Need advice please

[strawberrieshake]

I am looking at a stone at the moment and I feel like it is a bit overpriced. I have searched US sties such as BlueNile, Whiteflash to try to compare but I live in London so am not sure-- are diamonds more expensive in London? I know everything else is!! Here is the info off the GIA cert for the stone in question. Hope it is enough info:

Round Brilliant
Measurements: 7.47x7.55x4.54
Weight: 1.56 carats
Depth: 60.5%
Table: 60%
Girdle: medium to slightly thick, faceted
Culet: none
Polish: very good
Symmetry: good
Clarity: VS2
Colour: H
Fluorescence: faint

What would a ballpark cost be for this? I know how it looks matters a lot as well. It did sparkle nicely. It is just that I will be in the US next month so was thinking it might make more sense to buy out there? I am a bit hesitant to buy online....

Thank you to anyone who can help me!

 

[pricescope]

strawberrieshake, welcome to the forum

Internet price for similar GIA graded stones is about $9,500 +/- $300.

Some people found it worth the trip to buy a diamond online and then to fly from the UK to the US to pick it up.

Try to do Advance Search using this query: "London" OR "UK" OR "England"

I selected a few results for you here:
Diamond Taxes to the UK
Shipping diamonds to the UK/Europe
London romantic needs advice

 

[strawberrieshake]

Holy smokes! I was quoted £8.500 which is around $13,950 at the current exchange rate (not including our 17.5% sales tax!!! though I know the stones online don't have tax either). So I was pretty right with thinking it was way overpriced, even with variations from stone to stone sort of thing. This was from a diamond trader, not even a retail shop... thank you for confirming what I was thinking. I feel better now.

I am not too worried about buying online as I have been reading all about reputable online dealers. My boyfriend is a bit more wary about it all. Out of curiosity, what are my options? Say I find a stone that sounds like what I am looking for. I am going to be in the US at the end of June for 5 days, not a huge window of time to get stuff done. Can I pick the stone online, have it appraised, see the appraisal then if happy with it get it set and then shipped to my US address? Or is that unadvisable and should I just get the stone then have it set here in the UK? I just want to get the nicest stone with a blend of size and quality to fit within my budget.

I have read a lot about Leslie from Whiteflash on this forum and even saw an email for her but can't find it now despite using the search function. Does anyone have it handy? I also considered Bailey Banks & Biddle but the various diamond boards seem to suggest they are a bit more pricey with mediocre knowledged sales reps? Tiffany's is not an option for me mainly as I don't like their setting styles though their stones are pretty!

Any and all advice would be so appreciated. And I will keep reading as many of the previous topics on this forum!

Thanks again!

 

[Giangi]

Here in Europe stones are generally A LOT more expensive.

If you'll be in the US for a few days, then you can arrange with he vendor a shipping to a fedex center, then drive to a near appraiser... You should be able to do that in 5 days. You'll have great fun!!

Let us know what you decide!

 

[strawberrieshake]

Well after a few days of thinking I came up with plan B which is somewhat cool I think... I have some diamond earrings that belonged to my mother (she is still alive, she just gave them to me anyway!) and I want to use them as side stones. They are a little over 1 carat each in size, round brilliants. I managed to get a recommendation for another jeweller here through some friends who recently got engaged so I put a call in and will hopefully get a better price than the last guy. If it works out I should get a nice 3 stone ring. Will post again when if I get lucky with my search. My boyfriend said "no way" to online ordering so I have to respect his decision and it isn't worth arguing with him over it. Not for something like this....

 

[pyramid]

Hello strawberrieshake, I am in the United Kingdom and my husband seems to be on the same mind as your boyfriend. I am in Scotland. A local jeweller who has been here for 40 years seemed a good bet so I ended up with a 0.70 VS clarity but J colour diamond. It is a pretty stone. I, however, am all for buying from the internet. I even tried to get a refund from my jeweller within a few days of purchase but they would not give me one only an exchange. When I mentioned about buying off the internet they sent me a photocopy of a clipping from a retail jeweller magazine which warned UK consumers from buying off the internet due to treated stones being sold. I feel the vendors on here are okay though but my husband is like your boyfriend, a complete NO.

I want to buy eventually a large perhaps 1.25 carat diamond of F colour and high clarity so will have to save for a while for it. I am hoping that he will eventually come around but after getting that leaflet from my jeweller am having second thoughts. I do not think they are the type of jeweller to warn you just to get your trade. I will not, however, buy my large diamond from them anyway as I want to get a GIA or AGS certificate and their stones all seem to be IGI which I see we are warned about on USA discussion forums. I just wonder who is giving the correct information.

I also wonder if I got a diamond from the USA and got it appraised there before purchase, would I feel I need to get it appraised over here. Would a diamond appraiser here be able to tell if a stone has been treated as I believe sometimes the colour is enhanced by some treatment. I know they would know fracture filled etc. The GIA certificate would be good to go but how do I know I am getting the same stone. That is the part my jeweller's photocopy warned about, stating that certificates were being forged.

I have decided anyway to just wait and see what is going on when I do have the money which will be sometime in the future. At the moment my stone I bought is a lot more expensive than it would have been on the internet but I do believe it is genuine and more in line pricewise with other jewellers in the UK; which I have noticed are a lot more expensive.

I feel it is the peace of mind thing that bothers me, although I am 99% sure the diamonds from vendors on these sites are okay, I would not trust some vendors who apparently operate just from a computer in the house and never even see the diamonds they trade. My husband however would probably say if I got a stone that it is probably not genuine and if I went into the local jeweller I would probably feel my stone was a bit fake compared to theirs which may or may not be lower quality.

As you said though it is not something to fall out about at this time but what if you regret it later?

 

[strawberrieshake]

I understand that to buy in the UK (I live in London which makes it even worse!!!) I will pay a bit more than if I buy in the US. I am fine with a bit more... but not $4000 more which was where we were headed with the first guy I met with.

In terms of regretting it later... I think just as much as I would regret if we paid way too much here, I would also regret if we got a "great deal" on the web that turned out to be all wrong... it would turn into an "I told you so" situation which I am not willing to get into. Like you, I feel pretty confident that online buying is ok as there seem to be some reputable names you read on the forum here and their business relies on good customer feedback. I think my boyfriend's thing is that not only does he think that it is risky, but he sees it as a huge hassle if the stone is not what it is meant to be, to send it back, etc etc. He was inclined to buy from Tiffany's regardless of the premium as he figures they make it easy for you and saves you looking around and stuff like that. I tend to be more in the camp of wanting to research and be an informed buyer and get what we can for the money. Probably a good thing we think differently as we would have no money left if we both thought like him!

With all the research and trying to educate myself on diamond I found myself losing sight of the emotional side of the buying decision and got so wrapped up in the numbers and technical side of stuff that I got so flustered over the weekend and didn't even want a ring anymore. So now I am going into it thinking as long as I get a nice stone for a nice price then it will be good. My boyfriend has totally left it to me to decide what I want to have within my budget. I almost wish he would've just picked something and saved me the fretting. I change my mind a lot too about what I want so that makes it worse!

I am glad I can have my mother's diamonds as my side stones. Not only sentimental but also means I can get a good center stone to match the side stones. I called another jeweller today and am going in next week to view stones. His prices are in line with the US pricing so we will have to see if I got lucky! If it all works out I will of course share his details for any UK folks who are interested.

 

[Hest88]

When I mentioned about buying off the internet they sent me a photocopy of a clipping from a retail jeweller magazine which warned UK consumers from buying off the internet due to treated stones being sold.

You get the same articles in wedding magazines about not buying dresses over the Internet, at least here in the U.S. The reason is clear: B&M stores, who have clout with the magazines, are afraid of the what Internet shopping will do to their businesses. Yes there are are lots of unscrupulous vendors out there, but for every Internet horror story I can give you an equally horrible B&M story. The key is research.

I ended up buying my wedding dress through the Internet, saving $600, and have bought most of my fine jewelry though jewelers I "met" on the Internet. And I couldn't be happer.

 

[strawberrieshake]

----------------
On 5/24/2003 1:11:51 PM Giangi wrote:

Let us know what you decide!
----------------

Update! It has taken a while but we picked a stone on Friday night and I designed a setting I want as it is being custom made. It is a slightly antique style mounting and will have 4 double claw prongs, with 3 tiny diamonds set in the shoulders on each side with mill-grain details. I opted for an open bezel. I wanted something pretty dainty with as little metal clunkiness as possible. It will be totally made in platinum. Ring should be ready by Friday.

We chose a 1.77 carat, G-coloured, VVS2, round brilliant. Table is 56%, not sure about depth as it wasn't on the HRD cert, then the crown and pavillion were something like 15%/45% but don't quote me on that. Proportion/symmetry were both Very Good. It has a pointed culet, and thin-medium polished girdle. It sparkles like mad in daylight, indoors without a light on, and then under a normal lightbulb. It was a nice size when placed on my hand though my boyfriend wanted to go for a larger stone but I was happy with 1.77 as it will look a bit larger once mounted. The 3 stone ring I had considered was monstrous on my hand and was wider than my finger! We also got the see an E coloured VVS2 but it didn't sparkle "right" in my eyes and you couldn't tell the colour difference unless they were side by side and even then only when face down on a piece of really white paper. I was several thousand dollars under budget so got a Cartier watch this weekend as well. Lucky girl that I am.

Now I have to keep myself calm until the ring is on my hand. I am so excited I can't stop thinking about it. I will post pics once I have it. Thanks to everyone who helped me with their advice along the way!