Local Jeweler or Blue Nile?

[brandonman22]

I''m in the market to buy a new beautiful engagement ring for around $10,000 - $12,000 for the love of my life. I live in Salt Lake City, UT and my parents happen to trust a local custom jeweler where they''ve spent 400k or more with. They''ve always been happy with the quality they''ve gotten from them, but they''re also on a much higher pay scale. They''re ok with dropping 70k for a diamond, where as me, I want the best bang for my buck. With my parents having such a positive experience with this custom jeweler, I thought I would give them a chance and see what they could provide me with. Well originally, I talked to the owner, telling him my girlfriend and I had our eyes on the Tiffany Novo setting and wondered if he could duplicate the setting. He said they could duplicate it without a problem. Later I would find out they could duplicate it in platinum for around $300 less than what the Novo ring runs for ($2910). I then went on to tell him that I was looking for a really good quality cushion cut diamond in the 1.00-1.5 carat range. This was before I educated myself on the 4 C''s (cut, color, clarity, and carat weight) of diamonds. Well, apparently the owner flew to L.A. for a diamond buying trip and brought back 4 cushion cut diamonds, thinking they would work well with a setting like the Novo ring. Well I went into his store (accompanied by my father) and they pulled out 4 different cushion cut diamonds. All 4 diamonds had a clarity of SI1 and a color of G. The first one was 1.25 carats that was $9,700, the second was 1.26 carats that was $8,800, the third was 1.51 carats that was $12,000, and the forth was 1.52 carats and that was $15,000. Right off the bat I was disappointed in the clarity and color of the diamonds, especially for the price. Earlier in the day I had been looking on BlueNile.com and saw all the great different cuts, clarities, and carat weights on there, not to mention the polish and symmetry grading. So now I''m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I''ve had many friends say they would never buy a diamond online and then I have a supervisor who actually did this past year and was very happy with the end result. So is it really better to go with a online vendor where I can get a GIA (Geomological Institute of America) Certificate with the diamond. I know the GIA Certificate is good because it is an unbiased evaluation from an independent third-party as to the diamond''s true color, cut and clarity. Without one a diamond seller could sell you a lower grade color or clarity and claim that it was higher. I''ve also been told that the GIA certificate is valuable because it identifies unique characteristics of the diamond, thereby making it easier to insure and replace if it is stolen. What would any of you recommend?

 

[kcoursolle]

If you want a gorgeous ring and to get more bang for your buck I would recommend Mark and engagementringsdirect.com. He is known as the "cushion guy" around here and has produced some really beautiful e-rings with cushion stones and he also does some fantastic custom designs. Unlike bluenile, he will be able to provide you with information about each stone that blue nile can''t, such as pictures, sarins, ideal scope images, etc.

Other great places to find an awesome cushion would be goodoldgold.com, whiteflash.com, and jamesallen.com. For rounds and smaller purchases bluenile is excellent because their inventory and prices are rockin. However, they don''t provide images or additional information about their stones, and they also don''t have an upgrade policy. The other vendors mentioned are usually pretty similar to bluenile in price and are a great value since they also provide a lot of information on thier stones. This is especially important when you are buying a fancy cut stone.

 

[brandonman22]

Thanks for the help. Which sites offer photos of the actual diamonds?

 

[MP]

Wow, $12,000 on an SI1 1.51 carat cushion. That is a rip off plain and simple my friend. I don't think you will find a better vendor for cushions than Engagement Rings Direct. I recently bought a 1.55 H VS2 polish and symmetry EX/EX cushion brilliant and it was a lot less than $12,000. The stone that I bought is a cushion brilliant which are a lot harder to cut than cushion modified and tend to sparkle like a round stone. They cost more than other cushions and I paid substantially less than $12,000 for my stone.

It's a funny thing that you mention bluenile since I almost bought the exact stone that I bought from ERD from bluenile a couple of months ago. They must all have the same databases of stones. By going with ERD I saved $600 over bluenile's price. I only found out that it was the same stone because I went back to compare it to the one I saw on bluenile just to see if the stone I purchased measured up. Wouldn't you know it bluenile lists the stone as no longer available and it has the exact same GIA cert as the one I bought from ERD.

Call ERD and talk to Gary or Mark. They are both great. GoodOldGold has some very nice cushions as well.

 

[LegacyGirl]

Mark is great. He got my cushion for me and I couldn''t be happier!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would highly recommend Jonathan at Good Old Gold. This is a brick and mortar store that has competitive prices due to selling on the internet. They carry top quality stones and more than one kind of cushion and can call in more with the specs you want. They happen to have one right now that is really gorgeous right at the top of your price target:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3790/ 1.64 E VS1 $12,654

We have purchased from them and are 100% pleased!

 

[brandonman22]

I''m actually looking for a cushion cut, 1.00 - 1.5 carats, D-H color range, IF-VS2 range, and under $8,000?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Another gorgeous one closer to your price target:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3930/

 

[brandonman22]

Isn''t there a Mike who works at EngagementRingDirect too?