Union Diamonds

[jedinite]

I just wanted to start this thread for Union Diamonds and my experiences with them throughout my buying process.

I found the ideal diamond for my fiancé and my budget using the Pricescope Diamond Search. After checking out the prices and comparing the quality of the diamonds I had to decide between a couple different dealers. I chose Union Diamonds because they appear to be the most reputable and best priced. They also have the best money back guarantee and personally I believe this is important.

I called to confirm that they had the diamond in stock. I was transfered to the sales staff and I was helped out by Leah. She was very kind and helpful. She did was not at all pushy, unattentive or busy when she was talking to me and I really appreciate that in a sales person. Especially when you''re dealing with such a big and important purchase.Unfortunately I called a few days late and there was a hold on the diamond I wanted. But after speaking to Leah she was more than willing to help me locate other diamonds. She followed up with me later that day to tell me she found another similar diamond but it was also on hold, but she told me she was still looking for me and would let me know the status of either diamond by the next day.

I recieved a call the next morning informing me of the good news that the diamond that I originally wanted was now available. Now I am opting to do a wire transfer payment for the diamond because it saves me 3% on CC charges which adds up to a lot with a purchase price this big. I''ll keep you informed on the progress of my transaction and my overall experience.

 

[mrssalvo]

So glad you an a wonderful experience. Please post pics of the stone and ring when you get them.

 

[piccolascimmia]

Jedinite...glad to hear your similarly positive experience with Union Diamond. We just purchased an asscher from them a few weeks back, and they were great to work with.

We started my search by emailing local jewelers asking to look at stones within my parameters. I had 2 sessions elsewhere, and then coordinated a time with Jeff at Union to look at asscher options he woudl pull for us. They were pretty prompt about replying to my email or answering my call. I showed up on a Saturday, viewed 6 different stones, chose one and held it for a week until we purchased.

In viewing those 6 stones, Jeff was very helpful and was able to translate into visuals what I had learned via reading these boards. I felt very educated from reading up here, but its a whole different ballpark when you''re able to really see the windmills and steps of an asscher instead of just seeing photos/trading numbers. Jeff wasn''t at all pushy, he added to my education and left us very comfortable making a purchase from Union. They had a variety of settings that were pretty and reasonably priced...but I ended up finding a setting/band at another local store.

I just had the stone appraised this week, and confirmed that we got a pretty good deal on it! All around, I''m very happy we went with Union Diamond. Going with them gave me the internet vendor experience/price with a local personal touch. I''d be happy to shop with them again.

I also really enjoyed my shopping experience with Solomon Brothers. They had brought in stones for me the week prior, and have a HUGE selection of settings. Had they found this asscher for me the weekend before, I could have easily purchased it from them (and probably could have found a setting there, too)!

Hope this helps future shoppers with my personal experience on Union Diamond or Solomon Brothers...

 

[jedinite]

Well I did the wire transfer this morning and it went pretty smoothly. I was a little anxious about the whole process so I called Leah after lunch to confirm that they had received the funds so I could rest a little easier. She told me she was just about to call me so it was all good timing I suppose.

My diamond is on it''s way tommorow and I should probably get it on Tuesday since tommorow is the last day of the week.

On a slightly different note, I got a call from Matthew''s Jewelery before I transfered the funds because I sent them a copy of the EGL cert and I wanted a professional''s opinion on it. He told me that it was strange and a tell-tale sign that the diamond might appear "milky" because of the fluorescence. The diamond I purchased is a F, VS1, Ideal Cut, with a moderate blue fluorescence. Since UnionDiamond has an excellent return policy I decided to buy it anyways. If when I get it I don''t like it I can always return it so I figured it was better to have the diamond and be sure than to pass it up and miss out on a potential opportunity.

For anyone else that has questions about fluorescence, you should read this article Fluorescence Research it has a link to a PDF to the full research report Fluorescence Case Study. I''m hoping that I will not be able to tell the difference at all. Leah from Union Diamonds reassured me that the diamond was a beautiful one and even said to me that she wouldn''t want to sell me a poor diamond because she knows I would just send it back. I guess having no fluorescence is ideal but having some can change the price of the diamond, usually lowers the price in more colourless diamonds. So I hope I am getting a good deal and not a dud.

Keep you all posted on the shipping and tracking of the diamond and what the diamond looks like. Have a good weekend in the meantime.

 

[mrssalvo]

I happen to love blue Fluor. Many times stones can be milky that have it, but it''s not a rule at all and on a case by case basis. If UD says it looks great, I''m sure it does. Please keep us posted tomorrow once you get it. oh, and since you are talking with Matthew''s Jewelry, does that mean there is a Michael b setting in the works to?

 

[windowshopper]

Date: 5/25/2006 5:38:33 PM
Author: jedinite
Well I did the wire transfer this morning and it went pretty smoothly. I was a little anxious about the whole process so I called Leah after lunch to confirm that they had received the funds so I could rest a little easier. She told me she was just about to call me so it was all good timing I suppose.

My diamond is on it''s way tommorow and I should probably get it on Tuesday since tommorow is the last day of the week.

On a slightly different note, I got a call from Matthew''s Jewelery before I transfered the funds because I sent them a copy of the EGL cert and I wanted a professional''s opinion on it. He told me that it was strange and a tell-tale sign that the diamond might appear ''milky'' because of the fluorescence. The diamond I purchased is a F, VS1, Ideal Cut, with a moderate blue fluorescence. Since UnionDiamond has an excellent return policy I decided to buy it anyways. If when I get it I don''t like it I can always return it so I figured it was better to have the diamond and be sure than to pass it up and miss out on a potential opportunity.

For anyone else that has questions about fluorescence, you should read this article Fluorescence Research it has a link to a PDF to the full research report Fluorescence Case Study. I''m hoping that I will not be able to tell the difference at all. Leah from Union Diamonds reassured me that the diamond was a beautiful one and even said to me that she wouldn''t want to sell me a poor diamond because she knows I would just send it back. I guess having no fluorescence is ideal but having some can change the price of the diamond, usually lowers the price in more colourless diamonds. So I hope I am getting a good deal and not a dud.

Keep you all posted on the shipping and tracking of the diamond and what the diamond looks like. Have a good weekend in the meantime.

seriously--my D VS Ec has moderate blue fluor and all it did was save me money! PLUS my D is the whitest, silveriest stone you have ever seen and i get comments on it routinely..................i think fluor is a positive unless its so strong it causes a milkiness

 

[jedinite]

Date: 5/25/2006 5:54:12 PM
Author: windowshopper
seriously--my D VS Ec has moderate blue fluor and all it did was save me money! PLUS my D is the whitest, silveriest stone you have ever seen and i get comments on it routinely..................i think fluor is a positive unless its so strong it causes a milkiness

Thanks for the reassurance. I was a little worried after the jeweler called me and mentioned it. The diamond I have coming is a moderate blue so I hope it enhances the diamond because I know it saved me some money.

 

[jedinite]

I received my diamond yesterday, delivered on time and exceptional packaging. The diamond was packaged within cusioned plastic container within a little ring box. The was placed inside of a custom gift box which included the diamond certification and insurance certification papers. The giftbox came exactly like the one pictured on their site. You can see their Deluxe Packaging here.

The giftbox was placed in a FedEx bubble wrap and then within a FedEx Shipping box. I am no diamond expert but I know from looking at the stone it is exceptional. I am wondering if it''s worth it to get it offically GIA certified. I will find out tonight when I bring the diamond into Matthew''s Jewelry to have the gemologist/jeweler take a look at it before setting it in the Michael B Trois Round. It costs about $150-200 for the certification, if anyone has experience in this matter I would love to hear what you have to say about it.

 

[JulieN]

If you want it "checked out," you don't have your jeweler, from whom you did not buy your stone, do it. He already tried to dissuade you with the "milky" thing on a medium blue flour...maybe if it were a strong blue or a very strong blue. And the stone was "strange?" What does that mean? Flouresence is not a tell-tale sign of strangenesss... isn't it 30% of all diamonds exhibit flouresence? It kind of sounds like he was trying to kill the sale.

I'd be a better use of your money to have it sent to an independent appraiser than having it sent to GIA.

 

[jedinite]

Thanks for your reply JulieN. I dropped the stone off yesterday at the jewellers and the actual gemologist/jeweller was not in but the sales person that I spoke to on the phone was helping me out. I just wanted to make sure that the stone that I bought was legitimate and of equal quality to that on the certificate. The sales person brought out a few test diamonds where they had the GIA approved colour and we compared the stones. The F that they had in the store was a cushion cut so it was difficult to accurately compare my stone to it but it looked as if my stone was a better colour than the GIA F they had. Then she brought out a round cut GIA E to compare that and my diamond it even appeared as if my diamond was just as white if not whiter than the GIA E. I guess in this case the moderate blue fluorescence on my diamond really made the diamond pop.

While I was at Matthew's I wanted to make sure that I got the same diamond back that I was giving them but it was extremely difficult to find the inclusions even with a 30x loupe. I'm trusting that Matthew's is honorable, I mean they have been in business for 30 years and they are the home of Michael B himself. I doubt that they would try to pull a fast one on a little guy like me. Since they do deal with a lot of celebs and richer clientele.


I am very, very pleased with my diamond purchase and I would definitely go through Union Diamond again.

During the whole process I believe the Sales Manager I dealt with at Union Diamonds really cared about selling me the right diamond and not just trying to clear her inventory. And with my positive experience with my EGL certified diamond, I would definitely recommend it to anyone buying a high quality diamond (exceptional colour, cut, clarity). I hope my experience can help out all the other guys out there trying to impress their girlfriends. I'll keep you posted on the Michael B Trois in this thread unless someone requests a new thread for it.

edit: I forgot to add a note about the fluorescence, I honestly don't see any "milkiness" in the diamond and unless you have a very strong flourescence I doubt you'll see any. As I said before I'm extremely happy with my diamond purchase. I can't wait to see the look on my girlfriend's face when I propose.

 

[JulieN]

awesome.

 

[jedinite]

Well, finally proposed this weekend in Palm Springs and she accepted! Hurray, not that there was any doubt but a great feeling nonetheless. I''ll post a picture of the ring on here in a few days.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Congratulations Jedinite