Questions about buying my first engagement ring in Thailand

[S4gunn]

Hi,
My girlfriend and I are going to Thailand in a month for a nice vacation and since she doesn't know what cut of diamond she wants yet, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take her ring shopping (and introduce her to my extended family for the first time before we have to come back for a wedding/honeymoon). Given the plethora of info on this website and embedded in the forums, the engineer in me knows that I can optimize for the best possible ring (clarity, size, color, etc) within my budget but I need my GF to pick her preferred cut first. Even though all of her friends have had her try on their rings for comparison, my GF doesn't know what cut she wants so I'm going to have to take her shopping.

My family assures me that "they know people" who can give us a deal but even after SEARCHING the forums for all threads mentioning Thailand, I still have a few questions about the diamond buying experience in Thailand:

Q: The Holloway Cut Advisor seems to be a great way to analyze the cut of a round diamond. IF my GF decides she wants a round-cut diamond, can I expect jewelers in Thailand to share with me all of the measurements on Table, Crown, Pavilion and Total Depth so that I may screen our known "sub-optimal" cuts?

Q: The IdealScope seems like a good way for a lay-person to visually evaluate the leakage of a particular stone. Is this a common item found at retail stores or should i go ahead and buy a kit here in the US before travelling?

Q: Will most jewelers in thailand have a Sarin, Ogi, or Helium digital scanners? For that matter, Are these scanners something that the domestic (US) jewelers have access to?

Q: Is generation of these DiamCalc models part of the standard grading report in Thailand (or anywhere else)? Is this something I can expect to receive for input into GemAdvisor for the finalist stones I may consider purchasing?

Q: I've read up on the various grading systems and how they differ slightly in grading (GIA, HRD, AGS, EGL, IGI). What grading reports can I expect to see for diamonds in Thailand?

Q: How much does it cost to "grade" a stone by an independant appraiser in Thailand?

Since this is my first (and hopefully) last time buying an engagement ring, I'm quite apprehensive about this process. Thanks in advance for any input you guys can offer.

Regards,
-gunn

 

[surfgirl]

Thailand is like my second home as I go there for work several times a year and know it quite well, but I''d never ever buy a diamond there, at least not one for an ering or of any significance. You wont get nearly the good prices you''ll get here and there''s not as much of an oversight on vendors there as there is here (assuming you''re in the USA). That said, I also wouldn''t buy a sapphire or ruby over there simply because the fakes are so good that they''re always one step ahead of the professionals. I know appraisers that wont buy over there because they''re developing fakes that outsmart the existing testing methods as we speak. So all this is to say, buy a ring here. And just go over there and have a wonderful, stress-free holiday! Enjoy...

 

[neatfreak]

Two words: Please don''t!!!


And to clarify, unless you know a LOT about diamonds, it is probably a bad idea. And there is a reason that people from Asia continually come on PS to buy from US vendors.

 

[JulieN]

Date: 7/10/2007 7:35:23 PM
Author:S4gunn
Hi,
My girlfriend and I are going to Thailand in a month for a nice vacation and since she doesn''t know what cut of diamond she wants yet, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take her ring shopping (and introduce her to my extended family for the first time before we have to come back for a wedding/honeymoon). Given the plethora of info on this website and embedded in the forums, the engineer in me knows that I can optimize for the best possible ring (clarity, size, color, etc) within my budget but I need my GF to pick her preferred cut first. Even though all of her friends have had her try on their rings for comparison, my GF doesn''t know what cut she wants so I''m going to have to take her shopping.

My family assures me that ''they know people'' who can give us a deal but even after SEARCHING the forums for all threads mentioning Thailand, I still have a few questions about the diamond buying experience in Thailand:

Q: The Holloway Cut Advisor seems to be a great way to analyze the cut of a round diamond. IF my GF decides she wants a round-cut diamond, can I expect jewelers in Thailand to share with me all of the measurements on Table, Crown, Pavilion and Total Depth so that I may screen our known ''sub-optimal'' cuts?

Q: The IdealScope seems like a good way for a lay-person to visually evaluate the leakage of a particular stone. Is this a common item found at retail stores or should i go ahead and buy a kit here in the US before travelling?

Q: Will most jewelers in thailand have a Sarin, Ogi, or Helium digital scanners? For that matter, Are these scanners something that the domestic (US) jewelers have access to?

Q: Is generation of these DiamCalc models part of the standard grading report in Thailand (or anywhere else)? Is this something I can expect to receive for input into GemAdvisor for the finalist stones I may consider purchasing?

Q: I''ve read up on the various grading systems and how they differ slightly in grading (GIA, HRD, AGS, EGL, IGI). What grading reports can I expect to see for diamonds in Thailand?

Q: How much does it cost to ''grade'' a stone by an independant appraiser in Thailand?

Since this is my first (and hopefully) last time buying an engagement ring, I''m quite apprehensive about this process. Thanks in advance for any input you guys can offer.

Regards,
-gunn

1. GIA, AGS, EGL, HRD should all provide basic proportions.
2. Get it now?
3. ---
4. Only GOG and Nice Ice creates .gem files for all their stones, that I know of... Just get the Ideal Scope, you won''t need this.
5. GIA is available anywhere in the world if you look hard enough.
5.