Online vs. B&M

[officefan]

Hi,

I have $7,000 to spend on an E-ring.

Today I went to the neighborhood jeweler to look into a ring. I''m looking for a 1carat F round in a platnium four-stone setting. The neighborhood jeweler quoted me $8,700. I plugged those exact specifications into BlueNile and was quoted $6,800.

I''m new to this and am like a deer in the headlights.

Is the savings of online worth it? I''m just suspect of buying something that large sight unseen online.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/23/2008 2:51:27 PM
Author:officefan
Hi,

I have $7,000 to spend on an E-ring.

Today I went to the neighborhood jeweler to look into a ring. I'm looking for a 1carat F round in a platnium four-stone setting. The neighborhood jeweler quoted me $8,700. I plugged those exact specifications into BlueNile and was quoted $6,800.

I'm new to this and am like a deer in the headlights.

Is the savings of online worth it? I'm just suspect of buying something that large sight unseen online.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!

Welcome!

Yes buying online can be definitely worth it, there are many of us who have done so successfully and would do so again. It is cut quality which is so important for a pretty diamond, BN are an excellent vendor but you need to know what to look for with their diamonds, most of their diamonds aren't in house, nor do they supply images which can help you choose a well cut stone.

If you look for AGS0 cut grade at BN if you prefer to stick with them, then that is a safer bet for cut quality. Otherwise you could check out some of the other vendors who have in house diamonds and the accompanying info such as -

www.winkjones.com

www.goodoldgold.com

www.whiteflash.com

www.niceice.com

www.jamesallen.com

There are other vendors as well who could help you. Some of the vendors mentioned have an upgrade policy also in case that is ever a consideration, BN do not. You can also use the search tool above, Pricescope your Diamond and use the cut quality search feature to bring up the better cut diamonds.

But whatever way you decide to buy, we can help you through it. Crucial info which is needed to judge cut quality is as follows....

Type of grading report ( AGS and GIA are considered the gold standard)
depth %
table%
crown angle
pavilion angle
polish and symmetry grades
girdle thickness
diameter
fluorescence.

 

[swingirl]

Just to give you an example, here is a stone that meets your requirements. Look at all the photos and specs. It's things like the ASET image and AGS and GIA reports that help PSers weed out the bad stones and feel more confident about buying a stone from an internet vendor without seeing it in person. (Most of the vendors do have an office or store front that the lucky ones who live close have visited. Blue Nile does not.)

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5193/

 

[officefan]

Thanks to the both of you for your quick responses!!

What are peoples feeling on one e-tailor compared to another? I know BN doesn''t do upgrades, which isn''t an issue for me, and I love their settings. I''ve heard nothing but good things about WF but don''t really like their website setup and settings.

Any (and all) advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[stone-cold11]

BN is a drop shipper and does not provide as much details as those vendors listed by lorelei, so getting ideal cuts with Hearts&Arrorw pattern is a hit and miss affair with BN and other drop-shippers. But if you want just an ideal cut, BN could be the way to go although JA and Exceldiamonds usually sells the same stones for cheaper if they have access to the same stone.

So shop around, use the HCA to weed down the number of candidates and post here for review if you want some opinions.

Good luck.

 

[officefan]

I meant to say princess cut, not round.

Is there something similar for princess?

 

[stone-cold11]

Princess cut, you will have to go with AGS0 cut grade. Look for stones with AGS Diamond Quality Document. That is the only safe way with Princess cut unless it is a stone from WF, GOG, NiceIce or Winkjones, I would trust their judgment if they say the stone is cut beautifully.

 

[officefan]

What about James Allen?

I was just on their website and like their settings and their stones.

 

[Regular Guy]

Julie seems to comment on them (JA''s princess options) sometimes favorably...but generally...not sure they even do IS''s for them, and ASET''s are preferred...if they don''t have AGS goods...and I don''t believe they do.

 

[stone-cold11]

JA do not have AGSO stones, or I have not found them. Their GIA graded stones are sometimes a hit and miss. But you can get a Idealscope image from them, which is better than other drop-shippers, and post it here, after you have the stone on hold for you to prevent lurkers snatching stones away, for opinions.

 

[officefan]

Date: 12/23/2008 7:10:57 PM
Author: Regular Guy
Julie seems to comment on them (JA''s princess options) sometimes favorably...but generally...not sure they even do IS''s for them, and ASET''s are preferred...if they don''t have AGS goods...and I don''t believe they do.

I''m missing something here....who is Julie?

 

[officefan]

Date: 12/23/2008 6:40:21 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Princess cut, you will have to go with AGS0 cut grade. Look for stones with AGS Diamond Quality Document. That is the only safe way with Princess cut unless it is a stone from WF, GOG, NiceIce or Winkjones, I would trust their judgment if they say the stone is cut beautifully.

On WF - Is there a big difference between "A Cut Above" and not?

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/23/2008 7:32:08 PM
Author: officefan

Date: 12/23/2008 7:10:57 PM
Author: Regular Guy
Julie seems to comment on them (JA''s princess options) sometimes favorably...but generally...not sure they even do IS''s for them, and ASET''s are preferred...if they don''t have AGS goods...and I don''t believe they do.

I''m missing something here....who is Julie?

She''s a very smart poster on here.

Have you looked at Goodoldgold? They have several brand name settings, and I found this stone. It''s a G, but trust me, it''s going to look very white. And it''s bigger, always a plus.

Bankwire is discount.

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/5319/

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/23/2008 7:41:43 PM
Author: officefan

Date: 12/23/2008 6:40:21 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Princess cut, you will have to go with AGS0 cut grade. Look for stones with AGS Diamond Quality Document. That is the only safe way with Princess cut unless it is a stone from WF, GOG, NiceIce or Winkjones, I would trust their judgment if they say the stone is cut beautifully.

On WF - Is there a big difference between ''A Cut Above'' and not?

Not on some, it depends.

 

[officefan]

Date: 12/23/2008 7:43:56 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 12/23/2008 7:32:08 PM
Author: officefan

Date: 12/23/2008 7:10:57 PM
Author: Regular Guy
Julie seems to comment on them (JA''s princess options) sometimes favorably...but generally...not sure they even do IS''s for them, and ASET''s are preferred...if they don''t have AGS goods...and I don''t believe they do.

I''m missing something here....who is Julie?

She''s a very smart poster on here.

Have you looked at Goodoldgold? They have several brand name settings, and I found this stone. It''s a G, but trust me, it''s going to look very white. And it''s bigger, always a plus.

Bankwire is discount.

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/5319/

Gotcha.

I wanted to stick to 1 ct. The GF is 5''1" anything larger would look gaudy IMO (and hers).

I''ve searched around PS and am kind of getting anti-BlueNile vibes. I''ve been searching for months and went directly to their website everytime. Any reason they''re avoided or is it just me?

 

[stone-cold11]

There just isn't enough info on most of BN's fancy cuts to make any kind of judgment, exceptions being AGS0 stones. If you want to take a risk, it is up to you, we can't make an opinion on a stone based on just the report provided by GIA.

The stone you buy could be a great stone or a dud as the term 'ideal cut' on a GIA stone is not given by GIA but by the vendor holding the stone.

 

[Ellen]

Yep, the only ones I would consider with fancy cuts is the Signature Collection. Those are on site, and they carry AGS0. Unfortunately, I don't see any there in your range. They are also known for saying stones are eyeclean when they're not.

You can always just ask a vendor to find what you want too.

 

[Ellen]

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/5083/

 

[swingirl]

This is quite a pretty stone within your specs that Ellen found (didn't know before that you were looking for a princess cut).
1.01ct F VS1

If I am going to buy a stone from an internet vendor I want that vendor to have it in his hands, describe it to me over the phone, and talk about it's inclusions, etc. I want to see magnified photos of the stone. I want an expert's opinion. Blue Nile offers none of those things. They do offer a good return policy but no one actually looks at or photographs the stone.

EDIT: Oh, the second one you picked, Ellen, is gorgeous!!!

 

[:)]

Bluenile is not a drop shipper for their Signature Ideal collection - they do have those in house.

 

[swingirl]

Date: 12/23/2008 11:00:33 PM
Author:
Bluenile is not a drop shipper for their Signature Ideal collection - they do have those in house.

Why don't they take photos? Will they look at the stone and tell you about it? Are their sales people trained to comment on several stones you might want to compare? I haven't heard of anyone talking about that sort of relationship with the BN sales team. It'd be nice if they offered some of those aids.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/24/2008 12:34:10 AM
Author: swingirl

Date: 12/23/2008 11:00:33 PM
Author:
Bluenile is not a drop shipper for their Signature Ideal collection - they do have those in house.

Why don''t they take photos? Will they look at the stone and tell you about it? Are their sales people trained to comment on several stones you might want to compare? I haven''t heard of anyone talking about that sort of relationship with the BN sales team. It''d be nice if they offered some of those aids.

Probably don''t want to mess with it (expense/time). Plus, most of their customers aren''t as anal as PS clients, therefore don''t even ask (or know to ask).

They will look at the stone for you, and talk about eyecleanliness. Unfortunately they are known somewhat for being wrong about that.

Not sure.