Picking a vendor

[LOwrestling2001]

I was wondering, after some research, i''ve got an idea of a rough budget, and the color, clarity,cut, and size of the diamond that I want. The question is that, now there are so many vendors out there i''m not sure where to start, and what to look for in a vendor. There''s Tiffany and DeBeers, where it seems like you can''t really go wrong with buying a setting+diamond from them, at the expense of paying a bit more (but if the quality difference is significant, it''s worth it imo). However, there are a bunch of the reputable pricescope vendors that offer some nice looking diamonds, does the difference lie in their settings and the quality of the settings?

A final question, what sways people from getting a ring from Tiffany or DeBeers (I really like the basic solitaire settings that Tiffany and DeBeers sells) vs another vendor, is it that they can get a similar diamond for a slightly lower price (or a bigger diamond for the same price obv).

 

[JulieN]

Most PSers say it comes down to inventory and information, and if there are viable options at more than one vendor, it comes down to which one has the setting they want (ease of dealing with one vendor.)

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

My opinion is that a lot of people just don't want to pay for names when the names alone don't really account for a real noticeable jump in quality in either diamonds or settings. Try getting a price from Tiffany on one of their solitaires set with a particular diamond size (pick something that is easy to compare, like a 1 ct. round), then pricing out a similar Ideal-cut diamond and tiffany style setting at GoodOldGold.com, Whiteflash.com, JamesAllen.com, or EngagementRingsDirect.com and see if you can see any difference, keeping in mind that Tiffany and DeBeers don't have the monopoly on well cut diamonds.

The other thing is that Tiffany stores are usually in high-rent malls and stores so they have to charge more just to cover the overhead. By contrast, I have been buying jewelry from a hole-in-the-wall jewelry store in a little town where they sell designer lines (Tacori, Ritani, Landi, Storm, Kara just to name a few) and their pricing is very good. Personally, I would rather put my money toward a gorgeous diamond from GoodOldGold and designer setting than in Tiffany's pockets. However, I do think Tiffany products are beautiful. I am not saying they are not worth the money. Value means different things to different people. Some don't mind buying resale Tiffany from SignedPieces.com which is probably the only way I will ever own a genuine Tiffany product.