Thinking of pulling the trigger tomorrow... any last minute advice?

[davinci]

After being a regular lurker in this site for the last two months and shopping online and at the LA jewelry district. I think I''m finally going to make a purchase for an engagement ring for my sweetie...

1.85 G SI1
GIA grade of excellent cut, excellent polish, excellent symmetry
7.82.x 7.87 x 4.89
Depth 62.3%
Table 55%
Crown 35.5 degree
Pav 40.6 degree
thin to medium girdle
no culet
$17500

Its somewhat more expensive than online, but I really wanted to be able to look at the diamonds in person make sure it was eyeclean and my GF was pretty picky about how she wanted the settings and the prongs to look and she really liked the imitation classic Tiffany that this jeweler had.

What do you all think?

 

[kcoursolle]

It looks like it should be a very pretty diamond in person.

However, you are paying probably about 2k more by buying this stone instead of going online. Personally, I rather just pay a couple of hundred bucks in shipping prices and buy a diamond online, view it, appraise it, and ship it back if necessary...and spend the extra money on a setting.

 

[honey22]

Ditto! You can get some gorgeous Tiff settings online, and if you are not happy, you can always send it back. You can also use the extra $$$ for some gorgeous erings or maybe a diamond tennis bracelet?!

But, if your heart is set on this stone and it speaks to you and says ''I am the One'' then go for it, trust your eyes! It falls within AGS Ideal and GIA excellent so it should be a gorgeous stone. Just make sure it is eyeclean to your standards! You don''t want to get it home and then realise that there are visible inclusions you may not have been aware of.

Good luck, don''t forget to post pics when you get it!

 

[MikeRato1]

davinci, go with what feels right, you might be able to find a better deal online and yes they have a return policy, but for me it was more comfortable
to be in a store comparing a few stones side by side in the same lighting conditions. what i did was explain to my jeweler that i can get a better deal over the internet and they worked with their price a lilttle bit. so i ended up paying about the same as online. maybe try that?

 

[davinci]

Thanks Kcoursolle, honey22,mikerato1

Yeah, I know can find something similar online for cheaper but after looking at a bunch of VS2, SI1, SI2 under 10x loupe at various jewelers... I just realized what a huge difference a diamond within each grade can look. The SI1 that I looked at only has a small white inclusion in the table that I can only see at 10x and even then its not really noticeable to my untrained eye. Whereas other SI1''s looked like someone sprinkled sand on the diamond at 10x.

I think I''m going back to see if I can bargain the price down a little bit.
He was going to give me a package price on platinum rings:
Diamond $17500
Wedding ring $1250
Eternity band $1550
would have added up to $20300, but will give me for $18900 (about $1400 off)

Plus the other consideration was having a local jeweler that I felt comfortable with for cleanings, resizing, repairs down the road...
I wonder, is this a consideration for anyone here? What do you do when you buy online and need resizing, repair, etc...? Do you ship it back to the online vendor or do you look for a local jeweler?

Thanks everyone!

 

[honey22]

Hi there again!

I am not sure about the prices for your rings, but if you give more details on your bands, ie. total carat weight, width, style etc, we can give you an idea of what you can pay online. That way, you will be armed with a figure that you can hopefully aim to bargain down to.

As far as cleaning, I won''t be sending mine back as I purchased from overseas. I know of a few reputable jewellers here in Melbourne that I can go and get the ring inspected, cleaned, polished etc. Many places will do this service for free, others will charge a small fee. Many people do ship back to the original vendor if they are in the same country or area, it just depend on shipping costs I guess.

If you are concerned about the Tiff settings, you can do a search and you will find gazillions of threads about these settings, how they compare to each other, how authentic they are etc. Something also worth considering, if you save $$$ on the stone, you might be able to swing a Mark Morrell or Leon setting - the cream of the crop!

Good luck!

 

[Fly Girl]

Sounds like you have done your homework and found a beautiful diamond and setting locally. Personally, I would go with the local jeweler for all of the reasons you mentioned. It''s great to be able to take it in for regular cleanings and inspections!

Good luck, and come back with pictures!!

 

[davinci]

Went ahead and bought my ring today (well actually the loose diamond, they are working on the ring and will call me when the ring is ready to mount the diamond.

So took the diamond home and played with it, looked at it under a 10x loop again and scrutinized it with an idealscope again.

Is the idealscope supposed to be kinda finicky if you dont have the diamond face exactly flat? It was hard to get the diamond exactly facing the idealscope... maybe because I''m inexperienced.
took a lot of shots with my camera to get the diamond just exactly aligned
I''ll post a picture of the finished ring when I get it.


Thanks everyone!

 

[MikeRato1]

congratulations! what kinda setting did you go with???

 

[lovehersomuch]

damn thats a lot of money... not trying to talk you out of it but do you have money saved up for other expenses down the line like a house etc? ring is a ring but the money could be put to better use.

how much do you plan on spending on the wedding? parents paying for it?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 3/17/2008 10:14:12 PM
Author: lovehersomuch
damn thats a lot of money... not trying to talk you out of it but do you have money saved up for other expenses down the line like a house etc? ring is a ring but the money could be put to better use.

how much do you plan on spending on the wedding? parents paying for it?

Hey, now some of us might beg to differ on that point!

Hopefully most people are buying what they can afford.

davinci, I think people are so mobile today that even if you buy from a local jeweler, there is no guarantee that you''ll live there forever. In fact, the local family jeweler that my husband bought my original ring from has never seen the ring again. So that is why it didn''t bother me a bit to buy the anniversary ring from Good Old Gold in NY!

 

[MikeRato1]

agreed that is alot of money, but im sure it will be worth it!

i dont think davinci is on this forum looking for a financial advisor though, just for some expert advice on diamonds