I’m suspecting your not in the Scottsdale area but Jimmy Chase aka Jimmy the Jeweler does great work. I’ve met him through my retired friend/Old Sergeant who grew up with him. He does great work and has been doing it for thirty years. He has some well known clients.
His website is https://soulmetalworks.com/metalurgency/
Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.
A lot of diamond rings and other rings with precious stones get pawned. The pawn value is basically the value of the ring metal with the stone coming along for the ride. The pawn shops have a lot of stones pulled from rings so the metal can be sold as scrap. The pawn shops will sell the stones for pennies on the dollar.
So what I did is go the local pawn shop which is also my local LGS. I asked to look at all of the stones (and because the shop has been around for thirty years, there were a lot to check) and found a nice 2 carat marquise cut stone. I asked the owner for a price. Came back at $100 and we closed the deal. I then took the stone to a local jeweler and had it set in a platinum ring. That was a bit over $1,000. So I ended up with a custom ring for about one-tenth of the cost of a store ring.
I spent many months shopping way back when... I found that buying the diamond (even a certified diamond) loose and then buying the ring and having it set was about a 50% savings over buying an “engagement ring”. Do some brief reading on cut, carat, color, clarity and what they all mean. Have a generic idea of what type of diamond you think you are interested in and then go to a mall with 4-5 jewelry stores and talk to all of them about what you think you want and take a look at those diamonds. Get an idea about what makes something more or less expensive. Pick what type of diamond you want, go back to all of those places and honestly tell them exactly what you want and that you are going to go to all of the jewelry stores in the mall and compare prices and buy the best deal. They will jump to outbid the other shops...then you can show the cards with a price to the next guy and ask them what they can knock off.
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First, Congratulations.
Second: Practice this helpful phrase: "Yes, dear".
Kidding. There must be some jewellers here to help you out. I know that it is a fantastically marked up business, though. My personal story is when we wanted to pick out a ring (emphasis on we) we ended up using a previous family stone, and had it reset into an engagement band. It was re-worked by a local jeweller in Orlando FL who had a collection of nice older engagement bands in gold. The ring we bought ended up being a "twin" in which the wedding band slips over and interlocks with the engagement ring. I think it looks great. And my fiance (now wife) was very pleased.
So it might be an idea to locate an older, established jeweller in your area perhaps, and see if they have any nice estate jewellery. You could buy a stone separate or loose, and have it reset? Just thinking this could be an alternative to going to the Mall and paying a fortune at one of the glitzy jewellers.
Good luck!
I would place my emphasis on getting the right size, shape, ring type and color. I obviously don't know your girl and I certainly don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence, but she probably can't tell the difference between a $1k and a $10k one carat diamond under real world lighting.
After doing all the research, I found one at Costco that checked all the right boxes. She loved/loves it. Showed it off to everyone for months.
She's been probing for a bigger one since about year 4 . :sigh:
David S.
One factor you really want to look at it what type of ring she likes. Seems obvious but I worked jewelry at a big box store for a bit after college and I processed a lot of returns. Certainly not an expert but I know the basics.
There are tons of different options to the point that it can be pretty overwhelming. Starting with metals, does she prefer gold, white gold, etc? Does she prefer simple solitaire rings or big ones with 40 smaller stones that rival service academy rings? If she likes solitaire, what type of cut for the stone does she like? Time to do some recon of her current jewelry and maybe talk to some of her friends if you can. Also, ain't nothin wrong with solitaire. For sheer wow factor, nothing beats a giant rock sitting by itself on a simple band. It really all depends on what her taste is. If it's more simple or traditional, solitaire is the way to go. If it's more flashy, maybe not so much. I wouldn't necessarily rule out the box stores either. Some of them have decent stuff on the higher end of what they have, and you can sometimes string together quite a few discounts to get a great deal. I bought my wife's engagement ring from the place I worked and between my employee discount, the discount from opening a store card, and applying several coupons and promotions I paid less then half the original price.
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1. Educate yourself. Diamonds are graded for Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat (weight). Can your eye tell the difference between a D (colorless) and G? Can you see the inclusions in a VVS2 with a naked eye or is your gal going to use a loop to make sure it's FL? Does it sparkle (Cut)?Originally Posted by Dan_S
2. Assess.... Does your gal wear any other diamonds? If she loves her grandmothers D earrings and wears them often, eventually someone will compare the ring to the earrings. You never want to hear "Wow, that ring sure is yellow compared to granny's studs." (phrasing!) If she wears her mom's diamond band, it's a certainty that the two will get compared. Is it better to be on the "better than", "similar to" or "not quite" side of that comparison?
3. If you live in a big city, is there a diamond district? Go shopping and compare.
If no, you may find yourself needing to go to a place like Jared's to shop and compare. Take notes.
4. There are decent online places to buy diamonds... I have never done so, but, after getting educated and shopping locally for the visual decision making, I would shop Blue Nile if I was in the market. https://www.bluenile.com/
5. If you know a reputable appraiser in your area, ask them for a recommendation on where to buy locally.
6. The money you save buying in NY diamond district would likely cover the cost of getting there, or, enable you to get a nicer rock for the same price vs. Jared's. COVID is an issue there currently, however.
That's all I got. It's been 25+ years since I bought an engagement ring, but I doubt the rules have changed much.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
Definitely bring her best friend or mother along.
My mother in law loved being a part of the process, and helped a lot.
I went to someone recommended but it was a Mom and Pop shop. The diamond is what matters, new settings are relatively cheap. We got one that was "certified" but not by GIA, instead by EGL which is slightly smaller and European and whatever I didn't care. I did care that thing sparkled like a mofo and didn't have a yellow tint. My jeweler got in several diamonds (can return them and get new ones as needed) and we picked through until we found the right one. Picked out a separate ring/mount from the catalog and had them put together. A lot cheaper to change out just the ring/setting if you get a good diamond.
Also I did round cut diamond as I believe they told me it was the most sparkly and she loves that, and people notice/comment on that, which she also loves.
When I bought a ring, I liked two places:
1. Online. There are reputable online dealers that do volume. Blue Nile has already been mentioned. Shipping diamonds is nerve-wracking but they have a very good reputation.
2. Local jewelers in rich places. One of my previous hobbies was screwing with (and trying to help people deal with) fraudsters and scammers. I came across a couple of instances of jewelers doing things like substituting moissanite, "losing" grandma's ring and coming back with a cheaper one, etc. People with failing businesses are desperate and desperate people do things they wouldn't otherwise. Jewelers in wealthier places, who sell to a steady clientele of litigious people with long memories don't do these things.
I never figured out what to make of mall stores.
This is all great info from the brain trust.
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