Diamonds?

[raclaims]

I am looking to get my wife a great diamond (3 or more carats...great quality, etc.)...

But I don't want to get hosed of course.

Can anyone recommend someone reputable?

Thanks!!

[jams]

I purchased a diamond 10 years ago from Fidelity Diamond in Paramus NJ.
http://www.fidelitydiamond.com/

I had a very good experience. The sales person took their time with me --almost 2 hours inspecting each diamond and I finally picked one.

I purchased one a little over a carat for about $4,600. Got it appraised the next week in the city by a certified diamond appraiser for well over the purchase price- it might have been around 7,000??

Like I said it was 10 years ago but I had a great experience.

Good Luck! You will make someone very happy with a big rock like that!

[Stentor]

"3 or more carats"....now that's a nice rock!

One suggestion is that you make sure it's a certified stone (e.g., GIA). This will help you know exactly what you are getting--in terms of specifications of the stone--and that you aren't getting hosed.

You can do a bit of price comparison online at www.bluenile.com.

Good luck.

[Jamo]

Ahem...you're asking advice from a online car forum for purchasing a three carat diamond of presumably VS1/VS2 quality or better and at least G (possibly F) color?

[raclaims]

Yes...I have found that in other forums...that we all have similar interests, etc., besides cars...it's worked great for me so I figured I would try it here as well considering I recently bought a SPF...was I wrong?

[427sharpe]

I don't know if they are in your area....Goldberg Diamonds. Just replaced my wifes engagement ring with a custom made 10 yr band. Very nice people and very reasonable.

[Jamo]

raclaims...not wrong per se, but for what you're presumably looking for, I'm not sure everyone's favorite neighborhood jewelry store is the way to go, unless I overshot your expectations for quality and color.

Seems to me, you need someone in the bizness...hop on over to the City and find a broker. Pay a commission and get educated.

When you get that big, and are looking for near internal flawless and excellent color, you're not so much looking for a deal as you are making damn sure the stone matches the grade. Also, what cut are you interested in? Again, with a stone that size, certain cuts become unmanageable for mountings (obviously rings have different considerations than say a necklace), and in fact, can hurt the value of the stone. Square cuts are an expected commodity, for example.

If you don't want to go the broker route, then stay safe when looking for something that significant. If it was me, I would go to one of the big houses...Tiffany's, Winston, van Clef...even DeBeers or Mikimoto, etc. They are used to handling stones at that level at some volume. At least visit a big house and get educated.

[hey,littlecobra]

hehehe. get a big ol diamond with a few flaws you can't exactly see with the naked eye. ok.... maybe you can see them. bigger is definitely better!!!!
I wish I had a 3 carat.

you're gonna pay big $$$ for a near flawless, colorless diamond.
Is she really worth all that??? Couldn't you get an almost new Cobra for that???
a gt 500??

my 'first' diamond is really good..... yeah, all the way around.
after that??? I don't care! bigger is better bigger is better bigger is better....

(R. Eiseman Jewels @ NorthPark Mall in Dallas)

good luck!!!

[CobraEd]

Yea, get one with all kinds of inclusions like bottle caps and cigarette buts, but then you can go bigger like 10 carrats due to the poor quality.


.

[Joe Wicked]

Originally Posted by hey,littlecobra

you're gonna pay big $$$ for a near flawless, colorless diamond.
Is she really worth all that??? Couldn't you get an almost new Cobra for that???
a gt 500??

With comments like that, no wonder everyone around here is in love with you.

[hey,littlecobra]

well heck, thankya Joey!!!

just a few months ago (ok, over a year ago) I decided my wedding set needed to be replaced. I just took my beautiful great quality original diamond and had it re-set in a big, beautiful, platinum thingy. Just a couple of grand, with the new band and all.
and do you know what they did??? (this was not at Eiseman's, my real jeweler )
for $35 buckaroo's they put a CZ (!!!!!!!!!!!!) in my old ring. wow! can you believe it??? You absolutely cannot tell the difference between it and my good diamond. (when just casually looking at it)
I couldn't believe it and man was my hubby happy.... and yes... i did order my 500 just one month later.
You CAN have your cake and eat it too.

ok. sorry to hi-jack.
I would most certainly get educated before being suckered at a chain type store.
They generally have decent, run of the mill diamonds.
But if you want a really good 3 carat, get online and do some research, THEN visit some quality jewelers.
K
(i'll step out of here now)

ps. i would surmise that a good diamond is around $10k a carat, and 3 carat stones are much rarer, harder to find.
good luck!
I have a friend who has one (one carat per kid) and I could discreetly ask her or her hubby what it cost per carat.

[Joe Wicked]

I bought my wife a new ring 2 1/2 years ago for our 10th Anniversary. It is a 2 1/2 total carats, but there are several small stones around the larger Princess Cut. I think the big one is 1.5 or 1.75 Carats, but I can't be sure anymore. I got it at one of the chain stores and it is not the best as far as clarity, but with the way the setting is you can't see any flaws unless you hold the light just right on it. It was listed at around 5-6K, but they were having a sale and since I was a repeat customer, they gave me another discount off, and I got it for $2600. Our wedding set was stolen from her and we had a low cost replacement, but I wanted to surprise her with something. She first kicked my butt for spending the money, but she doesn't go anywhere without it.

[Stentor]

For a broad reference and example, according to bluenile.com, for a very nice 3 ct round diamond (very good cut dimensions, at least F in color, and at least VS1 in clarity) the price tag can range anywhere from $80k to $200k.

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond_sear...ss&filter_id=0

Of course, if the bar isn't this high for cut, color, and clarity, the cost can be much lower.

Yep, that's a nice Cobra alright!

[J. T. Toad]

If I may mention, did she want the three carat?

I could never presume to understand with whom you socialize, but for my wife, she really wouldn't wear a 3 carat around that much. Greater than 2 they can be considered a little gaudy by the unrefined.

I guess that speaks for the types I hand around. But then again... good ol' Garth owes me billions for singing my life story.

As always, K gives a great idea... buy the 3 in a CZ, test drive it for a while, and put the difference on a lease on a Ford GT. She can bang it around without worry of it popping out of the setting. Stones that big tend to get caught on the strangest things.

just throwing around ideas