Buying diamonds, south africa, UK, Australia, online?

sinanp

I am hoping to have an engagement ring made and am looking to source a rather specific one, a cut lemon diamond (based on some rather not so subtle hints and an examples _sadly well out my price range even if I were to save for a decade!). I have various possibilities on where to purchase and was wondering if anyone might have an idea on where might be the best bet? It would definitely need to be certified as it seems diamonds are rather a murky business at the best of times, plus I need to brush up on my knowledge...

I am currently in Australia, my parents live in Turkey, I will be returning to the UK in September and will be flying to South Africa for a friends wedding in December, so all of the above are possibilities, plus online purchasing is an option.

Any advice most welcome!

Horace

There are places that sell diamonds in Australia, you could look at the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, UK or you could go to Amsterdam (The Netherlands) as that has an area of diamond merchants as there are lots of cutters there. I know that in Australia you can get pink diamonds..just go into a manufacturing jeweller (they are bound to have some out there) and ask about yellow ones.

How about Bangkok..the World Gem Centre is there and they sell loose certificated stones...members of the public can visit and I have bought made up jewellery there with certificates but didnt get loose stones but I did see that they sold them.

If you can visit the shops in person that would be better as you would be able to see the diamond in question and be able to view it to see if it has any visible flaws..I personally wouldnt buy loose diamonds online because you just don't know what you'll get.

Sammy85_2

I bought my engagement ring from https://www.bluenile.co.uk

Excellent service and shipping times. Diamond is exactly what i wanted (you can select exact qualities you require and price range). Fully certified. Setting is brilliant and a great weight of gold for the price.

They sell their diamonds loose too, and they have an excellent guide to diamonds for those unsure what all the letters and abreviations mean.

I cant recommend them highly enough.

My diamond is 1ct and of a fairly high quality. When i tried to get something similar on the high street for the same money, the clarity was either poor (piqued - which isnt even available on blue nile as inclusions are so visable.) or werent certified.

Gravesendgirl

I got my engagement ring in South Africa. There was plenty of choice and it was definitely cheaper than in the UK. There were jewellers in every mall, the smaller privately owned places were better for negotiating.

Hope that helps

sinanp

thanks for all the advice, very helpful will look into the options further!

stumpjumper

if your after a specfic cut - then it may be worth getting in touch with Brian Gavin, based in Houston, Tx. with having their own cutting facility in Antwerp they are able to cut to order.

Here

You can check out his blog: here Where you'll see he has lots of experience in dealing with international orders - UK, Aus, Singapore...