Peerless at Jared?? Advice Welcome!

[newbie13]

Hello I am new to the registered forum and have been studying diamonds over the last few months. I have been on the site numerous of times and finally decided to post.

I am looking at getting a 1.02 ct VS2 G in the princess peerless (more stats when diamond arrives to Jared). I have read in many of the topics about people advising to stay away from Jared. Has anyone had a good expereince?? What about the peerless? It is one of the stones I have been most impressed with, besides the Tiffany Lucida. I am getting down to time where I want to make an offer, but it appears they do not budge with price. I originally asked to have them send in a VS1, but they could only find a VS2, this is a leverage point I may have in negotiations.

Please let me know if I should absolutely stay away from Jared, as the other ring I am looking at is at Tiff''s. I know many of you are going to stay away from tiff too

 

[Jenn5504]

I can speak from over 5 years of frequent dealings with Jared..........I would not recommend them. Just my opinion though.

 

[neatfreak]

Jared to Tiffs? That's a crazy crazy jump!!!

Personally, I think the service isn't great at Jareds AND the prices are super high. The nicest princesses I have seen to date have come from Whiteflash's A Cut Above (ACA) line. You will get a much nicer stone for less and better service than Jareds and don't have to pay the Tiffany markup.

That is what I would do if I were in the market for a princess...


ETA: For example, here is a link to a stone just like you're looking for. They have many others in that size range too. Gorgeous!

http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-312226.htm

 

[Jenn5504]

Ditto Neatfreak! I found the 2 stores in consideration to be an extreme variation. But BOTH are V*E*R*Y overpriced.............very...........I would also recommend the WF ACA princess stones.

 

[jaz464]

I believe that the peerless diamonds at Jareds are AGS000. So you would most likely be getting a beautiful diamond. However, I would be shocked if they could compete with the online vendors on price.

 

[newbie13]

I am looking at this ring and it is marked $7200, without the specs it is tough to compare, but once I find out I will post.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/19/2007 6:07:57 PM
Author: newbie13
I am looking at this ring and it is marked $7200, without the specs it is tough to compare, but once I find out I will post.

If it's an AGS000 stone and the setting is platinum, it's not a horrible price. But you could do better online most likely. Do yourself a favor and run a search here on PS for Jared's. Unfortunately there are more horror stories than good ones about the quality of their settings and their customer service.

 

[swingirl]

Make sure you read their return policy and upgrade policy. Also keep in mind they clain that all their ladies'' rings are size 7 and will be sized up or down from there. Anniversary rings with diamonds all around would be special ordered but for the most part is sounds like they do a lot of sizing. They have a website with Q & A.

And considering they have stores all over the US, It''s hard to believe that no store carries the exact combination you are looking for, unless they never carry anything in the VS1 or higher catagory.

Spend some more time looking before you narrow your choices.

 

[newbie13]

I just received a call back:


Loose Stone Only: $7200

.977
VS2
G
AGS(000)
5.39 X 5.33 X 3.97
Depth %: 57.3
Table %: 65
Crown%: 13
Symm: Ideal
Polish: Ideal

Thoughts? They call it a 1ct, but my understanding is it has to be closer than that to be considered a 1ct...am I mistaken. Approximately how over priced is this stone...more than $1000?

 

[jstarfireb]

Interesting...the depth is a lot less than what I usually see for a princess, but the dimensions are right on for a 1ct princess. I would expect a shallow stone to have better spread than that. The crown and table are good.

I think that''s probably a great looking stone, but the Peerless brand carries a huge markup. The ACA brand on the other hand has only a small premium, and they''re also AGS000. I have an ACA Princess and it''s the most sparkly princess I''ve ever seen. That G/VS2 looks like a great one, but you can save even more money by dropping the color a bit. Mine is 1.016 I/VVS1, and it cost only $4200 or so after the PS discount.

 

[jaz464]

If you compare to Whiteflash's AGS000 princessess you will find the Jared's diamond is about $1000 more. Plus, since it is under a carat you should be saving maybe even a little more than $1000. .97 ct. is a really great size because it looks like a 1 carat but shouldn't carry the premium of a 1 carat. Unfortunatly, they seem to have priced is as though it actually is 1 carat. Here are some examples from WF. Some of these have better clarity as well.

http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-174066.htm


http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-312232.htm


http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-312233.htm


Wait is it a 1.02 or a .97? You have both weights listed.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/19/2007 7:11:15 PM
Author: newbie13
I just received a call back:



Loose Stone Only: $7200


.977

VS2

G

AGS(000)

5.39 X 5.33 X 3.97

Depth %: 57.3

Table %: 65

Crown%: 13

Symm: Ideal

Polish: Ideal


Thoughts? They call it a 1ct, but my understanding is it has to be closer than that to be considered a 1ct...am I mistaken. Approximately how over priced is this stone...more than $1000?

Well, it's not a great price, at least $1,000 overpriced and maybe more. If you scroll back up, I posted an ideally cut GVS2 princess (AGS0-best princess cut out there as you know) from WF, that is 1.1 in size, for about $1,000 less!!!

 

[newbie13]

Date: 6/19/2007 8:26:39 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 6/19/2007 7:11:15 PM
Author: newbie13
I just received a call back:



Loose Stone Only: $7200


.977

VS2

G

AGS(000)

5.39 X 5.33 X 3.97

Depth %: 57.3

Table %: 65

Crown%: 13

Symm: Ideal

Polish: Ideal


Thoughts? They call it a 1ct, but my understanding is it has to be closer than that to be considered a 1ct...am I mistaken. Approximately how over priced is this stone...more than $1000?

Well, it''s not a great price, at least $1,000 overpriced and maybe more. If you scroll back up, I posted an ideally cut GVS2 princess (AGS0-best princess cut out there as you know) from WF, that is 1.1 in size, for about $1,000 less!!!

How do these impact price and looks, as the one I am looking has no culet and no presence of fluorscence?



. Culet: Pointed
. Fluorescence: Negligible

 

[jstarfireb]

Someone correct me if I''m wrong, but I believe pointed culet and no culet mean the same thing, as do negligible and no fluorescence. They may just be GIA and AGS''s different ways of reporting things.

 

[Finding_Neverland]

Date: 6/19/2007 8:26:39 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 6/19/2007 7:11:15 PM

Author: newbie13

I just received a call back:




Loose Stone Only: $7200



.977


VS2


G


AGS(000)


5.39 X 5.33 X 3.97


Depth %: 57.3


Table %: 65


Crown%: 13


Symm: Ideal


Polish: Ideal



Thoughts? They call it a 1ct, but my understanding is it has to be closer than that to be considered a 1ct...am I mistaken. Approximately how over priced is this stone...more than $1000?

Well, it''s not a great price, at least $1,000 overpriced and maybe more. If you scroll back up, I posted an ideally cut GVS2 princess (AGS0-best princess cut out there as you know) from WF, that is 1.1 in size, for about $1,000 less!!!

The stone Neat Freak posted would carry the price premium hit for exceeding the 1 carat mark.

Plus, with WF, if you wanna upgrade, there''s no set premium price you have to spend. With Jareds, you have to spend double the price of the original diamond purchase.

 

[jaym]

If you are leery of buying a diamond online, don''t be. I was at one point, too, but after talking to the awesome people at Whiteflash, I didn''t think twice about passing on a stone from a local store that was oddly enough about $1k more than the exact stone at WF. I got my setting at the local store and sent it to WF for mounting. It should be here tomorrow. It took a little longer and required some legwork on my part, but in the end, for $1k, it was worth it.

 

[neatfreak]

Culet impacts nothing, flor either unless it''s significant. Even then the pricebreak isn''t too much.

Trust me, you would do much much better at WF than you would with Jareds.

 

[newbie13]

Date: 6/19/2007 8:50:51 PM
Author: jaym
If you are leery of buying a diamond online, don''t be. I was at one point, too, but after talking to the awesome people at Whiteflash, I didn''t think twice about passing on a stone from a local store that was oddly enough about $1k more than the exact stone at WF. I got my setting at the local store and sent it to WF for mounting. It should be here tomorrow. It took a little longer and required some legwork on my part, but in the end, for $1k, it was worth it.

I have been looking at this site more closely now that I have seen some good things, more so than about Jared. So if I do purchase a diamond and find a mounting elsewhere, I would send it back to WF? How long would this take? What warranty do they provide...maintenance, cleaning. I would assume that I would have to take it to a local jeweler to have this maintenance done.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/19/2007 11:20:57 PM
Author: newbie13

Date: 6/19/2007 8:50:51 PM

Author: jaym

If you are leery of buying a diamond online, don''t be. I was at one point, too, but after talking to the awesome people at Whiteflash, I didn''t think twice about passing on a stone from a local store that was oddly enough about $1k more than the exact stone at WF. I got my setting at the local store and sent it to WF for mounting. It should be here tomorrow. It took a little longer and required some legwork on my part, but in the end, for $1k, it was worth it.

I have been looking at this site more closely now that I have seen some good things, more so than about Jared. So if I do purchase a diamond and find a mounting elsewhere, I would send it back to WF? How long would this take? What warranty do they provide...maintenance, cleaning. I would assume that I would have to take it to a local jeweler to have this maintenance done.

I''d recommend that you send the setting to WF unless you pick one of the gorgeous (and very reasonably priced) ones on their website. They also do custom work. They are very fast, but you would need to call them to get specifics.

You would have to take it to a local jeweler to have your stones checked and cleaned. BUT any local jeweler worth their gold will clean and check it for you for free. I have a local store who always offers for me as soon as I walk in the door. But other than the occasional cleaning and stone check, should be maintenance free.

 

[Finding_Neverland]

Date: 6/19/2007 11:20:57 PM
Author: newbie13

Date: 6/19/2007 8:50:51 PM

Author: jaym

If you are leery of buying a diamond online, don''t be. I was at one point, too, but after talking to the awesome people at Whiteflash, I didn''t think twice about passing on a stone from a local store that was oddly enough about $1k more than the exact stone at WF. I got my setting at the local store and sent it to WF for mounting. It should be here tomorrow. It took a little longer and required some legwork on my part, but in the end, for $1k, it was worth it.

I have been looking at this site more closely now that I have seen some good things, more so than about Jared. So if I do purchase a diamond and find a mounting elsewhere, I would send it back to WF? How long would this take? What warranty do they provide...maintenance, cleaning. I would assume that I would have to take it to a local jeweler to have this maintenance done.

I just went thru dealing with WF and they were excellent. I asked a bunch of questions too. If this, then what types of questions.

It''s good to establish a relationship with a local you trust anyway. Pretty much any local jeweler will do a cleaning and prong inspection (if appropriate) for you for little or no charge. Cleanings will definitely be free. Just about any shop you walk into will clean your ring while you wait. A prong inspection and tightening, if needed, might be a minor charge.

If you go with a local setting, you''d arrange with WF in advance to ship to them. WF would need to know your setting is coming and give you an Authorization number to accept your package on their end. Then you''d most likely ship via USPS Registered, Insured Mail. Which will probably be the long part of the process. USPS Registered mail travels to the beat of it''s own drummer. Others here have posted that they just went FedEx overnight and hoped for the best. BUT, their pieces were already insured thru homeowner''s or a seperate jewelry policy.

If you go with a WF setting selected from their site, turn around time could be really quick. Maybe as little as 2-3 days to a week. Custom may take longer as you''d have to work out the details of your design.

 

[swingirl]

There also is a nice one at GoodOldGold, another tried and true vendor well spoken of on PS.

1.21 G SI1 (if you are okay going down in clarity. The inclusions are mapped out and look pretty minor)
AGS 000
$6,663
$6,438 (bank wire price)
5.89 x 594 x 4.21 (larger size!!)

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3081/