Engagement Rings (merged)

smashed

Thanks
BG isnt on pricescope sifting.

smashed

I havent heard from Lesley yet, but I am going to go for that diamond
I was planning on proposing on holiday, but I dont know if it is a good idea to try and safely take it around the world without losing it / having it stolen / found by security on a random bag search in front of the gf.
Perhaps I will do it at Xmas instead

streetscene

Other Pieces:
Grading - I wanted a GIA Diamond as it is regarded as the highest quality lab.

I'm starting to look around for diamonds myself, and this isn't the first time I've read or heard about my people looking for GIA diamonds. my buddy just got hitched and his diamond came w/ one of their diamond grading reports too.

Why did you narrow your search to GIA diamonds? I'm new to this whole diamond buying process and curious as to what makes them the best lab..

smashed

I personally disagree.. I read that
"GIA allow steep deeps into their top cut category so the industry make more money from the rough but consumers are less likely to get a well cut diamond.
AGS has a smaller top-cut bullseye so consumers are more likely to get a good cut by choosing a diamond with AGS's top cut grade."

stumpjumper

Smashed is correct in his surmising of the cut grading. AGS is ALOT stricter in how it grades the cut - they have a 11 step cut grading, which covers the same span of cut proportions as the GIA does, but GIA only have 5 steps in their cut grades.

AGS runs from '0' (Ideal) to 10 (Poor)

There are many diamond grading labs in the world. the largest (and also the origonal) is GIA, which you can take as a benchmark. The AGS lab was born in the 90s, and was one of the first to give a cut grade, they updated their method to assessing the acutual observations of the diamond in 2005
GIA came out with their own cut grade mark in 2006, this was based on the proportions of the stone, marked against charts.

here is a grading lab comparison carried out a few years ago: http://grading.pricescope.com/

streetscene

thanks for the rundown. that link was really helpful.

Besides being the oldest and largest, I like that GIA is a non-profit lab too. If you read on their site, they aren't associated with any jeweler, so I'd imagine their reports are about as unbiased as you can get, which is good to know.

from a money saving standpoint.. i again like the fact that GIA is the largest and most well known lab, because that should mean that the majority of jewelers sell diamonds with GIA grading reports. and if that's the case, then from a buyer's standpoint, I could compare apples to apples (different GIA graded diamonds from different stores, whether online or local mom and pop shop) and find the best price. so it seems like a win win/..

thoughts?

Laxe

Right well I've finally gotten the ring and it is amazing! I ordered the ring on Wednesday and it arrived the following Wednesday to the hotel where I was working (which was much appreciated).

Proposed and she said yes! Then I realised the size I chose was too big so I got my fiance to send it back whilst I was away with a note stating the new ring size and instructions to send it to her work place if being delivered during the week or my house if on the weekend. They received it on Wednesday and even though they said they're very busy at this time of year we still got the ring back on the following Monday which is simply amazing in my opinion!

There was a slight hiccup with their confirmation email stating the wrong size than what my fiance ordered but I sent them a quick email on Saturday and Monday morning they called me to clear this up - it turned out the lady sending the email made a mistake and it was properly resized (much to my relief as I wanted my fiance to have it for Christmas!).

Overall Samara James have a fantastic turn-around time and I could not have been happier with the service nor the ring! Seriously contemplating going to them for the wedding rings as well. The box in which the ring came in was well presented with a lovely wooden box for the ring itself - not to mention the GIA certificate and valuation which was nearly double what I paid for it! Very happy with the service and am even going to leave feedback on their Feefo account I'm that impressed! :T

funtimecharly

Thanks Laxe for your update on Samara, i'm looking at the moment and have all but decided on the:

Stephanie
0.5 Carat
VS2
F
Premium Cut
18k white gold

It's all a compromise I suppose, I wanted the 0.5c and just went up on the clarity and whiteness until I hit my budget

Will order the Silver ring to have a look soon.

C

Stephb1986_2

I well my partner has ordered me a ring from Samara James it came last week, I went for the Leah design it's stunning.

My ring is

0.3 carat
VS2
E
Premium cut
18k white gold

It came to £506.98

It is so stunning. I did order F colour but came with and E they must of ran out of F

I'm so excited, the vaulation was nearly £1200

They sent a brochure of wedding rings that would go with it too.

Steph xx

hbc1981

Hi all,

thanks for all the really useful info on here.

I found the following diamond on qualitydiamonds.co.uk:

DIAMOND DETAILS
0.51 Carat(s) - Princess Shape Diamond
This is a 0.51 Carat(s), F Colour, VS2 Clarity diamond graded by the GIA Laboratory
Price: £755.00!(including VAT)
ID: 1/173-0345

The site didn't list any more info, unless the ID number is a GIA cert?

Can anyone let me know what they think of price please?

I guess this depends on missing info- what should I be looking for in terms of symmetry/ polish / table and depth %? (if someone could point me to a good reference table that would be much appreciated as I keep getting confused!)

I like the look of qualitydiamonds and it would be easy enough for me to go see them in Hatton Garden.

Thanks,

hbc