Austblue

Guys,

I wish to purchase a diamond ring for a gift and I have no experience in this area so I'd appreciate some advice if any of you have any. That said I'm not after a lecture on what a waste it is (looking at you RS4) just some help, thanks.

My Dad's cousin is a jeweller and while I trust him he's not immediate family so I'm not sure how to handle things. What I mean by that is, I've been told that you should always buy the diamond separate or you will pay too much and even though he will do a good job for me I don't think he'll forego the usual mark up on the rock(s).

So am I on the right track? If so can anyone recommend where/who I should be talking to for the diamonds? I'm very nervous dropping my hard earned on something that I can't value with me own eye so any advice about what to look for with rip offs would help too. I understand there's a certificate of authenticity but I'm not yet comfortable about how much security that will offer me so any advice here would be great.

Cheers guys.

Aust.

GEXer

most ppl buying jewelleries will get ripped off anyway, the mark up is very high. bt at most places u can bargain, 50-70% off is possible if u tried hard enuf and not buying it during their "peak season". after u purchased it, take it to an independnet examiner, let them look at it for u, if its diff to wat the certificate states u can ask for refund. unless u r in the industry, i believe its very difficult to tell the good ones from bad with our raw eyes.

wilch

Oh noes!! Does this mean what I think?

There are several wholesalers in the city. I went diamond shopping recently with a friend for his engagement ring in Sydney.

We went to 2 diamond wholesalers, both were recommended by friends, BUT I can't remember the details of them.

Basically we went to one (totally uneducated with how to look at diamonds etc), and had that person tell us about "hearts" and "arrows", all the terminology, and their different meanings. She then showed us what she was telling us about, and showed us how to use those magnifying eye pieces. All in all a good experience.

When we left, my mate was even thinking of not going to the second wholesaler, "Mrs. Ding" that was recommended to us. We felt that good about the service, and were positive we weren't being ripped off.

Anyway, we went to Mrs Ding and basically found out that the first person we went to was basically ripping us off.

He ended up buying from Mrs Ding. Much better offer, much better diamond.

There are several certifications that are available too. I think the GIA certified ones are better.

There's also numerous sites online that'll show you what to look for and what to ask.

Here's one:
http://howtobuyadiamond.gia.edu/menu.htm

Whatever you do, DON'T buy from a jewellery store. They often double the price of the ring that you could buy from a wholesaler.

I'll try and grab the details of Mrs. Ding for you tomorrow when I'm at work.




The alternative is to buy a simulated dimond. This isn't diamonesque, or cubic zirconia. It's actually a manufactured diamond, made in a lab the same way a real diamond would be made...except faster

They look real too. Really real. Even after looking at real diamonds ranging from $5k to $14k for hours and hours, these simulated ones looked just the same. (Believe me, I was trying hard to tell the difference, and I tend to think I have pretty good attention to detail).

There are several stores in Sydney.
http://www.secrets-shhh.com/

GEXer

so its pretty hard to tell the diff btw these "fake" diamonds and the real ones??

if you are gonna buy diamonds seperately, african or so called war diamonds are cheaper, u can get them in asia. harder to get them here.

wilch

Ah, but they're not "FAKE". There's a difference.

These simulated diamonds are laser etched with serial numbers, and can come with certificates aswell. But they state the fact that they were created in a lab.



btw. You can't view the etched serial number with the naked eye. They're etched exactly the same way as a real diamond that has been certified.

Do$tylz

A word of heads up, buy separate insurance for the mofo. Don't forget to check your contents insurance at home.
I may have alreay told this story.... but here it is again.
My sister had 3 rings (engagement, marriage and 1 year), one valued at 16k (or 18 can't remember), 2 of the others at 9 or 8 k each. House got robbed...my sister forgot to put her rings on that day...gonsky.
Only got 5k recovered from the insurance company. She forgot to buy separate insurance for the rings.

AusS2000

Buy her a copy of Blood Diamond's on DVD instead.

Beaver

Do tell.

On Topic: buy her a PS3.

RedRover

Where is Blackie when we need him?

We all went through this exact same question a couple of years ago - and he went into it most thoroughly

dbzerk

There's some good rings at Cash Converters. Even cheaper if they have engravings already.. LOL