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Searching for a ring on a budget

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DIShayley

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 19, 2008
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Hi!

I decided to post here due to some advice on another website :)

Me and DBF have started looking for that ring, and to be honest, we are getting confused with all the jargon. I think I''ve decided that Cut is the most important to me, followed by Clarity and then Colour.

Of course we want to get the biggest bang for our buck (which is why we were directed here!) and since we are based in the UK, EVERYTHING is expensive! We''ve started our search online, and we''re also looking at some US websites hoping to take advantage of the dollar rate at the moment!

I love square stones, especially princess cuts, and sort of have my heart set on a princess cut diamond with smaller princess cut diamonds set in the band (channel set?) - but if we found an emerald or asscher at the right price I might be persuaded to reconsider!

We have a budget of £800/$1600 due to the fact that we are moving into our first home in October!

IDEALLY I would love the ring to be 0.75-1ct, which is pretty large for a diamond over here. Is this even in my price range?! I understand that I would have to compromise on the other ''3 Cs'' to get a good price on a diamond this size, and it depends what the compromise on quality would be. I don''t think I''d go under a 0.50ct - I feel like I have chubby fingers so want the diamond to stand out
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I have been scouting on BlueNile (UK site) and priced up a 0.54ct diamond (v.good CCC) for £500/$1000 and a band I really love for $600.

Has anyone ever heard of Mondera and are they any good? I found a 0.83ct (ideal cut and good colour, but I1) for $1000 - I think this would be an ideal size carat wise for me!

Wow! I apologise this is so long!! I need help!!

TIA!
 
Oooooh, I like the second one Skippy posted. And if cut is important to you, you can''t go wrong with the Whiteflash ACA line! You can always put it in a very simple setting for now, and then have it reset into the setting you really want later. Good luck with your search and let us know what you decide on!
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Thank you for the help ladies - I really like those diamonds
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I think you''ve made me realise the diamond is the most important purchase and I could always get it reset later on to the band that I want if I so wish, after we''ve settled into the new house (gotta love purchasing all those white goods and furniture - you think I can let DBF sit around on beanbags while I go purchase a bigger diamond?!
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Thank you for the suggestions, I''m having a look on Whiteflash now - keep ''em coming
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Don''t forget import taxes when you have it shipped to the UK. I am not sure of the exact rate for your country but I believe it''s around the 15% mark. I paid 15% when I had my ring shipped from WF in the US to Australia, and it was worth every cent!! I still ended up with a far superior stone at a lower price - you can''t beat that.

I second the vote for WF - they have ACA Princess cuts which are top of the line. They are handpicked as the best cuts, so you really just need to settle on colour, clarity and budget and pick one, it''s that easy!!

Good luck with your seach!
 
I''m based in the UK as well, and have bought from a number of PS vendors.

You need to calculate about 20% for import purposes - 17.5% VAT and 3% duty.

If you just buy the diamond and have the stone set in the UK you don''t pay the VAT, so might be worth thinking about if you are going to go for a cheap setting and upgrade that part later on.

However, bear in mind that I haven''t found anyone in the UK who will insure an unset stone for setting, so you would be taking the risk (a jeweller won''t take the risk as it would be too expensive for them considering the cost of setting) - the same applies if the US vendor who supplies the stone doesn''t also supply the setting. The risk is about 1% I believe, but princess cuts are much more likely to chip than rb''s.
 
I knew I''d have to pay some import costs, but I didn''t know it was as high as 20%!!

I think I''ll keep on scouring Blue Nile UK at the moment, before starting to look on US sites, as I think with import, etc... it could work out at the same amount I guess.

How about Union Diamond, has someone bought from them?
 
Date: 6/20/2008 8:09:21 AM
Author: Pandora II
I''m based in the UK as well, and have bought from a number of PS vendors.

You need to calculate about 20% for import purposes - 17.5% VAT and 3% duty.

If you just buy the diamond and have the stone set in the UK you don''t pay the VAT, so might be worth thinking about if you are going to go for a cheap setting and upgrade that part later on.

However, bear in mind that I haven''t found anyone in the UK who will insure an unset stone for setting, so you would be taking the risk (a jeweller won''t take the risk as it would be too expensive for them considering the cost of setting) - the same applies if the US vendor who supplies the stone doesn''t also supply the setting. The risk is about 1% I believe, but princess cuts are much more likely to chip than rb''s.
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Hi Pandora,

Your highlighted remark above is incorrect, actually. On an unset stones, apparently there is no import duty, but you do pay VAT.

Live long,
 
Date: 6/20/2008 11:22:49 AM
Author: DIShayley
I knew I''d have to pay some import costs, but I didn''t know it was as high as 20%!!

I think I''ll keep on scouring Blue Nile UK at the moment, before starting to look on US sites, as I think with import, etc... it could work out at the same amount I guess.

How about Union Diamond, has someone bought from them?
Click to expand...
Make sure you are comparing similar diamonds. Yes, the prices could work out the same in the end, but are the stones cut to the same quality? Very well cut stones will sparkle more and look a lot better, and hence will be more expensive, whereas average cuts can be considerably cheaper. When comparing prices don''t forget to also compare cut gradings as this will impact the price of the stone.

When looking at Blue Nile for princess cuts, look for AGS Ideal Princess cuts - they are the best as far as cut goes and will look the sparkliest. It takes a lot of the guess work out of buying a fancy cut as you can''t judge them by the numbers as you can a round brilliant stone.

Good luck with your search for the perfect princess! Post details, links etc here and we can help you find a winner from BN if you want.
 
Thank you very much
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My head is spinning with all this jargon. I''m glad I found Pricescope, although I do admit, it''s turned me into a bit of a diamond snob within a couple of days - or maybe just an informed buyer? I found a beautiful .6ct Princess Cut with .4 worth of channel set Princess Cuts in the band all for £720, well within my budget. A couple of days ago, I might have thought it was ''The One''. Looking at the info - not such a good deal.


I am starting to look more and more towards using Excel Diamonds. They seem to have excellent reviews about their quality and excellent customer service AND great priced diamonds! I believe they ship only to Fedex depots? We are staying in Orlando in August and there is a Fedex depot just 5.2mi from the hotel. We could easily take a cab.

I''ve looked and looked on UK sites, but am finding nothing that I love.
 
Even with import taxes, you will still get a better deal buying directly from a U.S vendor. Please check the Blue Nile UK site, as the prices do not include VAT. If you go for a PS vendor then your chances of the getting the ''wow'' stone you really want are vastly improved
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