Engagement Rings (merged)

stumpjumper · 7 January 2006 at 6:42PM

not to mention that SI3 isnt a formally recognised grading... ie from the origonal grading scale of GIA so a SI3 is almost a I1, which since the I1/2/3 grades dont command as high a price per carat as the SI1/2 grades a SI3 can sell for more per carat than a I1, even tho if you send it to a grading lab like GIA, HRD or BGA they would class it as either SI2 or I1, but chances are it would be an I1 as those stones are sent to certain labs as they have those 'better' grading marks

thats not to say a SI3 is inherantly bad... and inculsions arent a bad thing - to some a diamond needs to be mind clean, as well as eye clean, others just eye clean. what i mean is some folk need to 'know' they couldnt see anything because inclusions are well hidden within the diamond, or that it is virtually flawless others just need to not see any inclusions or even that the inclusions that can be seen are hidden under the prongs of the ring.

I'll agree on check out choosing seperatly the ring and diamond, as you might not always find the rock for you in the ring you want so its worth asking.

like Maxiscot i bought the diamond seperatly and had it shipped over from the US (after i had it appraised) and a long time jewellery my folks have used for years custom make my ring to a design my OH had done. yet the total cost was less that other stock rings in the shops for less quality diamonds.

to give you some idea - my diamond was a 0.308 F VVS1 for $1100 (@ $1.84=£1 was a Whiteflash 'A Cut Above' diamond) and the ring was 950 Plat and was £450 (£1050 inc VAT and import tax)

the cheapest comparison i found was a 0.3 D VS2 in a 18k Gold 6 prong tiffany style ring for £1200

remember - the hope diamond was sent via US Piority Mail for security ( a dummy replica was sent with an armed escourt)

stumpjumper · 7 January 2006 at 7:40PM

right about time i got back to this

i've covered the 4Cs above.

now buying in the shop is relitivly easy - you can look at rings in front of you, get an idea for size, play with it in your hands... if it has a certificate then you can see what a pro thinks - remember 2 of the 4Cs are opinion of the grader, 1 is a physical measurement and the remaining is only looked at by one or two grading labs. some stores like Earnest Jones have additional reports on some of their lines - light scope, brilliantscope reports.

what these are is a report which purports to tell you the light reflecting properties of a diamond. To some they are an invaluable tool to reading what the stones personality is, to others, it is an irrelivanceas they feel it too narrow in its scoring.

basically the brillant scope is a device in which the diamond is placed. there are lights fixed above the diamond, as is a digital camera - the machine then moves the diamond to set positions and shines the lights, the camera takes a picture and the machine measures the light output, contrast within the diamond

here is a sample report:

(ones you'll see in the shop may differ in format but will give similar information if it is a brilliant scope report - look for the name 'Gem Ex' who make the machine)

now the thing is there is a lot of information on there, and most of it is hard to understand unless you know what you are looking for. the main thing is that dont be fixated on the bar charts that the top - as they dont tell the full story - look at the pictures more.

best reading this page: http://www.goodoldgold.com/thebrilliancescope.htm for a better explination.

also bear in mind not all diamond expert agree on the benifits of the brilliant scope - as in its current form there are some flaws, and weights its gradings towards diamonds cut in a certain way which work well in the conditions found in the brilliant scope.

i think the brilliant scope can be a helpful piece in a diamond jigsaw, but not a be all and end all to diamond buying - again it comes down to your eyes.

Also there is the light scope,
this is something that is available to the general public - simply it is a small hand held little thing, which is a magnifying glass with a red surround around it.

what this does is colour the light and when you hold it over a diamond the scope allows you to see how the light reflects in the diamond. Very simple to use and tells you alot about the diamond.

again you dont need one to buy - but its another thing that can help that isnt coloured by a sales man speal

ok, dont want to get off the main thrust of this post - so just bear in mind that some shops try and sell stones with a pelthora of reports, much of which is a bit of smoke and mirrors to those who are inexperianced in reading the reports

right

internet buying - as said before - buying on the internet is a different experiance... you can save money like for like diamonds, in somecases the net dealers can be more expensive.

there are 2 main types of sellers - those that sell diamonds they carry in stock and have on their premises. the other are those that sell those diamonds off a spec sheet from wholesellers and dont carry any stock and they are basically brokers for the wholeseller. these guys are known as drop shippers

some that carry diamonds in stock will also have the same spec sheets and will sell those too.

these spec sheets are also available to high street shops, and are where they get their diamonds from too.

still with me?

right, the drop shipper tends not to ever see the diamonds they are selling, they have a sheet with all the available diamonds from the wholesellers they do business with and when you go to them to find your diamond (either in store or online) they basically search their lists for a stone that matches your requests, they then sell you the diamond and the order goes to the wholeseller and shipped direct from them to you, but not via the seller unless it is a shop you are picking it up from.

now the wholesale lists are with several shops and sellers so arent always uptodate so you may have been told diamond X is the one, but when the seller orders it from the wholesale, it has already been sold to someone else, so the seller will have to find diamond Y which meets your criterior.

other sellers do the same but will call in the diamond to their office/shop first to look at it and make sure it is what was ordered. sometimes this is done as they want to get you the best diamond, so will veto the diamond to see if its worth you coming to view it. especially with the lack of info on some of these lists - with just price, shape, carat, colour, clairty information being given - but no cut info - so it could be a stunner or a bit of dull glass.

not sure how much more i can say about this so i'll leave it there.

Useless_2 · 17 January 2006 at 6:24PM

I would love a princess cut blue sapphire in a platinum ring but they are desperately expensive

michel_2 · 30 January 2006 at 9:42PM

I am an on line jeweller and would like to make you aware of some of the pitfalls of buying diamonds.

The first issue is that of valuation certificates. Many less reputable firms will give you valuations of several times what you paid for your ring. This is either because they sold you the ring and want you to feel you bought a bargain or because they are a local jeweller doing you a valuation and charging you a percentage of the amount they are valuing as a fee i.e. the higher the valuation the higher the fee. Do remember that the jeweller who sold you your ring was making a profit and would be delighted to sell you another ring of similar quality for the same price. Al tough your insurance will accept your valuation certificate as a basis for your premium should your loose your ring they will require the purchase invoice and will only pay for that amount! Also for those of you who bought your ring outside the EU and neglected to pay the import Vat and duty and those who paid cash in the UK and did not receive an invoice the insurance company is able to refuse payment on the basis that the ring was not legally bought or imported in the UK.

The second issues is that of diamond certificates. These are meaningless unless they are issued by one of the only two non profit trade bodies the HRD or the GIA (https://www.hrd.be and https://www.gia.edu) do not be fooled into believing that the numerous other certification laboratories use the same standards, they do not . Do your research before you go to the jewellers and be firm on your requirements. We see every day clients who have been pressurized into buying inferior diamonds on the basis of inflated bogus diamond certificates. If the jeweller offers you a diamond with a different certificate than the ones mentioned above leave the shop as you are in the wrong place.

Jillinoz · 22 February 2006 at 7:27PM

Hello

I understand that etiquette dictates that whoever ends an engagement gets to keep the ring, and as this particular rule works in my favour, I'm happy to adopt it!

So, being the unsentimental (and tight

type, I'm curious to know if anyone has any experiences, positive or negative, of selling a second-hand diamond ring?

Mine comes with a certificate of authenticity and is valued at £4,495: what could I reasonably expect to achieve as a resale value?

Failing this, any suggestions, serious or otherwise, on what else I could do with it would be gratefully received. I was thinking a pin-head to attach a piccie of the ex to my dart board...

Thanks

J

black-saturn · 22 February 2006 at 7:31PM

I had a valuable diamond and sapphire ring after my last enagagement and tried to sell it on when the relationship failed. Everyone I tried to sell it to wasnt interested because it was an ex engagement ring. Like it was doomed or something!! I advertised it in the local paper and no one was interested. In the end I sold it to a friend for about £200 when it was worth about £1,500. Now I would have listed it on ebay but that was before the internet existed.

skylight · 22 February 2006 at 7:33PM

How about placing it in an envelope with my name and address on it??????????????!!

mancitychick · 22 February 2006 at 7:36PM

I think you would find that you would not get a great deal for the ring. My sister's ring is platinuim with a 1.2carat diamond from Tiffanys. It cost her ex 10k (apparently would of cost about 8k elsewhere but you pay for the name Tiffanys). She was told if she sold it she could only expect 2 or 3 thousand at the most, so she decided against it. I suugested she look at getting the stone removed and made into a pendant. Is this something you have considered?

Jillinoz · 22 February 2006 at 7:36PM

charlotte664 wrote:

How about placing it in an envelope with my name and address on it??????????????!!

Hmmmm, let me think about that one....

finc · 22 February 2006 at 7:37PM

Jillinoz wrote:

Hello

I understand that etiquette dictates that whoever ends an engagement gets to keep the ring, and as this particular rule works in my favour, I'm happy to adopt it!

I didn't know that!

I've never been in this positon but when my hubby bought mine the shop also sold 2nd hand rings as well (under the guise of 'vintage'!). Have you tried any of the independant jewellers to see if they will buy it.

People may not be as bothered about buying a 2nd hand ring from a jewellers

Engagement Rings (merged)

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