Still Searching

[Candi]

Hi Everyone:

This is my first posting. My fiance and I got engaged in April of 2005 and are getting married October of 2007. On and off we have been looking for a ring. I haven''t found a diamond that I love and I can be very frugal. A couple of weeks ago after dinner we went into a local retailer and I saw a diamond in a simple white gold solitaire setting that I thought was beautiful.

At the time, this was all the information we received.

3.30 Radiant Cut
K color (I remember this specifically because I am very color sensitive and usually don''t like anything less than an I-GIA cert, but this one faced up beautifully)
GIA cert (I remember this also because this retailer while well known in our community is known for having both certified and uncertified stones...I have had salespeople show me uncertified stones...so I was pleased this had a cert...although I didn''t see the cert)
$17,950

We got the salesperson''s card and she wrote the price and stock number on the back of the card.

So being the frugal shopper I got on pricescope and found the following diamond at Union Diamnod after searching all diamonds (not just in house)

Radiant
3.30
K
SII
$16040
9.11-7.79-5.03
Depth 64.3%
Table 73%
Flourescence: Moderate
Special Notes: Beautiful Diamond!

So I thought that maybe this might be the same diamond? Is that possible that Union Diamond could sell a diamond that is in a retail store already?

I called the salesperson and gave her the stock number she had written down and asked if she could give me a little more info. from the cert.

She gave me different specs. She said that the diamond we looked at that evening was the following:

Radiant
3.30
J
SI2
9.32 x 7.39 x 5.13
Depth: 69.4%
Table: 75%
AGS cert

I questioned her and said that I remember it being 3.30 and a K with a GIA cert and she said that she didn''t have such a diamond and that we really needed to come in an look at the ring again and loose stones.

Anyway, I am confused. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[mrssalvo]

Hi Candi and welcome.

I don''t think the stone would be the same one you saw listed on Union diamonds site. If a vendor owns a stone, it wouldn''t show up in anyone else''s vitual inventory. I don''t know anything about Radiants to be able to help you there but if you saw it and love it then another look might very well be worth it.

 

[Candi]

Thanks for your help. Maybe we will go back and look at the diamond at the retailer. I may have just been confused as to what I thought the salesperson said.

In my opininon, this dichotomy is what makes this process difficult. I love that fact that online we can get so much information and comparison shop easily. But, there is an emotional aspect to being able to see a diamond in person. I was just saying to my fiance last night that I feel some local retailers seem threatened by our desire to comparison shop.

We comparison shopped when we bought our house, looked for mortgages, look for cars, and groceries. Why wouldn''t we want to comparison shop now?

And I even said to my fiance that I wouldn''t mind him spending a little more if I thought we could find someone locally that we trusted, was straightforward, and was giving us all the information that we needed.

Another issue I have found difficult in this process is this old fashion notion we seem to run into at local retailers that the engagement ring buying process (at least the financial aspect) should be none of my business. My fiance and I have a relatively traditional relationship. He is the primary bread winner and I stay at home. But, I manage our finances as a couple as part of my role in our relationship. So, it is absolutely my business how much he spends on a diamond for me. We have other goals as a couple from savings and investments for retirement to philanthropy to travel and buying a vacation home. So I get a little tired of salepeople dismissing me.

Anyway, it is nice to have a forum to express some of these frustrations.

Thanks!