Too good to be true???

[bmick]

I have just begun the diamond shopping process/research. After visiting a couple of jewlers and then comparing prices on the internet......the internet prices seem so much better. It seems almost too good to be true. The internet sites such as abazias, adiamore, etc all have certified stones at great prices. Is the internet the best way to go when purchasing a diamond. Thanks for any info is greatly appreciated.

 

[bcrossman3]

I just got my diamond over the internet and love it. I got it from Abazias and dealt with John. As soon as the wiring process is complete I am going to write a more complete review of my process as it was excellent. I feel I got a great price on a well proportioned H colored diamond but one thing you can do to make yourself more comfortable is to use the Quality Cut Search on the forum and choose one that is AGS 0 and an H&A but with a color of I or something. The prices on that seem pretty good. My personal preferences are an SI1 with very good to excellent polish and symmetry in the 1.25 carat range. Yours may differ.

 

[WinkHPD]

As you do your research you will find great treasures, and great pitfalls on the internet. You will need to study dilligently to separate fact from fiction, and check references, there are a lot of great vendors, many of them represented here, and a lot of crooks too.

Once you have a good education, you can often talk with local independant jewelers and find one willing to come very close to internet pricing with you. You may find the ability to look at several stones at one time to compare worth the relatively few extra dollars it will cost for local service.

I once had a local client who had found some stones on the internet he wanted to purchase one of. All three were touted as Hearts and Arrows quality cutting and all three were offered at absurd prices about $200 over cost on $10,000 stones. After negotiating a fair payment for the cost of shipping and insurance and for my time I had all three stones shipped to me. Two of them were no where near to being Hearts and Arrows, even though they had the coveted AGS 0 cutting grade. The other was a fine stone, although on paper it was the one he would never have picked had he been forced to choose only one of the three.

He ended up with a beautiful stone at a fair price, but only because he had done a LOT of homework and new what he wanted, then he was able to work closely with a local jeweler to make sure he was getting what he thought he was getting.

Wink

P.S. Just to make it completely clear, none of the vendors with the "not as represented" stones were Pricescope vendors. The people who you meet around here tend to be pretty straight shooters, or they don''t last long.

 

[dixxin]

welcome bmick

I was initially very reluctant to hand over my money to some internet vendor I have never met before but I am glad I did because the leap of faith enabled my fiance to get a much better diamond than any store vendor can offer me at the price. I purchased from mdx/nydx and their service was excellent.

Good luck..

 

[aphisiglovessae]

We bought both my diamond and my setting online and we love them. As a matter of fact, the appraisal on the ring was a lot more than we actually paid for it. It''s not unusual to find good deals online because i think you are buying straight from a dealer and not from one of those mall jewelry stores that mark the stuff up 300 percent. The only thing that is really lacking when buying onine is the guarantee on the diamond. A lot of stores will replace a diamond if it''s damaged or lost due to improper setting and such. I noticed that a lot of internet sites do not have such a guarantee. But that''s why engagment ring insurance exists. Buying online is a little risky, so a lot of research is required, but if you find a reputable dealer it''s totally worth it.