Just thought I''d share my experience from start to finish, plus I promised a couple people some shameless plugs, so here goes!
I had been looking for a diamond for a while, done all the research, information gathering, reading, looking, talking to friends, etc. to the point where I felt totally comfortable going forward with such a large purchase for such a small item. Now working with a budget can make this tough, I wanted the most bang without making too many sacrifices and as such, knew that the internet would offer me a better deal than most B & M stores could, and I didn''t want to spend the time and effort running all over town looking for the best deal.
I seriously contemplated a drop shipper, but nah, I didn''t want to buy from someone who hadn''t actually looked at the diamond before I purchased. My parameters? GIA or AGS graded round brilliant, 1 carat +/-, D-G color, excellent cut/symmetry, and due to budget I had to limit myself to SI 1 or SI 2. It needed to be "eye clean"
and that''s where I just couldn''t go with the drop shipper, even if they had a liberal return policy I didn''t want to fool around with all that nonsense.
So I e-mailed a couple places, ran my screens and found plenty that matched. It really came down to who wanted my business and who could provide me with additional pictures, idealscope image, and inform me regarding the inclusions and if I could see them. Well the one company that won on that front was James Allen. I worked with Jennifer and she was able to provide me with everything I asked, e-mailed/called me when she said she would and seemed to want my business. JA has a good return policy as well so I felt safe when Jennifer found me a GIA 1.00 carat, E, SI2, Ex/Ex/Ex. Idealscope looked good, pics looked good and I was told that this SI2 was 100% eye clean.
Purchase made, shipped next day and was in my hands when it was promised. Opened up the package and damn, this diamond looked good!
Next up was the appraisal, I wanted and needed to verify that I made a good purchase. So I look up appraisers here on PS and find Kim Piracci, GG (kimpiracci.com). Kim is a wonderful person and very knowledgeable to boot. I met with her and gave her the diamond and was very interested to see how close her appraisal was to the GIA report I had in hand. Well she was pretty much dead on in confirming what was on the report, and wrote me a wonderful appraisal on the loose diamond. We talked business for a while, the diamond trade, appraisals, football...just an all around great experience.
I still needed to have the diamond set and I wanted to bring it back to Kim for a final report after it was done. In my twisted head I figured there was a chance that whoever set the diamond could pull a switch and I didn''t want that. Kim mentioned some people she used to work with and from her recommendation I decided to go with them to set my diamond. Well she knows the right people, these guys at Goldworks in Chapel Hill did a fantastic job. They have the most beautiful jewelry store I have ever seen, and just friendly, good people working there. They set my diamond in a 14K white gold tiffany style solitaire setting and it looked fantastic. The setting ,to me, I just wanted to have it look good and not spend a whole lot. That way wouldn''t feel bad if my g/f wanted something different (this ring was a surprise) and I wouldn''t have spent a whole lot on a platinum ring, etc.
So that done, I take it back to Kim for her final writeup. She does the whole 9 yards again and we probably spend another hour after that just BSing about the world, our families. I can''t say enough nice things about her, and I told her she needs to come to PS and start sharing her knowledge.
OK so diamond ring in hand, last week I ask my girl and of course she says yes
She loves her ring and I do too, it looks amazing. Really I just wanted to thank everyone who helped me out, from Jennifer at James Allen to Kim Piracci, to the nice people at goldworks. Total success all the way around.
Last but not least, a pic of the diamond. The pic does not do it justice, trust me on that. Also this pic I took, I made fun of my fiance cause it looks like she has a dark piece of hair on her finger (gross!) but it''s really just a piece of fuzz that was caught on one of the prongs.
Oh yeah, almost forgot. Prices. For the diamond, again GIA 1.00 Carat, E, Ex/Ex/Ex, SI 2 - $4,750. I was pleased with this price and Kim verified from her pricing sheets, I received a good deal. Ring/setting - $250. Appraisals - $50 for the loose diamond, $35 for the final write up after it was set, $85 total. I told Kim she needed to raise her prices, I felt it was worth every penny and then some.
I had been looking for a diamond for a while, done all the research, information gathering, reading, looking, talking to friends, etc. to the point where I felt totally comfortable going forward with such a large purchase for such a small item. Now working with a budget can make this tough, I wanted the most bang without making too many sacrifices and as such, knew that the internet would offer me a better deal than most B & M stores could, and I didn''t want to spend the time and effort running all over town looking for the best deal.
I seriously contemplated a drop shipper, but nah, I didn''t want to buy from someone who hadn''t actually looked at the diamond before I purchased. My parameters? GIA or AGS graded round brilliant, 1 carat +/-, D-G color, excellent cut/symmetry, and due to budget I had to limit myself to SI 1 or SI 2. It needed to be "eye clean"
and that''s where I just couldn''t go with the drop shipper, even if they had a liberal return policy I didn''t want to fool around with all that nonsense.So I e-mailed a couple places, ran my screens and found plenty that matched. It really came down to who wanted my business and who could provide me with additional pictures, idealscope image, and inform me regarding the inclusions and if I could see them. Well the one company that won on that front was James Allen. I worked with Jennifer and she was able to provide me with everything I asked, e-mailed/called me when she said she would and seemed to want my business. JA has a good return policy as well so I felt safe when Jennifer found me a GIA 1.00 carat, E, SI2, Ex/Ex/Ex. Idealscope looked good, pics looked good and I was told that this SI2 was 100% eye clean.
Purchase made, shipped next day and was in my hands when it was promised. Opened up the package and damn, this diamond looked good!
Next up was the appraisal, I wanted and needed to verify that I made a good purchase. So I look up appraisers here on PS and find Kim Piracci, GG (kimpiracci.com). Kim is a wonderful person and very knowledgeable to boot. I met with her and gave her the diamond and was very interested to see how close her appraisal was to the GIA report I had in hand. Well she was pretty much dead on in confirming what was on the report, and wrote me a wonderful appraisal on the loose diamond. We talked business for a while, the diamond trade, appraisals, football...just an all around great experience.
I still needed to have the diamond set and I wanted to bring it back to Kim for a final report after it was done. In my twisted head I figured there was a chance that whoever set the diamond could pull a switch and I didn''t want that. Kim mentioned some people she used to work with and from her recommendation I decided to go with them to set my diamond. Well she knows the right people, these guys at Goldworks in Chapel Hill did a fantastic job. They have the most beautiful jewelry store I have ever seen, and just friendly, good people working there. They set my diamond in a 14K white gold tiffany style solitaire setting and it looked fantastic. The setting ,to me, I just wanted to have it look good and not spend a whole lot. That way wouldn''t feel bad if my g/f wanted something different (this ring was a surprise) and I wouldn''t have spent a whole lot on a platinum ring, etc.
So that done, I take it back to Kim for her final writeup. She does the whole 9 yards again and we probably spend another hour after that just BSing about the world, our families. I can''t say enough nice things about her, and I told her she needs to come to PS and start sharing her knowledge.
OK so diamond ring in hand, last week I ask my girl and of course she says yes
Last but not least, a pic of the diamond. The pic does not do it justice, trust me on that. Also this pic I took, I made fun of my fiance cause it looks like she has a dark piece of hair on her finger (gross!) but it''s really just a piece of fuzz that was caught on one of the prongs.
Oh yeah, almost forgot. Prices. For the diamond, again GIA 1.00 Carat, E, Ex/Ex/Ex, SI 2 - $4,750. I was pleased with this price and Kim verified from her pricing sheets, I received a good deal. Ring/setting - $250. Appraisals - $50 for the loose diamond, $35 for the final write up after it was set, $85 total. I told Kim she needed to raise her prices, I felt it was worth every penny and then some.
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