shminbabe
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2007
- Messages
- 364
Hello everyone,
I''m enjoying reading this forum and am overwhelmed by all the information. Here is my backstory: First marriage e-ring: 1.01 ct vvs1 G/H color, no certification papers that I recall. Was a long time ago. It was a round, beautiful, sparkly stone. Loved it. Sold it to pay bills when married the better guy a few years later. (He also sold his beloved Saab; it killed me to let it go but it was symbolic, too, and eased his pain of selling his car. I digress.) My new ring was a 1.03 ct, oval stone, G/H color, SI 1. I could see one black inclusion in it with the naked eye and the ring was not as sparkly as ring # 1. It always kind of bothered me, that I knew it was inferior quality (not husband''s fault - mine, I chose too quickly) but still, I did love the ring. In 2001 some loser
doing work in my home stole my ring, pfft, gone, uninsured. Now, in 2007, after some nudging, my wonderful husband is finally giving in and buying me a new stone. We celebrated our 15th anniversary in Aug. 2006 but the time was not right for the diamond purchase then. I had a BIG birthday coming up at the time (May ''07), prior to that, he went and bought a Lexus SUV when I was away, and picked up me at the airport in it. That''s when I said, flat out, "OKay, it''s time. I have a BIG birthday coming up, we''ve already had our 15th anniversary now approaching the 16th, a woman of a certain age needs a bigger stone this time too and prepare yourself, because it''s going to cost waaaaay more than our first stone." This is a wonderful man, but our major areas of disagreement are always about spending money. He once got me a $100 gift card to a clothing store and thought he had broken the bank. A gay man friend of ours told him, "Honey, that''s not even going to pay her sales tax." Hilarious. He was quite embarassed. I should note that we are not in debt (one car payment and home mortgage payment notwithstanding) We are not wealthy, though. I am the spender in the relationship: new clothes, things for the house, etc. He''d be happy still living in college-era furnishings. Okay, so. He warned me not to keep bugging him about a new diamond, though. Well, for my birthday he arranged for us to meet with a person, I''ll call her J, who sells diamonds independently. He got her name from a business colleague whose wife has purchased diamonds, etc. from her. I got a positive report on J from a friend of mine who also knows her, who knows many people who''ve bought from her and have always been satisfied, including her father who bought a diamond for her mother.
J''s card states she is a G.I.A. graduate and says she is a jeweler gemologist. Does insurance appraisals, custom design, etc. etc. She is local and told me about the G.I.A. residency program she took that was a year long, in Santa Monica, and has worked at several of the area''s jewelers before "going out on her own". She says she gets the same stones that the stores do, works with the same "brokers" (whatever you call the ones who sell to the retail stores) and can save us a considerable sum on a diamond purchase. J does this "on the side", she''s a mom with three kids like me, her husband is a local contractor that I am aware of. I told her what I was looking for in general and she has been to our house twice now, with various stones, wrapped in the same paper that the jeweler wraps them in, comes with a loupe and gives me the run-down on the Cs. I''m less ignorant as a consumer than I was a week ago, after reading here. She tells me what the certification of the stones I''m looking at are, but I didn''t see any actual documentation on any of these stones yet.
At present she is finding a few more stones for me to see. But I''m also a little...what is the word? I want to ensure that I am getting what I''ll be paying for and while I am okay with buying from her rather than the mall store or wherever, it feels different to have someone come to my house with diamonds in her purse and look at them on my kitchen table. She seems quite knowledgeable and honest about the various flaws in the stones I''ve seen and as I compare prices at sites like whiteflash and bluenile, things seem comparable. She herself has a big diamond that is about 8 cts. that she calls "junk" b/c it doesn''t really sparkle and it has a bunch of inclusions which she gladly shows me, laughs about it, really, just seems to have it for fun. She actually kept it in her purse, says she doesn''t really pull it out b/c she doesn''t want people to get the wrong impression. It is not a great stone, even I can see that. No matter. I''d want a much smaller stone with brilliance.
I just don''t want to get taken for a ride. I plan to call another woman today, the one who actually referred her to my husband, and talk to her about buying like this.
What do you all think? I''m feeling conflicted and confused. I know I''d pay more in a mall store, and J says she knows all the brokers and can get me the same thing. They Fed Ex the stones to her, she has a safe deposit box, and she is careful not to leave identifying information on her business card so people can''t really track her down (I know this b/c I asked her many questions about her business, the safety of having so many diamonds around, etc.). I like her; she seems real.
But, I''m known to be naive too, so I want to know what all you pros here think about my buying from her. I know some of you are jewelers with websites or stores so I''m kind of anticipating a less than positive response from you. But couldn''t this be an option for me? If I buy from an internet site, do I have the right to return the stone after viewing it, getting it appraised, etc? I''d like to get the best stone we can afford, obviously, who doesn''t??! Has anyone else bought from an independent person like this? I guess people who have internet sites are also ''independents'', no?
What questions do I ask her? What documentation can I expect to see when she shows me stones? The last few she showed me were EGL certified, she stated, and admitted that was a less quality certifiction than G.I.A., which, she says, is the most stringent. The stone I liked the most was in fact the smallest: oval shape, 2.21 ct/ G/ SI 2. I did not ask about the cut. I don''t even know what to ask, really. Of the 4 she showed me, I liked this one best. It was sparkly, eye clean (to me) and the inclusion was not a black spot, rather, something that appeared like a crystal-something-or-other when viewed with her loupe. I loved it. She stated a price of $14,500 and indicating it would be negotiable. Can a stone like this really be eye clean? She said she thought this stone really should be an SI 1 but was rated SI 2 for some reason I cannot recall. I thought it was a beautiful stone. I won''t list the other stones b/c I wasn''t interested but I will, the next time she comes.
I apologize for this utterly too long post but I wanted to give you my first-time background info. Do you think I can trust her? What questions should I ask the next time she comes over (maybe tomorrow) ? Should I expect to see documentation on all the stones right away, or does that come once you''ve narrowed your choices? Pros/cons of buying from an individual? How can I do this right? CAN I do this right? Of course, I would expect to be able to have it appraised at an appraiser of my choosing and have it meet the standards she says it does, or no sale. Right?
Please help me! I''m excited about the opportunity for a new ring, and am so grateful to my husband for being generous. But I don''t want to make any mistakes here because I know this is the ONE and ONLY time he will spend this kind of money on a piece of jewelry. There will be no upgrading in my future and all other jewelry purchasing will be done by me as I can afford it. This is IT. So it''s imperative that I buy from the right source.
I am
confused! Thanks in advance for anyone who took the time to read all this, and for any and all advice.
Much appreciated,
Jeannie
I''m enjoying reading this forum and am overwhelmed by all the information. Here is my backstory: First marriage e-ring: 1.01 ct vvs1 G/H color, no certification papers that I recall. Was a long time ago. It was a round, beautiful, sparkly stone. Loved it. Sold it to pay bills when married the better guy a few years later. (He also sold his beloved Saab; it killed me to let it go but it was symbolic, too, and eased his pain of selling his car. I digress.) My new ring was a 1.03 ct, oval stone, G/H color, SI 1. I could see one black inclusion in it with the naked eye and the ring was not as sparkly as ring # 1. It always kind of bothered me, that I knew it was inferior quality (not husband''s fault - mine, I chose too quickly) but still, I did love the ring. In 2001 some loser
J''s card states she is a G.I.A. graduate and says she is a jeweler gemologist. Does insurance appraisals, custom design, etc. etc. She is local and told me about the G.I.A. residency program she took that was a year long, in Santa Monica, and has worked at several of the area''s jewelers before "going out on her own". She says she gets the same stones that the stores do, works with the same "brokers" (whatever you call the ones who sell to the retail stores) and can save us a considerable sum on a diamond purchase. J does this "on the side", she''s a mom with three kids like me, her husband is a local contractor that I am aware of. I told her what I was looking for in general and she has been to our house twice now, with various stones, wrapped in the same paper that the jeweler wraps them in, comes with a loupe and gives me the run-down on the Cs. I''m less ignorant as a consumer than I was a week ago, after reading here. She tells me what the certification of the stones I''m looking at are, but I didn''t see any actual documentation on any of these stones yet.
At present she is finding a few more stones for me to see. But I''m also a little...what is the word? I want to ensure that I am getting what I''ll be paying for and while I am okay with buying from her rather than the mall store or wherever, it feels different to have someone come to my house with diamonds in her purse and look at them on my kitchen table. She seems quite knowledgeable and honest about the various flaws in the stones I''ve seen and as I compare prices at sites like whiteflash and bluenile, things seem comparable. She herself has a big diamond that is about 8 cts. that she calls "junk" b/c it doesn''t really sparkle and it has a bunch of inclusions which she gladly shows me, laughs about it, really, just seems to have it for fun. She actually kept it in her purse, says she doesn''t really pull it out b/c she doesn''t want people to get the wrong impression. It is not a great stone, even I can see that. No matter. I''d want a much smaller stone with brilliance.
I just don''t want to get taken for a ride. I plan to call another woman today, the one who actually referred her to my husband, and talk to her about buying like this.
What do you all think? I''m feeling conflicted and confused. I know I''d pay more in a mall store, and J says she knows all the brokers and can get me the same thing. They Fed Ex the stones to her, she has a safe deposit box, and she is careful not to leave identifying information on her business card so people can''t really track her down (I know this b/c I asked her many questions about her business, the safety of having so many diamonds around, etc.). I like her; she seems real.
But, I''m known to be naive too, so I want to know what all you pros here think about my buying from her. I know some of you are jewelers with websites or stores so I''m kind of anticipating a less than positive response from you. But couldn''t this be an option for me? If I buy from an internet site, do I have the right to return the stone after viewing it, getting it appraised, etc? I''d like to get the best stone we can afford, obviously, who doesn''t??! Has anyone else bought from an independent person like this? I guess people who have internet sites are also ''independents'', no?
What questions do I ask her? What documentation can I expect to see when she shows me stones? The last few she showed me were EGL certified, she stated, and admitted that was a less quality certifiction than G.I.A., which, she says, is the most stringent. The stone I liked the most was in fact the smallest: oval shape, 2.21 ct/ G/ SI 2. I did not ask about the cut. I don''t even know what to ask, really. Of the 4 she showed me, I liked this one best. It was sparkly, eye clean (to me) and the inclusion was not a black spot, rather, something that appeared like a crystal-something-or-other when viewed with her loupe. I loved it. She stated a price of $14,500 and indicating it would be negotiable. Can a stone like this really be eye clean? She said she thought this stone really should be an SI 1 but was rated SI 2 for some reason I cannot recall. I thought it was a beautiful stone. I won''t list the other stones b/c I wasn''t interested but I will, the next time she comes.
I apologize for this utterly too long post but I wanted to give you my first-time background info. Do you think I can trust her? What questions should I ask the next time she comes over (maybe tomorrow) ? Should I expect to see documentation on all the stones right away, or does that come once you''ve narrowed your choices? Pros/cons of buying from an individual? How can I do this right? CAN I do this right? Of course, I would expect to be able to have it appraised at an appraiser of my choosing and have it meet the standards she says it does, or no sale. Right?
Please help me! I''m excited about the opportunity for a new ring, and am so grateful to my husband for being generous. But I don''t want to make any mistakes here because I know this is the ONE and ONLY time he will spend this kind of money on a piece of jewelry. There will be no upgrading in my future and all other jewelry purchasing will be done by me as I can afford it. This is IT. So it''s imperative that I buy from the right source.
I am
Much appreciated,
Jeannie
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