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Diamonds

Nullifidian

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Well, the time has come for me to start shopping for engagement rings. I've been doing some research here and there into diamonds and what to look for. Tonight, my girlfriend and I will be taking a look at various diamonds to see what kind of color and clarity she finds acceptable, since she holds carat as the most important.

i.e. she has some basic standards of what color and what clarity, and in that range, she wants the largest possible rock. So for example, if she finds she think clarity I1 is acceptable, and color up to J is acceptable, then she'd rather have a larger rock that was I1, J than a smaller one of greater clarity and better color (more colorless), even if that smaller stone is far more valuable.


Anyway, I've been doing some shopping around. I already found a semi-mount I want. It will actually be a wedding ring engagement ring set. Both are platinum, and encrusted with diamonds:

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Yes, obviously she gets the engagement ring first, and won't have the wedding ring until after the wedding. Anyway, so now I need to find a diamond to fit the engagement ring.



Just wondering if anyone here has any recommendations as to websites I could go to to find diamonds for the best price possible. So far that I know, this place:

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Is pretty good. Just curious if anyone here's knows of good places to search and find a good deal on diamonds.


Oh, and she wants round cut.
 
two words. well three.

engagment plasma TV


the jewerly exchange is a pretty good place... don't let them pressure you tho!.. this the 2nd biggest investment .. first house, next ring, next car. My family has obtained some loose diamonds etc from them and they did end up worth more than their asking price. If it were up to me. Buy the diamond thru them, and have some place like fortunoff set it. No i am not married.. but my gf has a very very rich taste so, i have found this to be the most economical and high quality..
 
damn!! just get her a ring, if she is this much trouble in the engagment process imagne later on down the road!!

oh yeah CONGRATS!!!
 
Good pick for the set bro, although I am a fan of good diamonds, as I studied many grades and colors before I bought my wife her ring in which I will be upgrading soon... Anywho on the platinum note are you sure you want platinum as white gold makes the diamond sparkle alot more, as platinum's true color is grey and with time will get dull, also being that it is one of the hardest metals besides titanium it can be a double eged sword because once scratched the scratches cannot be buffed out like white gold. As stated i love the mount, but just thoughts i had to consider when I shopped...

P.s. nothing less than a carat on a solitare, and the reason I said think about the platinum is because my MOM's platinum ring was super sparkly when she got it, but now it has to sparkled up to retain it's bling...

P.S.S also if in the NY area DO NOT GO to the retails go to the Diamond District you will not be sorry, as most will appraise and doc. it for you for insurance purposes....
 
wildman536 said:
damn!! just get her a ring, if she is this much trouble in the engagment process imagne later on down the road!!

oh yeah CONGRATS!!!
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Trouble? LOL, she's about the least troublesome woman I have ever met in my life. She's not demanding a big stone from me, I just know she'd really appreciate it so I want to do all I can to find the ring she'd like the most.

I hope she doesn't check this thread. The truth is, she thinks she will only wind up with like a 1 carat or 1.25 carat stone; she thinks I can only afford a grand or two.

If I do my hunting right, there's a chance I could find a stone that fits her liking as far as clarity and color goes, and is maybe even as big as 3 carats. It would be damn tough to find, but that would absolutely knock her off her feet. I've been cramming as much info about this as possible. A 3 carat stone is like 9mm! It's friggin huge!

For one, she would probably prefer a diamond with a larger table percentage because it gives the illusion of a larger stone. Popular trends are actually going in the other direction, so in fact, in that respect, the stone she'd prefer would be LESS expensive. As far as color goes, it looks like she may even be cool with a color rating as high as L, especially if it has flourescence. That would be the ultimate find actually. Flouresence is typically looked down on, and discounted. However, when a slightly colored stone, like an K or above, has flourescence, it winds up cancelling out the yellowy tint and so you get a whiter looking diamond despite the color grade. It's an instance where 2 factors decrease price, but cancel each other out as far as how it makes the diamond actually look. So that's another way I have a chance of saving cash.

From the looks of it, she'd probably be cool with SI2. She might even be ok with SI3 or even I1, but I'll try for SI2 or lower if I can.

We'll find out tonight what she'll be ok with when we go out looking at diamonds and she sees for herself what the different clarity ratings mean.
 
Florescence is typically looked down upon, but it depends on your personal taste, and between 1 and 1.25 that will be quite nice, SI1 and SI2 are great and really cannot be seen by the naked eye, when you get to the I1 and I2s thats when you can see fearthers, and such, but it also depends on the color and being that you are going with possibly a J with florescence, it can help the stone's bling a bit much...

As with the larger table be careful as they are bigger in size but the bling and inclusions are a tab more noticble...
 
Platinum a hard metal? Since when???

Platinum on the other hand is a white metal. Platinum is used as an almost pure metal, approximately 95% pure, whereas white gold is only 75% pure in 18ct and only 58.5% pure in 14ct.

Being a naturally white metal, platinum does not need the rhodium treatment, because it starts off white and will always stay white.

Platinum is more dense (heavier) than gold. You can feel a noticeable difference in weight between the same article made in platinum and gold.

Platinum's best property as far as jewelry is concerned is its abrasive resistance. Platinum rings and in particular platinum claws will still be in great condition many years after the equivalent gold article is worn away. This is quite amazing when you consider that platinum is relatively soft and bends more easily than gold.
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Platinum doesn't tarnish. If your mother's ring has tarnished, it isn't platinum since platinum is physically incapable of tarnishing, and is more resistant to abrasion than gold is.

That's why platinum is typically so much mroe expensive than gold. That and the is inherently higher because it can't really bind to anything (which is why it doesn't tarnish).
 
Not tarnished less saparlkly as my mother's ring has 95 stamp on it, and as stated it has many scratches and cannot be buffed out. Thats all I was pointing out, just wanted to let ya know thats all...
• Platinum is naturally hypoallergenic and tarnish free. It's 90 - 95% pure and is most often alloyed with iridium, another metal in the platinum family.
• Platinum is the strongest of all precious metals that holds it shape.
Hence the "hard" metal reference, which should be better stated as Strong metal.
 
Nice ring dude, and congrats! I really like the pave settings. As for the diamond, of course you know you will pay out the ass for clarity. I just bought a loose diamond the other day. It's a radiant cut, 1.75 carat. Cost me $11,600.00. Can't remember the rating off-hand though.
 
I looked into the 2 carat radiant cut, but the price jumped to $24,000.00, with a little better clarity. Too much of a price difference for me to justify.
 
Apowerz6 said:
Not tarnish less saparlkly as my mother's ring has 95 stamp on it, and as stated it has many scratches and cannot be buffed out. Thats all I was pointing out, just dont wanted to let ya know thats all...
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This is very true. That's why I go with white gold instead. Much easier to care for. If it begins to turn, just have the jewelers buff and attach the refinisher to it. Very simple. Platinum is too hard to care for, imo.
 
CONGRATS on getting married Nul :)

HOLY crap on the price guys posted about wedding rings and diamonds. I gotta say I just don't understand and never have.

My wife and I were watching a 20/20 (or 60 Min) report about diamond rings compared to cubic zirconias. They went to Rodeo drive with a $10,000 diamond ring and a $200 cubic zirconia ring. They asked random shoppers which was which.

50% guessed wrong and 50% guessed correct. I just don't understand why anyone would spend good money on something which unless you have the cert of Auth no one has a clue what quality it is unless they stick their eyeball on it or you tell them, which is kinda crass.

BTW when my wife was watching she said HEY I HOPE you didn't spend that much on my ring or I will be mad.

I just laughed. She said WHAT??? I REALLY hope you only paid a few hundred or you REALLY wasted money.

lol I got the best wife in the world :)
BTW this is a women who comes from money, infact grew up with a maid, gardner etc. She had the same with a 3 story house during her first marriage.

Little side story here. Why are diamonds so expensive? You would think it is because they are rare right? WRONG they are more plentiful than less expensive stones such as rubies and emralds.

Back many years ago, I believe it was Debeers, bought millions upon millions of diamond which are now sitting in vaults in England that will never see the light of day. If they had never done this it is estimated diamonds would be worth 10% or LESS than what they sell for now. They created the scarcity by hording them.

If you had enough money you could do the same thing with sand lol

Infact giving a diamond ring for getting married is only a fairly recent tradition and was started by, of all people, the sellers of diamonds.


CROWLER
 
congratulations!!!!!

im a sucker for engagements :) i got my solitare engagement ring from the diamond exchange....i got it appraised at robbins brothers for $3000-$4000 and we DID NOT pay that much for it ......... good stuff. congratulations!!!!

in my opinion, its always better to get a nice quality stone thats BIGGER (in this case, bigger is better :lol: ) than to get a "perfect" diamond thats small..... but maybe thats just me....:think:


aww...i want a super huge 3 carat ring too null!!!! its okay...im a patient woman.....
 
hey mrs gimpy... please do not take this the wrong way at all.. infact it is a good thing.. this has nothing to do with this post...

my gf has the exact same body as you it seems, but has a ***** of a time trying to find bikinis that fit her.. at all.. got any ideas of places to go that has a better cut for women like yourself?
 
no offense taken :) im not one of those crazies ....lol

how does she have a hard time finding bikinis? do the tops not fit or the bottoms? to me, the thing is to NOT go cheap on your bathing suits. the money is worth it. i dont have "large boobs" so if i dont wear the right suit, it look flat. a good bathing suit will have NO padding and still lift and pull together and the bottoms tight but not squeezing your sides. i love rampage bathing suits. the other avatar i had of the blue suit, hm.... i can look that suit's tag later for you if u'd like. the avatar is of a rampage bathing suit

the suits i wear are between 100-160 total. quality is key (NO victorias secret crap....they fit horribly and are of really cheap material).
 
Mrs. Gimpy! said:
aww...i want a super huge 3 carat ring too null!!!! its okay...im a patient woman.....
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WHOOOOP-WHOOOOP-WHOOOOP!!! Red flag has been raised Kwyck! Get out while you still can...LOL!:hammer: :D
 
Cuffs said:
Nice ring dude, and congrats! I really like the pave settings. As for the diamond, of course you know you will pay out the ass for clarity. I just bought a loose diamond the other day. It's a radiant cut, 1.75 carat. Cost me $11,600.00. Can't remember the rating off-hand though.
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Ok. I have no make comment on this.

You're a cop, right?

Where do you get your money? lol They obviously pay you guys well in the US as I've read some of your previous posts and always wondered. Now you mentiont his tidbit and it REALLY gets me wondering. heh
 
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You dont have to buy it there (they have great prices though), but they have a sweet web-based diamond finder that really helped me find the type of stone my girl wanted and I could afford.
 
houseman said:
Ok. I have no make comment on this.

You're a cop, right?

Where do you get your money? lol They obviously pay you guys well in the US as I've read some of your previous posts and always wondered. Now you mentiont his tidbit and it REALLY gets me wondering. heh
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I actually make crap money wise. Overtime is greatly appreciated. I have my extortion routes and mob connects for pay-offs....lol. I made a good chunk of money after selling my house and paying everything off. Bought it for a good price and sold it when the market peaked. I am proud to report that I am now debt free!!!:woohoo:
 
houseman said:
Where do you get your money? lol They obviously pay you guys well in the US as I've read some of your previous posts and always wondered. Now you mentiont his tidbit and it REALLY gets me wondering. heh
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You're from Canada right? Me too.
I had a pretty rude awakening when 5 of my friends moved to the States. Now, we've always known that Canadians get raped with tax, but we try to deny it to "the grass isn't always greener" effect.

Anyways, they showed me what they (ok, only 1 did) got deducted from their wage in taxes. My god! That, compounded over a certain period of time equals quite the substancial increase in take-home wages vs Canadians. Plus, generally, their set wage is higher, have a better dollar, and lower cost of living...

Sigh... I need to look at more Soviet Union wages to feel better now...

PS- congrats Null! And keep us updated. (I'm learning here, as I don't know how much longer I can hold off from the same situation...)
 
Mrs. Gimpy! said:
no offense taken :) im not one of those crazies ....lol

how does she have a hard time finding bikinis? do the tops not fit or the bottoms? to me, the thing is to NOT go cheap on your bathing suits. the money is worth it. i dont have "large boobs" so if i dont wear the right suit, it look flat. a good bathing suit will have NO padding and still lift and pull together and the bottoms tight but not squeezing your sides. i love rampage bathing suits. the other avatar i had of the blue suit, hm.... i can look that suit's tag later for you if u'd like. the avatar is of a rampage bathing suit

the suits i wear are between 100-160 total. quality is key (NO victorias secret crap....they fit horribly and are of really cheap material).
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top mostly.. we normally can get away with a 0 at any sort of store for the bottoms but her tops always end up never covering her.. they always slide off... if you have any more info thank you very much :-)

if not.. thank you again
 
BigVrunga said:
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You dont have to buy it there (they have great prices though), but they have a sweet web-based diamond finder that really helped me find the type of stone my girl wanted and I could afford.
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good call on the web site,i got a 1 carat, in a pave setting, but gave it back...it was a gorgous ring......

good luck and congrads.
 
We've been together for 2 years and 2 months. We've been living together for over 1 and a half years.

I knew for absolute sure she was the one about 7 months in.


Well, we went to a bunch of jewelers tonight and I learned a few things.

1) You all were right about Platinum. Aparently it loses its luster. So we'll be going with Whit Gold instead.

2) She can't tell the difference between a D color rating and an L! I could, but she can't. And since she can't, she's getting a "Faint Yellow" (J, K, or L).

3) Flourescence + Faint Yellow = really really cool blue glow/sparkle. We both loved the look of flourescence on a faint yellow diamond.

4) Clarity: she was able to spot flaws in some diamonds labelled I1. Only thing is, those so-called I1's were friggin I3s. Can't trust certificates. At one jeweler, they had I2s that we couldn't see any flaws in. At another they had I1s with all kinds of feathers inside and was pretty cloudy IMO.


I was really really tempted at one place we went to. They had a 3.14 carat diamond that was honestly practically a perfect cut. Excellent symmetry, and excellent polish. It was VS2 clarity, L color, and medium flourescence. That sucker was amazing. Pricetag? $3400. Seriously, that seems like a steal and a half.


What I'm going to do, is find a day to go to NYC round 47th street I believe. The diamond district. There's a bunch of wholesalers there. I won't be able to find better prices than that more than likely. Though I gotta say, it would be tough to beat that $3400 3.14 carat sucker. That things just looked perfect to me and to her. She didn't see the pricetag on it, but she just assumed it was way out of my price range. It would knock her flat if she got a stone like that.
 
Cuffs said:
I actually make crap money wise. Overtime is greatly appreciated. I have my extortion routes and mob connects for pay-offs....lol. I made a good chunk of money after selling my house and paying everything off. Bought it for a good price and sold it when the market peaked. I am proud to report that I am now debt free!!!:woohoo:
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You are in the wrong city. :)

Police officers in the next town over start at just under 4oK a year with no experience or college degree required. My son is considering applying for the acadamy.


CROWLER
 
Well, I aparently read the label wrong. I did a search of their inventory for that diamond and I saw one that matched the description exactly.

I KNEW I must have had the price wrong; the price in their online inventory is listed at $34000, not $3400. I'd swear though, in the store they had it listed as $3400.
 
CROWLER said:
You are in the wrong city. :)

Police officers in the next town over start at just under 4oK a year with no experience or college degree required. My son is considering applying for the acadamy.


CROWLER
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Well, I do make more than that, but the cost of living here kills me. If I had my degree, which I almost do, then I'd make 10% more. Also, my dept. is looking at a 24% raise in a 3 year period...hopefully.
 
1) You all were right about Platinum. Aparently it loses its luster. So we'll be going with Whit Gold instead.
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Good choice. She will be much happier with that. And when she is happy, so will you...lol.

I was really really tempted at one place we went to. They had a 3.14 carat diamond that was honestly practically a perfect cut. Excellent symmetry, and excellent polish. It was VS2 clarity, L color, and medium flourescence. That sucker was amazing. Pricetag? $3400. Seriously, that seems like a steal and a half.
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This price seems odd. I would have expected $34,000.00 plus. Make sure you're not getting ripped off. It is difficult to tell the difference between tanzanite and a diamond. Until fairly recently, even professional jewelers had a tough time telling the difference. Some shady jewelers have been known to pass off a tanzanite for a diamond, and also switch the stones out while jewelry is being cleaned or repaired.

Or, the stone is hot and they are looking to get rid of it...lol.
 
Nullifidian said:
Well, I aparently read the label wrong. I did a search of their inventory for that diamond and I saw one that matched the description exactly.

I KNEW I must have had the price wrong; the price in their online inventory is listed at $34000, not $3400. I'd swear though, in the store they had it listed as $3400.
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Whoops...didn't see this post. LOL:p
 
Diamonds are expensive because several conglomerates control production to keep the myth of scarcity. With machines coming out that can pop out jewelry grade diamonds, maybe other precious stones like rubies are safer investments but I'm unsure.
 
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