Typical Ring Shopping Experience?

[FutureMrsC]

Is this a typical engagement ring shopping experience and what about the price?

After narrowing down the settings he brought out these 3 stones in a round cut to try in the rings:
.5 CT E SI2
.63 CT F SI2
.71 CT F SI2

At this point the salesmen got a little high pressured and wanted us to make a stone choice out of the three. He pushed us towards the middle one declaring it was the best value for our budget. Well I told him we weren’t ready to buy today but it would be great if we could get a copy or would be able to write some things down from the certificate to help us with our decision. He said they don’t keep copies of the certificates but we’d get one with the final purchase… well at this point all we’d seen is the stone by naked eye in their so called diamond grading light and the specs I wrote out above. I tried to get more information and was told they only carry premium cut diamonds and the table on the .63 CT was 58 and the depth 61 and that the symmetry looked good. Then he again wanted an answer on purchasing it.

This turned me off, I guess I thought we’d get a few more choices in stones, be able to see them through a loupe or at least be able to review certificates to help compare and see inclusions. But he pretty much left us with three stones and which one did you want to pay for size wise…

He is asking $3000 with a 20% discount from our work for a total of $2400 for the .63 ct F SI2. I think that’s pricey, but I’m not sure?

 

[JulieN]

yes, it's pricey

The sweet spot for 61 table is very small compared to smaller table sizes.

.64 F SI2, GIA EX grade with EX finish, 1500 that I just pulled really quickly http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00300715 as an example of pricing.

 

[Rod]

Date: 8/31/2006 1:26:50 PM
Author:FutureMrsC

Is this a typical engagement ring shopping experience and what about the price?

After narrowing down the settings he brought out these 3 stones in a round cut to try in the rings:
.5 CT E SI2
.63 CT F SI2
.71 CT F SI2

At this point the salesmen got a little high pressured and wanted us to make a stone choice out of the three. He pushed us towards the middle one declaring it was the best value for our budget. Well I told him we weren’t ready to buy today but it would be great if we could get a copy or would be able to write some things down from the certificate to help us with our decision. He said they don’t keep copies of the certificates but we’d get one with the final purchase well at this point all we’d seen is the stone by naked eye in their so called diamond grading light and the specs I wrote out above. I tried to get more information and was told they only carry premium cut diamonds and the table on the .63 CT was 58 and the depth 61 and that the symmetry looked good. Then he again wanted an answer on purchasing it.

(Danger Will Robinson, Danger!) Run away! Pressure tactics almost always lead to bad buys and lower quality. Take your time, learn and never be pressured into buying anything, especially something you have absolutley no real information about.

This turned me off, I guess I thought we’d get a few more choices in stones, be able to see them through a loupe or at least be able to review certificates to help compare and see inclusions. But he pretty much left us with three stones and which one did you want to pay for size wise…

He is asking $3000 with a 20% discount from our work for a total of $2400 for the .63 ct F SI2. I think that’s pricey, but I’m not sure?

 

[gsohl]

I''m not an expert, and I''m sure others will chime in, but there certainly appear to be several red flags.

1. "He said they don''t keep copies of the certificates and we''d get one with the final purchase" - he''s pressuring you to make a major purchase with very little information.

2. "...they only carry premium cut diamonds" - someone who says that probably has a much different view of "premium cut" than those on pricescope. Even the vendors who receive constant praise from pricescoper''s (GOG, WF, JA, etc.) do carry a range of diamond cuts, even if they could all be labeled "premium". A vendor should be able to explain this and provide you with the information to make an informed choice. Of course, they are trying to make a sale and your best source of information is probably an independent appraiser, but a seller certainly shouldn''t shrug off questions about cut.

3. Not all SI2s are created equal. There are plenty of pricescopers who are comfortable with SI2, but most of them would certainly recommend a critical examination of the diamond in a microscope/loupe and a complete understanding of what is the "grade making" inclusion - the main feature that caused the SI2 grading. The vendor gave you none of that information.

Regarding the price...even if it was a great deal, would you really want to work a vendor you don''t feel comfortable with? I''d shop around - find a vendor who has an enthusiasm for diamonds and is willing to share information with you so you can make an informed purchase. You may end up paying a few percent more, but you will feel much better about your purchase.

 

[FutureMrsC]

Thank you for confirming how I felt. The experience just didn''t sit right with me. They were so patient with the ring settings and then to rush through the diamond part just didn''t make sense.

 

[ephemery1]

I dealt with a few brick and mortar stores in our e-ring search, and some were better than others. One was fairly high pressure... telling me the 75% depth on the cushion he was showing us shouldn''t be a consideration, and that it isn''t really the stone that''s important, it''s the setting.

Then when I asked to see an oval, he insisted that nobody REALLY wants an oval. Well I wanted one, shouldn''t that have been enough?? When he finally brought one out, it was a totally different size and LW ratio than I''d asked for, poorly cut. I think he was trying to prove something, like "look, ovals ARE bad".

Another store was a better experience... they were very open and honest and let me see all the certs I wanted, and since I was very clear on what I was looking for, they didn''t bother to give me any sort of song and dance about why I should be looking for something else instead. They were careful not to bring out anything that wasn''t in our price range, too.

So trust your instinct with this place... if something didn''t feel quite "right", it probably wasn''t! Good luck to you.