Engagement Rings

[mercanucaribe]

Ask to see the card for any diamond you buy. It will show the approximate value of the stone. If there's no card, make them get it appraised. Don't buy anything higher clarity than SI1 or SI2 or you're throwing away money.

http://www.jewelbasket.com/aboutdiamonds.html

I'd buy a colored stone like sapphire though.

"Diamonds are the stuff of dreams, murder mysteries, poems and songs. They are the most popular of the "precious" gems. Their popularity, to a great extent, is the product of the kind of marketing that the Fortune 500 companies only hallucinate about in their most euphoric moments. It can be safely assumed that if the DeBeers cartel had not virtually monopolized the rough market and had not had such brilliant advertising, diamonds could easily have been just another gemstone. Unless you really study the history of this ambitious and mysterious company, and understand the full impact of the way people have been socialized to believe that diamonds are-at the least-a necessary, one-time purchase, you might consider their popularity as axiomatic as Newtonian physics. Although gems-quality diamonds are rare, they are more common than any other gem-quality colored stone. They only seem rarer because of the mystique DeBeers has created......for each handful of top-quality Burma ruby, Kashmir sapphire, large gem red spinel, or top-quality tsavorite, a whole driveway could be surfaced with fine quality diamonds."

- David Marcum, in The Dow Jones-Irwin Guide to Fine Gems and Jewelry

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: PricklyPete
Oh yeah, one more question...are diamond prices seasonal? Do the prices go up during certain parts of the year?

They can but usually only slightly. Prices are set according to Rapaport, which can come out every month or more. This is how wholesalers put prices on diamonds. You can look up a round 1ct F VS1 and get a price. A good wholesale price is usually 10-20% off of this price. Sites like bluenile.com and dirtcheapdiamonds.com (I find this to be even cheaper than bluenile) will give you 5-10% off of RAP.

However, % off RAP also depends on the actual diamond. For instance, all else being equal, a 1.48ct diamond will cost more PER CARAT than a 1.23ct diamond even though they both fall into the <1.5ct category. Since 1.48 is so close to the 1.5ct cutoff, it naturally is in greater demand and a good deal might be 10% off RAP where the same jeweler might give you 15% off RAP on the 1.23ct stone.

Also, keep in mind that for a consumer, getting anything off the RAP price is a decent deal since many people pay RAP price or MUCH greater for their stone. Legit Internet sites have helped the consumer get better prices.

Make sure you get a GIA cert with any diamond over 1ct. They are the most highly respected grading laboratory.

Thanks...interesting information.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: LolaWiz
i have and will continue to say that Bluenile.com is amazing.
Price, selection, quality, etc are unbeatable.

They have a wonderful interactive site that really lets you see the diamond that you are getting.

They will ship it lightning speed and if you do not like it, ship it back and get one you do like.

The diamond i got for my engagement ring came from there after my hubby did a LOT of research on diamonds.
The choice he made was great because for the price he paid, the diamond was amazing.
A few months later, we went to the caribbean (st. martin to be exact) and were just curious about how much they would give me for my diamond to get a larger one.

They offered us quite a bit more than he had paid for it from BlueNile.

since then, i have gotten many gifts from there and the quality is still outstanding!

Good luck and CONGRATS!!!

A larger one? What about diamonds being forever?

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: LolaWiz
i have and will continue to say that Bluenile.com is amazing.
Price, selection, quality, etc are unbeatable.

They have a wonderful interactive site that really lets you see the diamond that you are getting.

They will ship it lightning speed and if you do not like it, ship it back and get one you do like.

The diamond i got for my engagement ring came from there after my hubby did a LOT of research on diamonds.
The choice he made was great because for the price he paid, the diamond was amazing.
A few months later, we went to the caribbean (st. martin to be exact) and were just curious about how much they would give me for my diamond to get a larger one.

They offered us quite a bit more than he had paid for it from BlueNile.

since then, i have gotten many gifts from there and the quality is still outstanding!

Good luck and CONGRATS!!!

A larger one? What about diamonds being forever?

because he got a great price on a nice diamond that he did NOT have to take a loan out for or put on credit.
HE was the one that wanted to see how much a larger diamond out of the usa would be.

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
I'd buy a colored stone like sapphire though.

"Diamonds are the stuff of dreams, murder mysteries, poems and songs. They are the most popular of the "precious" gems. Their popularity, to a great extent, is the product of the kind of marketing that the Fortune 500 companies only hallucinate about in their most euphoric moments. It can be safely assumed that if the DeBeers cartel had not virtually monopolized the rough market and had not had such brilliant advertising, diamonds could easily have been just another gemstone. Unless you really study the history of this ambitious and mysterious company, and understand the full impact of the way people have been socialized to believe that diamonds are-at the least-a necessary, one-time purchase, you might consider their popularity as axiomatic as Newtonian physics. Although gems-quality diamonds are rare, they are more common than any other gem-quality colored stone. They only seem rarer because of the mystique DeBeers has created......for each handful of top-quality Burma ruby, Kashmir sapphire, large gem red spinel, or top-quality tsavorite, a whole driveway could be surfaced with fine quality diamonds."

- David Marcum, in The Dow Jones-Irwin Guide to Fine Gems and Jewelry

Interesting with a bit of truth but misleading at the same time. Top quality diamonds are rare so long as you define "Top Quality" properly. You could easily change the last statement to read "for each handful of top-quality diamonds, a whole driveway could be surfaced with fine quality rubies."

The point is that diamonds come in a tremendous range of price-points as do rubies. Not all rubies are created equal. Some are $50/ct and some are $500,000 per carat.

 

[FP]

www.goodoldgold.com

They have a TON of information and the amount of information they gather on their stones is amazing.

I researched diamonds for 8 months before purchasing. I was initially turned off by their website (amateurish) but the technology they use in their diamond analysis is cutting edge. You can view 3-D models of each stone, etc.

Rememder, the most important part of a diamond purchase is the CUT. Not the shape but the quality of the cut.

A well cut 1 carat diamond can look bigger and more brilliant than a poorly cut 1.5 carat stone.

 

[AbsolutDealage]

Originally posted by: binister
Rememder, the most important part of a diamond purchase is the CUT. Not the shape but the quality of the cut.

A well cut 1 carat diamond can look bigger and more brilliant than a poorly cut 1.5 carat stone.

I agree. When I was shopping out and about, I took my loupe, color grade, and an Ideal Scope with me. If you are getting a round cut stone, I recommend it.

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage

Originally posted by: binister
Rememder, the most important part of a diamond purchase is the CUT. Not the shape but the quality of the cut.

A well cut 1 carat diamond can look bigger and more brilliant than a poorly cut 1.5 carat stone.

I agree. When I was shopping out and about, I took my loupe, color grade, and an Ideal Scope with me. If you are getting a round cut stone, I recommend it.

There really is no debate. Cut quality is the MOST IMPOTANT aspect of a diamond.

Not only that but it's the last thing which figures into the price and a (marginal) dealer will rarely mention it. Spending a bit more for an ideal cut diamond of the same color and clarity as an average cut is almost always worth it. If it's too expensive, drop down a color or/and clarity grade or/and weight.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage

Originally posted by: binister
Rememder, the most important part of a diamond purchase is the CUT. Not the shape but the quality of the cut.

A well cut 1 carat diamond can look bigger and more brilliant than a poorly cut 1.5 carat stone.

I agree. When I was shopping out and about, I took my loupe, color grade, and an Ideal Scope with me. If you are getting a round cut stone, I recommend it.

Thanks. That does seem to go with a lot of the stuff I have been reading so far, that CUT is most important.
There really is no debate. Cut quality is the MOST IMPOTANT aspect of a diamond.

Not only that but it's the last thing which figures into the price and a (marginal) dealer will rarely mention it. Spending a bit more for an ideal cut diamond of the same color and clarity as an average cut is almost always worth it. If it's too expensive, drop down a color or/and clarity grade or/and weight.

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: Wapp
My wife and I went to amazon.com and picked out sub $100 rings. You don't need an expensive ring to prove your love from someone.

And not everyone needs to be cheap...

If they want a nice diamond, let them get one...

But there has to be some sort of compromise, instead of greed interfering..
All women WANT a nice diamond, but the reality is, diamonds are not cheap.

Find out what styles and types your SO likes and prefers, and stick to your budget. If she truely loves you, she'll accept the ring without a fuss.

 

[BlueFlamme]

Here is my personal experience from 2002.

I purchased the diamond online from Adiamor (used to be Affinity Diamond Engagement Rings). I then hand selected the setting from a local store (I didn't trust online pictures to know how well it would fit my wife's fingers). The diamond came with a GIA report and that report number was engraved into the girlde (I don't know if they do this for all their diamonds, but it is awesome, you can always look under microscope and know that it is the correct diamond after work is done on it). To be certain I got what I ordered I also had it independantly appraised which confirmed the GIA report.

The independent appraiser rated the fair market value at $2500 (local stores were asking $3K for similar stones), however I only paid $1500.


Make sure you are getting the cut style that your fiance wants, my wife is very traditional and wanted round, she would have been a lot less pleased with emerald cut.


I suggest you do the basic research about cut/color/clarity/carat and then decide on a range for each area that you would want. For example (on a Round stone):

Cut: Ideal
Color: G-E
Clarity: SI1-VS1
Carat: 0.25-0.75

Go to several local stores and you'll get a feel for the prices (have them write down the ones you liked and the prices). Then checkout the prices at Adiamor or Blue Nile (i've just haven't used 'em)

You'll be pleasantly surprised you didn't pay the large markup some local jewelers charge for loose diamonds (they will look more "sparkly" in a jewelry store, but that is because they design their lighting for just that effect).