Nice newbie needs opinions. :)

[Fairy Godmother]

HI all,

My boyfriend and I have been together 3 1/2 years and he has already asked my parents but not me yet.. I am a city girl, but I don''t normally wear jewelry and he is a country boy with simple tastes who definitely doesn''t want to be chosing my jewelry... He''s a little bit country ..I''m a little bit rock-n-roll!

I found what I think is a gorgeous Tacori ring that on its own is almost 7k... Out of my budget if I want any diamonds on there!! I''ll post a pic b/c I''d really like opinions on the ring as well.. Anyway, I found a couple who, combined, have more years in the jewelry business than I''ve been alive.. They said they have master craftsman that can remake the ring for a 1/3rd of the price. They showed me the Rapaport report and said that the price would probably be less than it showed there. They know my budget and said they will adhere it to explicitly.

I went home and started doing some research just on BlueNile (that''s where all my boyfriend''s friends bought their diamonds so he feels comfortable buying from them.. and at Uniondiamond, which seems to have the lowest price.

I emailed the couple and said I found better clarity and color for cheaper and would they help me select one. They sdaid not only would they help me select one but they have access to the same diamonds those sights do and could probably get the exact diamond I was looking at and 2 others to compare in person.

This all sounds perfect to me, they will help me select among the diamonds I have found and will have their craftsmen make the ring within my budget.. Just want to make sure it doesn''t sound tooo good to be true. They are lovely people and they showed me some of the rings that were waiting to be picked up and they were very nice.

They are asking 20% of whatever the total is, to pay for the materials and the craftsmens labor and then once that part is done, I think the rest to buy the diamond or I can buy it. Their only commission is 10% of the ring cost and 10% of the iamond if they provide it, but I offered to pay 10% commission on the diamond even if it came from one of the sites as I would want their help picking it and I thought that would be fair.

So just looking for some feedback and it will be much appreciated!!

 

[WinkHPD]

They may be totally legitimate, or not, no way for us to know.

As a merchant I can say this. If they are working for only 10% commissions they must not have a store, or they are not making enough to stay open. Blue Nile is working on more than that and loosing money these past two quarters. At some point profits must be made or they will not be here to offer you the service that you desire after the sale.

I would expect it to be easy for them to beat the Tacori price by a great deal as they are not spending the advertising budget that Tacori is, nor asking the very high prices that Tacori asks for their designs. I would not however, expect them to operate at 10% and be here for very long.

Wink

 

[Steel]

 

[Fairy Godmother]

Thanks Steel, had no idea and was afraid no one would answer... feeling a little like the last kid being picked in gym class when no one answered right away I promise to learn the etiquette!

That''s correct Wink, they have no storefront.. they work out of their beautiful home in Fort Lauderdale.. each are GIA certified and the husband has been in the business for 30 years holding prestigious positions according to his resume... www.diamondsplus10.com is the site... thoughts?