Should I buy in MD or NY diamond district?

[pkim3011]

You guys are truly the best to come to!
Now that I have scoured pricescope and have been schooled, I'm finally ready to buy. I want the best deal for my budget and I've found a jeweler that I like in my area in MD, but I'm contemplating comparing sizes in NY, and wanted your opinions. My jeweler here has found me a stone but I'm not in love with it and I feel like with my price point in the diamond district I'd have more options. Some guidance would be greatly appreciated!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Definitely do not just wander into the Diamond District because you could end up with a disaster!

Reputable diamond dealers in NY are James Allen and Good Old Gold on Long Island. Good Old Gold has a regular jewelry store and a website and James Allen is primarily a web-based seller. Oh, and ID Jewelry is in the DD and ask for Yekutiel if you go there and tell him you are a pricescope member (same with all of these vendors).

 

[pkim3011]

Thanks! I completely agree...the diamond district is a bit of a mess in general if you wander in. I should have asked earlier, are there any recommendations for a jewelry besides IDJ in the diamond district?

 

[sakari_8]

I think you can also do your research on prices on the online stores, so you would have fair idea on the diamond prices of what you are looking for

 

[kathness]

Hiya Op - i recently bought my diamond from Yekutiel IDJ. Should definitely give them a call first or send him an email to make sure he has something to show you!

As diamondseeker has already mentioned GOG is also another option, they do loads of test on the diamond and make sure that they perform at a top quality. It's usually guarantee that you would get the best optics from the diamonds they select.

price wise my personal opinion IDJ is a bit more competitive but i think marginally..

 

[k123]

I am far from an expert but I just bought a diamond in MD but went to NY to look. The reason I went with MD is because I only saw the diamond 1 time in NY. I wanted to see it multiple times and do a lot of research. Once I got a price in NY, it gave me ammo for negotiation in MD. Most stores in MD were able to get close to the "whole sale" NY price. Also, if there are any problems, it is much easier to go back to a local store...at least for me. Also, once I got the specs, I was able to get great advice on this site and actually backed out of my original choice because of feedback and help from this site. But eneded up with an amazing stone. Good luck!

 

[Regular Guy]

I'm in MD, too. If you don't mind sharing stores you like locally, I'd value that.

My purchase actually was with what is now James Allen, who...though based in MD (near Frederick), probably doesn't do presentations at their local office.

This all said, I would support going to NY and a place like GOG for this purchase.

Ira Z.

 

[pkim3011]

Thanks everyone! I'll def give IDJ a call tomorrow. Steve is the jeweler that i like from MD he's at the Jewelry Exchange of Maryland in Gaithersburg. He's super nice, but I'm just not happy with the stones he showed me, I think he might have to go back to the drawing board. His pricing is better then GOG and James Allen, but compared to stones I've seen online, I think I could get a little bigger stone.
A little more background info...I spoke with a jeweler my friend referred me to in LA and he has an EGL USA certified elongated 1.5 cushion H, VS1 for 7300. without seeing it in person, I'm a little iffy, especially because I've heard that the EGL certs are so lax compared to GIA. My guy here has a 1.72 elongated cushion, can't remember the stats on that one, but they were decent, and it was 8200, or a 1.32 RB GIA cert, H, VS1 for 7800.
As you can tell I'm torn between a RB or an elongated cushion. Are the prices that I've been offered competitive as it is and I'm just being delusional, or can I expect a little bit of a bigger stone? (Obviously I'm more of a bigger is better! And I know in order to keep within budget I am going to have to give on something)

Thanks for letting me ramble, again any and all input is greatly appreciated!!

 

[kathness]

Hiya Op - if you are looking for cushions i would definitely reach out to GOG, ERD or even Perry Chen from Leon Mege. They are all located in New York. From what i understand cushions are quite difficult to buy so its best to go with a vendor that will provide you with all the info and has all the tools to show you what the cushion looks like.

I've only had experience shopping for RB cut diamonds and IDJ in my opinion provides some competitive pricing.

have fun shopping!!!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Very different ball games if you are talking about cushions versus rounds. Go see Engagement Rings Direct, Old World Diamonds (same building) and Perry Chen (around the corner) if you are interested in cushions. For old european cuts, Old World Diamonds can also help you with that. For rounds, I would check out James Allen or IDJ.

 

[Christina...]

Very different ball games if you are talking about cushions versus rounds. Go see Engagement Rings Direct, Old World Diamonds (same building) and Perry Chen (around the corner) if you are interested in cushions. For old european cuts, Old World Diamonds can also help you with that. For rounds, I would check out James Allen or IDJ.

+1

 

[arkieb1]

Hi Generally you can't compare EGL stones to GIA stones - they are usually a few grades out colourwise one or two clarity wise and their excellent cuts are usually not comparable to GIA graded cuts. When comparing an EGL stone you need to know EXACTLY what it is for an apples to apples comparison....