So are you telling me that Tiffany rings never get loose prongs? And this is what makes them cost 50% more?

 

A friend of mine lost her entire engagement ring once. Not a loose prong, not a lost stone, the entire ring was just gone. She had a insurance policy on it so gave them a call, a guy drove out to her house with about a half-dozen different stones of similar value to the original, she picked one she liked and a complete new ring, including appraisal and certificate, showed up in the mail a while later. Zero cost except for the original insurance, which was really cheap.

 

That is way too much money. I already know quite a few women that have lost their ring within 5 years. Most never insure it. That is the big thing to do first. Insure that sucker!

 

Thats true, you can insure any ring. However, sentiment is NOT something that can be insured. Plus, insurance jobs are more profitable with high end rings. j/k

 

No... What makes their rings 50% more are

1. There are people gullable enough to pay 50% more for the blue box

2. They have a gross margin last year of 55.6%, well above their peers

 

But what about your mom's ring? Seriously, if she wanted to convert that $86k ring into $86k worth of stocks, could she?

 

I know

 

Old posting about diamonds

While I'd like to chime in and give me 2 cents. I'm too lazy to write. I'll just dig up this post I wrote about for another guy a while back.

If you have specific questions I can help you. I used to be in the industry.

Here are a few of my most important tips I can provide:
-In all honesty, you can get the cheapest diamond online, as long as you know EXACTLY what you want, you can go online and they will ALWAYS be cheaper than you best jeweler
-If its service you want, then go to a Tiffany's or the like, they really help the process.
-Make sure the stone is GIA certified, and if you're going that big or even 1 ct plus, make sure the # is laser inscribed on the girdle of the diamond, With practice you can use a loupe to easily identify it everytime you drop it off for a cleaning or repair etc.. Thus taking out a lot of the worry.
-Although diamond "wholesalers" for the most part are trustworthy, I'd be very wary of purchasing a diamond from someone you may or may not trust or has an established reputation
-The technology available to treat diamonds is AMAZING. They can treat anything. Internal fractures, color treating, clarity treatments, even the newer MANMADE DIAMOND(A diamond is basically created like a cultured pearl, it has every single aspect of diamond properties, because its a diamond, except in the sense that it is man made, so it is a diamond, just one that isnt natural) One if not many of these methods can create a diamond so clean and so pure that it will fool 9/10 jewelers, simply because the treatments are so stealth, that in order to detect the "high end" treatment techniques, you need the same type of high end equipment. Now these high end fakes arent in as much circulation because of the high price of the machinery involved. BUT the fact is that they do exist. Even GIA wasn't able to detect these up until a few years back. If a deal seems too good to be true, I'd be VERY wary. Especially if the guy pulls out a Flawless 3 ct with perfect color, for what seems to be an INCREDIBLE price. The bigger the size the harder it is to find the best clarity, prices start to soar.

All in all, GIA is the MOST trustworthy. I don't trust EGL as much, but they are better than not having one.

Good luck with the process, go with what your heart wants to give and what you think your lady's preferences are. Hopefully she'll love whatever you decide to get.

All in all, take everyone's comments with a grain of salt. But it does help to go at least knowing the basics. Feel out a trusted Jeweler who is also GIA certified, you can get much more productive talks with one, than any good salesperson. Although there are some decent salespeople who know what they are talking about.

 

Pardon my ignorance but why do I care about the resale price of my fiance's engagement ring? I'm not planning on selling it nor is she.

Happy together for the rest of our lives? no?

For what it's worth, the local place I bought it from guarantees all their rings for life with free cleanings, repairs, re-whitening(when white gold turns yellow), etc. I dont think tiffany is the only place that does this.

 

I'd disagree with this statement. While Tiffany's is a great standard to compare to when looking at High end jewelry, I wouldn't block out all the other great brands out there that just do not have their own store. A diamond is a diamond, A Tiffany's E color, VVS1, Round, Ideal cut diamond, will be almost identical to the same grade quality and cut from something you buy online(I only say ALMOST identical, because no two diamonds in the world are identical)

But what you are also buying is Tiffany's reputation for customer service and standing behind their product. All in all if you are going with GIA certified stuff, you really are comparing apples to apples. Now thats for Diamonds.

As for Rings, all rings are NOT created equal. That being said, I'm not saying Tiffany's is bad, they make an EXCELLENT ring, but so do a lot of other designers out there. When it comes down to it, Gold is gold and platinum is platinum etc.. It all comes down to the individual who made the ring(or casted it, etc...) Having the ring properly set and sized is more important than who you bought it from, but again, Tiffany's is a large store who probably either 1-outsources their repairs to a large repair center(but of course a high caliber) or they may have a regional or national repair center for all of their jewelry. But again, you may have a bit more peace of mind working with such a large retailer. Its all up to the buyer.

Now Tiffany's is the epitome of the classic prong setting, and if that's what you are looking for great. But there are some many other unique designers out there that you shouldnt limit your shopping experience to one store that sells their own product. Personally I love the look of Tacori Rings, they are elegant and have great details that really make the ring look like art around a ladies finger. And again, they sell them with or without center stones, making the option open for the center. I know my GF isn't going to want the plain six prong from Tiffany's THAT's for sure. I've got my work cut out for me when my time comes.