Retail prices vs. Online prices - Wow!

[MaineVette]

So I''ve been looking for an engagment ring for a few months now and have visited several local stores in the process. Recently, I visited two stores and looked at the following diamonds:

Ideal Cut 0.77Ct, F, SI1, $5,320
Ideal Cut 0.53Ct, H, SI2, $4,300 (they didn''t have anything bigger in stock)

Both stones were beautiful and, although I did not see the certs, they indicated they both were ideal cut diamonds. Tonight I came home and took a look at comparable stones online. Wow, these retail stores are 40-50% higher than comparable diamonds available online!

I knew there was a markup, but was expecting it to be in the 20% range.

Now I really like the idea of buying my diamond locally (it definitely has advantages) but that''s a huge premium for some minor conveniences!

So, I''ve all but decided to buy the stone online. After checking numerous sights I''ve whittled my choices down to the following three from Whiteflash:

https://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2141785.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2169546.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2145457.htm

I plan to call and ask them to take a look at the three side-by-side and note any differences for me. What do you guys think of these three choices? Any specific questions I should ask when I call? Any thoughts you folks have would be very much appreciated. As an engineer I really tend to overanalyze these types of things so I''m struggling a bit to make a decision and pull the trigger.

One the stone is selected I just need to pick the setting and I know I''ll struggle with that. I find it''s really hard to get a sense of scale online and am not convinced the setting that looks nice in a picture will have quite the affect in person. So that got me thinking... Has anyone bought just their diamond online and then had it set at a local jeweler? This seems like a great idea to me, but it seems many jewelers would be pretty unappreciative of this approach... Perhaps get a super cheap setting and then have it ''swapped out'' at a jeweler and let my future fiance join in the selection process? What do you guys think?

 

[jet2ks]

Well, first off, you have selected three beautiful stones. You will not go wrong with any of them. I would probably pick the H and apply the money saved to the setting or something else. A well cut H color will face up very white.

As far as setting the stone, it is usually preferable to have the vendor selling the stone to also set it, just in case it is damaged during the setting process. This is rare, but can happen. Many people have someone else set the stone for various reasons. If you do go that route, make sure the diamond is insured during setting. Jeweler's Mutual, I believe, offers coverage for this. Getting your fiance involved is great so that she gets the setting she will love.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/14/2009 11:46:36 PM
Author: jet2ks
Well, first off, you have selected three beautiful stones. You will not go wrong with any of them. I would probably pick the H and apply the money saved to the setting or something else. A well cut H color will face up very white.

As far as setting the stone, it is usually preferable to have the vendor selling the stone to also set it, just in case it is damaged during the setting process. This is rare, but can happen. Many people have someone else set the stone for various reasons. If you do go that route, make sure the diamond is insured during setting. Jeweler''s Mutual, I believe, offers coverage for this. Getting your fiance involved is great so that she gets the setting she will love.

Ditto Jet

 

[SalanG]

My gf and I looked online and in store together for a setting just to get an idea of what she liked and I was going to suprise her with one. We ended up browsing DI in St Thomas and she found a very thin, dainty solitare with .3 total ct weight and matching wedding band for a little over $1,000. We were only there for the day and she loved it more than any other setting she saw...and we got the guy down to $700 so we bought them. It didn''t take from anything that she helped pick, I didn''t want to leave there and risk not finding something similar.

Now the diamond was a struggle for me. I was hesitant to buy online so I went to a jeweler with a list of diamonds, specs, price, etc that I found online. I was looking at .90ct plus. She looked at the prices on the paper and came out with a .5ct stone with a notch lower color, clarity and a very good cut saying "only 1% of diamonds are ideal cut"...wasn''t really too happy. I left her the list and said if you can do something similar I would consider purchasing and left. She called me a week later and said she just came back from NY with 3 stones I was going to love, so I went there, liked them but they were about $3000-$5000 above my price range, after I caulked at that she was able to knock them down to $1500-$3500 above my price range for similar diamonds to the ones I found online. Thanks but no thanks. I ended up buying a James Allen, H, VS2, 1.02ct, ideal cut both to GIA and the pricescope community for $4430, $570 under budget. Picked it up yesterday thinking it may be a little less than what I wanted but it kooks better than anything I saw in store.

Now today I am going to have it set. They had no problem with me buying the setting and diamond elsewhere because they are still getting $85 plus tax out of me! I''ll let you know how it goes.

 

[MaineVette]

Thanks guys. I actually hadn''t been over to James Allen yet but will check them out. I''ve got a feeling my visit to their website is just going to muddy the waters.

 

[less_confused]

Once I discovered PS, there was no turning back.
I went to Shreve in San Francisco where they had an ideal cut rock that they quoted $8,500. The same thing at Whiteflash was ~$5,000.

The craziest experiences come from me trying to buy off Craigslist. Folks are selling their rock at a price above Bluenile and they don''t even have a GIA quality report. Much less a credit card option and trade-up options. When I point out the discrepancies, they get huffy.

I guess someone must be paying premium prices because they eventually stop advertising. I''m competing with the uninformed. *sigh*

 

[MaineVette]

Date: 8/14/2009 11:46:36 PM
Author: jet2ks

As far as setting the stone, it is usually preferable to have the vendor selling the stone to also set it, just in case it is damaged during the setting process. This is rare, but can happen. Many people have someone else set the stone for various reasons. If you do go that route, make sure the diamond is insured during setting. Jeweler''s Mutual, I believe, offers coverage for this. Getting your fiance involved is great so that she gets the setting she will love.

Thanks jet2ks.

The more I think about this the less comfortable I am picking the setting. I''m sure I could pick something she likes, but I know she would also love to be involved in the process. Sort of the best of both worlds - she gets to be surprised and part of the proecess.

So, I think I''m probably going to buy an inexpensive setting to present the ring in, and then have her pick out the final setting at a local jeweler. But, based on the message above it sounds like damage during resetting is not covered under typical insurance policies. Is this interpretation correct? Would I need to buy some separate rider on the policy to cover resetting?

Thanks again guys. She''s out of town for the next few days so I''m logging some major internet research time right now. Everyone here on this forum has been a tremendous help!

Tim

 

[Gypsy]

Unless you know she's going to want to run around screaming and showing everyone her ring (flashbacks of myself when I got engaged) I wouldn't even bother with the setting. Just propose with the lose stone... any of the vendors on here will give a lovely presentation for it and then pick the setting together. Please not however, my 200 temporary setting was well worth the price for my FI as it took me four years to decide on a permanent home for my stone.

BTW if you buy the stone in a cheap temporary setting it will be insured by a company (get insurance). They just don't insure lose stones. Then when you go to get it re-set... still insured.

AND if you like the loose stone idea and want peace of mind look at Infinity Diamonds (www.highperformancediamonds.com ) their loose diamonds come insured for a year (plus they have other great policies too).