My fiance & I spent 2.5 hours at a local jeweler and while I thought he had nosebleed prices on loose stones I liked the idea of being able to see the setting in person and make sure it looks good on her finger. That said all of his settings were probably a few hundred higher than Blue Nile or James Allen. I’ve also found a custom jeweler who great work but its of course a bit more expensive. I’m considering buying an 1.0ct, round, excellent cut.
Few questions:
1) Is this extra work worth the effort or are most James Allen / Brian Gavin settings “nice enough”?
2) He had a # of stones that were less exp but not cert’ed; I was convinced I needed GIA – is this the case? Are the other certifications (EGL, etc) sufficient or is GIA a must?
3) Do you have a diamond rec from JA or Brian Gavin in the $5500 – $6500 range?
Thanks much, great work on the site!
1) Is this extra work worth the effort or are most James Allen / Brian Gavin settings “nice enough”?
I have yet to find someone that ended up with a better setting that they got by going the custom route. Unless they truly wanted something unique that wasn’t close to what they could find elsewhere.
2) He had a # of stones that were less exp but not cert’ed; I was convinced I needed GIA – is this the case? Are the other certifications (EGL, etc) sufficient or is GIA a must?
Any jeweler that tries to sell non-certified or EGL certified (that’s even worse than non-certified; it shows they try to actively deceive instead of say they don’t care about quality).
3) Do you have a diamond rec from JA or Brian Gavin in the $5500 – $6500 range?
What type of setting will it end up being? Does it have pave diamonds or will it be a solitaire setting? That I color you selected is nice, but with pave settings you want to stick with H+
Thanks for the answers. Very interesting. I will discuss all with my fiance. I expect we’re going to do a round diamond that will sit in a four prong setting with either pave or 3 diamonds per side on the band. If you have any rec’s on the stone that would be fantastic!
I found this one as an example, what do you think? Should I go down to a better clarity + color but sacrifice some size? My GF is not very flashy, she’s fairly modest but I want to get her something high quality that looks good…
I’m really sorry for the delay in responding. I decided to make an impromptu visit back to NYC. Do you still want some help?
Hello. I’m considering purchasing this stone for $5750. The color is lower than I planned (color i) but its excellent cut with no visible inclusions and is a nice 1.04 size. It has strong fluorescence which probably brought the cost down. i don’t want you to spend much time – maybe just a thumbs up or down? Enjoy the city.
It’s a beautiful diamond. Hearty thumbs up!
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisal
- One free resizing within the first year of purchase
- High quality images of about half of their diamonds
- 24/7 Customer Service
- 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
- Best in class fulfillment
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