purchase/appraisal advice

[f0rbidden]

here''s my question of the day...

i have an appointment this weekend to go see a diamond I found online. I didn''t want to make this purchase until I saw the stone in person because, frankly, to me spending almost 5k on a mineral is an extravagant and HUGE purchase decision.

so, having said that, let me also include that i plan to put the stone on layaway and pay it off over the next 3 months, rather than waiting until the 3 months is over and then shopping with cash in hand. I also plan to have the jeweler (if we like the diamond, of course) make the ring I want - they''ve given me a great price on both 18k WG and platinum and we have just to decide which we want.

ok, that''s the background!

now the rest - i know logically, and from the great advice i''ve read here that it is a good thing to get an independent appraisal shortly after purchase of a diamond, while in the return period, to verify that you got what you think you paid for - which makes sense.

how does this work with layaway?
has anyone ever worked with this situation before? is the return period normally 30 days after delivery? is this something i should have written into the sales agreement or layaway agreement?

So far, the store personnel with whom I have been dealing have been awesome. They''ve been patient through my months of shopping, have answered every question I''ve asked and sent over wax models of several rings they though I would like in addition to pictures of the diamond itself. They put the diamond aside for me, pending my visit this weekend and are opening their store on a Sunday when normally they are only open mon-fri to accomodate my schedule. I know that there is always a trust issue when buying a diamond - you have to trust your jeweler - but well, truthfully, aside from the info just given, I''ve never met the jeweler and as such have no reason to trust or not trust them. The diamond IS GIA certed - and is priced VERY competitively, even with on-line vendors.

ok, that''s it - looking forward to opinions!

Thanks!
`bidden

 

[Lorelei]

I think ti would be best to ask the vendor about your appraisal concerns, if they have been this helpful as it seems they have been, they should be able to accomodate you getting an appraisal after the layaway. Be aware though it is more difficult to accurately appraise a set diamond than a loose one. Maybe they would let you have the diamond appraised before it is set? You would have to pay the appraisal fee of course, but as you intend to anyway, it might be the best way to do it - I think that is what I would do. Hopefully your vendors would be fine with this, ask them.