Engagement Rings (merged)

IdealD

Glen8 - Congrats, good luck with the proposal .....you must be incredibly excited.

Stumpjumper - has given good advice on suggesting avoiding certain table and depth sizes for princess cuts. You can't go wrong with either goodoldgold.com or whiteflash.com. Both are excellent internet vendors.

Here is a Cut Class Chart. The chart lists what Table %, Crown Height %, Girdle Thickness, Total Depth % and polish and symmetry you should be looking for to buy a well cut princess cut. It also talks about how square the diamond should be and industry preferences for the length to width ratio. It is a starting point, but should preferably be backed up with an Aset of the diamond for further confirmation of cut quality.
http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc1.asp

Unless you know what you are looking at, fancy cuts can be a little hard to buy. Working with a trusted vendor helps take the guess work out it!

Before buying a princess cut it may be worthwhile to decide whether you are going to insure the stone. If the answer is yes, it may be prudent to do due diligence with the insurance companies. As the points of princess cuts are prone to chipping some insurance companies may refuse to insure this cut or command a higher premium than a round. I would prefer to buy a loose diamond - most chipping is done upon setting. It would be wise to have an agreement in writing from the jeweler stating who pays if any damage is done. Also obtain insurance before the stone is set.

IdealD

jennyred

Little_Chicken wrote: »

Any views???;););)

very nice! although having a quick flick through the website - they have some of the most beautiful rings i have ever seen!!
number 4 under 'ring' - the 2 flowers is just gorgeous!!

Tricker

Hi everyone - bloke here!

I'm looking for a bit of advice on all things engagement rings, as I've decided the time is right and with a nice occasion coming up very soon (next few weeks) my time for getting the right ring is quite limited.

I'm really glad I managed to stumble across this forum whilst doing a bit of reading up (can't quite remember how I managed it!) as it seems there is some helpful advice knocking around.

I know very little about engagement rings, diamonds or anything like that but I'm pretty sure I'll go for a diamond and I'm ruling out yellow gold. I've managed to learn a bit about the 4Cs and tried to absorb a lot of advice but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by everything (e.g. spec like depth, table etc...).

I was hoping someone could briefly summarise their top tips for buying, and maybe some decent websites, or anything else that could help me out in my quest!

General consensus seems to be:
- Get a GIA certificate when you buy
- Visit Hatton Garden (which I can do although it's not on the doorstep) to get the best deals

I guess some of the first questions I have are:
- Given the timescales involved should I rule out having a custom made ring (I've no idea how long it takes to make them, but I imagine a few weeks would be asking some)?
- Should I check lots of diamonds out on the internet before I visit HG, or vice versa? Am I being unrealistic that I could spend a day there and get it all sorted without regret?
- Will I be able to negotiate prices quite strongly, like buying a car?
- I presume the answer to this is no, but if I buy a ring that isn't liked would I be able to exchange for another one from the same shop?

Argh I'm just blabbering! Hope someone can help - I would appreciate any advice.

Cheers
Tricks

Kavanne

Tricker, I spent a day in hatton garden and did get it sorted I had to go back 2 days later to get the ring though as it needed to be reset and resized. However 2 x return tickets was a fraction compared to what I saved by not going to the high street!!

I'd get some prices off the net before visiting London... HG will be a little more expensive than the internet but the upside is you can try before you buy. But it will give you a guide. Plus you can always try 'well, I found it on x website for £300 less, what can YOU do for me?'

I did haggle in Hatton Garden and got them down by £500. It's worth a go

TediousPhoenix

Tricker, we got ours in one day (although we took two days off work just in case... that took the pressure off and made it easier somehow).

Most of the places in Hatton Garden inflate their window prices by 15-25%, depending on the shop, so you aren't exactly getting the bargain of the century, but certainly haggle. We got £600 off the window price. It would have been about £500 if we hadn't haggled so much.

I'd say the best time to go would be during the week, if you can manage it. We went on a Monday and were the only ones in most of the shops we went in. Apparently the shop we got ours from had a 'manic' Saturday before we went (a few weeks before Valentine's Day) and even with 5 assistants there were still queues!

I'd say definitely look at rings online, but personally I found this to be a red heron as I liked one I hadn't really considered. Seeing it in the flesh is very different from seeing a 2D image on your screen. But I would say look at diamonds online - know the cut you want: round brilliant; princess, etc..

With regards to a custom made ring, there were many places who said we could chose the diamond and have it set (and resized) that day. If you want something 'designed' then I would say it's probably too late - but worth asking - but if you want to 'make up' the ring then it would be no problem.

I'm not sure about exchanging it, but I imagine most places would (within 28 days) if you bought it alone, but before you buy I would definately ask. If they don't then try other places.

Hope this helps, and congratulaions in advance!

Tricker

Thank you both for your replies - very helpful.

Effectively I can either go into London tomorrow, or in 2 weeks time on a weekday (which will then be very tight).

Are the salespeople pushy or fairly laid back (just because as I'm on my own I'll need to brace myself!)?

Do you have any advice on the 4 Cs?
E.g. Avoid below VS1, or don't bother with anything above F as the additional cost isn't worth paying.

And should I avoid diamonds that are already set in a ring?

Sorry for all the questions

stumpjumper

I certainly wouldnt rule out buying online.

I know Whiteflash.com and Good Old Gold.com could have you a ring in your posession within a week and half at the most.

With the 4Cs - i tend to look at stones that fall in the broad categories of colour above H, and clarity above VS2 when shopping online, tho wouldnt rule out SI1 if the stone is being sold by one of the above retailers, and one or two others, who i know would give a honest opinion one weither the stone was eye clean (that is the inclusion can not be see with the naken eye from close up from above the stone)

Tricker

How do you rate bluenile vs GOG/Whiteflash? I find the customising easiest on bluenile with the various parameter adjustment bars.

I'm still struggling with getting my head round the cut to be honest. I understand it is deemed the fundamental factor to getting a sparkling diamond, but there seems to be a lot of contrasting ratings.

Let's say I was going to spend around £2k on the diamond itself. What sort of diamond would you recommend? I've been finding ones like this, http://www.bluenile.co.uk/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-h-colour-vs1-clarity_LD01486942?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0 but I just don't really know whether the cut is good or not.

stumpjumper

i would rate WF and GOG above BN - certainly on customer service, and on the information they provide about the diamond.

Theres nothing wrong with the diamond from Blue Nile - certianly the proportions given would lead me to conclude that the diamond is likly to be a very good performer. and it is priced very keenly (dont forget the price is quoted ex VAT, so that diamond is about £2300 inc VAT) but thats just going off the proportions on the cert.

As a comparison. have a look at: this stone Its a 0.707 ct H VS1

Which after tax is £1,940

on the cut - the origonal lab which graded the cut of a round stone was AGS - American Gem Society, they grade the cut on a scale of 0 - 10. 0 being the top grade. it is also a very strict grading system.
A few years ago GIA which is a much larger lab started grading the cut of the stones too. and their scale is Excellent, Very Good, Good, Average. which covers the same spread as the 10 AGS grades.

Now both stone i believe would fall into the AGS 0 camp based on their proportions, tho neither have been graded as such. the BN stone went to GIA and got cut grade of Excellent. the WF stone wasnt sent to be cut graded, so as not to compete with their ACA stones (this one being a Expert Selection, which means it may not have been cut by their own cutting house)
But you can see from the pictures that it is a top notch cut.

Dhiammara

We started ring hunting in earnest this weekend, intending to head up to the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter after gaining a feel for settings/stone quality. Would consider buying online, but most sites either don't list the cut quality at all, or list the table/depth information which is still gobblydegook to us.

The parameters we have decided on are 0.4ct, round (brilliant) cut, D-F colour (saw a gorgeous IGI certificated D, VS2 yesterday but with a £2250 price tag! ), VS2 or possibly SI1 if inclusions not visible. Basically we would like the nicest ring (with attractive fire/brilliance) looking in a £700 - £1000 price range.

It's really the cut that's stopping us from ordering online although I expect that's where the best value is to likely to be found. It's also difficult to gauge what type of setting will genuinely sit flush with a plain gold band (around 2mm); I prefer low settings in yellow gold such as some crossover designs.

Can anyone suggest an online retailer or even particular rings that would help to meet these specifications?