Wholesale Diamond Vendor in San Francisco - Help!

[HanKat]

I would really appreciate any advice/help you may be able to provide in relation to buying an engagement ring in San Francisco in the coming weeks. We are there on hols from the 12th Feb and want to purchase an engagement ring - but not in the likes of Tiffanys etc. We have a budget of approx USD$7000 for a min 1.5ct, G-I, Vs1 - Si1 (RB or asscher..can''t decide!). Our budget includes the setting price. Essentially, we are looking for trustworthy, diamond wholesalers who are well established and will look after us!! Thanks in advance. (also.. feel free to let me know if my requirements and budget actually match up!).

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 1/29/2010 6:12:16 AM
Author:HanKat
I would really appreciate any advice/help you may be able to provide in relation to buying an engagement ring in San Francisco in the coming weeks. We are there on hols from the 12th Feb and want to purchase an engagement ring - but not in the likes of Tiffanys etc. We have a budget of approx USD$7000 for a min 1.5ct, G-I, Vs1 - Si1 (RB or asscher..can''t decide!). Our budget includes the setting price. Essentially, we are looking for trustworthy, diamond wholesalers who are well established and will look after us!! Thanks in advance. (also.. feel free to let me know if my requirements and budget actually match up!).

Hi and welcome to PS. In all honesty, you are not going to be able to get a well cut 1.5 carat stone for 7K. Most of the folks here would suggest working with a well respected Pricescope vendor in order to find something that will work in your budget. Wholesale is a very misleading term, no one really gets wholesale pricing. You do have a great budget though and if you can decide on a shape we''d be more than happy to give you a few examples of what will work. Also, what type of setting are you interested in b/c that will factor into cost. Keep in mind that asschers will face up smaller than an equal carat weight so depending on whether or not size is an objective or not it might be something you want to consider. no matter what though Cut is the most important factor that you won''t want to compromise one.

 

[Todd Gray]

Most of the "wholesalers" which the public has readily available access to are not really on the "wholesale" side of the trade, but rather are retail jewelers choosing to mislead the public by use of a term which is ambiguous within the industry. In most instances I think you''ll find that what is being offered at "wholesale" is something which can be purchased at "retail" from a reliable vendor for the same price and often with a more forthright and honest approach to business.

In terms of fair market price, in my experience most internet vendors operate on a mark-up which is decisively less than the mark-up of their brick and mortar counterparts - simply because they are competing in a global market instead of a few mile radius, have a lower cost of advertising and lower overhead.

Run a search for what you''re looking for within the diamond search engine here on PS and within the inventory lists of the individual dealer sites and then compare that to what is being offered to you by the dealers in S.F. on your visit and make a purchase based on an accurate comparison... Read articles on what labs are comparable in terms of grading consistency and accuracy! A lot of people get whiffed by "the wholesalers" on that one!

And know the difference between a square cut emerald which is merely an emerald cut and a square cut emerald which is actually an Asscher cut - they''re often labeled the same and are often not the same! And with rounds, get a good understanding of how proportions contribute to price (as much as 60% of the selling price!) and what proportions are and are not ideal - and which of those are center range ideal and at the edge of ideal... These are the more common mistakes that people make when diamond shopping... Happy hunting.

 

[slycatty]

There''s the Jewelry Mart in San Francisco. I think it''s more retail than wholesale. Keep us posted on what you get. I''m looking for a very similar diamond.

 

[HanKat]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.
Have done a bit more research and looks like the San Francisco Diamond Exchange maybe a decent option.
They get very good reveiws on yelp.
I see that my budget might be a tad ''optimistic'' now!
But, I will let you know what was purchased in late February.

 

[HanKat]

Just a quick update to let you know that the trip to San Francisco was a success!
Purchased a 1.45 Asscher (GIA), with excellent polish and symmetry, a very good cut, G and eye-clean SI (but the main inclusion is in the top right corner, covered by the prong).
Absolutely delighted with the service from the San Francisco Diamond Exchange and it all came in a little over budget.
Could not recommend Jessie in the Exchange highly enough.

Will try and post pictures in the coming days.. Thanks for all your earlier advice.