Good place to buy a diamond engagement ring?

It is hard to find a diamond dealer that is trustworthy. I even saw where one of the post mentioned the Diamond Doctor as trustworthy however there is actually a lawsuit on them- Look up Diamond Doctor lawsuit. The only way to find a trusted diamond for an engagement ring is to get a GIA certified center diamond. When it comes to a setting, 18k white gold with diamonds is the best. The small diamonds in the band don't need to be certified. I learned alot about diamonds when I visited http://diamondexchangedallas.com. I learned how to look through a loop and saw how diamonds were actually cut. Dont trust alot of the online retailers bc they can sell you clarity enhanced diamonds without you knowing. Just my thoughts....

My garage, call me bro I gotzz ur hook up.

If your girlfriends wants a diamond engagement ring, DUMP HER.

The poster who said the "pawn shop" has the right idea.

Most pawn shops will carry really good, certified diamonds for a fraction of the price at a jewelry store or anythiing you would find in the "jewelry district" in a large city. You buy the diamond, not the ring. You get the diamond re-set.

Don't laugh, but another idea is Craigslist. If you are in a large market, there are plenty of women (and men, I suppose) looking to get rid of diamond rings for whatever reason. Most feel a pawn shop is grimy and dirty and will severely low-ball them, so they go the CL route. If they say it's certified, ask them for the paperwork. Again, you can always have the diamond re-set. Also, you can usually negotiate price better on CL than you can at a pawn shop.

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

The poster who said the "pawn shop" has the right idea.

Most pawn shops will carry really good, certified diamonds for a fraction of the price at a jewelry store or anythiing you would find in the "jewelry district" in a large city. You buy the diamond, not the ring. You get the diamond re-set.

Don't laugh, but another idea is Craigslist. If you are in a large market, there are plenty of women (and men, I suppose) looking to get rid of diamond rings for whatever reason. Most feel a pawn shop is grimy and dirty and will severely low-ball them, so they go the CL route. If they say it's certified, ask them for the paperwork. Again, you can always have the diamond re-set. Also, you can usually negotiate price better on CL than you can at a pawn shop.

That isn't bad advice if someone really needs to save money. But honestly, you are doing this once (in theory) would it really kill you to drop the money on a diamond that isn't "used"? I am usually all for getting a good deal, but buying a ring seems like the one time you suck it up and take your lumps. The whole thing is silly and doesn't make sense, but its just one of those things you have to do.

Don't buy a diamond.

The diamond wedding ring industry is a creation by debeers to sell diamonds.

Diamonds are not scarce.

100 years ago almost no one gave diamond wedding rings. Debeers funded marketing to make us believe diamonds are required for getting married.

The whole diamons are forever...should cost two months of salary...ALL fabrications by marketing companies.

By buying diamonds you are supporting one of the WORST industries on the planet.

http://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-de-beers-2011-12

http://www.economist.com/node/2921462

I understand your point on this (this is my first post in the thread), but the issue with diamonds is that (A) they are all used and (B) a brand name means absolutely nothing. I wouldn't want to give my wife someone else's ring, per se, but a diamond is a rock. And no matter what you think, that rock is not "new" unless is has been manufactured in a lab (which means it is crap).

I am not cheap, believe me, and I spent a lot of money on my wife's diamond, but when I went ring shopping, it was absolutely terrible. I went to Tiffany's in Bethesda, MD (lived in DC at the time) and found a ring and setting that I really liked, but could not get the main diamond I wanted. They had really, really nice ones ($20k+) and then kind of okay ones that were priced way too high. So I went to a local jeweler in my parents' town and had a ring made. Then, I met with a guy who sold diamonds and found three with the Cs that I felt were best (one big stone and two on the sides) and had them set in the custom ring.

Then, once I proposed, I took my wife to Tiffany's for the wedding band and for our first anniversary, back to Tiffany's for the guarder (basically, the same ring as the wedding band but on the outside).

If could do it again, I would have gotten all three from the custom jeweler b/c the ring is beautiful and - after eleven years of marriage - seems to shine just a little brighter.

Diamonds are a commodity, despite how they are marketed, so it makes sense to buy the highest quality, not the brand. In fact, with diamonds, brands can sometimes hurt quality.

And as someone else said earlier, the Carats are the last thing that matters in the value of a diamond. Make sure you handle the other 3 Cs first, and then worry about carats.

But now that I have said all of this, I will say that diamonds are fvcking stupid and I wish women would demand something else in it's stead, like maybe a down payment on a mortgage or to a savings account...

FWIW, make sure the person you're asking actually wants a diamond. I asked my husband to get me anything but a diamond, because diamonds are a scam, and it's not really my style to wear jewelry that flashy.

lambic wrote:

FWIW, make sure the person you're asking actually wants a diamond. I asked my husband to get me anything but a diamond, because diamonds are a scam, and it's not really my style to wear jewelry that flashy.

Good for you, wish more women thought that way!

I must admit that I absolutely love your wife's ring too. Every time I come around, it's the first thing she shows me, showing me it in all it's shiny glory.

As she often says, it's so good that you could kiss it and I've spent many an hour doing that for my sins.

If she demands a diamond ring, walk away.

Online!

Pawnshop. Because only dopes and insecure exhibitionists buy, or desire, a 'diamond enagement ring.'

What are you, a 12 yeard old girl? Go see 'The Nutcracker,' it's fheaper, better and you'll still have decent memories after the divorce.

Here is what you need to do.

1) Go to a local shop and have them teach you about diamonds, they are usually willing to do this for free and will answer all of your questions. Don't buy from them though.

2) Get your ring and diamond online (I used bluenile) using the knowledge you gained in step one to pick out a good value diamond.

You can save yourself hundreds (or even thousands) by doing this, my fiance gets complimented all the time on her ring and people are surprised to find out that I got it online for less than the average person spends on their engagement ring.

xcskier66 wrote:

Don't buy a diamond.

The diamond wedding ring industry is a creation by debeers to sell diamonds.

Diamonds are not scarce.

100 years ago almost no one gave diamond wedding rings. Debeers funded marketing to make us believe diamonds are required for getting married.

The whole diamons are forever...should cost two months of salary...ALL fabrications by marketing companies.

By buying diamonds you are supporting one of the WORST industries on the planet.

http://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-de-beers-2011-12http://www.economist.com/node/2921462

X1000.

OP if you ask in innocence you've now been educated.

Also, eff the NYC diamond district; they're nearly all crooks top to bottom and while entering that world has it's voyeuristic interest, only suckers buy there. If you yiurself are a criminal and want to match wits... that's different but still foolish.

The most important thing about a diamond engagement ring is the box it comes in.

The name on the box has to be something she values.

It is the one time that over paying for something is worth it.

You'll make the money back over the rest of your life, easily. But if you go cheap, you'll never get another chance to make that one impression and you will always be looked at as cheap.

If you're going traditional route and considering NYC Diamond District, we've had good success with K & W, 580 Fifth Ave.; recommended from a relative. (for this and two other pieces).

Diamonds are an abundant resource whose price is controlled via monopoly power.

"You learn in Microeconomics 101 that when the supply goes down on an item with high demand, then the price goes up. Using this fundamental principle of economics, the De Beers Corporation artificially limited the supply of diamonds by massacring everyone in their path, literally slaughtering entire villages in Africa, to gain control of the world’s diamond mines. Once they gained control of these mines, they restricted the world’s supply of diamonds letting only a trickle of the vast stores of diamonds into the market.

It wasn’t always like it is today. Before the early 1900s, no one saw any value in diamonds. That’s when the De Beers Corporation began one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history. Fueled by the power of advertising that the new media and television allowed, the De Beers Corporation – as we like to call them, the De Beers Mafia – brainwashed almost everyone in society into believing these lies, especially in America, and subsequently Japan. Then, using the principles of marketing, they brainwashed society into believing that not only were diamonds a rare gem, but you must buy one for the person you love or else you don’t love them. An absurd notion, but it worked.

Further, if ever anyone wants to sell diamonds, they must go through the De Beers corporation. If they do not, then De Beers will send people to bribe you, torture you, or even murder your entire family. The De Beers Mafia literally is a mafia, just like the early mafias in American history such as Al Capone. However, since the world’s largest diamond mines are in Africa, the United States does not have the same ability to disband the mafia like they did with the Italian mafia and other crime families in America.

This is not some conspiracy theory. This fact is well-known and documented. Google it yourself if you don’t believe me. De Beers holds the monopoly on diamonds, and because of their massive wealth and power, now no one has the guts to stand up against them and fight against this fraud."

Aren't most new diamonds grown in a lab nowadays, not mined? That appeared to be the case when I was shopping.