Romantic or Realistic?

[iheartbora]

Hey Ladies!

So here is the thing... SO and I were talking about rings and all, and we don''t know if we want to get his mom involved! SO doesn''t really want to because it''s supposed to be "our" ring and we have a feeling she''ll have too much opinion on it, annoy my SO and get everyone upset.... BUT the thing is, she has a connection and knows a diamond wholesaler that sells loose diamond as well as pre-made settings for unbelievable prices (she recently purchased a 3-side pave band, double halo setting for less than $500... I saw it yesterday and went

). There is no way we can get those prices if she doesn''t bring us there (they are not open to public).

So should we be romantic, do our own thing and surprise her (at this point, she doesn''t even know an engagement is in the near future!), or be realistic and get her involve to save some major bucks?

IHB~

 

[LaraOnline]

Save the bucks! But do all your research first - take a list, or even photos! - so you know what you want to look at first, and to help you be firm...enlist the help of the sales assistant, make the assistant your ally in face of any possible onslaught from an over enthusiastic mum!
Does mum have good taste?

 

[Winks_Elf]

Have her intro your SO to him, and let HIM do the talking.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We''ve disproved the "great deal wholesaler" on here many, many times. You generally get exactly what you pay for or less. A person who calls himself a wholesaler but sells to the public is NOT a wholesaler. The product may or may not be what they say it is, and often there is no return policy. And I would strongly advise you not to involve his mother. You''re far better off getting help on PriceScope, seriously.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 3/15/2009 3:19:32 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
We've disproved the 'great deal wholesaler' on here many, many times. You generally get exactly what you pay for or less. A person who calls himself a wholesaler but sells to the public is NOT a wholesaler. The product may or may not be what they say it is, and often there is no return policy. And I would strongly advise you not to involve his mother. You're far better off getting help on PriceScope, seriously.

I agree. If it looks like a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[Londongirl1]

Date: 3/15/2009 3:24:03 PM
Author: gwendolyn

Date: 3/15/2009 3:19:32 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
We''ve disproved the ''great deal wholesaler'' on here many, many times. You generally get exactly what you pay for or less. A person who calls himself a wholesaler but sells to the public is NOT a wholesaler. The product may or may not be what they say it is, and often there is no return policy. And I would strongly advise you not to involve his mother. You''re far better off getting help on PriceScope, seriously.

I agree. If it looks like a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

I have to disagree - my other half did his research before buying my ring and he got my GIA certifiied diamond stone at a great price. If you can save some $$$ and get the ring you want then do it

 

[iheartbora]

Date: 3/15/2009 3:19:32 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
We've disproved the 'great deal wholesaler' on here many, many times. You generally get exactly what you pay for or less. A person who calls himself a wholesaler but sells to the public is NOT a wholesaler. The product may or may not be what they say it is, and often there is no return policy. And I would strongly advise you not to involve his mother. You're far better off getting help on PriceScope, seriously.

I can understand your point. From what I know, they are not open to the public. The connection that she has is through a good friend (I met her before), who owns a jewelery business for many years (oversea and locally). Their business often buy from this wholesaler, that's why SO's mom can benefit from it. I guess if we go with this route, we have to do a lot of homework...

Another thing that is keeping me from this wholesaler is that I probably won't get the ring of my dream since they are all pre-made settings...

 

[iheartbora]

Date: 3/15/2009 12:23:10 PM
Author: LaraOnline
Save the bucks! But do all your research first - take a list, or even photos! - so you know what you want to look at first, and to help you be firm...enlist the help of the sales assistant, make the assistant your ally in face of any possible onslaught from an over enthusiastic mum!

Does mum have good taste?

Um...I''d say mum have good taste, she is pretty funky for her age. But we have different taste so...it might still be a problem. But yea, I definitely will have my list and get SO''s agreement so we can be as firm as possible!

 

[lovindiamonds]

I think that if I were in your situation, I would definitely have mom involved to see what kind of good deal you can get, but ahead of time come up with specs and styles that you like and what you really want to get. That way mom can''t jump in and change what you two have decided already about style, size, specs, etc.

Also, just because you go there, doesn''t mean you have to buy and if they don''t have what you want, no matter how good the price - don''t buy it. You have to be happy and you''ll be wearing this ring hopefully (unless there''s a future upgrade) forever, so I would say find something that makes you say "WOW" not "Oh that''s a good deal"

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 3/15/2009 5:24:13 PM
Author: Londongirl1

Date: 3/15/2009 3:24:03 PM

Author: gwendolyn

Date: 3/15/2009 3:19:32 PM

Author: diamondseeker2006

We''ve disproved the ''great deal wholesaler'' on here many, many times. You generally get exactly what you pay for or less. A person who calls himself a wholesaler but sells to the public is NOT a wholesaler. The product may or may not be what they say it is, and often there is no return policy. And I would strongly advise you not to involve his mother. You''re far better off getting help on PriceScope, seriously.

I agree. If it looks like a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

I have to disagree - my other half did his research before buying my ring and he got my GIA certifiied diamond stone at a great price. If you can save some $$$ and get the ring you want then do it

I''m ALL for saving money, but with pave settings I am *extremely* dubious. And this isn''t even just any pave, but "3 sided pave, double halo setting for less than $500"??? Sorry, but that''s a ''too good to be true'' deal--maybe it looks fab now, but for that money, it seems likely that the stones will start falling out left and right before long.

 

[iheartbora]

Date: 3/16/2009 1:09:54 PM
Author: gwendolyn

Date: 3/15/2009 5:24:13 PM

Author: Londongirl1

Date: 3/15/2009 3:24:03 PM


Author: gwendolyn

Date: 3/15/2009 3:19:32 PM


Author: diamondseeker2006


We've disproved the 'great deal wholesaler' on here many, many times. You generally get exactly what you pay for or less. A person who calls himself a wholesaler but sells to the public is NOT a wholesaler. The product may or may not be what they say it is, and often there is no return policy. And I would strongly advise you not to involve his mother. You're far better off getting help on PriceScope, seriously.

I agree. If it looks like a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

I have to disagree - my other half did his research before buying my ring and he got my GIA certifiied diamond stone at a great price. If you can save some $$$ and get the ring you want then do it

I'm ALL for saving money, but with pave settings I am *extremely* dubious. And this isn't even just any pave, but '3 sided pave, double halo setting for less than $500'??? Sorry, but that's a 'too good to be true' deal--maybe it looks fab now, but for that money, it seems likely that the stones will start falling out left and right before long.

Yup, I totally agree with you on this one. I didn't want to sound mean, but I also asked Mom why the price is so low, and she said they got a mass shipment oversea and she basically got it at cost. I'm no expert in diamond settings, but I examined the ring close up and the workmanship looked decent... I guess we'll tell by time

In any case, I spoke with SO about this and we agreed on doing our own homework and research first, and when we have a good understanding of what we want and the prices around town, then we'll mention it to Mom and just go take a look at what this "wholesaler" has to offer. That way, we kill our curiosity while Mom can't "blame" us for not getting her involved

.

And yes, I will definitely go for something that I love rather than settling for a good deal!!!