JimBob2232 Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 I'll throw JamesAllen.com out there as well. Excellent experience with them. Bought a beautiful engagement ring for half the cost of my local jewelers.
Nanker Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 If you want diamonds, go to Antwerp or Amsterdam. They have plenty.
ieatcrayonz Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 More of a rant/public service announcement.......never ever buy diamonds from a Jeweler. I'm getting engaged Let me be the first to say: Goodbye. Please tell Ed we all said hello.
dpbillsfan Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Never call her "old lady". For some reason wives don't like that.
BuffaloBill Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Anything sold retail is marked up greatly. The general rule of thumb is that you will pay double what the merchant paid. This leaves ample room for efficient discounters to offer "markdowns" and still run a profitable business.
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 No...a lovely 1/4 carat diamond in a very tasteful setting from a neighborhood shop, 50% down in cash, balance paid off in weekly installments and then I took possession. It was a big obligation for a young man back then, to take on such a financial entailment. Now I see people going together to a shop for a ring and run up 4, 5, 8K or more. People negotiating about this or that style, arguing about whatever. And putting it on the card. Time was, you would ask a family member to help you out. Usually, your mother. I had no idea about rings, so my mom took me around. She well knew my girl, shopped around and made a fine selection. So I had it in hand when I proposed marriage. My opinions about expensive jewelry occurred later...so much money tied up in little baubles...for vanity, things to flaunt that one has money to rub in the faces of those without. Money that could be used for housing, food, education and so forth. I totally agree Cincy... We went with a Pt estate piece (downtown Chicago) and then had eight small diamonds added into small side settings then a nice sapphire... Her "working band" was then made special to integrate against the ring. Mine is just a plain thin band in Pt also. All for well under 2 grand back in 1993. Pleasantly understated yet probably worth a lot more today.
JoeFerguson Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 I totally agree Cincy... We went with a Pt estate piece (downtown Chicago) and then had eight small diamonds added into small side settings then a nice sapphire... Her "working band" was then made special to integrate against the ring. Mine is just a plain thin band in Pt also. All for well under 2 grand back in 1993. Pleasantly understated yet probably worth a lot more today. I thought engagement/wedding rings depreciate in value. Who the heck would want your wife's used ring? WOMEN WANT THEIR OWN DIAMONDS!!!!!!!!!!
stuckincincy Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 I totally agree Cincy... We went with a Pt estate piece (downtown Chicago) and then had eight small diamonds added into small side settings then a nice sapphire... Her "working band" was then made special to integrate against the ring. Mine is just a plain thin band in Pt also. All for well under 2 grand back in 1993. Pleasantly understated yet probably worth a lot more today. Excellent choice. Estate pieces have especial meaning, a sense of continuity. Wearing a ring that came from a previous romance is heartwarming. Who were they? How did their lives evolve? You look at it, and you have reveries about the past. Reveries are important. They soothe, they recollect happy times in one's life. Wondering about the lives of our predecessors is part of humanity.
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 I thought engagement/wedding rings depreciate in value. Who the heck would want your wife's used ring? WOMEN WANT THEIR OWN DIAMONDS!!!!!!!!!! Hasn't Pt went up in price? Platinum was 400 bucks an ounce in 1994, it is now 1250. Gold is 380/940 respectively. So I guess it doesn't really matter. And ya what you said (red)... That is the problem with the world. Really, is that what DeBeers is telling you? I must got it easy. Anyway, the filigree work done (all in platinum-Pt) is truly one of a kind. Also, the diamonds and sapphire came separately and had to be picked out... And the working band had to be specially constructed to nest in the ring.
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Excellent choice. Estate pieces have especial meaning, a sense of continuity. Wearing a ring that came from a previous romance is heartwarming. Who were they? How did their lives evolve? You look at it, and you have reveries about the past. Reveries are important. They soothe, they recollect happy times in one's life. Wondering about the lives of our predecessors is part of humanity. Exactly! Also similar artistry is often lost or hard to come by new today... Like the filigree work that was done.
WVUFootball29 Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Add on several cocktails before hitting the jeweler like my wife and I did our last trip to St. John and it bling, bling, bling all the way home. Sounds like a very expensive vacation Chef
Jim in Anchorage Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Hasn't Pt went up in price? Platinum was 400 bucks an ounce in 1994, it is now 1250. Gold is 380/940 respectively. So I guess it doesn't really matter. And ya what you said (red)... That is the problem with the world. Really, is that what DeBeers is telling you? I must got it easy. Anyway, the filigree work done (all in platinum-Pt) is truly one of a kind. Also, the diamonds and sapphire came separately and had to be picked out... And the working band had to be specially constructed to nest in the ring. And just how many ounces of gold or platinum are in a ring? Face it unless your name happens to be Elizabeth Taylor a wedding ring is always going to be worth less then what you paid for it.
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 And just how many ounces of gold or platinum are in a ring? Face it unless your name happens to be Elizabeth Taylor a wedding ring is always going to be worth less then what you paid for it. Good point... My ring is probably an ounce since I paid about 500 for that... maybe under?... I should weigh it? All of them are 100% platinum. With gold, don't they harden it with platinum depending on the karat?
Chef Jim Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Sounds like a very expensive vacation Chef Worth every penny. I love the Caribbean and my wife loves the ring. She's not in to the big rocks but it has a lot of smaller diamonds and every time she wears it she sticks out her finger and says "sparkle plenty." BTW if anyone can guess the sparkle plenty reference wins a prize. There's a jeweler here in SF that we've been to on several occasions (to get me a new wedding ring and a new one for her were the larger purchases). Both times on the wedding ring purchases we hit Buena Vista first for a few of their famous Irish Coffees.
JoeFerguson Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Good point... My ring is probably an ounce since I paid about 500 for that... maybe under?... I should weigh it? All of them are 100% platinum. With gold, don't they harden it with platinum depending on the karat? Have you ever actually tried to sell old jewelry for cash? Factor in the pain in the neck factor and I don't consider jewelry an investment. A few months ago I was cleaning out my grandma's basement. In an old cigar box we found two gold capped teeth wrapped in cotton. My grandma said she didn't know who they belonged to, because my dead grandpa never had gold caps. Anyway, I dissolved the teeth in some acid and took the gold caps to Airport Plaza Jewelers on Genesee and Union along with two gold necklaces. I got about $70 cash for everything. No scientific testing was done on these pieces. The guy just looked at them an estimated the karat weight based on his experience and what was written on the necklaces. Could I have haggled? Could have I gone elsewhere? Maybe. But doing that would have been wasting my time. Now try to put yourself in that situation when you say your custom made jewelry is an investment. Imagine yourself going to jeweler-to-jeweler and explaining all the nuances of your ring to the guy and why he should give you xx price. You do that at two or three places and you realize that it's a major pain in the neck, and bottom line, you're not going to get what you paid for the stuff and certainly won't get more than you paid. They're just going to scrap it and make something new out of the metal and stones.
C.Biscuit97 Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 More of a rant/public service announcement.......never ever buy diamonds from a Jeweler. I'm getting engaged and I pretty much know what I'm looking for, I customized a ring from Whiteflash.com and all in all I ended up spending around 5k, which was my budget. So last night I'm in the mall with my old lady doing some shopping and I decide to stop in Helzburg diamonds just "to look" at some stuff. She doesn't know I've already bought a ring so I was more or less just trying to reassure myself that I had done my homework and had bought one she would really like (although she not hard to please at all). The ring that she liked was very similar to the one she's getting except that it had a way crappier diamond in every sense.......cut, clarity, color and it was 1/4 carrot smaller. They wanted $8200 for the ring.......WTF Moral of the story: don't get married!!!
damj Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 More of a rant/public service announcement.......never ever buy diamonds from a Jeweler. I'm getting engaged and I pretty much know what I'm looking for, I customized a ring from Whiteflash.com and all in all I ended up spending around 5k, which was my budget. So last night I'm in the mall with my old lady doing some shopping and I decide to stop in Helzburg diamonds just "to look" at some stuff. She doesn't know I've already bought a ring so I was more or less just trying to reassure myself that I had done my homework and had bought one she would really like (although she not hard to please at all). The ring that she liked was very similar to the one she's getting except that it had a way crappier diamond in every sense.......cut, clarity, color and it was 1/4 carrot smaller. They wanted $8200 for the ring.......WTF Really ... I usually buy those french diamonds (diamonique) at a fraction of the price ...
Jim in Anchorage Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 Good point... My ring is probably an ounce since I paid about 500 for that... maybe under?... I should weigh it? All of them are 100% platinum. With gold, don't they harden it with platinum depending on the karat? A ounce ring would be huge. I don't think you can buy a ring for it's price in plain gold. Just do not look at it as a investment, and enjoy it for what it is.
GoodBye Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 If you want diamonds, go to Antwerp or Amsterdam. They have plenty. That's where Tom Shane hangs out all of the time. His commericals=
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 19, 2009 Posted August 19, 2009 A ounce ring would be huge. I don't think you can buy a ring for it's price in plain gold. Just do not look at it as a investment, and enjoy it for what it is. Agree. Gold is too soft. Ya I really don't... I suppose you can hock it if things get rough... I mean REALLY rough! I was reading somewhere that all the gold mined in HUMAN HISTORY would only fill TWO olympic swimming pools and in the last 50 years, one of those pools was filled with what they mined! ??
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