Engagement Rings (merged)

Lovin_It

IdealD wrote: »

Appreciate the ACA may be a little high for your intended budget....


How bout this ?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1191743.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

I'm not sure whether this is Jamesallen's stone or whether any of the online vendors could memo it in for you.

USD$2,000 mentioning pricescope discount.

IdealD

Thanks IdealD - the stone I linked to was on Blue Nile - I was able to add a setting, etc, and potentially get it all done at once. Do you have any recommendations as to whether this is the wrong way to go? I'm slightly nervous of buying loose, I'm not sure why.

Why is this more expensive, because of the Exc, Exc? Are the proportions good?

I'd like to come in under £2000, including the ring, are there many taxes to pay on top when buying from the States?

Thanks again!

IdealD

Being apprehensive about ordering online is normal. The community at pricescope helped allay my fears about ordering online.

I dug this up from an August 2008 post. I hope it is current.

Import duty for the UK is about 20% (17.5% VAT and the rest in Duty).

The parcel will be delivered and you'll get a letter with a bill a few days later, or the parcel will be held at the airport.

The vendor will give you a tracking number. Once the parcel is enroute you can online and follow it route. You can make a call to Fedex and pay by credit/debit card over the phone for all the taxes.

If you know when the parcel is being shipped you can call Fedex in advance and ask them if you could pick it up at the depot.

I think most parcels follow this procedure with FedEx globally...

Lovin it. At the end of the day the difference in a vg polish as opposed to an EX should not be seen with the naked eye.

If, for some reason you had to return the diamond to the U.S. You may be able to purchase the FedEx label from the vendor. This will should mean the diamond should be back in safe hands within 2-3 days.

IdealD

..

stumpjumper

Just to confirm on some of what IdealD posted.

there are 2 different rates on importing jewellery.

Firstly - if you are importing a loose diamond, that is unset, or not set in precious metal - then customs will levy VAT on the declared value of the stone (in £) so you will pay VAT at the current rate of 15%.

Secondly if you are importing any precious metal - gold, silver, platinum
or you are importing a diamond set in precious metal then it is slightly different.
firstly import duty of 2.5% is charged on the declared value of the item.
then VAT at the current rate (15% ATM) is charged on this total.

the curior pays customs on your behalf, and then sends you the bill for you to settle before they will deliver. they normally charge a small admin charge of between £5 and £10 for dealing with customs for you.

Lovin_It

Out of interest - what would you guys go for with a budget of £1500 - £2000?

Kavanne

Lovin_It wrote: »

Out of interest - what would you guys go for with a budget of £1500 - £2000?

This: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GORGEOUS-EMERALD-AND-DIAMOND-RING_W0QQitemZ200301808584QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Jewellery_Watches_VintageFineJewellery_CA?hash=item200301808584&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

:eek::eek: (but make an offer, obviously lol)

stumpjumper

Lovin_It wrote: »

Out of interest - what would you guys go for with a budget of £1500 - £2000?

In that kind of budget i would be looking at something in the 1/2ct range with a platinum setting.

if you willing then i would also possibly suggest getting in touch with Brian the cutter

He is a very well respected diamond cutter who is in the process of setting up his new cutting house after leaving Whiteflash.com, which he cofounded around 10years ago.
I know he has his first shipment of diamonds coming in from the AGS lab this week.

From chatting with him and his wife Lesley about a friends purchase who has a similar budget to you, they suggested considering these 2 as possibilities if size matters.
.762 J VS2 for $1992 (£1615 inc VAT)
.768 J VS1 for $2063 (£1670 inc VAT)

Now obviously these stones are much lower colour grading that what i normally recommend, but i believe these will face up very white, because of their excellent light return. Suffice to say these will be ideal cut stones, coming from Brian the Cutter - who is an utter pedantic when it comes to Diamond cut.

but here are some other options
start off with a 0.4ct D VS1 $1619
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5554/
or a 0.4ct G VS2 $1047
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1759/
and a 0.4ct G VS2 $915
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1848266.htm

breaking the 0.5ct barrier
0.508 ct H VVS2
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-636678.htm
0.51 G VS2
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/P831578/
0.515 ct H VS1
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1148621.htm
(and quite a few more options)

hope that helps

Lovin_It

Is there a reason you don't look at Blue Nile?

The lack of shipping / importing would be a relief - do I pay over the odds for this luxury?

Also how would you source a platinum ring?

stumpjumper

BN is such a big site, with such a big turn over that its hard to say 'get that one'
as for all the diamonds listed there, except the Signature Ideals, are also being sold by countless other vendors online and in the US and UK.

for instance you will find 99% of the diamonds listed on BN's website also being listed on Quality Diamonds.co.uk, USA Certified, angara.com, uniondiamond.com, engagementringsdirect.com etc.

for instance see:
http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/search.php?src=19470561
http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-1924065.htm
http://www.uniondiamond.com/diamonds/diamonds.php?item_id=AB185982&search_type_id=2&action_type_id=2&network_id=0cf05810a0f83094f6e9972ef21cdd34
http://www.abazias.com/builder/builder.asp?view=diamondsearch&flag=ps&selectedDiamond=58411927
http://search.virtcert.com/cgi/u/1012/v.cgi?stock=9258301&_s=1012&_p=sdf348gd743&_c=&_fs=1&prestock=&_ln=ps

its the same diamond (picked at random from a Pricescope search), listed on serveral different sites. Which means it could be sold by any one of those sites - the wholeseller who actually has the diamond then packages it up and sends it to you, and updates his list at somepoint, and sends it off to his vendors. They update their lists.

what this means is sites like Blue Nile dont have the stones in stock and cant provide the extra info about the stones the i like, nor could i phone up BN to ask about things like - are the inclusions visible to the naked eye?
all the stones i linked to are in stock at the vendors premises, i could call up WF or Brian the cutter or Good Old Gold, with the stone infront of the person i'm talking to... they can take pictures of the stone for me (or in the case of GOG, sometimes do a comparison video of stones i'm considering) which to me, while BN is cheaper - theres a great service coming from the others - plus being able to see the cut quality puts my mind at rest.

otherwise you have no way of knowing if the stone looks like this

or this



with getting a ring - the easiest is to get the vedor to also set the diamond in the ring of your choice. all they need to know is your finger size, which you can get easily by getting your finger sized at a local jeweller.
the other way is to ask your local jeweller will make your ring, and set the diamond. This is what i did, as i had my wife's e-ring custom made by the jeweller local to me. whereas i have had friends buy the ring and diamond from Whiteflash.

HermioneM

Hi all,

Sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for some advice. I got engaged a few weeks ago and I'm now looking for a ring. Having tried a few on in the high-street (and very overpriced!) stores and a local jewellers (very expensive area and way out of my price range!) I've decided on a vintage style Cushion cut micro pave halo (phew, that's a mouthfull!) setting, like this one:

http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=57363

Now I need to find a good jeweller to make it! I've been thinking about Daniel Prince, but to be honest, I haven't found them overly good at communication. I've sent an e-mail and left a message, with no reply, and it is making me wonder about them... Perhaps I've just been unlucky?

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions for a good bespoke jeweller? My budget is around £3000.

Thank you!

Hermione xx

stumpjumper

Well since you've been on Pricescope, then i'm guessing your going to be familier with the likes of Good old Gold and Brian the cutter... they would be my choices when looking for a cushion cut stones

How does this one match up for you?

http://shop.goodoldgold.com/index.cfm/a/catalog.prodshow/vid/36713/catid/170
it might not be exactly the same, but it could always be customized. or else give either Jon at GOG or Lesley/Brian a shout about the cost of a custom made ring to fit what you are after. As an example of Brian's in house custom work: http://blog.brianthecutter.com/2009/02/mr-le-and-brian-gavin-creates-a-magnificent-custom-colored-stone-and-diamond-ring-for-a-customer…/