Seriously, are we a bunch a nuts?

[lmurden]

This is an I-J color/I3 clarity 2 carat diamond for $5500 from Walmart. Should we be spending our time learning about diamonds or should we just buy from Walmart? If this diamonds looks half decent and is big then why are we here on Pricescope?

Do the numbers really matter?

Do the different scopes matters?

Look at the price!

Does anybody know anybody who has bought their diamond from Walmart? How does it look?

Seriously, please answer. This is crazy, thanks.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2630306

 

[Mara]

Are you serious? Come over here so I can slap you!

Of course this stuff matters...if it really didnt, then this forum would not exist, would not have grown from what it did into what it is today. People DO care about this stuff, nutty or not.

Having had an okay cut and putting a tiny ACA next to it that was 1/3 it's size, both my husband and I saw with our own two eyes the difference that an exceptional cut makes. To him, who knows nothing next to nothing about diamonds, he said WOW look at the difference in the two stones, that one is just blazing and on fire. That sold him right then and there on super ideals. That was actually how I got my first upgrade.

I think if you have seen and compared non-ideals and crappily cut stones to super ideals and those well-cut ideals with unique numbers...you wouldn't ask such a question. I'm serious really! I think seeing is believing...!! Now mind you I am talking about okay or mediocre cuts against very exceptionally cut stones. Not something like an unbranded H&A against a branded H&A.

and YES!! we are nuts. 99% of the rest of the world will be buying that Walmart diamond while the little 1% that is PS will be scrutizing numbers and scope images. But I can say with complete confidence that you could put a 1.5c super ideal stone, even a K I1 from AGS, against the Walmart stone, and it would blow that 2c 'J SI3' diamond away, bottom line.

Those stones are $5500 for a reason!

 

[lmurden]

Don''t you slap me!

Seriously, how are they coming up with the price of $5500? Insane!
I think the general public would definitely buy a 2 carat diamond than a 1 carat diamond.

 

[Mara]

Sure they would! But they may secretly wonder if the diamond is REALLY supposed to look like that, kind of cloudy and murky and why doesn't it sparkle more?

That is how it was with my very old pair of diamond earrings. They were HORRIBLY cut but we didn't know that til later. HOWEVER 20/20 hindsight I always wondered why they seemed kind of dull and not as sparkly as you think diamonds should be...oh and they turned out to be N color too instead of the H's we were sold...talk about ignorant consumers!! So having been on both sides of the coin, I will take my smaller sparklier baubles and additional PS knowledge anyday!

I think most consumers don't even THINK about the 5th C...why should they when they have a big 'trustworthy' store like Walmart selling them things.

The way I look at it is MORE (SUPER)IDEAL DIAMONDS FOR ME!!!!!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Don''t slap me, but all this talk of Walmart gave Ashely Her topic for her senior assembly. So once again PS has been very helpful.

 

[strmrdr]

its an igi cert so its likely a L-N/I3
the cert makes very poor tp but thats all its good for.

 

[strmrdr]

and yes we are a bunch of nuts :} and proud of it!!!

 

[Waited2Long]

Like Mara said, let your eyes be the judge. Everyone will value a stone''s various attributes differently.

On another forum I''m on, a guy and his wife got their wedding rings from Walmart. They''re very happy with them, and he says everyone they tell is amazed when they tell them where the rings came from. We''ve been going back and forth in this thread about whether synthetics will crash the diamond market. I''m carrying on a good fight on behalf of my mentors here at PS!

 

[lmurden]

Mara,
I know that you are right but this is scary and sad that many will fall for this!

Strmrdr,
Yes, I guess we are nuts and want the finer things in life!

Date: 12/31/2005 2:23:30 AM
Author: kaleigh
Don''t slap me, but all this talk of Walmart gave Ashely Her topic for her senior assembly. So once again PS has been very helpful.

Love your new avatar!

 

[lmurden]

Date: 12/31/2005 2:28:23 AM
Author: Waited2Long
Like Mara said, let your eyes be the judge. Everyone will value a stone''s various attributes differently.

On another forum I''m on, a guy and his wife got their wedding rings from Walmart. They''re very happy with them, and he says everyone they tell is amazed when they tell them where the rings came from. We''ve been going back and forth in this thread about whether synthetics will crash the diamond market. I''m carrying on a good fight on behalf of my mentors here at PS!

Keep the fight up!

 

[Mara]

Actually that link in your first post, LM, is a link to a 2c I/J I2 stone (see further down the page?)!! I'm thinking frozen spit?!

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 12/31/2005 2:28:23 AM
Author: Waited2Long
Like Mara said, let your eyes be the judge. Everyone will value a stone''s various attributes differently.

On another forum I''m on, a guy and his wife got their wedding rings from Walmart. They''re very happy with them, and he says everyone they tell is amazed when they tell them where the rings came from. We''ve been going back and forth in this thread about whether synthetics will crash the diamond market. I''m carrying on a good fight on behalf of my mentors here at PS!

Yes you keep up that fight.

Synthetics will never crash the diamond market.

 

[Mara]

I know that is another topic but even if synthetics did 'crash' the diamond market, eventually the rare and natural thing would be back in demand and maybe even more so than ever, at some point....!! The market is fickle and tastes change. So if they do crash the diamond market, you better believe I will be buying whatever natural well-cut stones I can get my greedy little hands on...

 

[lmurden]

Date: 12/31/2005 2:36:34 AM
Author: Mara
Actually that link in your first post, LM, is a link to a 2c I/J I2 stone (see further down the page?)!! I''m thinking frozen spit?!

Yeah, but the picture that they have is the one attached. False advertisement, say it aint so!

 

[lmurden]

Date: 12/31/2005 2:39:06 AM
Author: Mara
I know that is another topic but even if synthetics did ''crash'' the diamond market, eventually the rare and natural thing would be back in demand and maybe even more so than ever, at some point....!! The market is fickle and tastes change. So if they do crash the diamond market, you better believe I will be buying whatever natural well-cut stones I can get my greedy little hands on...

My thing with the synthetics is that they DON''T stand the test of time like real gems!

 

[marvel]

Here's my two cents, and it might not even be worth that much.

Walmart buys in bulk and they probably buy all the stones the high end jewlers don't want. Then they pass on the savings to the consumer. Some people are going to be ok with getting their stone from Walmart. We want better quality. We can buy purses and tires from Walmart too, but I want my Louis Vuitton...the tires can come from Walmart.

...and, yes, we are nuts...but it's fun!!

 

[Lorelei]

For me being in England where there isn''t the choice available I often wondered looking at diamonds years ago why there was so much drooling over them where all I could see were various examples of frozen spit( however they still fascinated me!) I started learning a long time ago and comparing where I could and it began to slowly sink in that cut made the difference. For me the fascination was always a passion and unlike the mentality of most here in the UK that" hey it''s a diamond and all diamonds are created equal and therefore must be beautiful" I knew there was more to it and wanted a gorgeous fireball on my finger one day and knew I needed education and research to achieve it. We here are a small minority and unlike the rest of the world won''t settle and will do what it takes to get the diamond of our dreams. Maybe many too are happy with their $5k diamond from Walmart which is fine, if it gives them joy at that price that''s great - but it is still an expensive purchase and maybe they would change their mind if they could see their other options - however maybe they don''t WANT to know and their Walmart diamond fulfils their dreams.

 

[valeria101]

Isn't that a waste of 5k...

If high grade ones are hard to sell, can you imagine what this might resell for?



Disclaimer: the picture doesn't show much - I am thinking of a heavily included diamond, with enough 'going on' inside to make it less brilliant. Possibly dark inclusions too.



How about this for crazy:

The same 5k number, could easily be the premium for the H&A quality between two 2 cts rounds G-VS... The non H&A doesn't have to be a scary thing, same GIA... Well?

 

[blodthecat]

You''re definitely having a laugh with us now!

If you have to ask that question, my advice to you is ''put your cash back in the bank''


Blod

 

[diamondlil]

LM, I''m the first to admit that my diamond obsession IS a little crazy.

The majority of consumers buy diamonds like that sold at Wallmart and are quite content that they now own beautiful, "real" diamond. Diamonds are a luxury item, and when you are financially able to buy one, regardless of its pedigree, there is a sense of accomplishment in that.

Think of it this way . . . . It''s like comparing the luxury of a Lexus with that of a Rolls Royce. My Lexus is luxury to me, but to someone who can afford the Rolls, my Lexus is just a ride.

 

[Catmom]

LM, I''m the first to admit that I have a diamond obsession and my husband is right there along side me now that he is educated!

On Christmas Eve we had a conversation with my SIL who stated that "she could go buy $99 diamond earrings at Kohls [store here in the US], diamonds are diamonds, why spend more than you have to?" After our eyes unglazed and our lips unclenched, we just nodded and said ok. We still laugh about it today. I think lots of people just want to have the diamond at the lowest cost. They don''t care what it looks like or just don''t know enough about diamonds to know that they should care. Personally, I''m very glad I care!

 

[SeaOats]

LM, there is no way that that Walmart diamond looks as wonderful as an ideal cut diamond. No way.

If it did, then I would agree with you that we are all nuts here!

 

[decodelighted]

This is really interesting. I don''t think ANYONE (besides maybe the Kohl''s lovin SIL) thinks that these Walmart IGI 2ct numbers are even in the same ballpark with super ideal stones ... but seriously - most people don''t care. Even if tied to their Pricescope only computer for three months doing nothing but reading up on super ideals. The bottom line is the almightly dollar and S-I-Z-E. A lot of FLASH, not much CASH.

It seems to me that P-scopers are a different breed. Type A. Perfectionistic. Well-heeled. Intelligent. Aestetically-inclined. Creative (i.e. all the custom jobs). And discriminating to a level of mild obsession. (myself included

)

I YEARN to be satisfied with a 2ct Walmart special or even Walmart tires ... it would make my life & finances much, much easier!

 

[princessv]

Interesting topic really. From the average consumer''s mouth, I have been told that my ''super ideal'' Jubilee looks so good that its fake.

Whereas the Walmart/mall frozen spit stuff looks real to them.

 

[lmurden]

I don''t know why I was shocked to see Walmart selling 2 carat rocks for $5500. I guess it dawned on me that people are really buying diamonds from them and that they must be happy. It sounds crazy to me but then I thought about it and said maybe we are crazy.

Anyway, it is true that many people don''t know what a well cut diamonds looks like and are secretly wondering if our diamonds are fake. There is a girl at work who wears 1 carat studs that are so ugly. I feel really embarrassed for her. I can’t figure out if they are fake or real and if she thinks they look good.

My mind is still blown that anyone would spend $5500 at Walmart on anything!

 

[blodthecat]

Bloody hell !

This person is just trying to ruffle everyones feathers!

This is the Pricescope forum....not Ebay

actually, you would probably be able to buy a diamond of this size and quality on Ebay for much less!

Blod

 

[Mara]

Well there are also some people out there who think that anyone who spends more than $1k on an engagement ring or diamond anything is crazy! So in reality yes we are crazy AND anyone who would spend $5500 at Walmart is too, ESP on a diamond...hee hee.

 

[princessv]

I try to look at diamonds this way....the right diamond for me might not be the right diamond for you (general). The ''right'' diamond by PS standards is definitely not the ''right'' diamond by the average consumer standard. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME I COULD HAVE A 2 CT DIAMOND FOR THAT PRICE?!"

 

[blodthecat]

Date: 12/31/2005 2:09:03 PM
Author: Mara
Well there are also some people out there who think that anyone who spends more than $1k on an engagement ring or diamond anything is crazy! So in reality yes we are crazy AND anyone who would spend $5500 at Walmart is too, ESP on a diamond...hee hee.

Yeah, I know...Princess Mara is right!

But I wouldn''t want to marry any guy who thought that spending more than $1k on an enagement ring was too much!

But hey...good job you''ve got your Gregg, who appreciates the finer things in life! (including you)

P.S. A very happy and healthy new year to you both.

Lots of love Blod (England, UK)

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 12/31/2005 10:46:46 AM
Author: Rascal49
LM, there is no way that that Walmart diamond looks as wonderful as an ideal cut diamond. No way.

If it did, then I would agree with you that we are all nuts here!

yep....plenty of those here.