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JT

JT

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 6, 2006
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66
Well I bought a ring Saturday. It was a GIA 1.01, H, SI2 (eye-clean)with a great cut. For the ring and setting it was 4500. Right when I think everything is settling down and I''m feel like I got the best deal I could I get a call. It''s from a company that I ruled out a long time ago (very poor customer service). They said they had something very interesting come in and I really should come take a look at it. Well it''s pretty much the same stone. It''s GIA 1.01, SI2, Depth 69% Table 71%......3200 (setting included). They came right out and said we want you business and were selling this 10% over cost.

Someone please tell me know what is going on.

I don''t believe they just want my business. Something is up and I need to know what to look for tomorrow morning.

I have also called the original company and told them to put everything on hold until I can look at this diamond.

If I go with the other diamond I''m going to feel bad for switching like this at the last minute, but 1300 is a lot to me and I could really use it for the down payment on the house.
 
I'm sorry but something doesn't sound right to me. $3200 for a 1 carat stone and setting sounds almost too good to be true. Do you have a link to the cert, etc.? I'd want to see the paper on it before considering it. Be careful, too, about whether it is eyeclean since it's SI2. What kind of setting is it?

PS: I am in your general area. Who is the jeweler you bought the first ring from? Is this other one local, too?
 
Donald Haack is where I bought the original from. The new one is from Diamonds Direct South Park. No links to GIA cert's but they have them on hand. I'm also very concerend about the eye-clean part, but they gave me their word everything was on the corners under the table.

I agree 3200 is very cheap. The setting I want retails 200. I've also been hearing 3900 per carat, so I have a feeling something's not being told.

edit: the setting is 18k WG. I've heard it called a Trellis setting from a few companys. I am now working with the VP's of both stores, so I trust them a little more than the regular sales people.
 
bump. I really need some help here guys. What do I need to look for.
 
"Right when I think everything is settling down and I'm feel like I got the best deal I could I get a call. It's from a company that I ruled out a long time ago (very poor customer service)."

That does seem like a price that is 'too good to be true', so you are right to be cautious. What was so poor about their customer service that turned you off to begin with? That might be reason enough to spend the extra $1300 if they are going to give you problems in the future.
 
Well, Diamonds Direct is a reputable store and they do carry very fine settings. I think $200 is a really great price for a setting, so that leaves $3000 for the diamond. Is it a princess? If it has a GIA cert and it looks good, I''d go for it. Diamonds Direct is a nice store, so I wouldn''t overpay if I could get a good deal there.
 
1. I had an appointment. He was busy with a walk-in so I had to wait awhile. No big deal, but it kind of sets the tone.

2. I''m 20 yrs old and I always get that he''s just kid thing. When I was with the guy he made me feel like he was in a rush to move on to someone else. ( I had been there 10 mins)
Once I told him what I wanted and being very specific it was a little better and he realized I had researched a little.

3. When I told him cut wasn''t as important to and I wanted a good value by stepping down in cut the response was a laughing/head shaking "Well! Cut should be very important."

4. They start bad mouthing all the small local jewelry stores. Then they started using the names of specific jewelers. Competition is good, but this was too far for me.


At the end, we agreed they had nothing that fit my criteria, but he would give me a call if something came in.

Service was bad, but not 1300 bad.
 
Yes it is princess cut, but something just doesn''t seem right. Maybe I''m just in shock of how good of a deal this is.
 
Well, if they are a reputable store, I suppose it couldn''t hurt to sheck it out...$1300 is a lot of money! What is their return policy like? Maybe you could purchase it and have it looked at elsewhere? Probably not the jeweler you are also considering, but if there is another jeweler locally? I am not an expert, just a girl that loves diamonds...I am just trying to throw some options your way. Good luck to you, I am sure that you will make the right choice
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Date: 8/21/2006 10:43:06 PM
Author: JT
Yes it is princess cut, but something just doesn''t seem right. Maybe I''m just in shock of how good of a deal this is.
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I don''t know...maybe you should go with your gut feeling???
 
Diamonds Direct does a 30 day return.

The customer service at Donald Haack was the best out of the 8-9 stores I went to. She went above and beyond any expectations I had. I really felt like I was the only customer she was dealing with that day and she didn''t try a single sales teqhnique, including pressure. She took very good notes of what I wanted and then she showed me different diamonds and different characteristics of each just to make sure we were on the same page. She made friendly suggestions and helpful tips. I really learned a lot from her. Then she called and after I handed the money over and said lady made slight mistake with the money. I paid $15.00 more than we agreed on and she would credit me on the bands when we came back.

I just don''t know.......
 
I feel for you and I hope you keep updating on your situation. I know if I were you i''d want to go with the place that gave good service just to reward them for it. But like you said that extra 1k and some change could be used elsewhere. Thats A LOT. Honestly you''ll know what you see it though. When my husband and I went to look at stones for an upgrade there were two we had to choose from. Both were a great cut. One was a little bigger and better color but slightly lower clarity. The second was a little bit better in cut and clairty. I''m talking the tiniest of margins here. We knew that stats were really good on both stones and I just looked at them and both of us picked the one we liked the best. Turned out to be the slightly larger one with better color, little lower clarity and cut. If you end up going into the "sketch" place and you look at the diamond and are impressed then see where you want to go from there. If you feel ok about switching last minute than go ahead and save that cash and don''t look back or feel bad! You might take one look at the stone and just KNOW you don''t like it as much as the other place.....who knows. Do you have all the stats on both stones? The number crunchers on here may be able to help you know in comparison what the cost difference SHOULD be between the two. There are lots of little things that could make one stone more pricey or more cheap in comparison to another stone that seems like it''s almost the same.

Another thing to keep in mind. Wherever you get your girls ring, this is the place that your going to be taking it for "tune ups" for the rest of her life. To get a cleaning, to get it checked, to get it dipped or polished. If you feel like you don''t like dealing with the "sketch" place then you might want to rule them out. Just imagine if one of your girls prongs or something seemed loose, and you had to take it in and deal with these people to fix it. Do you think it would be ok or nothing but aggravation?

I''m sorry if i''ve done nothing but confuse you more. Just trying to think of some things that would matter to me in your situation. Please...keep us all posted! Also, I hate that age thing. I''m 26 and I get that all the time. Treated like I can''t afford anything in the store!
 
Yeah, that''s not too classy to name other jewelry stores, but they do have a better selection than most. And he was telling you the truth that the cut is the most important thing and the one you don''t want to sacrifice. Hopefully you have a good image of the other stone in your brain so you can have a pretty good idea if the new one looks as nice. I do like to reward good service, and I did buy from a diamond vendor on PS who gave me excellent service. But $1300 more is just too much difference to pay if both stones are comparable and GIA graded.
 
Hi there! I am sure that the money would be useful elsewhere, but you get what you pay for too, and in the end, like someone else posted, you will be in the store where you got it from time to time. You might even buy from them in the future for other gifts. Maybe this is totally off the wall, but could you tell the more expensive place that on your search path you went to place X before you went to them. At the time they had nothing so you left and kept looking. The salesperson kept you in mind and called you with stone Y. If you think the two stones are apples to apples, you could mention to the people at the more expensive store that it is a significant amount of money and could they work with you? In today''s world, you can often negotiate a better price. Ultimately, it is your money, and it is a lot, but you have to think long range too. I would not like being belittled or ignored or feel rushed, though yes, I would like to keep 1300.00 in MY pocket. If you have any documentation on the less expensive stone, and could show the people at the first store, maybe saving some of the money is a good compromise. Give the first store a chance to compete, if they cannot accomodate you, you can decide from there. I would want, as a store owner, the chance to compete for the business. If it was not possible, I would be honest, but at least would know I had been given the opportunity. I think if you deal with them fairly and honestly, it is the right way to go about it. As much as I would want the money, I would not like giving my business to the place that was lacking in customer care.
 
Just a newbie here, but thought I'd give my thoughts on the matter. You seem to prefer the service from one store much more than the other. Keeping in mind that this will be the store you go back to for any future issues, you might want to consider calling the jeweler you like and giving them the honest update of what has happened. Tell them you dealt with them in good faith, were ready to move forward with them, and then you got this call from a jeweler you had visited prior to meeting them. Say you would like to deal with them, but $1300 is a lot for you and could they possibly reduce their price?

My guess is that the jeweler is already wondering what is going on, since you called to hold everything. If it were me, just from a human perspective I would appreciate the opportunity to keep the business rather than having it yanked at the last minute when you decide to go elsewhere. Even if they can't meet your price and you end up leaving, there is still the good faith and respect intact as long as they feel you have been straightforward with them and given them a chance. JMO

My advice, FWIW, is to decide just what dollar figure you are willing to pay for better service and peace of mind. You say that the jeweler is not $1300 better, but what about $500 or $600? Just a thought... you might want to come up with a figure in your mind that you are willing to pay and then see if they will meet it before walking away to a dealer you have less respect for.

Also, if you or your fiancee are superstitious at all you might want to find out if the cheaper diamond is a trade-in... I've had friends that chose against a trade-in because they didn't want to risk having a diamond from a broken marriage.

Good luck. Be honest and true and then at least you have your self-respect at the end, no matter what happens.
 
Hey JT, I''m afraid I came into this thread late, but I just wanted to say that I get that age thing too. I''m 23 and look about 21 and when I go into LA jewelry stores they don''t give me the time of day. If I was there with my fiance they would pay attention and respond to him, but not to me. It was especially a problem if I said I was looking for a 3/4 carat diamond, they immediately started to ignore me...3/4 carat must be too small for them to bother with. Irritating isn''t it?! I called up the online vendors and they treated me very well even though I sounded young and was purchasing a "smaller" stone. I won''t be going back to those stores when I''m looking for a larger upgrade
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. There were some B&M''s that were very considerate of me though, and that made a big difference.

Anyways, sorry for the tangent. Good luck checking out the bargain stone. Bring a loupe and feel free to step away if they start pressuring you. Also, try to get the stone into some non-store lighting to really see how it performs, maybe by a window or outside if they let you. It''s hard to tell a good cut from a terrible cut in those store lights. Don''t feel bad about puting the other ring on hold, just don''t keep them waiting too long and be thoughtful when telling them about the situation if you decide to go with the other one. Better yet, explain the situation and bargain with them a little since you really liked their customer service. In the end, go with your gut.
 
One more thing, I re-read your origional post. What is the color on the $3200 stone? Is that an H as well, or lower? If it's around a K, then the price would make more sense. Also, are you sure it's a GIA cert? If they made a mistake and it's actually an EGL or IGI than it would also be cheaper since they grade stones a couple of grades less strict. If you buy from this place, have it independently appraised by a gemologist before the return policy expires to make sure that you are getting what you paid for. This will clear your head as well.
 

Well the first jewelry store does know what''s going on. She has already come down about 300 and that’s as far as she can go. She agrees 3200 is very cheap, but she doesn''t understand how the other store is doing it.


I agree with all of you. To me, good service is worth 500-600 easy. 1300 is pushing it. I think the cheaper store now realizes I''m serious and their attitudes have changed drastically. I just don''t want Ashley to go in to get her ring polished and them act the way they did with me when I first went in.


Buying a ring is stressful…end of story.
 
Date: 8/21/2006 10:41:29 PM
Author: JT
When I told him cut wasn''t as important to and I wanted a good value by stepping down in cut the response was a laughing/head shaking ''Well! Cut should be very important.''
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FYI -- This is kinda like saying "I want a diamond but I don''t care if it''s pretty". I can understand why a jeweler might want to explain further about the importance of cut, rather than just use that excuse to drag out any unsightly/bargain stones he has in the bottom of his vault. But I don''t think *laughing* at you is so smart (or appropriate).

Hopefully the bargain stone is a nice one -- if the specs line up to match the non-bargain stone at the "nicer" store, tough call. If the gap is $1000 now ... could be worth it over the LIFETIME of the ring (for cleanings, service, polishing, any problems). If the idea of walking into the "bad" store over & over & over & relying on them makes you "ishy" ... don''t do it.

FWIW -- we bought a ring one place, had it repaired unsatisfactorally there, switched jewelers, new jeweler did an AWESOME job, will be using them (and paying them) for future servicing rather than the original jeweler. So just ''cause you buy something somewhere doesn''t mean you''re STUCK with them really ... you just have to be willing to pay for servicing elsewhere. Did that make sense?
 
How would one know if it is a trade in if the jeweler does not state that though??
 
Deco--

I hope that you don''t mind me asking, but the avatar picture....what setting is that? Beautiful!!!
 
Yes cut is important, but I was looking at an AGS 0 princess cut (they called it a triple 0, but it's an SI2 I) and the price was too high for the color and clarity.

The jeweler said in his opinon if this were an AGS stone it would be A 0-1... but he hasn't even seen it in person?!? They "Ordered" it Saturday night from Israel and its coming in today. That is awfully fast, don't you think? Are these red flags?



I'm excited/nervous/ and feel a little bad that I'm making the other store wait on me.
 
the vendor in isreal is probably the middleman. They get their diamonds from africa usually and then they ship them there for distribution. They can get a list of the size and cut, type etc of the diamonds before they are shipped for their stores stock. The fact that they have not seen the stone is not neccesarrily an alarm bell, but i would be carefull to look at the stone carefully and ask to see it under a microscope.

The fact the other store is waiting, well thats their job if they want future business then they will wait....
 
Date: 8/22/2006 8:38:11 AM
Author: JT
Yes cut is important, but I was looking at an AGS 0 princess cut (they called it a triple 0, but it''s an SI2 I) and the price was too high for the color and clarity.

The jeweler said in his opinon if this were an AGS stone it would be A 0-1... but he hasn''t even seen it in person?!? They ''Ordered'' it Saturday night from Israel and its coming in today. That is awfully fast, don''t you think? Are these red flags?



I''m excited/nervous/ and feel a little bad that I''m making the other store wait on me.
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Hey JT, a stone can be an AGS trups 0 and also SI2. The SI2 is the clarity. And AGS triple 0 means the cut is graded as a 0 (the best it can be ) and the polish and symmetry are both 0''s. I don''t know much about princess cut diamonds though. I actually had an AGS triple 0 stone on hold for me right before buying the diamond I chose. The markup for the premium of a triple 0 at a B & M would of only of let us afford a .73ct stone. It was pretty but I did want larger. We got a stone that looks just as good to me as the triple 0.....larger .83cts ....for less from James Allen. It''s all relative though as to what looks good to you.
 
devient--if you don''t mind me asking, since you decided against the AGS 000, what did you wind up getting and how did you decide on the diamond that you chose? (measurement? Crown , pavilion, etc???) I was only looking at ags000 or 0 and having a hard time finding alot of diamonds. I am now considering GIA but do not know where to start.
 
Date: 8/22/2006 8:38:11 AM
Author: JT
Yes cut is important, but I was looking at an AGS 0 princess cut (they called it a triple 0, but it''s an SI2 I) and the price was too high for the color and clarity.

The jeweler said in his opinon if this were an AGS stone it would be A 0-1... but he hasn''t even seen it in person?!? They ''Ordered'' it Saturday night from Israel and its coming in today. That is awfully fast, don''t you think? Are these red flags?



I''m excited/nervous/ and feel a little bad that I''m making the other store wait on me.
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Oh also i''m a little confused. Ok the stone you purchased from the store thats waiting is 1.01 ct, H in color and SI2 in clarity. It''s GIA graded. Do you know what the cut was graded? If they are saying the cut is equal to an AGS0 than it''s probably a GIA cut grade: Excellent.

The new stone that your waiting to look at that they are selling cheap, is an AGS triple 0 right? Or is it GIA? Or are they saying it''s GIA certified with the equivelent of an AGS triple 0? It;s the same color, carat weight and clarity right?

This seems a little wierd to me that they can sell so low. Maybe you could outright ask them? I mean for instance.....the stone I was going to buy was an AGS triple 0. Meaning the BEST cut and the BEST symmetry and polish. The stone I ended up geting was GIA graded. The cut was a step down from the AGS 0 and well as the symmetry and polish. Making it cheaper. Still ideal proportions but cheaper. It seems to me like they should be charging the same as the place you have on hold IF NOT MORE. Wierd.
 
Also sorry I keep thinking of things here. Both stones are supposed to be SI2 clarity right? The one you had on hold I take it you looked at it under a loupe and all right? Was it "eyeclean"? No visible or horrendous inclusions?

Make sure you check out this second stone for that too. It could be cheaper because maybe it has more inclusions, and isn''t eyeclean?
 
Date: 8/22/2006 3:14:09 PM
Author: allygirl
devient--if you don''t mind me asking, since you decided against the AGS 000, what did you wind up getting and how did you decide on the diamond that you chose? (measurement? Crown , pavilion, etc???) I was only looking at ags000 or 0 and having a hard time finding alot of diamonds. I am now considering GIA but do not know where to start.
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I don''t mind at all! Well my goal when starting out was to find the best quality diamond as close to 1ct as I could with my budget. I live in MD went to a B&M Smyth which was very reputable. Don''t get me wrong the AGS000 was very nice. I looked online and found a stone at James Allen that looked interesting to me. It was listed as Ideal cut but graded GIA. So this is is how I take it to understand the whole GIA/AGS comparison thing. The best GIA cut grade is Excellent so if you wanted the GIA version of an AGS0 you would need to find a GIA cut grade of Excellent with Excellent symmetry and polish. That would be the GIA version of an AGS000.Now thats the best way I udnerstand to come up with a comparison on the two. I know there are a lot of debates over that like the thread in rocky talk. Now I was on a budget, so baisically I worked with Jim and what we found was a really nice stone. It''s "technically" a GIA cut grade of Very Good. With Very Good polish and symmetry. The only thing that keeps my diamond from being cut grade excellent is the girdle. According to GIA to be cut grade excellent you have to have a girdle of Thin to medium I think. Mine is very thin to medium. So the little thin spot on my girdle is what makes it Very Good instead. That didn''t matter to me because all the angles and crown, table, pavilloin ect are still "ideal". It''s cut to maximize the fire and brilliance. For instance when I plug all my diamonds info into the HCA this is what I get:

Holloway Cut Adviser


Factor Grade
Light Return: Excellent
Fire: Very Good
Scintillation: Very Good
Spread
or diameter for weight: Very Good
Total Visual Performance 1.7 - Excellent
within TIC range

So yes my diamond is "Ideal" as in it''s the best cut for it. But it''s not AGS000. Personally I can''t tell. Without looking through microscopes or ideal scopes....I couldn''t tell the difference between the diamond at Symth and the one I got from James Allen. However I got larger...cheaper. Don''t know if that helped at all!
 
Thanks for all the advice! Just to clear things up The original stone, from Donald Haack, was an GIA SI2 H 1.01 (sorry that''s all I remember). It was eye-clean from the face; if you looked from the underside you could see 2 very small black dots in the center under the table. The diamond and 18k wg solitaire setting came out to be 4500.

Next Diamonds Direct Called and said they found a few thing interesting in Israel.
1. GIA 1.01 H D-69 T-71 $3200 (setting included)
2. GIA 1.03 H D-72 T-67 $3200 (setting included)

Stone 1 you could see a black spec in the center...didn''t like it. Even though it was proportioned perfect it didn''t sparkle like stone 2

Stone 2 is, IMHO, the cleanest SI2 I have seen. It has one very small white cloud under the table in an extreme corner. It''s not saying much, but I couldn''t find the inclusion with my own eyes.

I was told both diamonds have a cut = to AGS 0-1.

I went with Stone 2 from Diamonds Direct. They had a copy of the GIA cert. on hand so they weighed it and measured the dimension right in front of me. However, I am still getting 2 second opinions. I’m getting one from Donald Haack and the other from a jeweler who’s not local to them.
 
How could I forget...I got some interesting new from the second jeweler that will be looking at the diamond.

Donald Haack gave a second opinion to a Diamonds Direct customer 2 months ago. The diamond in question was 6 cts!! Donald Haack found something (don''t know) and the customer ended up not purchasing the diamond. From what the lady told me Diamonds Direct have taking a loss with some customers who are looking at Donald Haack. She thought this could be a reason why they are selling it so cheap. She also said if the diamond is what I say it is, there making a lot less than a 10% profit.
 
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