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I picked a ring (leo diamond), please advise if I''m getting value for my money

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antnee629

Rough_Rock
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Aug 12, 2006
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So I put this ring on layaway... but there''s part of my that maybe feels I''m paying way too much for a small center diamond on this... its .47 center princess (G-H color, VS1-VS2) and .54 tw for the side stones (G-H, SI1-SI2).

from mall retail location
With warranty, tax and ring = $4300
3799.99 ring
189 "lifetime" warranty

potential to drop it by 10% closer to the holidays...

please advise


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i love the platimun prongs and the yellow gold of the leo ring.

i wouldn''t bother with the warranty. you can''t keep up with the services, and all the stuff you are suuposed to do to keep the warranty valid. miss one time and poof there goes your warranty.

if you do go with julie''s suggestion i strongly recommend platinum prongs.
 
JUlie has done a wonderful job showing you that you can get an excellent stone at a much higher carat weight and probably better quality as well. IGI is not as respected as GIA and AGS as a grading lab, so you really can''t be sure about the diamond in the Leo ring. There''s no question that I''d choose the one Julie has selected, and there are others from other vendors that would be better as well.
 
wow, i dnd''t realize that the stone could be less than what the certificate said... what is the formula anyways?

with the online merchants, how do i know for sure that the diamond/certificates i am looking at is the one i''ll actually receive? I would really like to get her a bigger stone, but i don''t want to sacrifice the quality (and yes i''d like her friends to be wow''d when she shows them too :-) )

any other things that i should be looking for? or other recomended sites? and THANK YOU everyone for your input! and especially thank you for sharing how igi is viewed
 
If you want to wow
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her and her friends, I wouldn't get an IGI graded diamond. Look at Whiteflash and Gold Gold. These companies have sold diamonds to many of us here and they are very trusted. Online companies like these will have cheaper prices quite often and much more information available about the diamonds they sell. You can get a bigger diamond with an excellent cut (the most important of the 4 Cs) than you would find locally. What part of the country are you from?

And yes, those warranties are often useless. You have to jump through hoops to maintain them. And then, you are not often covered if the ring is lost or stolen. Get insurance after you buy the ring and you will have no worries.
 
There is no formula for princesses (there is for rounds that will get you pretty close) but I've looked at princesses around .4 recently (another poster) and they're all bigger than 4.00 mm. Also when using small princesses for sidestones or something, 4.00 mm is a standard, calibrated size and those are sold as 3/8 of a carat.

If you are really nervous about getting the diamond that you bought, you should take it to an independent appraiser. I wouldn't suggest things from a vendor who didn't have LOTS of happy customers, though.

For 4300, you could get a 1 ct and put it in a simple solitaire.

When looking for princesses, I usually check inventories of www.exceldiamonds.com, www.goodoldgold.com, www.whiteflash.com, www.infinitydiamonds.be and sometimes Blue Nile.
 
you can have most stones appraised at an independent appraiser before purchase. Thats what we did for peace of mind. Also, many stores have a money back guarantee, so you can look at it yourself and decide.

the lifetime guarantee is useless- that's what insurance is for. if you read those policies closely, you will note that they do not cover loss or theft. So, if you lose the ring while on vacation, you are out of luck. So, you would need jewelry insurance anyway, so it is kind of pointless, because jewelry insurance already covers chipped stones or lost stones as well as theft or total loss.

i would check out http://www.exceldiamonds.com , as thats where i got my ring and Barry has some nice princesses. Also check out the vendors on this site- on the front page, you can put in your parameters *budget, size, quality* and see what they have in stock. whiteflash, goodoldgold, and james allen are all recommended highly here.

i would also highly recommend NOT going with the first option. for over 4K, you should get a much bigger and better stone if you do a little research. oh, and there is no tax online.
 
One way to choose a princess stone is to look for an AGS certificate with a grade of AGS0. That will be a top grade princess cut stone. I'll see if I can find an example so you'll know what to look for.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1989/

You can click on the little pictures and one of them will be an AGS certificate with a cut grade of 0 (which is the best).
(Good Old Gold can also get you the Vatche setting with 2 princess side stones.)
 
"Grading as mounting permits." Hmmm...on a substantial new purchase wouldn''t you want to know the "actual" weight and grades rather than "estimated?"

As I always say..it''s your hard earned money. Take your time, do some research, and choose wisely
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Good luck!

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com
 

Read that IGI document carefully. Don’t forget the microscopic text on the back. “graded as mounting permits” is not the only zinger you’re likely to find. Look especially for the section about what they mean by their value conclusion and what is the nature of their guarantee of the grading. If they don’t answer either of these questions, assume the worst.


The price listed serves the same purpose as Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price on many other products. Consider their suggestion to be important if you want but this is no more an unbiased opinion than advertising for any other product. What is the forumla for calculating a potential discount? This depends entirely on how the original number was determined. Many ''appraisers'' are very creative people and the procedures can vary wildly.


Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
Date: 8/12/2006 9:15:34 PM
Author: pinkflamingo
oh, and there is no tax online.
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Pink,

This isn''t entirely correct. Every state that has a sales tax also has a use tax for the exact same amount. Although the merchants are not required to collect tax for sales to customers in states where they have no presence, the buyer still owes the tax. Check with the website of your state department of revenue for details on how you are expected to remit the taxes in your own state. They aren''t all the same.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
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