Experiences with buying online?

Hi all,
I'm a newbie to this. Recently got engaged with a temp ring and my fiance has set me loose to pick out a ring I like (within a budget of £1500). As far as I can make out the best value seems to be online - is this really the case? I have found it difficult to get upfront information re 4Cs from jewellers on high street, being just fobbed off with "oh all our stones are high quality" blah blah blah. I like the way everything seems quite upfront re 4Cs online.

As I don't wear rings normally, I'm not fussed about carat size and would prefer something small and neat. When I tried on a few rings I found that I prefered the look of three stone rings, or else very small solitaires with side-stones. I've decided to go with a platinum band which is chewing up a huge chunk of my budget, but I reckon that I can always upgrade the diamond at a later date when we're a bit more flush.

I found this on diamonds-usa.com:-
Platinum ring set with two sidestones totalling .32 carats and G VS2 very good cut to Ideal-Cut, with round centre stone as follows
Color: I
Clarity: SI1
Cut: Ideal Cut
Weight: 0.38 ct
Measurements: 4.71-4.75*2.81
Depth: 59.4%
Table Diameter: 60.9%
Crown Height: 13.5%
Pavilion Depth: 42.5%
Description: AGS-"2" Ideal-Cut

It says that it is certified by Diamonds-USA, which I am concerned about. Are they reputable for certifications? It seems a bit strange to me that they certify their own product. How much is duty when buying from the US?

There is also a ring at http://www.serendipitydiamonds.co.uk...asp/sku=R3D010 that I have spotted, but doesn't mention cut anywhere that I can see, and I don't think they certify stones under .3 so prob no certification either. Is that really a big deal?

What do people think of these? Does anyone have any other website they can recommend? Any advice at all would be great!

[IYM666]

I think i found myself in similar shoes few months ago when i started to do research about diamond rings. Best place for information is GIA and Diamondinfo.com websites. They carefully explain how 4c grading is derived. In my search, i also payed special attention to the following qualities: Depth, Table, Crown Angle, Crown Height, Pavilion Angle, Pavilion Depth, Star length, Culet: in addition to Polish, & Symmetry.

In my experience, the challenging part is trading one quality for another. For example, trading off higher color for clarity or vise versa. While i found websites like Blue Nile to be great(prices and customer service) adequate time should be spent actually looking at stones at your local jewelers. With out professional tools, experience, and set of Master Stones it is very difficult to tell a quality of a stone. For example, I could not tell G for F or VS2 for VVS1 until i had master stones to compare it to. Also, I had a chance to examine stones from the side(a lot easier to tell certain qualities). This is very important as you choose stones that are in your budget. Also, most of the people are not concerned with factors unseen to naked eye.

Examine the blemishes of the stone---I tried to stay clear of any stone that had blemishes in the table, if you are choosing stones with SI quality. (blemishes can been seen on the GIA report) I am aware of at least three well credited Diamond Rating Laboratories: GIA, EGL, AGSL. Additionally, I did some research on Fluorescence: which tends to lower the price of the stone w/out impacting the quality.

I Guess, quality of diamonds are more art than science,(different combination may allow a cheaper stone have the same look & feel of their expensive cousins) but you can prepare yourself well by doing your research. I will end up purchasing my stones from Blue Nile, but only because their selection and financial incentive is the best. The only downfall is that you could not see it(band & stones), however they have 30 days return policy(which is better than most of the local jewelers).

Good Luck!!!

Originally Posted by roisinmurfee

Hi all,
I'm a newbie to this. Recently got engaged with a temp ring and my fiance has set me loose to pick out a ring I like (within a budget of £1500). As far as I can make out the best value seems to be online - is this really the case? I have found it difficult to get upfront information re 4Cs from jewellers on high street, being just fobbed off with "oh all our stones are high quality" blah blah blah. I like the way everything seems quite upfront re 4Cs online.

As I don't wear rings normally, I'm not fussed about carat size and would prefer something small and neat. When I tried on a few rings I found that I prefered the look of three stone rings, or else very small solitaires with side-stones. I've decided to go with a platinum band which is chewing up a huge chunk of my budget, but I reckon that I can always upgrade the diamond at a later date when we're a bit more flush.

I found this on diamonds-usa.com:-
Platinum ring set with two sidestones totalling .32 carats and G VS2 very good cut to Ideal-Cut, with round centre stone as follows
Color: I
Clarity: SI1
Cut: Ideal Cut
Weight: 0.38 ct
Measurements: 4.71-4.75*2.81
Depth: 59.4%
Table Diameter: 60.9%
Crown Height: 13.5%
Pavilion Depth: 42.5%
Description: AGS-"2" Ideal-Cut

It says that it is certified by Diamonds-USA, which I am concerned about. Are they reputable for certifications? It seems a bit strange to me that they certify their own product. How much is duty when buying from the US?

There is also a ring at http://www.serendipitydiamonds.co.uk...asp/sku=R3D010 that I have spotted, but doesn't mention cut anywhere that I can see, and I don't think they certify stones under .3 so prob no certification either. Is that really a big deal?

What do people think of these? Does anyone have any other website they can recommend? Any advice at all would be great!

[SimonW]

Hi there, by the sounds of it, you are based in the UK?

You are correct in saying that you can probably get best value online.

However, beware if you are in the UK but looking at a US website - you will need to factor in 15% VAT and 5.5% import duty onto the dollar prices you see on their website.

You mention Serendipity Diamonds, who are based in the UK who are certainly a reputable dealer. I would also direct you to our site at www.dejoria.co.uk. We provide INDEPENDENTLY certified diamonds, and I'm sure we could help you.