I just completed a 1 month US trip that ended in NYC for a diamond purchase and proposal.
I had learnt alot from here and intended to buy from GOG but after consideration decided that tiffany (which by coincidence
my finace and I both love) was a good practical choice given that they were near our hotel and the stones are set thus meaning less time out of our sightseeing af incredible NYC.
The Tiffany salesperson treated me like royalty, told me the store in Australia near my home would clean and resize for free as required and deal with any problems that arise on behalf of 5th ave. Her also offered me a one time upgrade with the ring I purchased keeping the same value If I spend double on the upgrade.
His name was Alan I I would recommend others to ask for him if lookin for an e ring in that store. The fact that he was from sydney originally but had spent 17 years in NYC with tiffany made for some great conversation and repoir between him and me and my finace.
He was very honest and open and confirmed he was unable to negotiate.
I ended up looking in the .7 range and was given 3 tiffany certificates to consider.
All 3 had VERY similar cuts and all gave close to 1 on the HCA. They also had VG polish and symmetry.
Interestingly, one stone had faint blue fl and the salesperson told me they sell up to medium blue fl.
I settled on a .7 I VS1 (I really wanted H VS2 but their selection was less than I expected under 1 ct).
It gave a 1 on the HCA and had no fl.
Importantly for us, we were assured that Tiffany did not use conflict diamonds.
The setting is a work of art and importantly the stone sits low (unlike most copies). Such a setting would have cost me $1000 - $2000 US in Australia ( I have priced many - infact our best jewelers might charge more for something of similar quality and less cache. And a vatche in the US would have come in around $1000.
I got a dark blue, very dramatic box that my finace tells me is suede outside and satin and velvet inside. Its alot nicer than I expected and really nice for the proposal in NY. I also got a light blue suede pouch.
OK - I did paid $5300 ($9000 AUD after taxes exchnage rate etc) which might have stretched to a set 1ct over the internet but:
- we got full office service on 5th ave and picked after viewing many stones and 3 certs; and
- we decided early on that a .7 was perfect on my 5''6 size 6 fiance and we never intended to be the flashiest couple or outdo the joneses
- it was a bargain compared to tiffany AUS ($12000 for a very similar ring and generally about 30% cheaper) and comparable in price to other stones sold in australia that are branded or known to be ideal.
The biggest surprise is that away from tiffany''s fabled lighting this stone gives out an incredible variety of white flashes and rainbows. More than in the store! If I wear my glasses the light hits them and gives what look to be 6 inch long flashes.
In my humble opinion, it performs better than anything I have seen including a HOF I was looking at. In all honest my perception of this vs H+As I have seen is a slightly lesser frequency of sparkles/flashes (marginal) but far greater intensity when the light is returned.
Another surprise is that given our purchase in NYC my family, her family, and all he friends and workmates are very curious to know where we bought it although I expected our rings'' "brand" would never arise.
However, there are 2 downsides from my POV -
All the knowledge I gained her came to nought as all of the stones were full on sparklers but I would have been very proud of myself to have pulled a sparkler out of the internets wide variety of qualities; and
I didnt really want an I color and in spite of the cut making it look whiter I do notice it in about 20% of situations. Ths was solely an issue of their slection and not cost as I was 10% under my budget for a set stone. Having said that I love the setting and the way the stone talks to me and my fiance, warmth and all.
Ill be sure to come back at upgrade time to learn the state of the art and the things to look out for.
Thank to everyone here that helped me.
I had learnt alot from here and intended to buy from GOG but after consideration decided that tiffany (which by coincidence
my finace and I both love) was a good practical choice given that they were near our hotel and the stones are set thus meaning less time out of our sightseeing af incredible NYC.The Tiffany salesperson treated me like royalty, told me the store in Australia near my home would clean and resize for free as required and deal with any problems that arise on behalf of 5th ave. Her also offered me a one time upgrade with the ring I purchased keeping the same value If I spend double on the upgrade.
His name was Alan I I would recommend others to ask for him if lookin for an e ring in that store. The fact that he was from sydney originally but had spent 17 years in NYC with tiffany made for some great conversation and repoir between him and me and my finace.
He was very honest and open and confirmed he was unable to negotiate.
I ended up looking in the .7 range and was given 3 tiffany certificates to consider.
All 3 had VERY similar cuts and all gave close to 1 on the HCA. They also had VG polish and symmetry.
Interestingly, one stone had faint blue fl and the salesperson told me they sell up to medium blue fl.
I settled on a .7 I VS1 (I really wanted H VS2 but their selection was less than I expected under 1 ct).
It gave a 1 on the HCA and had no fl.
Importantly for us, we were assured that Tiffany did not use conflict diamonds.
The setting is a work of art and importantly the stone sits low (unlike most copies). Such a setting would have cost me $1000 - $2000 US in Australia ( I have priced many - infact our best jewelers might charge more for something of similar quality and less cache. And a vatche in the US would have come in around $1000.
I got a dark blue, very dramatic box that my finace tells me is suede outside and satin and velvet inside. Its alot nicer than I expected and really nice for the proposal in NY. I also got a light blue suede pouch.
OK - I did paid $5300 ($9000 AUD after taxes exchnage rate etc) which might have stretched to a set 1ct over the internet but:
- we got full office service on 5th ave and picked after viewing many stones and 3 certs; and
- we decided early on that a .7 was perfect on my 5''6 size 6 fiance and we never intended to be the flashiest couple or outdo the joneses
- it was a bargain compared to tiffany AUS ($12000 for a very similar ring and generally about 30% cheaper) and comparable in price to other stones sold in australia that are branded or known to be ideal.
The biggest surprise is that away from tiffany''s fabled lighting this stone gives out an incredible variety of white flashes and rainbows. More than in the store! If I wear my glasses the light hits them and gives what look to be 6 inch long flashes.
In my humble opinion, it performs better than anything I have seen including a HOF I was looking at. In all honest my perception of this vs H+As I have seen is a slightly lesser frequency of sparkles/flashes (marginal) but far greater intensity when the light is returned.
Another surprise is that given our purchase in NYC my family, her family, and all he friends and workmates are very curious to know where we bought it although I expected our rings'' "brand" would never arise.
However, there are 2 downsides from my POV -
All the knowledge I gained her came to nought as all of the stones were full on sparklers but I would have been very proud of myself to have pulled a sparkler out of the internets wide variety of qualities; and
I didnt really want an I color and in spite of the cut making it look whiter I do notice it in about 20% of situations. Ths was solely an issue of their slection and not cost as I was 10% under my budget for a set stone. Having said that I love the setting and the way the stone talks to me and my fiance, warmth and all.
Ill be sure to come back at upgrade time to learn the state of the art and the things to look out for.
Thank to everyone here that helped me.
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