Engagement Rings: Where to buy?

[xBeanx]

I've been looking for a ring too. You might want to check DiamondTalk for a wealth of info on rrings/diamonds and buying.

 

[labrat25]

cracker jack box

 

[BillGates]

Originally posted by: Falloutboy525
just get her an onion ring and with the extra money build a super computer

^ I'm with this guy. I've been resisting marriage for 5 years and counting.

 

[Jzero]

A local jeweler. One with good references and preferably one you have an "in" with.
The internet/blue nile way seems appealing but I was too skittish about spending that kind of money over the intarweb.

Tiffany's is overpriced. Even if there is a setting you really like, you will be able to get something similar made cheaper.

 

[Lifer]

newegg sells refurbed diamonds? :Q

 

[BigSmooth]

I bought an engagement ring at DBOF.com (Diamond Brokers of Florida), a fairly well-respected internet vendor. I got a good price and I am exceedingly happy with the final result, but there were a few service hiccups so if I had to do it all over again I'm not 100% sure I would go with them. There are a number of good, small internet vendors that give you very high quality usually for (relatively) reasonable prices. GoodOldGold, DBOF, SuperbCert, Whiteflash, and Dirt Cheap Diamonds are among them.

Pricescope.com and Diamondtalk.com's forums are useful tools for learning about diamonds and the buying process.

 

[Papagayo]

If you want a good deal, I recommend that you take your time and shop, shop, and shop...
Learn the 3 Cs.. (carat, cut, claraty (spelling)) I think these are the 3.. It's been long time since I bought a ring.

Set your mind for a price range and size..

Most woman will not be satisfied with anything less than 1 carat.
(they compare rings... )


Don't trust the salesperson. they are like car salesman.. They want to sell it at highest possible price..

 

[Johnnie]

I've had good service at The Shane Company

 

[mundane]

I just bought my gf a ring from a local place, Continental Diamond in Minneapolis. Cost me about $4k, which, for a college student, isn't trivial. But she was (is) extremely happy with it, and the service there was excellent.

She did spend quite a bit of time online looking at Tiffany's, and especially Blue Nile. She knew exactly what she wanted when we went to the jewelers.

Good luck =)

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: FuZioN
umm did you check out the jeweler shops in chinatown/soho ?

The thing about most chinatown jewelers is that if you are not asian or speak chinese, they will rip you off or you wont get the best deal. Trust me on this. I'm asian, I walk in, i can get this ring for $150, no porblem. My GF, who is colombian, walks, will not even have a chance to talk that ring down to $190. It's sad, but its true.

that said, foreign gold looks way better than US gold.

 

[Rumpltzer]

I was just reading about this the other night at this site.

They suggest http://www.bluenile.com/ as others have said, but also http://www.uniondiamond.com/ as far as Internet sellers go. Both seem to have extensive inventories and GIA (and other) certified diamonds. That first site also has information on local jewelers which I didn't read.

Someone suggested eBay. I wouldn't do that. Do some research (especially on diamond certifications) and then look at eBay and you'll see why.

Good luck man.

 

[StageLeft]

Just make sure you need to take a loan out for it!

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: CChaos

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
http://www.bluenile.com

I bought my wife's ring here. I was very happy with the service and she loves the ring.

Luck!

How does it work with bluenile? Do pick the ring from the website or do you actually get to see and touch the diamond? Sorry to lazy to go to the link

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz

Originally posted by: CChaos

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
http://www.bluenile.com

I bought my wife's ring here. I was very happy with the service and she loves the ring.

Luck!

How does it work with bluenile? Do pick the ring from the website or do you actually get to see and touch the diamond? Sorry to lazy to go to the link

you pick the stats and they set it. They give you a picture of what it looks like, but the first time you see it is when you get it from the overnight shipment via Fedex (Free, btw). Bluenile does offer a 30 day return policy if you are not impressed by the stone or setting. I am very happy with purchasing it there. Especially since it was about a quarter the price that the mall diamond dealers wanted.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
I just bought my gf a ring from a local place, Continental Diamond in Minneapolis. Cost me about $4k, which, for a college student, isn't trivial. But she was (is) extremely happy with it, and the service there was excellent.

She did spend quite a bit of time online looking at Tiffany's, and especially Blue Nile. She knew exactly what she wanted when we went to the jewelers.

Good luck =)

How the hell does a college student come up with $4k to spend on a ring?

 

[Rumpltzer]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz

Originally posted by: CChaos

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
http://www.bluenile.com

I bought my wife's ring here. I was very happy with the service and she loves the ring.

Luck!

How does it work with bluenile? Do pick the ring from the website or do you actually get to see and touch the diamond? Sorry to lazy to go to the link

You can see the GIA certificate (PDF) of the diamond you choose, but you don't see the diamond until it shows up. They send it by FedEx (free shipping) and you have 30 days to send it back if you don't like it (or she says no).

There's was a discount code in Men's Health magazine last month good until April, I think, or they'll send you a fixed price discount code if you request a free ring sizer (to measure her finger) from them. They'll give you a 1.5% discount if you pay by a wire transfer instead of using a credit card. It all adds up when you get into that $5K, $10K, etc. range.

 

[bigd480]

No offense dude but you sound like you couldn't know less about this stuff - so you'd be the perfect target to get ripped off by a Tiffany's or a mall store. I've done this recently in the same price range and can offer some tips:

1: Do not even think about buying anything at the mall - lowest quality diamonds, 2nd highest markup (to high-end places) - only look there for ring designs (if you don't want the simple solitaire).
2: Decide what your most important criteria is - for some it's size, for me it was color/brilliance since I knew I couldn't afford anything huge that would be as brilliant as I wanted. Brilliance has little to do w/ clarity - mostly with the angles/proportions of the stone. http://www.usacerteddiamonds.com this place is around NYC and is where I got my diamond - reasonable price (not cheap but for same price at the mall you'd get total crap), they carry very high quality certed stuff, good communication, large inventory, and much more bang/buck than a Tiffany's (unless she's a brand snob who care's more about the name on the box than what's inside).
3. Buy the loose diamond. If you want a carat, buy something slightly below, like 0.9x - will save you a ton, you can tell her it's a carat. Remember that carat is a unit of weight not necessarily size and a 1.0 carat and 0.9 carat stone can look the same size from above depending on how shallow it's cut, but a cut that's too shallow or too deep throws off the angles and the ring won't sparkle as much. Keep her finger size in mind also - a 2ct ring on a size 5 ring just looks odd.
4. Find a local independent jeweler to buy/make the setting - I designed mine myself but most places will have large catalogs of mountings/settings. An independent jeweler will give you much better customer service than a mall or a Tiffany's because they are the owner not an employee, and most of their business is from word-of-mouth.

EDIT: My friend works for a diamond wholesaler and says that BlueNile offers reasonable prices and is a good benchmark to see if you got a decent deal

 

[pcmodem]

Blue Nile also has a nice interactive tool, where you can configure a diamond based on cut, size, price, etc., so you can narrow down you search.

Once that's done, you can place that diamond in a ring of your choice and see what it'd look like.
-PCM

 

[bozack]

How much are you looking to spend?? I personally know two jewelers who are very good, one is in Manhattan the other in the Jewelers building in Boston...PM me if you are interested in contact info, but I try to only send people to them who are serious.....

My wife's ring was about 6K and she constantly gets compliments on it, the same ring cost over 11K at tiffanies and honestly this looks as good if not a little better, it is def bigger....

let me know and good luck.

 

[bigalt]

http://cubiczirconia.goldenmine.com/

after watching my women friends go crazy over their rings, I am so afraid to get engaged to my girlfriend. I think I'll puke when she goes all doe-eyed over a piece of metal and glass.

 

[Jumpem]

Wow, I feel like a loser since I only plan on spending $1500.

 

[Jumpem]

Edit: double post.

 

[jamesave]

bluenile.com

I bought the engagement ring from them.

 

[mundane]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz I just bought my gf a ring from a local place, Continental Diamond in Minneapolis. Cost me about $4k, which, for a college student, isn't trivial. But she was (is) extremely happy with it, and the service there was excellent. She did spend quite a bit of time online looking at Tiffany's, and especially Blue Nile. She knew exactly what she wanted when we went to the jewelers. Good luck =)

How the hell does a college student come up with $4k to spend on a ring?

I've been saving money for the past year, just in case I needed it. Completely emptied my bank account for this, but it's worth it. The well-paying internship I'm currently at helps quite a bit.

It's by far the most money I've ever spent on anything - my current car cost me ~$1500. She knows that, and it makes the gift all the more important to her. It took me many months to come to grips with this "investment" =)

 

[Maximus96]

so is the engagement ring suppose to cost more than the wedding ring? i know nothing of this sort. so after spending $$$ to buy her an engagement ring, i have to shell out much more additional $$$ for a wedding ring? i think i got about another year before i need to worry about an engagement ring, but i should research ahead of time