Please Help! I'm running short on time.

[morphiend]

My girlfriend, soon to be fiance, has spent the majority of the past months in hospital. I've spent endless hours sitting at her bedside. She is now on the road to recovery and I'm quite convinced that she has beaten the worst of. However, before she went into hospital, I had made plans on how to propose to her. Short story, I have till August 8 to find the ring, and have not had time do research on what to get, and more importantly, right now, where to get it. The kicker is I'm in Vancouver, Canada. Can anyone provide some guidance as to where I can start looking locally with confidence? Thanks to anyone that can assist.

 

[slg47]

what type of ring are you looking for? do you know what style she likes? round/princess/emerald cut/pave band/halo/solitaire/etc...

I don't know any stores in Vancouver but PSers can help you find a beautiful ring online if you post more about your desired specs/budget

 

[morphiend]

I'm looking for round solitaire, si2 or better, i color or better. I'm limited to about $7000can all in. I was planning on buying online, but now I'm worried it will take to long? Thanks for the quick reply slg47.

 

[slg47]

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-ri ... re-587.htm
this setting says takes 3 business days to complete, and they will ship overnight.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 275627.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 179747.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 169552.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamond ... 212153.htm

ask if these are eye-clean, or just call WF and tell them your budget/specs and have them help you

 

[septsparkle]

If you go through WF, choose a simple solitaire and you CALL them I think you can get it done in time! I have never called their office except to talk directly to my contact, so I don't know how it works, but if you need a name of someone to talk to....I worked with Liza and she was AWESOME! You could ask for her if it helps. She was very calm and kind and very helpful. Never felt rushed and she was quick to give me options. I was very pleased.

 

[Horton]

I worked with Traci and Sheerah at WF. They will get you taken care of!

 

[slg47]

also, I hope your GF is doing better!

 

[BubbleGumPlant]

Yeah just call the vendor, they will help you out. It helps if you call them while you're in front of the computer so that you can both choose a diamond and setting together. They will let you know what can and cannot be shipped in time. Many vendors use FedEx. Within the US it's usually 1-2 business days. To cross the border, it may or may not take longer depending on customs. If you can't take the chance, ask the vendor to ship it to a FedEx location in the US (i.e. Seattle) and drive across to pick it up.

Keep in mind that you will have to pay taxes (around 13%) + and I think there will be duty as well. There is a way around taxes but I'm pretty sure it's against forum rules to get into any details.

 

[jaybx09]

i got my girlfriend her ring about a month ago from brian gavin...they completed it , shipped it and i received it all under 2 weeks from day i put in the order...im sure if i was on a time restraint they would have got it to me any quicker...so whoever you go with, call them and tell them you need it a little bit rushed. im sure they will put yours ahead of a few others....
only company i dealt with was BGD so i cant comment on the others..
if you consider BGD, i dealt with Denise..she was great. give her a call and see what she says about your august 7th timeline.
by the way, hope your girlfriend is doing good..! im sure i nice sparkly diamond will make her recover even better..
good luck

 

[jaybx09]

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamo ... 0399230036

looks like a great deal if eye clean...

 

[RhubarbPie]

We had a custom ring made from James Allen and they were so great about meeting deadlines. They made the custom setting in about 2 weeks. We also took our time finding the perfect diamonds and they were great in answering our questions. They use overnight shipping so if you call them with what your looking for and budget I'm sure they could help find a stone and stock setting and ship it to meet your deadline.

Another idea is that you could order an unset diamond and present it to her when you propose. Then you could pick out or design a setting yourself together so you wouldn't need to feel rushed about it. I don't know about other sites, but most stones that you can order from James Allen can be shipped the next day I believe (as long as they are in house).

 

[Lula]

I, too, hope your girlfriend is feeling much better. I'm not sure if the states of Idaho and Oregon could be considered "close" to where you are, but you might want to consider giving Wink at High Performance Diamonds a call. He's in Idaho and I know he has worked with clients from Canada many times. And Todd from Nice Ice may also be able to help you. He's in Oregon. Both are Crafted by Infinity vendors and you can find their contact information here:
http://www.craftedbyinfinity.com/index.php?page=dealers

What I would do is contact the vendors suggested to you in this thread -- and contact them by phone, not e-mail -- and give them your budget and timeline. I believe all of the vendors suggested will do their best to help you.

 

[BubbleGumPlant]

We had a custom ring made from James Allen and they were so great about meeting deadlines. They made the custom setting in about 2 weeks. We also took our time finding the perfect diamonds and they were great in answering our questions. They use overnight shipping so if you call them with what your looking for and budget I'm sure they could help find a stone and stock setting and ship it to meet your deadline.

Another idea is that you could order an unset diamond and present it to her when you propose. Then you could pick out or design a setting yourself together so you wouldn't need to feel rushed about it. I don't know about other sites, but most stones that you can order from James Allen can be shipped the next day I believe (as long as they are in house).

I'm going off topic here, but I didn't know JA does custom settings. If you prefer not to disclose I understand but how expensive would you rate their customs when compared to the settings that they currently offer?

 

[GamGam]

Is there any way to give answers to questions personally? I can answer Bubblegum Plant's question, but don't want to highjack this thread.

 

[Grlsbestfrnd]

Don't forget to ask wherever you buy from if they do a pricescope discount because it can help with your budget. You didn't mention what carat size you were aiming for. Was there a specific size you had in mind?

 

[Amys Bling]

You could also find a non H&A diamond. They are a great cut, but also a preference. I like the way they look, but not more than my Excellent cut RB...

suggestions: I'm no expert but maybe someone can comment on this

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamo ... d=27370228

 

[morphiend]

Wow thanks for all the advice PS'ers! CT size I'm thinking around 1carat. She has quite small hands and I think if its much bigger it would not suite her. I registered with White Flash last night and got a call today. The girl was fantastic! Very very helpful and pretty sure if I was on the ball getting it ordered she could have it to me in by the end of next week. My plan B is Costco. A couple of friend's got their rings there, and he are very happy with them. But the IGI grade cert worries me a little. The webpage says the diamond is GIA but then below that it says IGI. Any complaints, compliments on Costco?

 

[beezygal]

I have a plan C for you. I'm also in Vancouver BC. My bf and I were searching for the perfect diamond for a few months. Then I came across this site. http://www.canadian-diamonds-wholesale.com/ The website might look crappy, but they are very professional. My bf doesn't want to buy anything online without seeing, so I'm glad we found this place in Vancouver. They have an office in dt granville st, near the Future Shop/Winner. You get to look at the diamond in person. Jeff helped us there. He's very professional. He found us the PERFECT diamond for around $7750+tax. It's a 1.007 ct G VS2 round H&A AGS Triple Ideal diamond. He didn't have this diamond with him. It was with his cutter at the time. He had it shipped for us to look at. Then, he held onto the diamond for a week for us to think about it. After asking everyone here about that diamond, we bought that diamond from this place. We've looked for 1ish carat, SI1-SI2 H&A/non-H&A diamond at Lugaro and Ann-Louise (we pretty much looked EVERYWHERE). Their diamonds around 1 carat SI2 is around $9000. We got the best diamond within my bf's budget from this palce. They also have non-H&A diamonds and they custom make rings too. I highly recommend it. This way you can avoid duty. Let me know if you have other questions about our experience. Good luck!