Myself and long-term girlfriend are shopping for engagement rings now and I stubbled across your site… Looks like it may save me a few grand!
We were looking at 1 ct princess cuts for a 2mm-solitare setting.
Anything under $5500 is ”money in the bank” and I like money in the bank!
Was looking at diamond 1359966 on james allen…
Any reccos from you would be great too! Especially looking for a good cut stone since the princesses lake the cut on the GIA…
Thanks for writing! I think you can do a bit better than that stone you linked to:
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1343921.asp – great value just under 1.00
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1327167.asp
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1244485.asp
I believe an I color is fine when mounted in a solitaire.
First off, thank you for the quick response. Your service is truly innovative and I applaud you on the business idea. I hope it is enough income to keep you happily working from home in Israel.
Before work this morning I quickly glanced over the stones you selected. The are all beautiful and I definitely think they have a little more elegance to the cut the the stone I sent you. I was up until 330AM last night with a 700 AM wake up call looking at diamonds. It definitely can get addicting and overwhelming. It is great to feel like I have someone “on my side” in the search.
I remember looking closely at the 1.00 stone you picked, the middle one. I remember the price. Although I think my favorite of the bunch is the last one, if for no other reason than it’s slightly bigger.
Although I have no fears of buying such an item online, the soon bride to be is not as big of a fan of the idea as I am. She likes the diea of being able to walk in someplace if we ever have problems or she would like a cleaning. But the savings, as well as the comfort of knowing someone with your history helped pick the stone (not SELL the stone!) overweighs that in my book. $1000 will pay for a lot of cleaning anyways
and if it ever needs plating, James Allen will be there. We’ve been together for 5 years and as soon as we started this “marriage” talk, things are moving fast and she’s looking for results. I need to get put her on a mission to figure out her ring size while I am out of town this week so I can place the order fast and just spring it on her! There’s no way she’d turn one of those stones down!
Well I’m going to see what I can get her to do in the ring size department and I’ll let you know how things go..
Thanks again for your help and I hope you are enjoying the Lysol wipes!
Let me know what you think!
[IRA FORWARDED THE PREVIOUS MESSAGE TO THE QUESTIONER IN ‘LYSOL WIPES’ Q&A WITH THE FOLLOWING EXPLANATION:]
I thought you’d like this. Look at the last line in his email. 😉
My pleasure! Thanks for this very kind email – and I have to say, I’m impressed you read that whole Q&A! It’s really massive!
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
[THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE WAS A RESPONSE TO IRA FROM THE ‘LYSOL WIPES’ QUESTIONER]
That’s great… At least you know people are reading it. I also loved the Q&A. BTW, Erica is loving her ring. Everyone comments on how amazing the stone is. I’m very happy with the purchase.
…and by the way, you should tell xxxx that he ABSOLUTELY needs to buy online. It saved me a forture and James Allen wil clean, re-plate and maintain the ring for free. Not to mention that there is just as much (if not more) risk with the store. Who’s to say they won’t move, get sold, merge or go out of business. The chances of James Allen and Blue Nile going out of business are virtually none, since they have much lower overhead.
Having looked at the offerings in-store, the only place I would even consider buying is Costco. Prices are comparable with JA (except for Sales Tax).
Hope all is well with you 🙂
[MESSAGE FROM IRA TO ‘LYSOL WIPES’ QUESTIONER]
Man, I should hire you! 🙂
[MESSAGE FROM ‘LYSOL WIPES’ QUESTIONER TO IRA]
Why don’t you? I’m bored at work… hahaha…
Seriously though, it’s easy to recommend something that’s common sense. A buddy of mine had to buy an engagement ring at Tiffany’s of all places (his fiancee only wanted her ring from there). He spent $25K (+ Tax) on a ring that he could have got from James Allen for $17,500 (and all because of that blue colored box).
I told him to cheat and buy a “cheap” ring at Tiffany’s (for like $200), then get the engagement ring from James Allen and switch the boxes 🙂 Hahaha…
A: I forwarded your message to xxxx, the guy who sent the lysol wipes because I thought he’d get a kick out of the fact that people are actually reading his Q&A. He wanted me to send you the following message: [QUOTED ABOVE WITH STARTING SENTENCE: “That’s great…At least you know people are reading it.”]
Great insight from xxxx. Let him know I said thanks… I don’t know if many people read as much as I did on the site but I did read nearly all everything under the top headers, at least those that applied to my purchase. I’m a little crazy detail oriented like that… I don’t just like random stats like, you need an XX carat and XX cut. I like to know the why. I like to know the motivation of the person sending the information to me as well. That is why I really enjoyed the read on your blog post about how you make money and how internet advertising sales work. Very intriguing for me…
I think I’ve decided to just buy online. As I said, I am already comfortable with it, and I am pretty sure she won’t care once she has a ring on her finger after 5 (pushing 6) years together! We went ring shopping together already so it’s no secret it’s going to happen, but I did send her the txt today that she needed to get me her ring size. She replied “6ish”, and I said “that’s not close enough…” She hates surprises and just not knowing the exact date/time/ring will be enough to drive her crazy…
Once I get a ring size, we’ll talk a little more on specific diamonds. I’d hate to pick one out and have it disappear online before I can purchase it!
We’ll check again for diamonds soon, hopefully she got the hint that I was looking now!
Sounds like a plan! I look forward to hearing from you!
In case she moves fast to get a ring size, I requested the “Idealscope” image from James Allen for the 1.01 from your list below. I also asked if I could place it on hold until after I get the image and am able to review it… With you of course!
–No need to reply, just giving you a heads up…
…….
In some more conversations, color seems to be very important to her for reasons unknown, regardless of what I tell her. She’s concerned she could tell the difference when comparing rings to others. Sounds shallow to me but hey, who am I to judge when I drive a lifted 4×4 pick-up truck. She has come up with a size of 6.5 at work. I asked her to test some of her other rings at home against one of this size-circle charts to see if that agrees with what she came up with. I’d just hate to have to take the ring away from her to have it resized right after she gets it!
In the G/H Color range, is there a diamond or two that stick out to you… I’ll throw you a couple I was looking at and I am sure you will find one better!
I thought this one looked pretty flawless and fit in your suggested parameters… 1.08 H VS2
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1360134.asp
…….
I put it on as well while talking to a James Allen associate since you won’t be able to see it, price is $4240…
…….
Sorry to flood you with emails, hopefully I hear from you after you soon after you wake up, obviously I am getting a little excited!
The only eye-flaw I saw in the diamond I sent you was in the lower left corner and I think that would be at least disguised a bit by the setting, and the $700 over the I-Colors we were looking at is safe so I can tell her I “went with the better color” to appease her probably unfounded worries…
As I said though, let me know your opinion and you opinion comparing the 1.08 H VS2 to the 1.01 I VS2 you sent at the start of our exchanges (should still show below). And as I said, let me know what you see in that 1-carat G/H color range out their with my $5k budget in mind.
You are a real help and glad I stumbled across you site. It’s amazing how much time I can spend looking at pure internet junk before finding something valuable like truthaboutdiamonds.com.
That H VS2 you linked to is a great option. I think you’re better off going with this – it’s for her after all, so why screw around? Get what you know she’ll like. Listen, in the end, there’s no real value to diamonds themselves. We only buy them for the psychological reaction it creates for the women. So not buying what she says she wants kind of defeats the purpose.
The inclusions in the corner would be completely invisible to your eye whether you cover them or not, so don’t worry about that. And don’t bother with an Idealscope. I don’t think it adds anything – especially with princess cuts.
Great help and advice. She will be off to get her ring size checked at a Jewelry Store after work today to make sure what she came up with is correct, and I will most likely place the order as soon as we get off the phone and have the coveted ring size in hand.
I’m more proud more than anything that the H VS2 is a diamond that I picked out after “learning the ropes” so to speak from yourself. I told you earlier I don’t just like blank recommendations, I like to understand the reasoning. I’m detailed oriented and want to know each characteristic and its real effect myself. A step beyond that, I really like to being able to take that knowledge of diamonds (knowledge you almost single-handedly helped me gain by the way), and take the examples you gave me as a learning tool, and go out and find a stone myself. That will make it that more special to us both. I get the sense of accomplishment and knowledge, and she gets the ring she’s dreamed of.
I’ll be sure to use the coupon code and will let you know how things work out in the end.
Sounds great! I look forward to hearing good things from you!
Still awaiting ring size for another day… Work didn’t let her out in time to get sized.
I did a search to see if anything new turned up and found this diamond…
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1359966.asp
The other diamond I picked was this one…
https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1360134.asp
Price difference is +300 for the VS1. Does one have more ideal proportions (table/depth) in your mind than the other? If so are we splitting hairs? To me it appears slightly more ‘brilliant’ but I believe its a camera focus issue…
I’ve asked James Allen the same question..
I don’t think there’s any reason to switch. They’d probably look identical to you if you had them in front of you right now.
Order placed on 136014.
Thanks again so much for your help! You really do provide a value-added service. While making a decision where advice you can trust is difficult but twice as hard to find, you definitely filled the niche, at least for me. I don’t know if I ever have the opportunity to recommend you site or your advice, but if I do it will be quick and convincing.
I wish you and your family the best and I will pray for a peaceful resolve in the middle east for Israel with all of you in mind.
I will be sure to update you when the ring arrives and the imminent “Yes!” I have no doubts as to the quality. One of the uneasiest parts of ordering online (and I order EVERYTHING online) is waiting to see if your first purchase from a new source is as described and performed professionally. Due to your site reviews, countless Q & A’s on your website, and your diamond knowledge has completely mitigated that feeling.
I truly applaud you for the business as much as I do the help. You probably don’t hear this as much as you do thank you’s for the guidance but I appreciate the ingenuity. It’s times like these I wonder, how would I explain this transaction to anyone, even myself, 20 yrs ago?
Any way, I am rambling as I have tendency to do. I appreciate your help, and will stay in touch when the ring arrives next Thursday…
…….
FYI: Big diamond image link from JA…
Looks great! Thanks so much for all your kind words! Your prayers are always needed, so please continue!
We have not communicated since you helped me with my diamond order. I do not consider ourselves friends or acquaintances but I felt the need to write this letter anyways. After the President of the United States made his speech today, I was embarrassed and felt the need to reach out to you with my support for yourself and your country. I am sure you may receive many notes to this affect, but I needed to stand somehow, and you are my only contact I have ever had directly with anyone in Israel. Although the President of the United States may not stand for a free defensible Israel, many people in the United States do, and I am one of them. I stand with Israel. And I believe so does the majority of this Christian nation, at least they would if they were knowledgeable of the issues.
As I said before, I am sure these are tough times in your part of the world and I pray for you and the people of Israel. I am sure there is nothing I can do myself but stand for what I believe in and voice my beliefs. I do so for those like yourself in Israel. Good will prevail, God will prevail.
God Bless
Your email is very kind and welcome. I haven’t received any notes to this effect, as a matter of fact. This speaks very strongly of your character as an individual. I only wish there were more people like you. Your support is very welcome and needed.
Please do what you can to get Obama out of office!
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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