please help! urgent!

[apkesh]

Hi, I would really appreciate if any one on this forum could help me out with this. I posted this sometime back, but only got a few replies back...

I am a Canadian, planning on taking my girl friend out on a vacation to Boston and proposing to her. I''ve got tickets booked but not the most important part yet- the engagement ring. I have a few questions, I hope someone here can help me out with this.

1. I live in Toronto, so I could buy the ring either here in Canada or in Boston. Does anyone know of the price differences?

2. I am planning on spending between $5,000 and 6,000 Canadian (that be around 3,600 to 4,300 USD). What''s the best quality diamond ring can I go for with this price? Please explain in detail as I am very new to this.

3. Some of my friends are saying I should buy it from a reputable company, even if it is more expensive, because you will always get the best quality. Is this usually true? Is there any names that you would recommend?

4. I''ve heard a lot about buying it on the internet. Can any one recommend me any sites that can do over night/ fast delivery of rings within US?

Thanks for you time.
Apkesh

 

[jenibear]

Hi again apkesh!
I answered you on diamond hangout and suggested you share some information with us before we can really help you.
I'll just repost some of my questions. I really want to know what your looking for! Here goes:

I am sure a lot of people would like to help but there are a few things we need to know first.

Here are some questions to consider: What's your timeline -where are planning to propose? What shape stone? What style setting? What kind of metal? What does your girl like?

If I've leaned anything in my own diamond search it's you can't choose a stone by budget alone. Diamonds come in so many combinations of color, carat, clarity and cut that you need to narrow down what you are looking for first.

You may want to keep one thing in mind: you don't need a ring to ask a woman to marry you. You can get engaged and shop for the ring together later.

Or you can be like me and my sweetie and do it all wrong: shop for the ring together, start planning the wedding while the ring is being made and then get the ring and official proposal! LOL! What I mean by my story is you can do it anyway you want, don't feel pressured to have a ring to ask her to be your wife.

I hope you get a lot of responses
Best of luck
Jenibear

 

[derekinla]

When comparing diamonds, you should calculate the price per carat (kind of like when you go grocery shopping and you calculate price per ounce etc........) Of course, you will adjust for the USD to Canadian dollars when making comparisons in price between the two countries, but at least looking at the per carat cost will be helpful way to compare prices. US prices will PROBABLY be cheaper overall as there isn't as much sales tax as there is in Canada. Furthermore, by buying a diamond from the US (internet vendor) and having it shipped to Canada, you can save on sales Tax (unless they have some sort of import tax, tarrif). Making a purchase online doesn't have to be risky and you don't have to skimp on quality if you know the specs (measurements, angles, depth percentages, polish, symmetry) on the stone. Having the Sarin/megascope info, or the specs that come with an AGS cert can give you a very good Idea of what you're buying even without seeing the stone. Using the Holloway Cut Advisor is also another tool that can help. You can also often arrange to have the internet vendor send the stone to an independent appraiser so that you can see the stone in person before making the final decision. If they are unable to do this, make sure the company has a good return policy so you can get the stone independently appraised by an independent appraiser (that's what I did). I was very skeptical about making a large purchase like an e ring but I did it and have no regrets! As for your budget, I would say that everyone is different in terms of what priorities to place into the 4 C's. However, if you want the "best bang for the buck" in terms of visual performance, going with an ideal cut (i.e. AGS 000 with a good HCA score, GIA ex/ex with the sarin info and good HCA score) would be a good place to start. Cut has the greatest impact on visual performance. What constitutes an "Ideal" cut is up for debate but an AGS 000 with a good HCA score will almost certainly be visually stunning. Getting a branded cut costs more and in my opinion, is probably not worth the extra $$$. True you can get stones that fall oustide of "ideal" that perform just as well if not better but that kind of a purchase requires you to shop in person and with your eyes and is more time consuming. As for color, getting a F through H is probably a good place to maximzie your dollar as the stones will look colorless to the naked eye unless you hold it right next to a true colorless stone. An I stone also looks colorless when mounted and viewed faced up. Clarity probably has the least importance in a stone's overall performance. A VS2 or an "eye clean" SI1 looks flawless to the naked eye so I would argue that those are good grades to consider when on a budget. Not all SI1 are eye clean and some SI1's have clouds that can, if significant, affect visual performance. SI1 are therefore a tricky grade to purchase but are also a great value if you can get one that is eye clean! No need to consider VVS stones unless the clarity has some sort of symbolic significance to you or your loved one. Hope this helps!

 

[NewYorker]

My husband's cousin is getting a 1.1ct round in the diamond district in ny for less than $4,000 and it's a LOOKER! I think www.whiteflash.com has very good prices compared to other online sites I've checked out.