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lil_jay78

lil_jay78

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
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195
As an obvious rookie...I posted this in the wrong area...I think...

Hey everyone, I am very new to PS(is that the acronym all you vets use?) and I have to say the experience so far has been very very educational. My roommate''s brother referred me to this site and said he got a lot of valuable ring information when he was shopping for his wife''s ring(well, back then she was still his fiancee, he he he). Anyway, to get back to it, I am shopping for a solitaire engagement ring for my gf. I was originally thinking about getting a pave with a center stone, but I figured we could just do the pave setting w/ the band or something, as my budget is somewhat limited, and of course I want to get her the best ring I can find.

I have gone to a few B&M''s like Robbins Bro''s just to get some on-hands experience with diamonds and stuff like that and have seen a lot of diamonds. I really like the online information I''ve gotten about shopping for diamonds on the internet, but I still have some fears about being ripped off. One thing that gets me about the B&M''s are the lifetime diamond warranties like at Robbins Bros. But I was thinking, if I got a really good diamond, what are the chances of the diamond chipping or breaking, right? I don''t know..like I said, I''m still a rookie. I live in southern Cali and the lady at the Robbins Bro''s Mission Viejo told me that there are some new things some people do to diamonds to conceal imperfections like laser treatment and silicon injection. An independent appraiser would be able to see things like that right?

And lastly, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with INTAGEMS in the diamond district...I am planning to go there and check out some more stuff...but if I get word not to go there, then I might as well eliminate them from my places to go list...

any help would be appreciated...
 
Any diamond could chip if it''s smacked in a car door or something. There are some factors that would make a diamond more likely to be damaged under sufficient impact, but NO diamond is indestructible.

Yes, an independent appraiser will be able to tell you if a diamond has been clarity enhanced. It is illegal to sell a clarity enhanced diamond without disclosing the treatments.
 
Thanks for the info on the clarity enhancement stuff....

btw - I was also looking at Whiteflash.com earlier. I noticed a Round cut and Ideal round cut...is there a difference between a Round Cut that is ideal and an Ideal Round Cut? Or are they just different ways to name them? Because I also noticed that they were under different categories, so I thought they could possibly be different.
 
Diamonds under "A Cut Above" (ACA) are Hearts and Arrows "superideals;" that is, they must conform to tight specs as well as hearts and arrows patterning in order to be branded ACA.

Diamonds under "Expert Selection" (ES) come from the same place that cuts ACA, but do not meet the specs of ACAs.

Diamonds under "Round" are every single round to which WF has access, including ACA, ES, and virtual stones.
Diamonds under "Round Ideal" are ES and virtual stones.
 
Lifetime warranties are not free. They are reflected in higher costs for the diamond in the first place. Insurance is the way to protect yourself if anything were to happen to your diamond, including theft or loss. And yes, all diamonds can chip, probably easier than most people realize.

I would highly recommend WF over Robbin's Brothers, BTW.They will supply much more cut information than most B&Ms will. And cut is the single most important thing for you to think about when looking for a diamond (well that and your budget). Have you thought about lifetime trade-ups? Some online vendors will allow you to trade up and get a larger diamond in the future, as your budget allows for it.
 
Thanks for the info about the clarity enhancement and the cut info as well Julie...I just wasn''t sure whether or not the cheats had stuff to fool anyone, which is why I was kinda leaning towards a B&M like RobbinsBros cuz of that lifetime warranty on their diamonds...I guess you can call me a little paranoid

And Jaz, does insurance cover chips and cracks as well? Like I said, paranoid, he he he.

A little more about the ring...I''m looking to spend about $4k, stretched to maybe 6? A round-cut probably less than a carat, as anything over a carat might be too large for her tiny little hand. I saw some classical tiffany settings, 6-prong(did I say this already?) I am planning to get the loose stone and then have it set by a jeweler...but I don''t know if they can make a 2mm classical tiffany setting, most that I''ve seen are about 2.7mm...I don''t have a clue. I''ve seem some good ones on WF, but like I said before, i was planning to go to Intagems in LA''s diamond district to see what they had...
 
While you''re here read up on cut. Best to be informed before you go shopping.
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I highly recommend that you buy online. You will be able to get a beautiful ideal cut stone with your budget, and we can help you along the way.
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If you go to the diamond district make sure to get all the specs including crown and pavillion angles and report back here. Good luck.
 
What does the shop''s warranty cover? Is it the same as the deal from an insurance company? I have a bit of a hard tome believing that they would replace any diamond they sell if damaged, no questions asked. Cool if they do.

Other than this, you should be able to find ideal cut diamonds (either with the AGS0 label or otherwise) ''on the ground'' as well. IMO, it is worth looking around for one to see what these guys look like.
 
yeah, I''ve been trying to soak up as much information as I can. I feel like I''ve increased my knowledge base about diamonds tenfold with all the responses I''ve gotten so far.

I was looking on WF and saw oneo of their A Cut Above H&A Diamonds...it''s a 0.77 carat priced at about 3600.
The rest of the specs are:
Color: F
Clarity: SI1
Depth: 61
Table: 55

I saw an ideal round cut, 0.95 carat, same color and clarity, depth 62 table 57; for a little above 4k. Which one would be better? The H&A? or the bigger stone?

As far as the RobbinsBros is concerned, I''ve been trying to find where their loopholes are in their diamond warranty, but so far, the only thing I''ve seen is that you have to bring it in every 6 months for like servicing or cleaning or something. I''m not sure if you have to pay for that though...definitely sounds too good to be true...any RobbinsBros consumers???

Man, there are so many diamonds to choose from, it''s a bit overwhelming. They say to choose the diamond w/ your eyes, but it''s hard when you''re not holding them in your hand and comparing them, know what I mean? And color would be very hard for me to see anyway, as I am a bit colorblind...

But i will definitely report back to find out what I find in the diamond district.
 
That's the one Julie!

So, would you opt for the H&A? or the bigger stone?

My girl is very simple, yet unique. She doesn't really know much about diamonds and I'm going the surprise route. I know what she likes cuz I've employed a friend of mine to do some recon work for me, he he he.
 
Not enough info to call on the other stone you saw, although I do expect a .95 F/SI 1 to go for closer to 5K than 4K for online vendors.

Jewelry store lights are meant to sell the wares.
 
I wanted to chime in about the diamond warranty...they in NO WAY replace actual insurance!
I have warranties on several of the items my husband has bought me from the b&m. While I know why he does it as peace of mind for him, the only thing I''ve ever used them for is rhodium plating my white gold band that I don''t wear much anymore and for sizing. Aside from that, they will check your diamond every six months and as far as I know if you have insurance and your diamond is damaged you can make a claim and get it fixed...at least that''s the coverage that I have with mine. You must keep up with the 6 mo inspections. Yes, they will replace stones if lost but they aren''t just going to give it to you. They will look at your inspection records and also how the damage was done. You need to read the fine print in the warranties as there are certain reasons they won''t pay for lost stones.
IMO, I really think you should take a look around the online vendors and b&m but don''t get caught up in their warranty traps. It''s not all that they are making it out to be. They''ll clean your ring for free anyway, they''ll inspect your ring even if you didn''t buy it there for no charge, and I know for me personally I have other jewelry from b&ms so when I take my rings in they do polishing of platinum and other things for no charge as well just because my husband has bought other things from them.
Just wanted to add my 2c about the warranty. It''s not an issue to focus on or to sway you to buy at a b&m...it''s mostly another way for the store to make money!
 
Here''s the other diamond I was talkin about...

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-2331396.htm
 
I think I'd go for this baby: http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=AGS-6747201#

Looks eye-clean to me, the IS is awesome, and H is plenty white.

If you like the symbolism of very good clarity, this is a .84 I VVS1 http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-2107685.htm

it's 96% the size of the first one but and 83% of the price. I like this one over the .77 F SI1 because it's bigger (and cheaper!) and I value clarity over color (although VVS1 is definitely overkill for me.)
 
Thanks SMALL for the warranty breakdown. I know, I''m a little paranoid and you''re definitely right about that it''s just another way for the jewelry store to make more $$$. It''s like those extended warranties from best buy and stuff I guess. I just wanted peace of mind that I''d be okay. I mean, it''s not like she''s gonna be taking her ring and working w/ rocks in a mine or anything, he he he. And it makes me feel more secure knowing that insurance can cover that type of stuff too.

And Julie, I think these two stones are really great! I''m gonna take another look at them when I get some free time here at work.

I really do appreciate all the help :) You guys have really helped me out a lot.
 
Robbins Bro''s warranty wouldn''t protect you if you lost the ring or it was stolen, would it?
 
HI there, I'm in the same boat you are. I live near Pomona and i have gone to the jeawlery district down town. (2 weeks ago) i got pretty good prices and everywhere i went it was roughtly the same price. I felt perty confident, but that was my first time so i dint buy anything. I'm still dong my reasearch and will probablly head out there again soon. I have dont lots of reasearch and have some pretty good notes as far as what table crown and pavilion should be. and dont forget about symmetry and polish, as well as flouresence. I checked on abazias.com and found some really good prices. Any one here have comments on this web page?
good luck!
 
Jaz - Robbins Bros warranty does not cover theft or loss. However, they do cover chips and cracks and stuff like that...but again, I don''t know about all the loopholes, but some people have already mentioned some good ones.

Going2BBroke - he he he, nice name. I was supposed to go to the jewelry district this past saturday, but my schedule and the marathon for the weekend was too hectic and I wanted to spend more than an hour out there...so I''m planning to go there again. Did you check out Intagems? I don''t really know what''s out there, but I have gone on the intagems site and the seem pretty reputable...so we''ll see. Hopefully, I can get the diamond soon though...I still need to find a platinum smith to get it set.

How long does that usually take? I''m starting to worry I may run out of time...I''m planning on popping the question at the end of May...EEK!
 
So you would need insurance anyway, which would cover everything. It''s not saving you any $$.
 
Okay, thanks for all the help guys. Now my fears have really been alleviated...A LOT. I''m still planning on going into a few B&M''s over the next few weeks or so, just to get a better handle on what stones look like what and all that. I think I''d just feel better after a little more hands-on experience.

I know I''ll be posting again once I actually start looking on which stone to get!!!
 
I thought I asked this already, but what does IS stand for?
 
Ideal Scope
 
I was in the same position as yourself, and still kind of am right now. In case you haven''t looked, check out jamesallen.com. That is where I bought my stone. I got a .84ct round AGS ideal E SI1, HCA of .7, for about $3900. Josh helped me out and he was very friendly. I live in SoCal also, and I thought about the diamond district. Buying online is quite simple, and I ended up feeling very comfortable with the whole process. Knowing the seller''s reputation on PS, the fact that they participate here, and the AGS cert all made me positive that I was getting what I expected. I also went to Robbins Bros, and they told me there was no way they could get close to the prices I pulled off of James Allen.

My current problem is with locating a setting. My girl wants tiffany-style, meaning 6 prong, white metal, delicate and clean. It is sooooo hard to find a high quality setting that fits that description! almost everything out there is ornate and covered in stones. The only places that I have found that offer a decent tiffany-style would require the stone to be sent to them, as the crown is custom made for the stone. That makes me extremely nervous. Anyway, best of luck, and don''t be afraid to buy online.
 
I have to ditto the recommendation for James Allen. Carrie helped me pick out my stone and I also got the setting there (the Dahnov round halo with bezel set center diamond.) The ring hasn''t arrived yet but based on everything I''ve seen I''m very happy with my purchase so far. Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
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