Ring shopping help

[lil_jay78]

Hey everyone, I am very new to PS(is that the acronym all you vets use?) and I have to say the experience so far has been very very educational. My roommate''s brother referred me to this site and said he got a lot of valuable ring information when he was shopping for his wife''s ring(well, back then she was still his fiancee, he he he). Anyway, to get back to it, I am shopping for a solitaire engagement ring for my gf. I was originally thinking about getting a pave with a center stone, but I figured we could just do the pave setting w/ the band or something, as my budget is somewhat limited, and of course I want to get her the best ring I can find.

I have gone to a few B&M''s like Robbins Bro''s just to get some on-hands experience with diamonds and stuff like that and have seen a lot of diamonds. I really like the online information I''ve gotten about shopping for diamonds on the internet, but I still have some fears about being ripped off. One thing that gets me about the B&M''s are the lifetime diamond warranties like at Robbins Bros. But I was thinking, if I got a really good diamond, what are the chances of the diamond chipping or breaking, right? I don''t know..like I said, I''m still a rookie. I live in southern Cali and the lady at the Robbins Bro''s Mission Viejo told me that there are some new things some people do to diamonds to conceal imperfections like laser treatment and silicon injection. An independent appraiser would be able to see things like that right?

And lastly, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with INTAGEMS in the diamond district...I am planning to go there and check out some more stuff...but if I get word not to go there, then I might as well eliminate them from my places to go list...

any help would be appreciated...

 

[KittenKat]

Hi lil_jay78!

Your best bet would be to re-post this in Rocky Talky. https://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/forum.asp?forumID=3

That''s the forum everyone goes to for help with their diamonds. There are incredibly helpful people on PS, and in that forum - you''ll get their attention.

I live in So Cal as well! Speaking for myself, I wouldn''t consider Robbins Bros. I''ve been in there to see what they have and what knowledge they can share... and they''ve never impressed me.

You should figure out what shape you''d like, and learn about well-cut stones. The people here can certainly guide you towards the best bang for your $$$.

You should check out the PriceScope vendors - MANY, MANY people here have purchased online and have gotten incredible, mind-blowing stones.

Here are a fwe people get stones from:

www.goodoldgold.com
www.jamesallen.com
www.whiteflash.com

And those are only a few.

If you''d like local Southern California recommendations - just ask. There are many people here who have great vendors in the So Cal area.

Good luck on your search!!

 

[KittenKat]

I just noticed you posted in Rocky Talky

 

[lil_jay78]

Thanks for the info Kat...I''ve gotten a ton of great information and I''ve been looking at WF a lot lately.

I posted this on Rocky Talky too, but I''m just planning on going into another B&M like Robbins Bro''s just to get a better feel for the different characteristics of each stone...the more hands-on experience I get, the better I feel...probably just a personal thing.

 

[moon river]

Welcome. You are in good hands here. You won''t be misguided.