Diamonds
- Thread starter SilverStone05
- Start date
- Joined
- 18 July 2005
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- 2,636
Don't. They will charge you retail...and despite exact GIA/AGS certifications, they will insist their diamonds are better. And they will make you pay sales tax.....and possibly 3% for using your credit card.
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i can't believe nobody is looking at Craigslist- there are sooo many diamonds for sale cheap- yes, majority are crappy but there are deals out there. i recently found a 1.2 carat GIA VS for $2k for a friend (retail 8k).
Got one from WhiteFlash earlier this year. Similar to BlueNile in pricing, worth checking out if you're in the market.
Tried the craigslist route first. It was a pain and there were lots of crappy stones. Sure you can find a cheap, weighty stone, but it'll likely have a poor cut. Or you may get lucky - be prepared to wade through a lot of time-wasters.
Better know what you're doing if you are buying off CG.
-Josh
Tried the craigslist route first. It was a pain and there were lots of crappy stones. Sure you can find a cheap, weighty stone, but it'll likely have a poor cut. Or you may get lucky - be prepared to wade through a lot of time-wasters.
Better know what you're doing if you are buying off CG.
-Josh
if you educate yourself on the details of what makes a good stone, any listing on the internet is a fair game as long as it is GIA certified- Craigs is free so it attracts folks that really need to sell it- once again, you better know what you are looking at but the fact is that you can find quality rocks for 50% of wholesale.
Make friends with a local jewelry repair shop. Not a retail chain store. I had one that would alert me to good deals when he came across them, and show me stones that really worked for me.
My ex wife walked away with a 2 1/2 carat d color pear shaped stone that I paid $2,500 for It was far from IF, in fact it was SI1, but you couldn't tell without getting your face down into the stone, and most people could only see the inclusions with a loupe. The color, the fire and the size were indistinguishable from a stone costing 10 times as much, only a couple people knew the difference.
Now my current wife is much better - a gold band is good enough for her! :biggrin:
My ex wife walked away with a 2 1/2 carat d color pear shaped stone that I paid $2,500 for
It was far from IF, in fact it was SI1, but you couldn't tell without getting your face down into the stone, and most people could only see the inclusions with a loupe. The color, the fire and the size were indistinguishable from a stone costing 10 times as much, only a couple people knew the difference. Now my current wife is much better - a gold band is good enough for her! :biggrin:
HAHA, that's a great litmus test! I'm going to remember that one. :biggrin:
That is a good deal....I paid the same amount for a smaller stone for the same amount on my ex.
You guys blow too much money....:tongue:
Just do a quick google search for cultured diamond or search eBay.
http://www.gemesis.com/
is one of the first main manufacturers of cultured diamonds. Cultured diamonds are the way to go if your special someone couldn't care less about a GIA report. You'll be able to get a huge rock, that looks as good as a natural one (if not better) at a fraction of the price. AND you can feel good about yourself knowing your purchase was used to fund a blood war in the Africa where young boys are enslaved and having limbs cut off for the sake of mining diamonds.
As previously mentioned, the best deals are through local jewelry stores. I just purchased my third engagement ring from the same jeweler and I got a good deal. The center stone is a Gia, round 2.5ct, VVS1 and the surrounding princess stones are another 2.1 carats. I could have had a nice down payment on a F430, but she appreciates the piece of coal on her finger a little bit more. 
Yes, but they are much harder to find. The man-made process from what I understand can make colored diamonds, but it is harder for them to make colorless diamonds. However, I heard it can be done. At first they were more expensive than mined diamonds, but it is my understanding that the price has come down. The savings isn't as great, but it's still significant over a mined diamond.
Try this site:
http://www.culturedwhitediamonds.com/
The first one I got back after I broke off the engagement and I sold it and bought a motorcycle. The second one my ex-wife kept. So this is the third one I've bought and I can't afford these things anymore.
Actually, Blue Nile has competitive pricing.
Retailer normally buy diamonds according to a Matrix pricing that is printed by a company called Rapaport. It will tell you what the current pricing according to Carat, Color, and Clarity. It is printed weekly.
Retailer will normally buy diamonds with a negotiated percentage off Rapaport. For GIA diamonds, most retailer will buy them 20% - 35% off Rapaport. 25% off is called "25 back" or "25 off rap" in industry terms.
If you want a better lab and cert than GIA, get a AGS cert diamond. AGS includes cut quality in there cert. AGS normally goes for 10% more than GIA.
GIA lab has gotten some bad press in the pass few years. There was a huge lawsuit against them for improperly grading some of their diamonds.
For other labs and certificates, you can get up to 60% off rap. But other labs are frequently off on color rating and more. They can be up to 2-3 color grades off.
Keep in mind, these prices are for wholesale and they buy diamonds frequently and in quantity. This will give you a rough idea what kind of profit they are making during your negotiating.
Diamond prices have been going up in the last few years.
I am not diamond dealer, but I have many associates in these industry. I have been to over 100 diamond trade fairs overseas and have visited over 10 Debeer sightholders, and 40 diamond polishing factories.
Retailer normally buy diamonds according to a Matrix pricing that is printed by a company called Rapaport. It will tell you what the current pricing according to Carat, Color, and Clarity. It is printed weekly.
Retailer will normally buy diamonds with a negotiated percentage off Rapaport. For GIA diamonds, most retailer will buy them 20% - 35% off Rapaport. 25% off is called "25 back" or "25 off rap" in industry terms.
If you want a better lab and cert than GIA, get a AGS cert diamond. AGS includes cut quality in there cert. AGS normally goes for 10% more than GIA.
GIA lab has gotten some bad press in the pass few years. There was a huge lawsuit against them for improperly grading some of their diamonds.
For other labs and certificates, you can get up to 60% off rap. But other labs are frequently off on color rating and more. They can be up to 2-3 color grades off.
Keep in mind, these prices are for wholesale and they buy diamonds frequently and in quantity. This will give you a rough idea what kind of profit they are making during your negotiating.
Diamond prices have been going up in the last few years.
I am not diamond dealer, but I have many associates in these industry. I have been to over 100 diamond trade fairs overseas and have visited over 10 Debeer sightholders, and 40 diamond polishing factories.
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