Memoire setting - who carries them? (diamond help too =) )

[lovehersomuch]

hi,

i have been shopping for an engagment ring and wedding band with my gf and we have found the ideal setting/wedding band. it is the memoire petite collection i believe. the pic is shown below of both rings. Jareds is the only retailer that we found that carries this designer - they work with them directly and are able to add a sizing bar on the ring in case my gf needs it resized down the line or we can keep it eternity style and get a diamond removed on the band later on if it is necessary. i will be hearing from the jareds sales person soon on pricing for both rings.

my question is who else carries the memoire designer rings - i''d like to see how much they go for and if they are cheaper online.

pic of the engagement and wedding band:
http://memoire.com/cms/Photos/_Collections/Petite-Prong-Collection.jpghttp://memoire.com/cms/Photos/_Collections/Petite-Prong-Collection.jpghttp://memoire.com/cms/Photos/_Collections/Petite-Prong-Collection.jpg

also, when we were getting information about the setting we decided to look at some loose diamonds they had. we found one particular diamond that seemed like a good deal.

here are the specs:
IGI certified
round 1.27ctw
F/ SI2, color and clarity
very good, very good polish/symmetry
$6,600

only issue is that it is IGI certified and i heard that their labs are not as strict and sometimes rate their diamonds higher then they are suppose to be. this particular diamond did ont have any inclusions under a microscope and seemed perfect but we have told labs like GIA are more strict and usually placed in higher regard.

i checked online and the only place that has diamonds around this price range with these types of specs is blue nile. i found diamonds that were cheaper - slightly smaller and GIA certified.

a lot of retailers wont warranty the ring if the diamond was purchased from a diff company and im not sure what jareds policy is in regards to this. if i buy the setting from jareds it would make sense to buy the diamond from them too so that it is all covered under warranty for life.

is this diamond too good of a deal to pass up or should i try to find another retailer that has both the setting i want and a great diamond for less?

jareds seems nice because it is convinient and dont have to worry about mailing something in in case we need to and i see everything in person and have a sales person i worked with physically. good thing about online is that there is a wide variety and no sales tax.

i dont want to go over $10,000 for the engagement ring with diamond and wedding band.. perferrably way under this

thanks for your help and sorry about the long read!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Pearlman's carries Memoire and they usually have very good prices. The site is listed under Resources and then vendors. I have a Memoire ring and they are very nice and have the advantage of having the diamonds set low so they do not ruin the engagement ring.

I would recommend looking at WhiteFlash or Good Old Gold for an AGS or GIA certified diamond. Both carry a nice selection of in-house diamonds and you can see photos and the certs, etc. for each stone. I wouldn't trust an IGI stone, and you can't compare that to a GIA or AGS stone. I'd be very afraid of an IGI SI2 because it could likely be an I1. If you go to G or H SI1, you should be able to find a wonderful ideal/excellent cut diamond. Then you could have the diamond sent to Pearlman's to be set in the Memoire setting or have the settings sent to WF ot GOG. Good luck!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Pearlman''s

http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com

Whiteflash

http://www.whiteflash.com/ (look at A Cut Above and Expert Selection)

Good Old Gold

http://www.goodoldgold.com/

 

[rainydaze]

if you are in new england, long''s jewelers carries memoire.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, here are a few possibilities:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-273567.htm ($6880 with discounts)

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2812/ ($6522)

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-53829.htm ($716

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-179726.htm ($6533)

 

[lovehersomuch]

thanks for the info...

so the sales ppl at jareds told us that memoire is the only designer of eternity rings where you can do resizing. they can even add an optional sizing bar...

is this true?

 

[lovehersomuch]

i wanna stay below 6,000 on the diamond if possible.. want to get the largest stone with the best specs possible.. ideally like 5,500 for the loose diamond. this all depends on what the price would be for the memoire setting.

having said that.. what does a memoire 1ct. eternity band go for online? pearlman doesnt really have a price listed on there..

 

[Kaleigh]

Best to call Pearlman''s and ask.

 

[rainydaze]

one other alternative to check out is facets.com they are known for their eternity bands, and i think a lot of people on PS buy from them. do a search on PS for facets and see what comes up. sorry, i don''t know about the sizing concern. do your research on this though, keeping in mind there are a lot of sales pitches out there but not all are necessarily accurate.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

No, I''ve never heard of a problem with Memoire. They are extremely well made and my jeweler said they are the best (and they carried several brands). I don''t know about the sizing issue because mine is not full eternity. But I''d ask Bill Pearlman that question when you call for pricing. I am sure the reason they don''t have the prices posted online is that there are so many different combinations of the petite prong settings. You need to tell him the total weight of the set you want, the stone quality, the size, and which metal. I have heard of problems with some other eternity sets rubing against each other, so I would probably stick with Memoire because they are made so that the diamonds cannot rub each other.

 

[mrssalvo]

memoire also has a lifetime warranty on the stones in their single prong settings so if one came out or was damaged they replace for free. However, when they tested the durability of the setting I was told they took a hammer and banged the setting and not a stone came out. they are perfectly safe for an ultrasonic cleaner too, which is a big plus in my book. you can read the method they use to make their rings on their website www.memoire.com, it''s very interesting and does explain some of the pricing..the setting are not cheap at all but seem to be well worth their price.