New guy went to Shane Co. Long story with cliff notes

[prgilc3844]

Hello,

Cliff notes: I'm looking for an engagement ring and I went to Shane Co. and I thought it was a great experience compared to some other posts, not pushy at all. All of the dealers like at the mall and such were a joke. I'm going to Union Daimonds tomorrow as I live close to Atlanta. Give me some suggestions please.


Little background: I'm about to graduate with a degree in Accounting and earn a Commission as an Officer in the U.S. Army. So I think it's time to get the ball rolling on my life plan.

Well I've been lurking on here for about a month since I've been out of school for the summer. After reading so much and getting hooked on this research. I wanted the perfect diamond and then I began to realize that is not possible especially considering the small budget that I have. Well before I'm going to make a purchase I wanted to go actually look at diamonds and see if I could actually see a difference.

I went to Shane Co. first and it was the best experience so far. I walked in and a lady named Wendy was right on top of me on my first step in the door. I immediately thought I was at a car dealership. I plainly told her I wanted to look at a high quality diamond and a medium quality diamond. She immediately started heading towards the "treasure chest" while walking she asked me the obligatory questions, shape?, size?, price range? I answered all and while she went and got the diamonds the other representatives offered me bottled water and fresh cookies. I kept thinking in the back of my head that this was just like a luxury car dealership. I declined both and tryed to stay friendly and serious while I waited.

Well Wendy brought out three diamonds and I noticed I was standing in a trap. She placed the three daimonds right in front of me but this spot was also located directly under a spot light from the roof

I didn't say anything but she openly let me view the diamonds and she wanted me to tell her which one I thought was the worst and best diamond. While viewing I placed my entire head over the diamond to block the light. The first one looked good to me the second was bigger but just didn't look like it was on fire like the first but not that very noticable. The third had a huge imperfection in it, looked like a cloud. I quickly pointed that out, at first she seemed surprised that I found it and looked herself. I think this is the point where I proved that I had done some research and she quickly stated that I was correct and that this was a I1 diamond. I then I pointed out that I thought the first one was the best, and she asked why. I plainly told her that it just looked liked it sparkled more than the second diamond. She explained to me that I was correct and that this was a "Shane Co. Signature diamond". I thought in my head "what a joke". but it did have a very good cut on the AGS report. After this some more thnigs were said they asked more direct questions about what I was looking for. I basicly told them I want atleast VS2 .75 ct. and a very good cut.

Well they brought out another daimond and it's what I wanted, it was G in color. They also brought out the AGS report and I asked her how do I know that this report goes with this diamond. She explained to me about the serial number and all that jazz. She then explained how somebody could just wrongfully inscribe the number and say that is the right diamond. I was starting to feal good now as they obviously figured out I mean business. She then explained that the best way is by looking at the imperfections. Well she let me view the diamond under 10x magnification. That was a learning experience just to learn how to hold the diamond with the scope. Now I'm in shock

I'm thinking " oh my, she is actually letting me hold it and view it under magnification, what if I drop it? what if I break the lens?" It actually only had one very small imperfection and that is what was stated on the report in the same area on the diamond. I'm surprised that it wasn't a VVS daimond.

Sadly I didn't copy down all of the info from the report. I'm going back Saturday with her mother and my mother to get there approval of a ring and I'll copy down everything.

I'm going to Union Diamonds tomorrow. Any suggestions? How well did I do?

 

[portoar]

well, I would make a note of the stats, such as size, color, clarity, and cert and then go online and see if you can get a similar diamond for a lot less moeny. I bet you can.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

As long as she has shown your mother and her mother what SHE loves, then that''s a nice idea to take them to approve a setting. But I wouldn''t want my mother or mother-in-law picking out a ring for me otherwise, as I just don''t think they''d necessarily like the same thing I do.

But I would absolutely wait to choose (buy) a setting until you have chosen a diamond. It will be least complicated to have the diamond set by the vendor you buy it from. I imagine you''ll do better at Union diamond. Good luck and let us know what you find! (try to stick with Ideal cut, though!)

 

[piccolascimmia]

Having just gone through this...I'll share my experience (i'm in Atlanta too). Hope that its useful.

I didn't go to Shane Co , but did go to D Gellar first...what a crazy experience. It started out so nicely, but then the painful hard sell came. They had many pretty/competitively priced settings, and it was my first chance to start figuring out which diamond characteristics I liked most.

Then I went to Solomon Bros and had a much different experience. The salesperson was very helpful, they have so many settings, but it just so happens they didn't have the right diamond for me at the time, but they were willing to keep searching.

Then I asked Union to show me what I was interested (the storefront name is A Rixom if you go to the store) and Jeff pulled in a great comination of stones that met my price, cut, quality and size requirements. Jeff treated me very well, explained things in a very non-salesman way, and I think it was just far enough in my search to be comfortable with what I wanted and what they had to offer. I ended up buying my diamond from Jeff a week later. I didn't find a setting at Union, but have since found one.

And for price comparison...D Gellar was pricey on the stone (but willing to negotiate on the setting), Solomon Bros was comprable to online finds, and Union was very competitive with comps I found online. I've since had the diamond appraised and was told that I got a deal on it (I didn't think I had overpaid, but it was nice to hear that I might have underpaid).

Hope that helps you. Good luck on your search! Learning from these boards helped me immensely once I started looking locally.

Have fun at Union!