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Newbie shopping for a diamond and E-ring...

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EmClark

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
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Hello all,

We have been visiting and reading about all your posts and advice. I think PS is a great place for newbies like us to learn about the jewelry and diamonds so we can get a fair deal.

Here it is:

We are looking for a 1.00 to 1.30 Carat round diamond, E-F Color and VS2-SI1 clarity and nice cut and brilliance. We saw some at the BlueNile.com from $4400 to $11500 which is a huge difference bt I guess all depends on the variables.

In terms of the e-ring I like the PAR-3008R from the Verragio Paradiso Collection. Which has that halo look and an amazing side profile.

Here are questions if you could give us a little help with:

Is BN a reputable online store, I know it''s very well known and popular. Prices, can we get better deals for the same stones and still get good customer service?

We would like the diamond to be certified by GIA.

For the E-ring where can we get a good deal for a Verragio ring. We would like to get it from an authorized dealer because of the manufacturer''s warranty. Also we are going back and forth between Platinum and Palladium. There seems to be a big difference in price. We did some reading online about the difference but anyone who actually owns both and what they think about it. Of course Platinum is nice to have and I am sure it''ll make a nice invesment but the jeweler we spoke to said that the metal prices are all time high right now. Should we just wait? If so how long?

Thank you all in advance!
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Emily & Scott
 
Welcome to Pricescope. I would read all the vendors upgrade policy's in case you want to upgrade in the future; also I would not limit my search to one vendor. This tool I like to use for searching for a round brilliant https://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx select excellent excellent for cut and it will bring up some of the best cut stones by all the vendors and it lists prices. Hope that helps.
 
Thank you Skippy!

I tried the diamond search tool but I only see one store which is Good old Gold and the results were very limited compared to the BlueNile site.
 
BN is fine, although I would either go with a BN signature round or an AGS stone if buying from them.

For some reason, I use this PS search: https://www.pricescope.com/panning.aspx
 
The huge price variance is due probably to the cut of the diamonds, and the fact that there is often a big price jump (especially at high color grades like E and F) between SI1 and VS2, as well a smaller one between the F and E colors. Blue Nile is certainly a safe place to send money to and get the goods promised (plenty of my male friends have done so), but us extra nit-picky PSers tend to prefer other merchants because Blue Nile unfortunately does not provide as much detail as we'd like when considering purchases of this magnitude.

You're right to prefer GIA certs, but a lot of the better-cut stones carry AGS ones, because AGS has a reputation of grading more strictly than GIA on cut. Because of this, however, an AGS stone might sell for a slight premium over a GIA certed one, which might be why you prefer to stick with GIA.

[Edited to add: but I prefer AGS, because of their generally more strict grading.)
 
Welcome! The reason Blue Nile appears to have a lot is that they list stones that are available from their suppliers. That is why they don''t have pictures of the stones posted like Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash do. Now GOG and WF can also access many diamond suppliers, so they can also call in stones for you. But they carry a nice in-house inventory that is displayed on their sites. They also both have a lifetime trade-in policy which I wanted, just in case I changed my mind later about color, clarity, size, etc. Both also carry top quality diamonds. Nice Ice is reputable as well. I am not sure about their tade-in policy, but they carry nice diamonds, too.

I pulled up several stones using your parameters. You might want to try that again.

Here are some:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-608077.htm 1.11 F SI1 $6976 w/wire and pricescope discounts

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3583/ 1.26 E SI1 $8532

http://www.niceice.com/certcopies2008/ags0009454904/index.htm 1.30 F VS2 @ $11,800 plus shipping

Obviously, there is a wide range of prices for what you are looking for. So it would help us to know your budget is in order to give you suggestions.
 
I also prefer AGS cert over GIA but then you need to pay the premium.

From the posts I''ve read here Good Old Gold is a very reputable place to buy a diamond plus they have a nice selection of designer bridal brands including Verragio.


Heather
 
Date: 4/10/2008 6:35:18 PM
Author: DiamondGirlHH
I also prefer AGS cert over GIA but then you need to pay the premium.

From the posts I''ve read here Good Old Gold is a very reputable place to buy a diamond plus they have a nice selection of designer bridal brands including Verragio.


Heather
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Heather, there isn''t very much of a premium for an AGS cert over a GIA cert. I think the AGS grading report costs just a little more, but it''s not enough difference to be concerned about. And since Good Old Gold has the AGS light performance software, they test all their GIA excellent stones for light performance. So there is no disadvantage to buying GIA when you have all that info. There are a LOT more GIA stones than AGS, so it would really limit a search to eliminate GIA.
 
Heather, there isn''t very much of a premium for an AGS cert over a GIA cert. I think the AGS grading report costs just a little more, but it''s not enough difference to be concerned about. And since Good Old Gold has the AGS light performance software, they test all their GIA excellent stones for light performance. So there is no disadvantage to buying GIA when you have all that info. There are a LOT more GIA stones than AGS, so it would really limit a search to eliminate GIA.
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Hi Diamondseeker,

Thank you for the clarification. I always thought that because of the complexity and rarity of the AGS certified and rated diamonds, the jewelers sold those diamonds at a higher premium.

Soon(maybe six months or so...) I''ll be shopping for a nice pair of diamond earrings. I will keep this in mind when it comes down to the certificates. I may just take a look at the GOG''s web site.

Heather.
 
If you go with Good Old Gold, you can get an awesome diamond and let them have it set in Verragio for you. I tried on a Verragio ring, and it was very comfortable with the wavy design inside the band.
 
EmClark, I actually purchased a 1.21 H VVS2 Blue Nile Signature Diamond. It was a pretty good stone. However, I decided to return it after reading these forums and found BN lacking alot of detailed information and pictures about the cut of the stone. They were unwilling to help or provide such information. I ended up purchasing a stone from GOG this past Tues, a 1.37C H&A F SI1. I just received it today and could not have been happier. I really like how GOG also has a life time upgrade policy in case I want to upgrade in the future. Blue Nile does not offer upgrades. I would definitely consider using GOG. Jon and Marie were very helpful. They also threw in some cool stuff like hearts and arrows scope, 10x loop, and birth certificate. Also, with the setting, I purchased one from Ben Bridges, overnighted it to them on Tues and I received completed engagement ring today, Friday.
 
Hello NeverEndingUpgrade & Roger,

Thanks for your comments. I have been doing a lot of reading on Pricescope and some other jewelry communities. I can''t believe there are so much to learn about diamonds and rings. I don''t remember when was the last time I stayed up this late to research stuff...

Well, after your comments I started to realize that BlueNile is not as a good deal as I initally believed it was so for now GOG is in my list of places to search and inquire about the diamons and it''s a major plus that they are also a Verragio dealer. So we can possibly have a package deal. Lifetime upgrade sounds really great even though we may have wait few years before thinking about an upgrade.

Funny thing is when I was browsing the Verragio''s web site to see the new styles they added to their collections, I notied that they are running this trivia-sweepstakes with a engagement ring give-away, now wouldn''t that be nice to get a free engagement ring? (I entered ofcourse...you never know)

Thanks again, I think we are almost there with our decision then the fun of shopping starts...

Emily
 
Hey Emily,

Glad to hear that you are getting there with the research. Trust me once you put that chosen ring on your finger all these sleepless night will well worth the reward.

I always hear good things about Good Old Gold so all these people can''t be wrong.

I also got a email notice today from my faceboook account about the Verragio''s sweepstakes. I already have my ring from them but it would be nice to get a credit towards one of the Verragio necklaces...
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Good luck with the shopping!

Heather
 
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