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Diamond_Paul

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 12, 2007
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Hi everyone - I''m beginning the journey of buying an anaversary ring for my wife. I''m not a big jewelry buyer - last diamond was 18 years ago (wedding set). But back then we were poor so the shopping adventure was fairly basic.
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I have a little bigger budget now, but to be honest I''m floored by both the cost of what I liked and just trying to understand all the characteristics. For this much money, I want to know what I''m getting. This has been a very helpful site - been reading it all night. Not sure if I''m better off yet or not.
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I could really use some new-guy advice. I''ve read all the tutorials and understand most of the terms. The only diamond I''ve really looked at in person was a Leo today at Jared. The Leo was $5600 (round, 1 ct, color I, SI2) which made me swallow hard, although I''ve read many spending much more than that. It was my first visit to a jeweler in a long, long time so I guess I had sticker shock.

I think I''ve scoped what I want to a circular shaped diamond, color G - I, 1 carat, SI is OK. I''ve read a bit about the other qualities. I''m reading a depth of 56% - 63% is what to look for with a grill of thin, medium or slightly thick. I want something that sparkles in all kinds of light - something with an "ooooh" factor. I''d like it to look big rather than have hidden weight. She seems to like a particular setting, so I''m after the right stone. I''d like to stick to $5 - $6000.

I know I may be leaving out some important details, but is what I''m describing about right? Can I expect a diamond with those stats to be in that price range? Should I be looking for something with better characteristics? What about a brand of diamond - read up on the Leos but are there others? Any and all advice would be welcome! Thank you!

Paul
 
Julie & Gypsey have given you a nice assortment.

More tips below my signature.

Paul, welcome to Pricescope.
 
Welcome to PS
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As you are probably aware, the Leo is a branded cut and you will pay more for that - fine if that is what you want, but you can still get a great performing diamond such as those suggested for less money.
 
Hi Paul,

Good for you for doing your homework, and for buying your wife a ring!

Branded diamonds cost more, and don''t necassarily look better than a really well cut non-branded.

I take it you''re shopping in retail stores at home? If so, if you stick to just looking at AGS000 stones, that should ensure a pretty diamond.

Also, you will pay more (a little or a lot depending on the retailer) for the same size stone as you would on the internet. You could definitely get what you want online with that buget, but maybe not in a retail store, unless you get them to match an online price, which some are beginning to do.


Good luck in your search.
 
Thank you all for the great start! I knew this was the right place to ask! Couple follow ups:

On the cut - do I want to stick to ideal to get the best "looking" (sparkle, etc.). Is there another cut to consider?

On the certs - does AGS vs. GIA mean much?

Paul
 
Date: 6/13/2007 7:56:48 AM
Author: Diamond_Paul
Thank you all for the great start! I knew this was the right place to ask! Couple follow ups:

On the cut - do I want to stick to ideal to get the best 'looking' (sparkle, etc.). Is there another cut to consider?

On the certs - does AGS vs. GIA mean much?

Paul
Click to expand...
'Ideal Cut" is a term which can be bandied about pretty loosely by some vendors and doesn't always guarantee you a well cut diamond. It is best to evaluate each on it's proportions separately. Ellen's suggestion to stick to AGS0 stones is a good one and cuts out much of the legwork. AGS and GIA are the industry leaders for grading standards, AGS have been grading for light performance for some time now, for GIA this has been a relatively recent endeavour. AGS0 and GIA EX make finding a beautiful diamond easier. For more info on AGS vs GIA, see this thread. GIA's data can be rounded such as crown and pavillion angles.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ags-and-gia-cut-comparison-charts.41793/
 
It has been a long time since your wife received a diamond, but that doesn''t mean she hasn''t been thinking about diamonds for the last 18 years. Since you''re talking about a significant purchase here, I''d suggest getting her input. Find out what she likes. The setting can be as big (or bigger!) decision than the stone. I bet she would have fun on this journey with you!

Some things to think about:

Is this diamond meant to replace (upgrade) her current engagement ring?
If not, will she wear it on her right hand?
If this is a right-hand anniversary ring, does she want a solitaire, 3-stone, eternity band, or something else altogether?

Good luck and have fun shopping!
 
Yes, you want to stick to AGS and GIA ideal/excellent cut. We''ve bought 3 diamonds online after looking extensively locally and could not find the same quality for the price. You can go to an H color at least with your budget.

Here are some more suggestions (we have bought from both). All hearts and arrows stones:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3000/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3002/

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-312257.htm#

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-312254.htm#
 
Date: 6/13/2007 2:11:25 PM
Author: hanione
It has been a long time since your wife received a diamond, but that doesn''t mean she hasn''t been thinking about diamonds for the last 18 years. Since you''re talking about a significant purchase here, I''d suggest getting her input. Find out what she likes. The setting can be as big (or bigger!) decision than the stone. I bet she would have fun on this journey with you!

Some things to think about:

Is this diamond meant to replace (upgrade) her current engagement ring?
If not, will she wear it on her right hand?
If this is a right-hand anniversary ring, does she want a solitaire, 3-stone, eternity band, or something else altogether?

Good luck and have fun shopping!
Click to expand...
This made me chuckle - if you knew my wife and what''s been going on you''d chuckle with me.
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She''s been hinting more frequently over the last 18 month - to the point now where she''s leaving print outs of settings she likes on my desk. So, I have a good idea of the settings she''s after. She''s also dragged me into every diamond store we pass from here to Portland. I''ve pretended to be disinterested, but secretly I''ve been paying attention.
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My plan is to get all the research out of the way (that''s the part I need to do for me), and then take her to a store prepared to purchase. I just want to be prepared to nagivate the diamond part of it. So she''ll get the final call before we buy - she''s not going to find it in a glass champagne or anything. I''m not physically capable of gambling $6K on the hope she likes it. I want the guarantee she''ll love it.

She wants to wear it on the left, and move her current wedding set to her right. Settings she''s been drawn to are more solitare but with accent diamonds flanking it. Not a true 3-stone in my opinion, because the flanking stones are going to be much smaller in comparison to the main diamond, which I (and she) wants to be the focus).
 
Hey Paul,

I see you are going to the retail route to buy jewelry, nothing wrong with this!!!!!!!! You need to see what is out there and the prices they are charging, plus taxes.

I did the same thing and came right back here and bought my ACA diamond(s) from Whiteflash and got a bigger and better diamond cheaper than what the retail stores in my area were charging for sub quality diamonds, plus NO TAX!!!

You cant beat PRICESCOPE VENDORS for service and quality!!! I know, I''ve tried!!!.....LOL

Good Luck
MWG
 
Date: 6/13/2007 5:50:35 PM
Author: MWG
Hey Paul,

I see you are going to the retail route to buy jewelry, nothing wrong with this!!!!!!!! You need to see what is out there and the prices they are charging, plus taxes.

I did the same thing and came right back here and bought my ACA diamond(s) from Whiteflash and got a bigger and better diamond cheaper than what the retail stores in my area were charging for sub quality diamonds, plus NO TAX!!!

You cant beat PRICESCOPE VENDORS for service and quality!!! I know, I''ve tried!!!.....LOL

Good Luck
MWG
Click to expand...
Hi MWG,

I have two "problems" that I''d have to overcome in order to do that. I''m all for more for less, so I''m interested. First, I''m just spooked by the prospect of buying something that expensive on line sight unseen, and then have to go get it mounted somewhere. Second, is also spending that much on something I have not cast my own eyes on. In the end, it has to look right to me (and more importantly, her). This will be more $ I''ve spent on jewelery than both of us combined for our entire life. So how did you get over those two things?
 
Date: 6/13/2007 6:29:15 PM
Author: Diamond_Paul

Date: 6/13/2007 5:50:35 PM
Author: MWG
Hey Paul,

I see you are going to the retail route to buy jewelry, nothing wrong with this!!!!!!!! You need to see what is out there and the prices they are charging, plus taxes.

I did the same thing and came right back here and bought my ACA diamond(s) from Whiteflash and got a bigger and better diamond cheaper than what the retail stores in my area were charging for sub quality diamonds, plus NO TAX!!!

You cant beat PRICESCOPE VENDORS for service and quality!!! I know, I''ve tried!!!.....LOL

Good Luck
MWG
Click to expand...
Hi MWG,

I have two ''problems'' that I''d have to overcome in order to do that. I''m all for more for less, so I''m interested. First, I''m just spooked by the prospect of buying something that expensive on line sight unseen, and then have to go get it mounted somewhere. Second, is also spending that much on something I have not cast my own eyes on. In the end, it has to look right to me (and more importantly, her). This will be more $ I''ve spent on jewelery than both of us combined for our entire life. So how did you get over those two things?
Click to expand...
Keep in mind vendors like whiteflash, goodoldgold, and jamesallen all have excellent return policies. If for some reason you aren''t satisfied you can return the stone. Second, you can also have them ship stones to an independent appraiser in your area so that you can see the stones in person before you purchase. You have to pay for this service (shipping cost), but it is an option for those who are nervous about buying online.

I have purchased diamonds from both jamesallen and whiteflash and I have been very satisfied with both. The independent appraiser commented on how beautiful the stones are and that I paid a very reasonable price. I''ve seriously never seen round stones as sparkly and beautiful as my round "a cut above" stones from whiteflash.
 
Date: 6/13/2007 6:29:15 PM
Author: Diamond_Paul

Date: 6/13/2007 5:50:35 PM
Author: MWG
Hey Paul,

I see you are going to the retail route to buy jewelry, nothing wrong with this!!!!!!!! You need to see what is out there and the prices they are charging, plus taxes.

I did the same thing and came right back here and bought my ACA diamond(s) from Whiteflash and got a bigger and better diamond cheaper than what the retail stores in my area were charging for sub quality diamonds, plus NO TAX!!!

You cant beat PRICESCOPE VENDORS for service and quality!!! I know, I''ve tried!!!.....LOL

Good Luck
MWG
Click to expand...
Hi MWG,

I have two ''problems'' that I''d have to overcome in order to do that. I''m all for more for less, so I''m interested. First, I''m just spooked by the prospect of buying something that expensive on line sight unseen, and then have to go get it mounted somewhere. Second, is also spending that much on something I have not cast my own eyes on. In the end, it has to look right to me (and more importantly, her). This will be more $ I''ve spent on jewelery than both of us combined for our entire life. So how did you get over those two things?
Click to expand...
Hi Paul,

Great advice from kcoursolle. And I totally understand your concerns about spending that kind of money.

I actually went to WhiteFlash and met with Brian the Cutter and looked at many ACA round diamonds. These diamonds are the best diamonds that I have ever seen. Brian hides nothing....... you can look at all the ACA diamonds you want and ask any question you want. Brian lined up a line of diamonds in the diamond tray, including the F color diamond that we came to see, he did not tell us which one it was. These diamonds are so well cut and they face up so white that I could not tell a F colored stone from an H colored stone. I love Hearts and Arrows cut diamonds, they are so impressive.

I suggest you search around your area for diamonds and prices and keep reading Pricescope. And if you can find a diamond in your area that is AGS000 quality (ideal) and you like and it is affordable, buy it.

A suggestion, take your wife on a romantic trip to Houston to meet with Brian. They have a Comfort Suites right across from WhiteFlash office. She will love it. It will be a trip that she will never forget and you will not forget it either.

I can only tell you about WhiteFlash, because it is the vendor that I dealt with, but there are other great vendors here on Pricescope as well.

Ask any question.......the people on here are fantastic!!!!!

Good Luck
MWG



 
P.S.
I attached a picture of our ring taken with the Cartier Trinity at Cartier in Houston. The ring setting is a custom design by Maytal and the 3 main stones are WhiteFlash ACAs. The ring completely blew away the sales person at Cartier. She could not believe how the light danced off the ACAs. And of course, the SMILE on my fiancee face was priceless!!!

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Another thought for you, since you don''t wanna pay sight unseen,.........

Check here:

http://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

To see if you have a PS Approved Appraiser near you.

Many of the Vendors will ship direct to a PS Approved Appraiser without requiring you to pay in advance. You go to the Appraiser''s office and view the diamond, live and in person for yourself.

That way, you get a professional perspective in addition to your own set of eyes.
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A third thought... where do you live. We have great vendors in NY, TX, MD/DC... if you live anywhere near those places... or near SF, CA (I believe the Joe Escrobar has a good rep on here as well) it might be worth a road trip! Oh and here''s Pearlman''s jewelers somewhere in the mid west.
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You all have been very helpful - thank you! I live near Seattle BTW.

OK, visited Jared on the way home. Given where we are, I don''t mind using a local jewler rather than on-line. I may pay a bit more, but part of the experience is for her and she loves to shop. The diamond is for her, not for an investment or heirloom. She also told me tonight that she''d rather have a big lower quality diamond than a small high quality one, so she''s not going to sweat the details like I am. I''d like enough quality to have a some "wow" factor. Had to chuckle a bit - she has no idea I''m even getting serious and researching it. The surprise will be great. Anyway, on to my what I found at Jared. I looked at three diamonds in a price range from ''acceptable'' to ''upper limit''. Here they are - do you all have any opinions? To be honest, they lined up all three side by side and I was hard pressed (with my untrained eye) to tell the difference. The Peerless was spactacular, but not $3K more spactacular than the IGI. Thoughts?

1) Peerless 1.01 ct round SI1 color: G AGI000 - $7200
2) Leo .99 ct round SI2 color: I (no other stats available) - $5600
3) IGI cert 1.03 ct round SI2 color: H polish: ex symetry: very good - $4500

Thanks again!
 
The Peerless is out of your price range, anyway? I personally think if you're going to patronize local, go to local craftsmen/shop owners, not chains.

I think when she means big, low quality, a 1.3-1.5, I/J SI2. 1 ct is nice. But it's not exactly big.
 
Here''s a shop you might cruise the counters of:

http://www.foxsgemshop.com/

They carry GIA and AGS graded diamonds. They also offer branded Hearts on Fire and Canadian diamonds. You might be able to look at different levels of cut quality and color ranges to see what would appeal to you.

And here''s a website with a list of shops in Seattle, Fox included, for you to check out:

http://www.myseattlewedding.com/categories/jewlers/index.html

There are some interesting looking possibilities there as well.

HTH''s!!
 
Well, first I want to recommend using Blue Nile as a way to guage price ranges. The site is extremelly easy and it adjust the diamonds listed per characteristics immediately and you can expand it to have pretty much everything described. It is VERY user friendly and is a great way to determine good pricing.

Also, it is important to mention who "certed" a diamond as what color and clarity. I was originally just like you, thinking that I would never purchase a diamond ring online...until I started actually talking to jewelers. They were some of the worst people I have ever met, I have actually met only one nice jeweler around here, the rest were far worse than car dealers. What I found to be a general trend though was that they would "certify" a diamond themselves and then try to brush over the details of what that really meant. Also, some agencies are known for having lower standards on grading (I am guessing they probably bunch all three colorless as one color grade of D, thus throwing the whole scale out of wack). After all, in about 15 seconds I found a GIA reported pear 1.37 cts G color SI1 clarity for 6K, which tells me right off you are getting some bad deals and misinformation from your local guy.
(my advice is to not even consider anything less than SI1, but maybe go to I or J in color for the quality compromise)
1.37 Pear


I would say you need to at least CONTACT some online vendors. Maybe they will understand and let you pick three or so key stones who''s stats are amazing, then show her all of the knowledge you have acquired and take her to see the stone''s, and perhaps to a jewelery store afterward if she still wants. In that way the decision can be a combination of scientific analysis, intelligent spending, and her personal preference. I don''t know how all of this would really work out but given the gigantic difference in, size (33% more), Quality (GIA cert with the same specs), and price (1,200 dollars less) of online, I would def find a new local store or find some way to stick with the guys online.

The first thing I would recommend though is going to Blue Nile, set your budget and shape constraints, and find the largest diamond you can find, at 6500 max it yields a a 1.58 J VS1 for 6200, then run searches for lowest price within your budget range, highest, all of that, and see how great the deals really are online. This will give you a great way to understand the value of what the local stores are offering. Also, makes sure you study what those ratings mean in GIA certs, or you won''t really be able to appreciate it.
 
Well the journey ended today with a purchase. I really want to thank everyone for the help - was greatly appreciated. In the end we went to Jared. I would have been OK with the on-line purchase route, but my wife is a shopper and I wanted her to have the kind of experience that she''d most enjoy and remember. I did a lot of poking around Blue Nile and Whiteflash and really didn''t see the kind of difference that I expected when comparing stones with identical statistics. Enough to make me feel OK about what I was seeing at Jared anyway.

She actually had one diamond picked out, but when I saw it I actually encouraged her to get a little better one (much to her surprise). We wound up with a 1.26 ct, color: G, SI2, symetry: ex, polish: vg stone. She picked a great setting with about 8 accent diamonds (4 on each side) - I think the total weight is around 1.75. Sparkles like you wouldn''t believe.

What made it all worth it is that she cried when I said, "let''s get it".
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First time she''s cried for being happy in a long time.

Thanks again for all your help!

Paul
 
Great Story!!!!!! Diamonds are so special and they are the universal symbol of LOVE!!! Glad to hear that she loves it!!! Enjoy

Thanks for sharing
MWG

P.S. - You owe Pricescope one thing!!!!!
PICTURES!!!!!

and lots of them!!!!

 
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