Question for you ladies...

[mspotato]

Hi! I''m new to the LIW forum... hello!

I have a question that I''m hoping for some input on, and this seemed like a good place to start!
Did you say anything to your man about buying a diamond with certs? I keep hearing that it''s really important, but I don''t know if it''s something he will figure out on his own or if I should bring it up.

What are your thoughts?

 

[winelover23]

Hi there and welcome!

Is "ring buying" a topic you two discuss openly? If so I''d just tell him you want him to get the most bang for his buck therefore he should really do his homework

Then send him the linky to PS!

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 11/11/2009 2:51:30 PM
Author: winelover23
Hi there and welcome!

Is ''ring buying'' a topic you two discuss openly? If so I''d just tell him you want him to get the most bang for his buck therefore he should really do his homework

Then send him the linky to PS!

Ditto this. Or if you know he''ll go to a specific friend or relative, you can introduce them to PS.

 

[mariewest]

I haven''t really told SO anything about specifics in terms of Cs. I am assuming that he will figure all that out on his own when he is ready to make a purchase. He knows what style I like, and the rest of up to him. If you want to talk about it with your SO, and you think he will receive it well, then go for it. It never hurts to make them more educated in terms of diamonds.

 

[Princess_Dreamer]

I would agree that if its a topic you aren''t afraid to discuss openly, then maybe bring it up like "have you ever heard of *blah*? I heard its this certification for diamonds...." something like that. Maybe he already knows

I never really discussed it with my SO just because he''s a researcher. He spent over a week researching what lawnmower to buy.......so I''m figuring he''ll do his homework on a diamond

 

[mspotato]

Thanks for the advice! It''s not really something that we openly discuss... I think he''d feel like I was telling him how to do his job . I''ll just have to be discreet...

From what I''ve read, GIA seems like the report you want to have, I really like that they invented the 4Cs. I''ll probably leave PS or GIA up on my computer when I know he''ll see. Hopefully he''ll feel the same as I do about paperwork once he reads up on them!

I don''t really care about the specifics of my diamond, just that he gets, as winelover puts it, the most bang for his buck! Plus I know a report is a good thing to have for insurance, etc.

Thanks again!

Princess_Dreamer: I love that your SO spent a week researching lawnmowers, that''s adorable!

 

[nkarma]

Do you have a friend or coworker who got engaged recently?? You could say something like I was talking to so-so and she was telling me all about diamond shopping and how you have to do all this research to get a good deal and also know what you are getting. A lot of jewelers are like car salesman. You could say how you learned about the 4C's and that you really need an independent lab like GIA to have graded the diamond.

 

[Londongirl1]

My FI did a ton of research before he bought my ering and I''m so glad he did as I wouldn''t have wanted him to get ripped off.

My diamond is GIA cert but I don''t think GIA is the ''be all and end all'' - although the insurance went through the roof when the I produced my GIA certificate with the details on it

It''s possible for your BF to find a nice stone that is good bang for his buck but he''ll just need to be careful

 

[vc10um]

Date: 11/11/2009 5:19:33 PM
Author: Princess_Dreamer
I would agree that if its a topic you aren''t afraid to discuss openly, then maybe bring it up like ''have you ever heard of *blah*? I heard its this certification for diamonds....'' something like that. Maybe he already knows

I never really discussed it with my SO just because he''s a researcher. He spent over a week researching what lawnmower to buy.......so I''m figuring he''ll do his homework on a diamond

PD, I''m in your boat...FF is a Chemical Engineer by training and does crazy research on all his hobbies. I told him, basically what winelover said, that I wanted to make sure he got the best for what he wanted to spend, and he was like "do you think I wouldn''t read allllllll about it??!!" ...lol.

mspotato, everyone else has given you great advice about how to approach the topic, so I''ll just say welcome and good luck!!!

 

[SparklyRing]

Date: 11/11/2009 2:42:40 PM
Author:mspotato
Hi! I''m new to the LIW forum... hello!

I have a question that I''m hoping for some input on, and this seemed like a good place to start!

Did you say anything to your man about buying a diamond with certs? I keep hearing that it''s really important, but I don''t know if it''s something he will figure out on his own or if I should bring it up.


What are your thoughts?

My BF is the type of guy who would walk into the first jewelry store and buy the first ring that he thinks I''ll like. It''s funny because he does a lot of research when looking at apartments, keyboards (his hobby), cars, and other male things. However, when it comes to items like clothing (even his own) and jewelry, he thinks that they are all the same.

Luckily, he took me with him to go look at promise rings, so we talked about diamonds with certs. He ended up getting me a very sparkly white eye-clean promise ring without a cert, but it didn''t matter to me because it was just a small (probably .1 or .2) promise ring.

As for engagement rings, he was surprised to find out that the ones in mall stores had visible inclusions and were mostly poorly cut as well as overpriced. So he asked me to tell him more about diamonds, which I did. Of course, he knew that he was not going to remember anything about the C''s, so he said that he will ask for guidance when he starts looking at engagement rings.

I think that you should go look at rings with him and work the certs and 4C''s info into your discussion to inform him about diamonds before he spends a lot of $$$.

 

[brandithib]

SparklyDiamond, I''m pretty sure my BF is the same way! He''d walk into the mall store and buy what the nice salesperson recommended so I definitely spent some time talking to him/educating him about diamonds and sent him a PS link. In return, he educated me about Fantasy football and now I play in a league with him. I suck, of course. (maybe apples and oranges... but a trade-off, nonetheless)

 

[AustenNut]

All I can say is ditto about my boyfriend being the kind to just get the first thing he sees. He did then when looking at cars, apartments, most everything. But he knows that I''m rather particular (ahem) and that more effort will be required for this purchase.

 

[HopeDream]

For me, having a certed stone is important, So I picked a stone shape and selected a vendor that carries that shape and strongly suggsted that BF should buy me a rock there.

I think narrowing it down has helped him, and the vendor only carries certified stones, so I have no worries.

If you suggest your BF go with a PS vendor, I'm sure you will be satisfied with the results.

I think having certification rom a major lab like AGS or GIA is important for insurance purposes and enhances the value of the stone. Certification from a major lab also ensures that you are paying a fair price , because you can easily compare it to what similar certified stones are going for and compare.
A diamond's colour and clarity make a HUGE difference in it's price, so an accurate assesment of those qualities is important to make sure you are getting what you paid for.

Beware of stones certified by smaller labs, becaues their color and clarity grades can be off by 2 grades or more (which could change the price by a thousand dollars or more!)

If you ever happen to upgrade, or fall on hard times and have to sell your stone, a cert will help you get more money for it (though only 50-75% of it's purchase value).

 

[mspotato]

Date: 11/13/2009 2:25:42 PM
Author: Londongirl1
My FI did a ton of research before he bought my ering and I''m so glad he did as I wouldn''t have wanted him to get ripped off.


My diamond is GIA cert but I don''t think GIA is the ''be all and end all'' - although the insurance went through the roof when the I produced my GIA certificate with the details on it

It''s possible for your BF to find a nice stone that is good bang for his buck but he''ll just need to be careful

I''m surprised that you said your insurance went up with the report... I guess because a ring with a diamond grading report is considered more valuable?

Thanks again for all the advice, ladies... you are awesome!

 

[AllieGator]

I think if it''s something you''re really concerned about, I would tell him, even if it''s "doing his job". Just make sure you premise it with concern for him, like making sure doesn''t get ripped off. I told my boyfriend I''d like to choose my ring, because I''d like something pretty specific, and for someone who doesn''t know, he''d probably get ripped off. If he seems like someone who''ll figure it out on his own, though, then I''d let it be.

 

[princesss]

Date: 11/18/2009 1:26:45 PM
Author: mspotato

Date: 11/13/2009 2:25:42 PM
Author: Londongirl1
My FI did a ton of research before he bought my ering and I''m so glad he did as I wouldn''t have wanted him to get ripped off.


My diamond is GIA cert but I don''t think GIA is the ''be all and end all'' - although the insurance went through the roof when the I produced my GIA certificate with the details on it

It''s possible for your BF to find a nice stone that is good bang for his buck but he''ll just need to be careful

I''m surprised that you said your insurance went up with the report... I guess because a ring with a diamond grading report is considered more valuable?

Thanks again for all the advice, ladies... you are awesome!

You''re kind of on the right track - it''s not that the cert makes them more valuable, it''s that better diamonds tend to be sent off to get certed! Uncerted diamonds tend to not be as well cut, so it doesn''t make sense to pay the $150 to get them certed when a good salesman can convince somebody it''s a "deal" because he can see the beauty and you don''t have to trust the big, bad grading companies. But the stones that get sent to GIA and AGS tend to be the higher tier stones, and they can charge a premium above and beyond the $150 cert fee to show just how good the stones are. But just having a cert doesn''t mean they''re great diamonds - you need to know what the information on the certificate means, and how to sort through them.

And I don''t believe GIA "invented" the 4Cs - not sure who did, but they''re common across all grading labs.

 

[mspotato]

princess - thanks for the info! that makes sense that a higher-quality stone would be more likely to have certification to prove its worth. i wouldn''t trust myself to judge the quality of a diamond, which is why i''m glad there are labs to do it for me.

oh, and i looked into the 4C''s thing on their website: GIA did create them, but they''re now the standard across the industry for grading diamonds.

 

[princesss]

Date: 11/20/2009 2:18:58 PM
Author: mspotato
princess - thanks for the info! that makes sense that a higher-quality stone would be more likely to have certification to prove its worth. i wouldn''t trust myself to judge the quality of a diamond, which is why i''m glad there are labs to do it for me.

oh, and i looked into the 4C''s thing on their website: GIA did create them, but they''re now the standard across the industry for grading diamonds.

I didn''t know that. Cool!

Funny that GIA started them, but AGS is a stricter lab for the most important C - cut!