New Member seeking help

[kmanoni]

Hello,

I am preparing to purchase an ERing for my girlfriend. I have been looking for a Man Made Diamond, specifically a pink one.
I have scoured PriceScope, Google, D.Nea, and other websites.

Recently I found a jeweler in my area who is a Chatham dealer and i had a pink chatham diamond brought in. The jeweler is telling me that Chatham does their own rating, so it doesn't have an IGA or GIA etc... rating.
I asked for the specs and he told me:
the color is "fancy Pink"
the weight is 0.4ct
clarity is "VS"
the cut is "perfect"
and it is 5mm. he will give me the full dimensions when i meet with him tomorrow.

he has sent out for a quote and CAD files for a swirl tension setting.
14k was $1400
platinum was $1900

for the diamond he says that chatham claims it is a $2700 stone, but he will charge $2400. and then after some squirming, he said he will give me a 10% discount if I go with both the stone and mount through him.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY like the swirl tension setting. my girlfriend just graduated from nursing school and i am looking for something very low profile without nooks and crannies. it cant snag on exam gloves and it cant have places to harbor nasty things.

my original budget is around $3,000.

first question- what is a ballpark value for this chatham diamond?
second - is he correct about chatham not sending their stones for rating?
third - what other info should i get from the jeweler?

finally, my plan is to approach him with a no-nonsense no BS deal. I want to propose that he can make 20% on the deal. show me your invoice and add 20% for your pocket and then add state sales tax and sell me the ring. is this crazy?


i also have a question regarding the material for the setting. he told me they can use an alloy that is sometimes called 19k that is some platinum mixed with 14k or 18k. he says it is stronger than 14k/18k and better for a tension set.

he was also a little shaky about the tension setting itself. he said the manufacturer will have to build a "little shelf" to ensure it is a proper fit and will hold the diamond in place. this will include a guarantee from the manufacturer. is this normal?

if i dont go with a tension setting, it will be a bezel or half bezel. I dont like the bezel / half bezel as much as the tension set.


first post - updates will come

thanks for all your help.
im sure with your guidance, Caitlin will love her ERing.



pics of chatham pink diamond:

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee492/kmanoni/539DB065-7ACF-447F-B07A-9C62DA9005DB-546-000000669CE7BB9F.jpg

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee492/kmanoni/E4E3D78C-C6D4-44C4-A498-8E95C462AD49-546-000000669A25B541.jpg

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee492/kmanoni/504FE08E-4F83-4C46-8610-EFDF1E5CFCB7-546-000000669696FD1C.jpg


EDIT:
i dont know how pics work - remove space in "photo bucket"

http://i1230.photo bucket.com/albums/ee492/kmanoni/539DB065-7ACF-447F-B07A-9C62DA9005DB-546-000000669CE7BB9F.jpg

http://i1230.photo bucket.com/albums/ee492/kmanoni/E4E3D78C-C6D4-44C4-A498-8E95C462AD49-546-000000669A25B541.jpg

http://i1230.photo bucket.com/albums/ee492/kmanoni/504FE08E-4F83-4C46-8610-EFDF1E5CFCB7-546-000000669696FD1C.jpg

EDIT 2:
mods, sorry if i am breaking any rules.
if someone can upload these pics properly, i would appreciate.

 

[maccers]

HI there!

MMDs are really cool but we're not allowed to talk about them in this part of the forum. Report your thread and ask to have it moved to the MMD forum area.

ETA: Your questions about the setting issues can be left in RockyTalky though you might want to make a separate thread for them and make sure you're clear that you're asking about the setting and not MMDs.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Congratulations on choosing a lab-grown diamond! And a pink one too! Caitlin is a lucky girl.

$2400 for 0.40 ct seems about right, assuming that the stone is what he (and Chatham) claim it to be. From the pics you posted, it doesn't look like a fancy pink, it looks more saturated than that, more like intense or vivid.
Maybe find out what the return policy is and tell him you want to get it checked out by a lab.

And I love your choice of swirl tension ring! Those are lovely.

I'm less impressed by the jeweler not knowing how to make the tension setting. No, they don't normally have a little bar.

Look at Faux Tension Settings in this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_ring#Tension_setting_security_debate

Maybe just get the stone from him and order a setting for it from somewhere that specializes in tension settings. You want an expert to make something that technically difficult. You don't want it made sloppily. Well-made tension settings are expensive.
Here's one:
http://www.stevenkretchmer.com/

Good luck and hope to see updates!

 

[TC1987]

I'm just saying: Most nurses are not allowed to wear rings other than a plain band, and even that is getting frowned upon. Hospitals want bare hands, with no objects to collect pathogens. That is the direction they are moving in, even if they are not there already. I have only seen women wearing engagement rings and wedding sets in the small rural hospitals here. In Pittsburgh, definitely not.

And rubber gloves being pulled on and off will eventually loosen any stones that the come in contact with. So, I don't think you need to limit the setting choices due to work, because she's probably not going to be permitted to wear it.

 

[kmanoni]

Update:

I meet with the jeweler yesterday and came to a handshake deal.

in regards to the no-nonsense approach i mentioned about 20% profit in the jeweler's pocket... well, it pretty much worked.
we settled in the low 20's% profit for the jeweler. i will pay cash.

the original price of stone plus setting was going to be around $4400 before tax. and we agreed upon $3600 cash money including tax.


the setting ... this was an interesting conversation. i was in the jewelers office and on speakerphone with the craftsman. he explained a few things to me.

first, he is NOT a tension expert. he can do them but he does not prefer them. he is not an expert in the heat treating process and doesnt have the best equipment. he honestly recommend that if i was dead set on a tension setting to look for a tension expert, like Kretchmer. He would prefer to do a setting with a small circle that goes under the stone. i will try to remember the correct terminology in this explanation... connected to each of the shanks and then a small circle approx the size of the table, encircling the pavillion below the girdle.
he said this will not be visible from the top. and will be minimally visible from the sides. it shouldnt take away any of the brilliance of the stone as compared to a tension setting. he also talked about the debate of tension setting vs traditional settings. his opinion was this was the very best setting that he can make and it will be beautiful.

second thing we talked about was the material. since the stone is pink, yellow gold is out of the picture. i know about rhodium plating on white gold and i dont really like the idea. so i had it down to platinum or "19k". he explained that his 19k is similar to the candian 19k which uses a nickel alloy, is very strong, is a very nice white color, and doesnt have any plating. he prefers platinum.

his price for the custom setting which he called a semi-tension was $1250 for 19k and $1550 for platinum. and i agreed with the jeweler that he could make his low 20's% profit that i talked about above, and we are going with platinum.

for my update about the MMD, see my post in that area.

 

[kmanoni]

I'm just saying: Most nurses are not allowed to wear rings other than a plain band, and even that is getting frowned upon. Hospitals want bare hands, with no objects to collect pathogens. That is the direction they are moving in, even if they are not there already. I have only seen women wearing engagement rings and wedding sets in the small rural hospitals here. In Pittsburgh, definitely not.

And rubber gloves being pulled on and off will eventually loosen any stones that the come in contact with. So, I don't think you need to limit the setting choices due to work, because she's probably not going to be permitted to wear it.

thanks for the input. i am aware that some places have policy that just plain doesnt allow any jewelry ... other places are subjective and it cant poke, scratch, stick out, etc...

she doesnt have a job yet, so we dont know what the rules will be. i think the setting that i have chosen will be pretty good, if she cant wear it ... that sucks. if she can, she probly wont ever be without it.

 

[kriskum]

Hello guys,

Need some big help here and I am glad to have found this website.
Im planning to buy below diamond - GIA report had "crystal" as inclusion under clarity characteristics. is it a good deal? should I concern abt the clarity?

Shape: Round
carat : .70
color :E
clarity:VS2
Culet: None

Depth: 61.5
Table: 56
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
cut :Excellent

Measurements:
5.74x5.76x3.53

Girdle: Medium, Faceted
Price: $3,350
clarity characteristics : crystal

thanks all
Kris

 

[hawk25]

kriskum, for better responses I suggest making your own thread. I would post the lab report, or at least all the angles (pavilion, crown). Pictures and idealscopes of the diamond would greatly help too