference is very, very slight to other 1000 slightly difference rings out there.

The small sides will come with the setting (since channel set), unless you have it made on order (which can turn out very cost effective, btw.).

I guess I should point out to your attention that Helzberg does not guarantee the exact weight of their stones. According to their own presentation (LINK), 1/2 cts means 0.45-0.48... and the price per carat gets a nice ckick at 0.5cts exactly. Split clarity and three color grades variation color grades and all and who cares about that 50% variation in price anyway! I know this is bulk merchandise for them... but is it for you

Anyway....

 

[nic3456]

Here's a picture of the ring, its kind of hard to tell how the center stone rises away from the sidestones....

 

[cmcwill]

Are you open to other designs or is she pretty much set on this one? She might need to see more settings to, have you tried looking at whiteflash, niceice, and goodoldgold.com (s)?

Colleen

 

[valeria101]

As mentioned, there are about 1000 close cousins of the respective setting, and the deal comming with the original makes me even less enthusiastic that it did you.

Here's one nice cousin:

Gold or plat, 6 channel set princess on sides and center stone LINK from the same shop.

There are a couple other close-by settings at the same shop, more or less expensive, but this one seemed the nicest and best made to me.

And a really well-done one:
Dvatche platinum princess setting and the charmer by the mark X-Prong with channel princess stones And a center from the same source (LINK)

I must say I like the center from source #1better, but the settings is what I most wanted to line up, so less care went into chosing the center stone. The same price range fits G-I, VS1/VS2 range - with quite a wide choice of (certified) stones between 0.5 and 0.6 cts.

At this point, I wold really appreciate if you shown these to the 'end user', 'cause each of the choices is very much better quality than the initial. I did pick on purpose the more popular types and brands and I suspect that the prices are quite a bit better than what you might have seen for the same.

Hope this helps

Also, at least DVatche is an independent source, so those settings are everywhere - no need to accept any sellers' abuse on quality 'cause the model is just so, 1% different than nextdoor