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Is this a good price for studs?

S

SAHM

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 9, 2013
Messages
6
three prong martini setting diamond stud earrings
.43 ct. and .44 ct.
GH
SI3
14 kt. white gold
sticker price is $2895
offered at $2376 after sales tax

I haven't seen them in person yet but the jeweler says it has amazing fire and shine. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!
 
I'd be concerned with the SI3...and for an SI3, yes I think that's a bit much. I'd recommend this:

stones:

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.42-carat-D-color-VS1-clarity-Excellent-cut-pair-44566,124938

Setting (it's shown in yellow, but you can get white):

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/designer-jewelry/stud-design-your-own/pair-of-ladies-18k-white-gold-three-prong-martini-style-settings-item-2545

The total would come to $2970, and you have clean good cut gia certified stones.
 
Thank you for your quick reply! I am not knowledgable about diamonds and appreciate your input. We've purchased from this jeweler in the past, and she made it seem like she was giving us a really good discount at that price but I wanted to check here to get some feedback. May I ask why SI3 is not good? Any ideas on what a good price would be for this pair of earrings?
 
SAHM|1360446785|3376303 said:
Thank you for your quick reply! I am not knowledgable about diamonds and appreciate your input. We've purchased from this jeweler in the past, and she made it seem like she was giving us a really good discount at that price but I wanted to check here to get some feedback. May I ask why SI3 is not good? Any ideas on what a good price would be for this pair of earrings?
Click to expand...

Well, the only grading company that I know of that uses SI3 is EGL. Is it certified by EGL USA or a different EGL? I have an SI3 stone certified by EGL USA, and when it was graded by GIA after we bought it, it came back as the same color (F), but the clarity went from SI3 to GIA I1. There's a very small carbon spot which I have under a prong, but this is why I'd be concerned with an SI3. Especially if you haven't seen them yet. Can they send you pictures? It would be hard to say what the right price would be because we don't know what cut is or any of the proportions (depth, table, crown and pavillion angles)...Do you have access to this info? It's not as big a deal because theses are studs and aren't going into a ring, but I'd still want to know and at least see pictures of them. I recently bought a pair of stones again certified by EGL that we SI1, and one of them had a black spot on the table....so before you do anything, I'd request pictures or see them in person.
 
A lot of times (or most of the time) stones in jewelry store studs are not graded by a lab, so you don't know what you are getting and you are more likely to overpay than anything. When color is represented as G-H, that usually means they are not graded by a lab.
And SI3 usually means I1 at best.

But just to show you what a rip off that is, here are a graded AGS Ideal cut pair of .41 H SI1 and SI2, and the total price of the stones is $1548 (if paying by wire and telling them you are a PriceScope member) and add $189 for the settings for a total of $1737. I think first time buyers get a discount as well. (Those stones must be new because they don't yet have the actual photos posted. You always have to be sure SI stones are eyeclean as well.)

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2890086.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2890085.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamond-earrings/3-prong-martini-diamond-earrings-304.htm
 
Another nice pair of GIA Excellent cut diamonds under $2000 (although WF has a better trade-in policy if you ever want to upgrade):

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.41-carat-G-color-SI1-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-174124

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.41-carat-G-color-SI1-clarity-Excellent-cut-sku-174029

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/designer-jewelry/stud-design-your-own/pair-of-ladies-18k-white-gold-three-prong-martini-style-settings-item-2545 (it says white gold even though the picture shows yg)

Plus if you are not in the same state as these vendors, you likely won't be charged sales tax.
 
It is a jewelry store located in a mall so I'm sure we're not going to get as good of a deal as we could online, but we have a credit with them and I was hoping to find something we liked there. I spoke with the jeweler and she said that it is not certified and if I wanted to get it GIA certified it would cost more. She did say that SI3 is not a common grading and that in her opinion it's more of an SI2. We're going to go see it today, but we really don't know much about diamonds at all so I'm not sure how helpful it will be to see it in person besides being able to view the size and how much shine it has. We will be looking at them under a microscope and she will be pointing out the inclusions. I had told the jeweler that I was hoping to spend at most $2500 with tax and that size (more than .5 total carat weight) was more important than color and clarity, although I would like it to be white and have some shine.
 
SAHM|1360452588|3376364 said:
It is a jewelry store located in a mall so I'm sure we're not going to get as good of a deal as we could online, but we have a credit with them and I was hoping to find something we liked there. I spoke with the jeweler and she said that it is not certified and if I wanted to get it GIA certified it would cost more. She did say that SI3 is not a common grading and that in her opinion it's more of an SI2. We're going to go see it today, but we really don't know much about diamonds at all so I'm not sure how helpful it will be to see it in person besides being able to view the size and how much shine it has. We will be looking at them under a microscope and she will be pointing out the inclusions. I had told the jeweler that I was hoping to spend at most $2500 with tax and that size (more than .5 total carat weight) was more important than color and clarity, although I would like it to be white and have some shine.
Click to expand...
size means nothing if the stones are poorly cut... :knockout:
 
According to the price you quoted, they are going to rip you off and you will have a poor quality piece of jewelry. I wouldn't buy diamonds with the credit unless they are GIA Excellent cut. They are probably charging double what those diamonds are worth.
 
After looking at them in person, I have to admit that they are a nice size and they did have a lot of fire and shine to them. Under the microsope at 10x and then at higher magnification, we could see that they both have inclusions dead center and one has a black cloud on its side. The jeweler said she will ask to see if they can get them measured for the proportions or if they have similar grade diamonds that are certified. I told her that I was concerned about the price even with the discount and and the fact that they were SI3. She said that they probably classified them as SI3 since the inclusions are dead center. She believes that it's an ideal cut based on what she can see. Also, she said that I might end up with an I or J in color if I insist on going with certified diamonds at that price range. From what I'm hearing here that isn't necessarily true. I am a bit wary of purchasing diamonds online without seeing them in person first so I'm hoping I can find something online and then ask her to find me something comparable at a competitive price. Thank you all for your input.
 
Hi, I just want to say the other posters are right. These studs don't sound like good quality at all. I understand that they seemed sparkly to you, but jewelry stores are notorious for having special trick lighting that makes *any* diamond sparkle. It's your decision, of course, but I wouldn't want a poor-quality diamond at any price. You can get absolutely beautiful diamond studs from a trusted online vendor for less $, with an upgrade policy. My studs came from Brian Gavin. They are gorgeous .864 ctw ideal-cut JVS2s (facing up very white), and they cost less than $1500. Just my $.02.
 
Agreed that is just not a good price at all. I agree with DS, I wouldn't go for diamonds there is you can help it. Do they have any metal jewellery (chains, bands, etc.) that take your fancy? Perhaps a watch? That is a lot of store credit to use up though..
 
lusting|1360470957|3376515 said:
Agreed that is just not a good price at all. I agree with DS, I wouldn't go for diamonds there is you can help it. Do they have any metal jewellery (chains, bands, etc.) that take your fancy? Perhaps a watch? That is a lot of store credit to use up though..
Click to expand...

This is a great suggestion. Please take the advise of the above posters you will get much better quality for less.
 
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