Is $11,500 a good price for this ring?

[mrsp]

setting: platinum, half-pave band with micropave prongs and basket. The quote for the setting alone was $3500.

stone: a 1.27 round, J color, VS1, Excellent cut, GIA cert. It had a large 'table' but not sure of the exact specs. We were quoted $9500 for the stone alone. I've used the pricescope diamond finder to compare, and found about 12 stones that were in this general range for a similar price, so it doesn't seem incredibly off, but would love any expert perspectives.

The total we were quoted for the whole ring was $11,500 (with discount for paying cash).

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You have the GIA report, right? If you give us the report # we can look it up.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Here are a couple of excellent cut 1.27 J VS1 diamonds:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1447042.asp ($7811 w/ps-wire discounts)

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1483405.asp ($6974 w/ps-wire discounts)

So retail on the diamond is $7000-8000, so you basically paid $3500 for the setting. I think whether the price was good depends on the quality of the setting. But it sounds like an okay deal for a retail jeweler, just not a great deal.

(Wait...have you bought this yet? Because you may can do better elsewhere, because $3500 may or may not be a good price for that setting. If you can show us a picture of it, we can show you similar ones.)

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Is the setting a "branded" piece?

What exactly were they discounting? (cuz the setting price seemed rather high--but you didn't speify the ctw of the stones or gm. weight of the setting....)

cheers--Sharon

 

[diamondseeker2006]

For $9673 you can get a 1.38 J VS1 GIA Excellent cut:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1421034.asp

 

[mrsp]

Thanks everyone for the help! To answer the questions:

They told us it was GIA certified but we don't have the certificate. Can we ask for that before buying?

It is not a brand name setting. Does that matter much?

The setting looks a bit like this, only it is just half, not 3/4 pave on the band; and it is only one row of pave, not 3 (as indicated on the notes for this ring on the website). Ours also looks a bit more vintage in style whereas this one looks modern.

Any additional help would be much appreciated!

 

[canuk-gal]

Thanks everyone for the help! To answer the questions:

They told us it was GIA certified but we don't have the certificate. Can we ask for that before buying?

It is not a brand name setting. Does that matter much?
The setting looks a bit like this, only it is just half, not 3/4 pave on the band; and it is only one row of pave, not 3 (as indicated on the notes for this ring on the website). Ours also looks a bit more vintage in style whereas this one looks modern.

Any additional help would be much appreciated!

Certainly, to the price. They may be less able to discount a more costly branded setting.

And yes, if the stone has been certed by the GIA lab, then they have access to the document. You'll want it.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Laila619]

Yes, you absolutely should ask for the certificate and see it before buying the stone.

 

[Md123456789]

Hi! I actually think that quote for a non branded single row pave ring is a little high... Is it hand forged? I recently was shopping settings and found better prices than that for hand forged single row settings with pave prongs. Just wanted to give you a heads up!

 

[mrsp]

oy - I don't even know what hand forged means!!

 

[Md123456789]

It means when the setting is made completely by hand with a continuous wife as opposed to cast in a mold. Some people around here tend to prefer hand forged for delicate pave work. As expected, hand forged is quite a bit more expensive due to the labor involved. My ring is hand forged and i love it but I think you can find some really nice cast pieces. However, there are better experts than me on the subject!

I can only speak from personal experience and the price you mentioned did raise some questions for me as to the quality of the setting. Brick and mortar stores tend to price their settings higher than price scope and NYC diamond district vendors.

 

[Md123456789]

Oops! *continuous wire

 

[Dreamer_D]

That is a very high price for a setting, it would need to be pretty dang special. I do not like "all in" pricing personally, makes it to hard to really know what's what.

Ask for the GIA report and to see the diamond in person before any money changes hands. Get a return policy in writing -- at least a week with 100% cash back no questions asked for the diamond. Ask about the return policy for the setting. Do not pay until you know exactly what the store policies are and what you are buying.

 

[VRBeauty]

You should specifically ask to see the GIA certificate, which is like a lab report that shows exact measurements, angle measurements, and a map of the inclusions. Some sellers will indicate a stone is GIA-certified if it has been graded by a someone who has gone through a GIA certificate program, so in effect they're telling you that the stone has been graded to GIA standards, but it won't come with a lab certificate.

I'm speaking from my experience here... someone might want to correct me or insert the proper terminology!

 

[Md123456789]

Yes, you need the GIA report. My fiancé purchased without knowing any info besides the carat weight, color, and clarity and it ended up being a disaster.