GratefulReader
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2004
- Messages
- 3
Hi everyone-
Long time reader, first time poster.
First I''d like to thank the people here for everything I''ve learned. Not only that, I''ve been entertained a lot.
Ok to the point. Since I learned almost everything about diamonds here, I wanted to share my experiences.
I am about to buy an engagement ring at Stuart Moore.
Now I know there''s that long nasty thread on Stuart Moore and a lot of people here have a bad taste in their mouths. But I believe his rings are very beautiful.
My girlfriend and I stopped in one day to check out the Kretchmer settings when she fell in love with Stuart Moore''s suspension setting. Basically she liked it a lot, and thus that''s what I wanted to get for her.
8 out of 10 of you are probably gonna say I paid too much or that Im stupid, but here are the specs and prices.
I''m looking at the following stone:
-GIA Cert
-2.03 carat Round Brilliant
-F
-SI1 (eye clean, fairly happy w/ 20x microscope inspection)
-57% table
-61.4% depth
-Excellent/Excellent
-Thin-Med girdle
-No culet
-No florescence
for $23,850.
The setting (it''s very pretty you should check it out) is $4660.
Plus California''s wonderful 8.5% sales tax.
After reading stuff here and GoG, I was very sceptical about the stones they would show me, especially since they only show me GIA reports (no BrillianceScope, IdeaScope, AGS, etc, etc) . I assumed they were gonna be good but not top notch. But I was very pleasantly surpised. The cuts they got me were quite nice.
At least nice for my untrained eye. But this is my amature eye + 4 weeks of reading pricescope+other sites non stop. So I figured I was slightly more knowledgeable than the average joe off the street.
The problem is that they only allow me to buy their diamonds and it''s quite a bit marked up compared to PS prices.
But I have no choice since Im shopping there for the setting, not the stone.
But I have no quarrels. I know it''s considerably expensive, but it''s the ring my GF wants and it''s the one that I want to get her. End of story.
The only perspective I wanted to bring to those non-experts here is to remember why you came to this site in the first place. We wanted to learn the most possible so that we can get the best possible diamond for our loves. It wasnt to become pseudo-diamond experts/investors.
For the same price (about $31k), I could have probably gotten a 2.5-3.0 carat E VS1 or something. And Im sure you''d have no problems linking me to sites that sell them. But the bottom line is that I wanted to get the ring (setting and stone) that my girlfriend wanted. I wanted to give her the experience to window shop. I want her to be able to go back and get her ring serviced at the store.
I want the whole package cause I thought that would make her happier than getting a "better deal".
So this post is starting to really suck... didnt turn out how I expected.. but what I wanted to say was to remember that price isnt everything, and not to completely dismiss B&M stores or even designer stores (the Harry Winston, Tiffany, etc of the world).
Give it a try. Maybe it''s not your thing. But that fine.
I came here. Learned a lot. Went back for forth for weeks. I finally decided to go "against the flow". But thanks to the posters here I am now confident that Im not getting both ripped off and getting a crap diamond. I know it''s overpriced, but it''s the stone I want. And that sense of knowing what Im paying for is simply priceless. And for that Im eternally grateful.
I''d love to buy a stone from GoodOldGold.com or WhiteFlash.com(or the other fine internet retailers) one of these days in the future.
Thanks again. And I hope to post again
Long time reader, first time poster.
First I''d like to thank the people here for everything I''ve learned. Not only that, I''ve been entertained a lot.
Ok to the point. Since I learned almost everything about diamonds here, I wanted to share my experiences.
I am about to buy an engagement ring at Stuart Moore.
Now I know there''s that long nasty thread on Stuart Moore and a lot of people here have a bad taste in their mouths. But I believe his rings are very beautiful.
My girlfriend and I stopped in one day to check out the Kretchmer settings when she fell in love with Stuart Moore''s suspension setting. Basically she liked it a lot, and thus that''s what I wanted to get for her.
8 out of 10 of you are probably gonna say I paid too much or that Im stupid, but here are the specs and prices.
I''m looking at the following stone:
-GIA Cert
-2.03 carat Round Brilliant
-F
-SI1 (eye clean, fairly happy w/ 20x microscope inspection)
-57% table
-61.4% depth
-Excellent/Excellent
-Thin-Med girdle
-No culet
-No florescence
for $23,850.
The setting (it''s very pretty you should check it out) is $4660.
Plus California''s wonderful 8.5% sales tax.
After reading stuff here and GoG, I was very sceptical about the stones they would show me, especially since they only show me GIA reports (no BrillianceScope, IdeaScope, AGS, etc, etc) . I assumed they were gonna be good but not top notch. But I was very pleasantly surpised. The cuts they got me were quite nice.
At least nice for my untrained eye. But this is my amature eye + 4 weeks of reading pricescope+other sites non stop. So I figured I was slightly more knowledgeable than the average joe off the street.
The problem is that they only allow me to buy their diamonds and it''s quite a bit marked up compared to PS prices.
But I have no choice since Im shopping there for the setting, not the stone.
But I have no quarrels. I know it''s considerably expensive, but it''s the ring my GF wants and it''s the one that I want to get her. End of story.
The only perspective I wanted to bring to those non-experts here is to remember why you came to this site in the first place. We wanted to learn the most possible so that we can get the best possible diamond for our loves. It wasnt to become pseudo-diamond experts/investors.
For the same price (about $31k), I could have probably gotten a 2.5-3.0 carat E VS1 or something. And Im sure you''d have no problems linking me to sites that sell them. But the bottom line is that I wanted to get the ring (setting and stone) that my girlfriend wanted. I wanted to give her the experience to window shop. I want her to be able to go back and get her ring serviced at the store.
I want the whole package cause I thought that would make her happier than getting a "better deal".
So this post is starting to really suck... didnt turn out how I expected.. but what I wanted to say was to remember that price isnt everything, and not to completely dismiss B&M stores or even designer stores (the Harry Winston, Tiffany, etc of the world).
Give it a try. Maybe it''s not your thing. But that fine.
I came here. Learned a lot. Went back for forth for weeks. I finally decided to go "against the flow". But thanks to the posters here I am now confident that Im not getting both ripped off and getting a crap diamond. I know it''s overpriced, but it''s the stone I want. And that sense of knowing what Im paying for is simply priceless. And for that Im eternally grateful.
I''d love to buy a stone from GoodOldGold.com or WhiteFlash.com(or the other fine internet retailers) one of these days in the future.
Thanks again. And I hope to post again