Wish me luck! Off to the jewelry store.
- Thread starter codex57
- Start date
Yeah, I'm not actually gonna purchase the ring for another week or so. Thinking who I can ask. The female coworker I'm closest to doesn't really care about this stuff too much. I'll prolly end up going with one of my close guy friends cuz he got a ring not too long ago, but the dude has some questionable taste. Least he did all his homework and can remind me what to watch out for.
This is a pretty fun and interesting experience. Owner let me look at stones for like an hour. Damn jewelry stores have such bright lighting, I was going blind, but it was pretty cool. Finally got to see in person the difference in size and color and cut and all that jazz. There's no way I could buy a stone off the internet now. Gotta see it in person.
This is a pretty fun and interesting experience. Owner let me look at stones for like an hour. Damn jewelry stores have such bright lighting, I was going blind, but it was pretty cool. Finally got to see in person the difference in size and color and cut and all that jazz. There's no way I could buy a stone off the internet now. Gotta see it in person.
Congratulations! I just got engaged the week before Thanksgiving. Yeah, buying the ring can be overwhelming at first, especially if you haven't a clue about the technical aspects of choosing a diamond (I knew next to nothing). I went by myself, but I already had an idea of what kind of ring my fiancee liked since we had talked about them before and actually gone and looked at some rings for fun once.
Here's the ring I bought on my future wife's hand:
It's a 0.50 carat round diamond (VS1 clarity, F color, excellent cut) in a platinum mounting. I also feel that you can't buy something like this without seeing it in person - plus buying your engagement ring online just seems kinda impersonal to me. I bought mine at a locally owned jewelry store - I picked out the diamond that I liked, they ordered the mounting that I liked, and made the ring on site for me.
Keep us posted, and I'd be glad to help anyway that I can.
Here's the ring I bought on my future wife's hand:
It's a 0.50 carat round diamond (VS1 clarity, F color, excellent cut) in a platinum mounting. I also feel that you can't buy something like this without seeing it in person - plus buying your engagement ring online just seems kinda impersonal to me. I bought mine at a locally owned jewelry store - I picked out the diamond that I liked, they ordered the mounting that I liked, and made the ring on site for me.
Keep us posted, and I'd be glad to help anyway that I can.
^^ That's a nice looking ring. Saw one quite similar to it at the store.
My main issue is trust. I'm afraid of getting ripped off. These damn things are so tiny. There's a jewelry district in LA. I hear you can get much better deals there. The plan was to eventually buy there once I got a better handle on what to look/ask for in person. But, I also hear it's a swap meet out there and not all the vendors are reputable.
The store I stopped by today was good. I'd trust them. But, I'm not sure if I can save as much. At the range I'm looking at, even sales tax can make a HUGE difference. The store is in a mall in West LA (high overhead). However, one of the two owners is retiring and supposedly, there's a sale in order to help the two owners split the assets more evenly. Course, if they don't have the stones I want in stock already, there's no reason for them to discount it any to me.
My main issue is trust. I'm afraid of getting ripped off. These damn things are so tiny. There's a jewelry district in LA. I hear you can get much better deals there. The plan was to eventually buy there once I got a better handle on what to look/ask for in person. But, I also hear it's a swap meet out there and not all the vendors are reputable.
The store I stopped by today was good. I'd trust them. But, I'm not sure if I can save as much. At the range I'm looking at, even sales tax can make a HUGE difference. The store is in a mall in West LA (high overhead). However, one of the two owners is retiring and supposedly, there's a sale in order to help the two owners split the assets more evenly. Course, if they don't have the stones I want in stock already, there's no reason for them to discount it any to me.
I guess my main decision now is how much clarity I want to sacrifice.
I've decided I want an ideal cut stone, D-F color. Clarity I'm not so sure. At first, I thought I didn't want to go below VVS2. Now, I'm thinking VS2 might even be ok. It would allow me to get a larger carat. Once it's set in the ring, it'd be hard to see the inclusions right?
I've decided I want an ideal cut stone, D-F color. Clarity I'm not so sure. At first, I thought I didn't want to go below VVS2. Now, I'm thinking VS2 might even be ok. It would allow me to get a larger carat. Once it's set in the ring, it'd be hard to see the inclusions right?
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It all depends where the inclusions are in the stone. If you are getting a round diamond and the inclusion is right in the middle of the stone underneath the table (the flat top plane), then that will impact the stone's brilliance. The inclusion in the stone that I bought that made it a VS1 as opposed to a higher grade is located way out at the edge of the girdle. Even though the diamond technically has an inclusion, you can't see it even if you are looking for it, and its location in the stone doesn't impact the ring's brilliance at all. So, when you look at the stone, it looks flawless.
Sounds like you are going for a big stone. What are you looking at (size, style of cut)?
Sounds like you are going for a big stone. What are you looking at (size, style of cut)?
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Just remember, it's alot like buying a new car from a car dealer, so approach the purchase the same way. There is a huge profit margin for the jewelry store (often up to 100%) on diamonds, so be sure to negotiate aggressively with the price. If you see a diamond you absolutely love, it's probably not a good idea to fall all over it in front of the salesperson - they'll be less likely to negotiate on it.
How big of a stone?
My advice: don't limit yourself to the D color (flawless). You really can't tell the difference between a D and an F - even the pros have a hard time telling the difference. I've heard/read that different graders can grade the same stone with D, E, or F just because they are all colorless, and it can be near impossible to tell the difference between them with the human eye. Not only will you pay a ton more for a diamond of D grade, but you will really limit your possible selection. Unless you have to have a D diamond simply to say "my fiancee's ring has a perfectly colorless diamond," then I would consider anything from D-F.
I don't know if you are planning on yellow gold, white gold, or platinum (but looking at the specs you are looking for, I suspect you are going platinum), but if you are planning yellow gold, then you really don't need to spend the extra money for a D stone, since the stone will pick up the yellow color from the ring anyways.
My advice: don't limit yourself to the D color (flawless). You really can't tell the difference between a D and an F - even the pros have a hard time telling the difference. I've heard/read that different graders can grade the same stone with D, E, or F just because they are all colorless, and it can be near impossible to tell the difference between them with the human eye. Not only will you pay a ton more for a diamond of D grade, but you will really limit your possible selection. Unless you have to have a D diamond simply to say "my fiancee's ring has a perfectly colorless diamond," then I would consider anything from D-F.
I don't know if you are planning on yellow gold, white gold, or platinum (but looking at the specs you are looking for, I suspect you are going platinum), but if you are planning yellow gold, then you really don't need to spend the extra money for a D stone, since the stone will pick up the yellow color from the ring anyways.
