Newbie ?''s for the PS Experts

[rickster123]

Since I realized thru this site that I have no knowledge on diamond rings I am starting fresh with basic questions. Thanks in advance for any feedback:

1. Purchase the diamond first or the ring mount first? Some musicians write the words first then form the music/vice versa, wondering if their is a diamond ring correlation?

2. Is Platinum worth the upgrade compared to 18K White Gold? Is their a visible difference in appearance for a lay person?

3. I quickly determined from this site that Cut is critical, after that, is Fire or Brilliance more important regarding appearance? Am not even sure what the difference is......

4. If a GIA diamond from Whiteflash/Blue Nile costs 3K online, is their a ballpark guesstimate value of how much the same diamond costs at a mall retail outlet? All other things being equal? (Trying to figure out the savings online compared to my fear of buying sight unseen).

5. How do some of the experts on here find the nice diamond link suggestions for newbies so quickly? Just curious,

6. What is the subscribe to author function for?

7. After reading how those that know delve into IM, HCA, angles, etc.....which never happens at mall outlet locations, are those that purchase at the malls just uninformed buyers? Sure seems that way.......

Am sure I speak for all Newbies when I say how comforting your valued opinions are in helping us make a smart purchase. THank You

 

[raz91]

Take a look at this post https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/how-to-buy-a-diamond-with-pricescope.111288/ on how to buy a diamond for starters ...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/15/2009 9:18:47 AM
Author:rickster123
Since I realized thru this site that I have no knowledge on diamond rings I am starting fresh with basic questions. Thanks in advance for any feedback:

1. Purchase the diamond first or the ring mount first? Some musicians write the words first then form the music/vice versa, wondering if their is a diamond ring correlation? Many have the diamond and the setting come from the same vendor, this can make the process easier and the vendor will usually take responsibility should the diamond get damaged whilst setting ( rare but it can happen)>

2. Is Platinum worth the upgrade compared to 18K White Gold? Is their a visible difference in appearance for a lay person? The difference to me is very slight comparing the two.

3. I quickly determined from this site that Cut is critical, after that, is Fire or Brilliance more important regarding appearance? Am not even sure what the difference is......A well cut diamond should show a good display of fire, brilliance and scintillation - this page explains further. http://diamonds.pricescope.com/brill.asp Find the best cut diamond you can and the performance and beauty will be there! Some diamonds can be cut in such a way that will show extra brilliance, extra fire etc if the lighting is right. However a popular choice here find a balanced diamond of what we call " near Tolkowsky" proportions. See the link below.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/tolk.asp

4. If a GIA diamond from Whiteflash/Blue Nile costs 3K online, is their a ballpark guesstimate value of how much the same diamond costs at a mall retail outlet? All other things being equal? (Trying to figure out the savings online compared to my fear of buying sight unseen). You can add about 10 - 15% to get a rough idea for jewellery stores but this is subject to variation. If you use the search tool above you can compare the prices of similar diamonds if you have priced up those in brick and mortar stores.

5. How do some of the experts on here find the nice diamond link suggestions for newbies so quickly? Just curious, This is from long experience and practise here, some of us have been doing this for years!

Also most of us are not experts, just consumers.

6. What is the subscribe to author function for? If you want to follow a particular thread or poster then you can subscribe to the thread or the poster. Then each time there is activity from either, the posts will appear in your email.

7. After reading how those that know delve into IM, HCA, angles, etc.....which never happens at mall outlet locations, are those that purchase at the malls just uninformed buyers? Sure seems that way.......Usually, also some don't care about cut as they have other priorities in the non PS world such as size, colour etc.

Am sure I speak for all Newbies when I say how comforting your valued opinions are in helping us make a smart purchase. THank You THANK YOU for your very kind words!!!

 

[jet2ks]

Date: 4/15/2009 9:18:47 AM
Author:rickster123
Since I realized thru this site that I have no knowledge on diamond rings I am starting fresh with basic questions. Thanks in advance for any feedback:

1. Purchase the diamond first or the ring mount first? Some musicians write the words first then form the music/vice versa, wondering if their is a diamond ring correlation?

Just as musicians are different, so are ring shoppers. The correlation would be to choose first what is most important to you (actually, her

) If she wants a solitaire, then look for the diamond, because any good vendor is going to have solitaire mounts. In my case, I shopped for a setting that matched her style and then selected a diamond to fit that setting. There is no wrong way.

And I second Lorelei that if possible, get the stone and setting from the same vendor.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 4/15/2009 9:18:47 AM
Author:rickster123
Since I realized thru this site that I have no knowledge on diamond rings I am starting fresh with basic questions. Thanks in advance for any feedback:

1. Purchase the diamond first or the ring mount first? Some musicians write the words first then form the music/vice versa, wondering if their is a diamond ring correlation? Diamond first and then the setting can be ordered to fit the diamond.

2. Is Platinum worth the upgrade compared to 18K White Gold? Is their a visible difference in appearance for a lay person? Platinum prices are better now, so it is the time to buy. But look for Platinum with ruthenuim alloy as it is harder than the typical 95/5 plat/iridium and scratches less. The finish on white gold eventually wears off and the yellowish metal shows underneath. You have to have it replated every so often. My platinum/ruthenuim rings still look perfect months after my wg ring lost it''s finish.

3. I quickly determined from this site that Cut is critical, after that, is Fire or Brilliance more important regarding appearance? Am not even sure what the difference is...... Start by looking only at GIA Excellent cut and AGS Ideal cut and you''ll be in the right territory. Under teh Prices tab above, click on Search by Cut and you''ll have a good search tool for ideal cut stones.

4. If a GIA diamond from Whiteflash/Blue Nile costs 3K online, is their a ballpark guesstimate value of how much the same diamond costs at a mall retail outlet? All other things being equal? (Trying to figure out the savings online compared to my fear of buying sight unseen). Mall stores will not have a omparable selection of ideal cut stones. In fact, almost no jewelers I went to even had any! The prices absolutely will be better at most of these vendors. I favor WhiteFlash and Good Old Gold because of their excellent return, trade-in and buy-back policies.

5. How do some of the experts on here find the nice diamond link suggestions for newbies so quickly? Just curious, We use that search by cut tool I told you about above

6. What is the subscribe to author function for? I don''t use it, but I think it will send you all posts written by that author. I don''t think you'' really want that!

7. After reading how those that know delve into IM, HCA, angles, etc.....which never happens at mall outlet locations, are those that purchase at the malls just uninformed buyers? Sure seems that way.......Probably 95% of diamond buyers are really uneducated when it comes to buying diamonds.

Am sure I speak for all Newbies when I say how comforting your valued opinions are in helping us make a smart purchase. THank Hope we can be of help!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

This is the best searh tool to use:

https://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx

Put in excellent-excellent for cut, and check GIA and AGS for labs along with your color and clarity parameters. A good place to start might be G-H for color and VS2-SI1 for clarity unless your girlfriend has expressed some other preferences.

 

[rickster123]

Thanks for all the feedback, going to take your advice. Heading out to the brick and mortar to eyeball some diamonds so I can visualize what I read and see here. I am such a guy, they all look good to me in the darn stores. Am pretty positive I will end up buying from an online vendor......and not until I do/learn all the things you guys deem important (HCA, IM, etc) and show you my final choice before selection. Talk to you Later.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You''ll do fine! Have fun shopping (just don''t buy on impulse)!