This is my first post, thought I have been utilizing Pricescope for over a year. It seems like the closer my boyfriend and I came to the decision of getting married the more often I would be on Pricescope looking at diamond and searching the vendors. Pricescope is amazing and so are the people, always willing to help. Warning: This post may be too long for some.
Now to my experience. I have always liked the Verragio settings, especially the Paradiso Collection. I am located in San Diego and luckily I knew someone who worked at the local Robbins Brothers store. I prepped my bf in telling him that we were just looking. I could get an idea of what the setting looked like in person, and also give him a crash course on the 4C's. My friend who was helping us was so patient, she knew that we were just looking and wasn't pushy at all. When we came home I know for sure that I like the Verragio setting, I wanted the PAR-3002R, but Want and Budget are so very different. The setting alone was in the range of $5000 according to all the stores, B&M and online. Our budget for the stone alone was suppose to be $5000, so I could not justify paying so much for the setting, thinking that it would be better if we got a cheaper setting and put the money into a quality diamond.
After our “just looking” adventure, my bf and I had to lay some guidelines. He said that I knew so much more about diamonds and felt he might not get a good one, so I was in charge of finding the center stone. His only stipulation was that it had to be at least 1 carat. I was not going to say no to 1 carat….yay. I asked about the setting. There were two scenarios and I had to choose. He would order the stone and he would get it set as solitaire, with the intension of picking a three stone setting after he asked the question. Or using my skills of always getting a deal and finding a setting also as long as it was in his budget. I went with finding my own setting.
So his plan goes like this, I do all of the shopping (stone and setting), he would do the ordering, then it would be sent to our house, **BUT I would not be allowed to see it. That’s the SURPRISE part. What torture…delayed gratification… it’s is such a sick idea but I agreed.
Time to shop…I had been in love with the 1.11 Regent on Good Old Gold, but by the time we decided to look at it, gone. So I took to the diamond search on PS. Well, there were several choices and I ranging in price from $4800 to $6800 from various approved Pricescope vendors. My boyfriend and I agreed on a stone in the middle, around $5900 with the PS discount. We did not pay taxes since it was shipped out of state. Did we get a good deal???(Please let me know)
Shape: Round Brilliant Certificate: GIA
Carat Weight: 1.3 , Color: I , Clarity: VS2 Cut, Polish, Symmetry: Excellent
Depth%-61.8, Table%- 56, Crown Angle- 35, Pavilion Angle- 40.8, Cutlet%- 0
Dimensions: 6.98 x 7.01 x 4.32
Holloway Cut Advisor: 1.6
Now to finding a setting. I was looking at several online sources, still set on a Verrgio setting, and tried to compare prices. All authorized dealers seemed to have the same prices. I wanted to get the stone and the setting from the same vendor so I started looking at those vendors that had access to the same stone.
I picked a vendor that had an online store that was great and very user friendly. There was a lot of Verragio selection and I noticed that there were price differences depending on the metal of choice. Surprisingly, they even had a few Verragio rings on clearance. I was looking at the Paradiso collection that they had and notice the PAR-3002R was listed twice, $5335 and $4000. What…was this a mistake??? It was over a $1000 discount…and so I checked the listing and there really was no difference between the two. Even at $4000 it was still too much for me. We had already gone over our budget for the stone by $900.
Now comes my deal-finding skills, I started looking at reviews for this vendor on PS of course, citysearch.com, kudzu.com, and anything I could find online. In one of the reviews there was a note from the vendor (owner) and it had a coupon code for on “Select Jewelry and Engagement Ring”. I copied the code and said that if I decided to buy some additional jewelry, maybe for gifts or myself, it would come in handy. Back to the online store I place the stone and the PAR-3002R setting in my order and just to test the code, I entered it. To my surprise it worked, not on the stone but on the setting.
So here was the breakdown for the setting with the Original price of $5335.
(Duplicate listing/mistake price) $4000 then Coupon Code =*Magic Total** $2800
So I had to show my BF all this and he couldn’t believe it. He was sure that the order would not go through, and that it might just be an error with the online store. I told him to try it and……..it WORKED.
We had to wait for the ring since setting the stone took some time but it has arrived.
I have not seen it yet….I am dying with excitement, but all that my BF says is it looks huge.
I promise to add pictures once I get to see the SURPRISE.
Note: They have since disabled the code….I checked to see if it would apply to a matching banc but the site says that the coupon is now expired. Its okay since I have decided not to get a band because I don’t want it to detract from scalloping detail on the inside.
300x240.png)