Please help me find a REAL ring..Ebay= FAILURE! What was I thinking?

[ring_confused]

Alright...long story made slightly less long. Been with my girlfriend for almost 3.5 years. Both graduated college earlier this year without those jobs handed to us like we planned. Both still living at home due to economic reasons. I am currently working as an assistant manager at a retail store but that does not bring in much money at all (BUT cost of living is low due to no rent!).

Anyway... I always told her I would buy her the ring she wants when I have the money to pay for it. Realizing she wants for little (besides a pretty ring) she has waited long enough and I am comfortable with taking a personal loan out to pay for the ring. On the plus side it will build me credit.

A couple of weeks ago I was on ebay (im addicted!) and found a very pretty ring (well the picture was). http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400081602729&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
I ended up bidding 500 on it as a joke (kind of like bidding 2000 on a 100k dollar ferrari, you will never be close to winning right?) Well I ended up being the high bidder till 2 days till the auction was over. After reviewing the feedback and researching what this same ring sold for in the past (1500-2000) I decided to actually play a real bid (of 1600). I ended up winning. I received the ring knowing I could return for 100% refund (also with paypal behind me) and I was APPAULED at what the ring was! It looked like it came from the quarter machine! SI3 is a JOKE in this situation. If there was an I4 rating this ring would get it. No carbon but I would say 60% of the visible center stone was covered in white feathers! Looked like crap!

So...ring was sent back a few days ago and waiting on the refund of my money. I am pretty confident in the refund as they answer my emails pretty quickly.

So... The ring pictured in the auction is basically what she would like (maybe without the antique looking ring, a smooth ring more like this one http://www.rogersandhollands.com/jewelry/product/Rings/White-Gold-Diamond-Engagement-Ring/101049.

We have both looked at this ring in person at a rogers and hollands I was disgusted by how yellow the center stone was. It was rated as an H but looked more like K or so.

I guess what im looking for is an Eye clean ring in the 2.0TW area (maybe a .7''ish center)...what should I realistically be looking to spend? The 5600 R&H wants seems to be WAY inflated for the quality. Can I expect an eye clean ring for under 5k or is that not realistic?

Thanks so much in advance... I am hoping to propose at christmas, or possibly early january when we are taking a trip out to Portland Oregon.

Mike

 

[outatouch0]

1. Welcome to PS

2. I do hope you can in fact get a refund

3. You most certainly can you get an eyeclean ring for your budget. In fact you can do better than that!!

4. It sounds as if you do know some things about diamonds which is good. I knew nothing when I started. Thanks to PS I had a wonderful diamond buying experience and you can too.
How I did it: I read through the knowlege section and did a lot of reading in the forums. I was able to get more than I had hoped for my budget. The end product is pictured in the thread listed in my signature.

 

[ring_confused]

Thanks for the enlightening words. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting larger

I think 2 CTW is the goal...If I can get eye clean with as close to colorless as I can get (within reason, nobody around our group of friends/family is a diamond expert but I dont want to see canary yellow lol) along with a pretty good cut all for UNDER the 5k mark I would be VERY happy.

I will go check out your purchase!

 

[decodelighted]

Can I ask why you're focusing on total carat weight as opposed to just the center stone? I usually see total carat weight used as a descriptor on sites like Overstock or Ebay or Costco or something and it has a kind of bargain-basement connotation to it. With a sizable 5K budget, I think you might inadvertently "cheapen" the ring by using those terms.

What about finding a nice just under a carat center stone & keeping the setting simple? Using a reputable online dealer (one of the Pricescope community faves) might be a way to get more bang for your buck then you'd get at a local retailer.


ETA: In order to count on the "H"s looking like "H"s -- you should consider looking at GIA or AGS certified stones. Other labs aren't as strict and can be very off. GIA & AGS are usually very accurate.

 

[decodelighted]

Here is an almost .75 branded "A Cut Above" Princess for you to check out if you click here. For $2600 ish ...

And here is a ONE CARAT princess for less than your budget -- with a simpler setting she could have a whole carat! $4475 (but you could ask for the Pricescope discount)

And here is a .92 stone for $3700 that might leave enough room in the budget for a three stone setting.

Whiteflash's three stone setting in white gold is here for $995

And here is one with channel set princesses for $1300 ish.

The ones the offer that are both three stone & channel set stones are $2500+ & I just would not recommend spending 1/2 your budget on *THE SETTING*. Here is the super deluxe setting -- which is pictured with Rounds, but you could ask if it could be done with Princess cuts instead.

SO ... Looks like you could have

The .75 + the deluxe three-stone/channel setting
---- OR ----
The one carat + a simple gold solitare setting
--- OR---
The .92 + EITHER the channel set setting OR the three-stone princess setting

 

[Lestat]

It makes me wonder how people selling stuff like that get such huge amounts of positive feedback on Ebay. Are they somehow cheating the rating system and faking votes? 606 positive ratings in the last month and only 6 negative. They even have 4 1/2 stars out of 5 for "Item As Described"! Doesn''t make sense if they''re selling poor quality items. Maybe people just don''t know the difference?

After reading a lot of posts on this forum I''ve pretty much reached my own personal conclusion that at least with diamonds and usually with most things in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I for one would never consider such a large purchase as a diamond (at least with my income, it''s a huge purchase) without a lot of information backing it up (Idealscope, ASET, Sarin, photos, etc) and a certification from a good grading lab (GIA or AGS) so I have as much chance as possible of getting it right the first time even if it costs a bit more for the service, but then again, that''s just my personal opinion

It seems to be a fairly common opinion in what I''ve read here that if a diamond was good enough to be graded well by the larger, more standardized labs, it would have been sent there in the first place. If it was sent somewhere else, it''s probably for a reason. Some people here are probably educated enough to buy a diamond with a great return policy relatively blind (no photos, just going by measurements) and check it out themselves, but definitely not me! I need all the help I can get, so I wanted information I could share with the experts here to help me choose.

I believe you''re in great hands here with all the helpful people on these forums, good luck with your diamond journey!

 

[partgypsy]

Here is a similar setting at James Allen, coming in at 1590 in 18k white gold, .62 carat weight.

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-877.asp

 

[partgypsy]

Oops I forgot to mention they JA most probably have a setting cost if you don''t buy the stone from them. I think it is (compared to rounds) difficult to find a good looking princess. To me ones that are not cut well tend to look glassy with no depth (maybe it''s lack of contrast, too shallow?). So it is good to try to get a stone that is rated for cut quality if at all possible.

 

[Hest88]

I agree. Throw your money into a large center stone (unless you''re sure your GF has different preferences). Most women want an e-ring to look like an e-ring, which means as large of a center stone as makes sense for your budget.

 

[tyty333]

Date: 11/8/2009 1:31:13 PM
Author: part gypsy
Here is a similar setting at James Allen, coming in at 1590 in 18k white gold, .62 carat weight.

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-877.asp

Did your girfriend try on this ring and like it? If so I would stick to something close. The JA setting is very close. I would look for stones at JA. That
setting still leaves you with about $3400 to find a nice stone. That should be doable. I'm no princess expert but I'll see what I can find at JA.

I'm not a princess expert but these looked nice to me...
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1255903.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1266770.asp

You could drop down to an SI1 eye clean and get a larger center stone.

Edit - here is an SI1, .91 - you need to get JA to verify eye-clean
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1266757.asp

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 11/8/2009 2:10:57 PM
Author: Hest88
I agree. Throw your money into a large center stone (unless you''re sure your GF has different preferences). Most women want an e-ring to look like an e-ring, which means as large of a center stone as makes sense for your budget.

Big ditto.

 

[bgray]

Date: 11/8/2009 5:46:22 PM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 11/8/2009 2:10:57 PM

Author: Hest88

I agree. Throw your money into a large center stone (unless you''re sure your GF has different preferences). Most women want an e-ring to look like an e-ring, which means as large of a center stone as makes sense for your budget.

Big ditto.

TRITTO!

 

[FancyDiamond]

Date: 11/8/2009 12:52:34 AM
Author:ring_confused
Both graduated college earlier this year without those jobs handed to us like we planned. Both still living at home due to economic reasons. I am currently working as an assistant manager at a retail store but that does not bring in much money at all (BUT cost of living is low due to no rent!).

I am comfortable with taking a personal loan out to pay for the ring. On the plus side it will build me credit.


Mike

Dear Mike,
I know you love your GF/future wife and want her to have everything. However, I do not think it is a good idea to buy something non-essential on credit. After you get married, you may have to move to your own place where you need to pay rents, utilities, and etc.. There will be many more major purchases ahead, a car, kids, a house, and the whole nine yard. I am not evern going to mention savings for retirement.

Perhaps for now you would consider getting a simple gold band which will be used later on when your GF/future wife wants to pair it with other diamonds bands for fun. When your financial situation becomes a little more secure, then you may both want to splurge a little.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 11/8/2009 1:31:13 PM
Author: part gypsy
Here is a similar setting at James Allen, coming in at 1590 in 18k white gold, .62 carat weight.
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-877.asp

Great find ... that looks like EXACTLY the same setting!