I am in the market for a diamond engagement ring and I found one at Costco for $2700 that is really nice.  It is set in platinum tiffany band with a .75 carat diamond that rates I for color and VS1 for clarity.  I almost bought it on the spot.

Now I get home and see these rings on Ebay and they seem too good to be true.  Any ideas on this?  I just don't know how these guys on ebay can sell these diamonds so cheap.  I know Costco has good prices but these are just cheap cheap cheap.  A lot of the stuff on Ebay just looked shady but this outfit seems pretty credible with good feedback. Any input???


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2672990742&category=15183&rd=1


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2672992017&category=15182&rd=1


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2673031786&category=42948&rd=1


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2673032526&category=42948&rd=1

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2672990742&category=15183&rd=1[/url]

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2672992017&category=15182&rd=1[/url]

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2673031786&category=42948&rd=1[/url]

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2673032526&category=42948&rd=1[/url]


Have you tried "The Jewelers", I have been told that they have the best prices on diamonds in town.

Tom

My feeling take your future to [url=www.tiffanys.com]Tiffany's[/url]. Part of the experience of buying a diamond ring is like buying gun, is just in the looking. Try to go to a real store and not just shopping on the internet, there's nothing like holding the item in your hand.

I know there's folks on here that know a lot more about diamonds than I.

But for one thing, a platinum setting costs $$$. Platinum is expensive to begin with and expensive to size.

Also, "name" brands add beaucoup $$$ to the final cost - if it says Tiffany's you're paying a premium for that box.

Another thing is the quality of the stone itself. There are a LOT of variables in diamonds, and depending on it's use (earrings, ring, bracelet) you can get away with lower quality stones, or a low quality stone that's been cut right - a flawed diamond that's cut well will do a lot to hide it's flaws.

Look here for some insight :

http://www.bluenile.com/

Lastly, there's no shortage of diamonds in the world, just a well managed market that keeps the price up.

EDIT to add - if you can get your hands on a 10-15x loupe, take a look at the stones themselves, you'll see flaws that affect brilliance and flash.

Hatebreed on www.full-auto.com is a small time precious stones dealer, and Gemologist here is.....a gemologist.

I'm a gemstone wholesaler, and sell to many jewelers. One of my best lead generators for jewelers has been eBay, so yes, eBay has some of the best deals around. Good enough for retail jewelers to shop there anyway. Many of the "too good to be true" deals are simply so because the dealer is buying close to the source and paying not even a tenth the overhead of a retail jeweler, so they can afford to sell a bit cheaper. Also keep in mind, that with eBay, you never know the final selling price until the last minute of the auction, and prices may go up slightly then and seem less "too good to be true".
I highly advise against going to a brick and mortar jeweler. You're looking at no less than 500% markup on your items with no real added value. Also, the guy above talking about reports has no clue whatsoever. You cannot just print one at home. The names to look for on reports are either GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or EGL (European Gemological Labs). They will give a very impartial assesment of the stone but the price appraisal will be about 5 times or more above what the stone is really worth. Be sure to look at the feedback of the seller as well. Many of these Diamond guys have well over 10k satisfied customers, which says alot. Also keep in mind that you will save money with slight compromises. Anything down to I or J color will be white enough that you and your girl will never see the difference. Clarity is relatively important, but only if you're a bigtime collector or investor. YMMV and many will say otherwise, but most of these others are either in the trade or trying to get your money. Try not to buy any included (I grade) stones but anything down to the VS's or even the SI's will be good enough that what little inclusion there may be will be almost inseperable to the untrained eye from sparkle, so long as the inclusions are clear and not carbon (black). The main factor is going to be carat weight, the price difference for every 1/4 carat over a carat will be somewhat substantial. I believe 1 carat is around a 6mm stone, so it will be large enough to be considered "big" by any measure. If you can compromise at all on cut you'll also do well, though I advise either round or princess cut, as stones that are cut differently are usually sub standard or they would not have been cut that way in the sizes you're looking at. Keeping a variety of acceptable variations will help you get the best deal available, the more rigid you are the more a dealer has you over a barrel. Those are just some general guidelines that I'd advise.


All of the above said, I have some larger radiated blue and green diamonds from 3/4 carat to about 1.4 carat in white gold rings. All round cut with clarities varying from the SI's to the I's. I'm letting these go at a meager $350 per carat right now, which is well below wholesale. You could get into one of my colored diamonds for between $245 and and $490 if having a colored diamond is a compromise you're willing to make, and your girl may well like it just as well or better. The above offer is good for the rest of you too, if anyone needs Christmas presents. I hope the above advice is of some help. I'll also look at the above linked auctions and give you my personal opinion in a moment. If you have further questions you can also feel free to email me:

[email protected]

The first ring is a bit small for a center stone, the large sounding weight is due to the side stones, which are quite small as well. For the same price you could quite likely find a nice solitaire which is going to go over a whole lot better.
 Second ring is looking better, and is certainly a value compared to what you'll find in some retail stores, but I think you can do better for price if you look harder.
 The third ring is also much better, and you're saving some money for a slight clarity compromise, one that you probably won't even notice. I still think you could do a bit better, and I also notice a trend here, all these links seem to be from the same dealer. There's 5k plus listings on ebay every week for diamonds, you really should shop other dealers and do some comparison shopping. Try looking at $1 no reserve auctions. Many of those will end at better prices, although you may have to sit through some that end higher than they should. If you're patient you can often get a really good deal. I know I've basically given away some stones on ebay due to a lack of last minute bidding. This week should be a great week to buy, especially if you can find a dealer dumb enough to have auctions ending on thanksgiving. If you have time Thursday shop then, you may get a ridiculous deal. Auction four is also much better, if you find the size gain to be worth the clarity loss. Again, I reccomend shopping some different dealers.

What I *think he meant is take the below photo, combined with some fancy parchment paper from OfficeMax and voila! We have an EGL cert!

[img]http://images.andale.com/f2/108/116/6463692/1058656530273_1.22_I1_Fa.JPG[/img]

That Ebay site looks shady. Notice their "Appraisal" holds NO water, its not GIA or EGL certified. Which means that they hire some schmo to "Appraise" at a higher than average price called a moon price to lure you into buying. Appraisals are worthless, what IS worth something is a [B]C[/B]ertification done by GIA or EGL.


rule One: know your 6C's in this order:
cut
clarity
cost
carat
color
certification


you might want to consider syn-diamonds(not-CZ):

Russian stones(man made diamonds) are infiltrating the market, older versions suck but the new versions are incredible these stones ARE 100% diamonds but one tenth the price. The only difference is that the russian stones are [/B]flawless[/B] and have [B]perfect[/B] color some are poorly cut. If you pay $4000 bux on a diamond you had better make shure that you know what you are getting you dont want a fugazi, not that russian stones are fugazis, its just know what you are buying.

Trust me russian stones are the most beautiful diamonds you will ever see, not like a milky white CZ, russian stones capture the light in the most perfect way even better than a natural diamond.

heres some of my diamond links:

[url]http://www.pricescope.com[/url] good forum
[url]http://www.russianstonecompany.com[/url]
[url]http://www.gemlab.net/[/url] Fugazi detection

oh yea, buy a $15 loupe so you can evaluate the rock, also I looks very intimidating to the seller- even if you dont know what you are looking at just pull that out, do a cursory inspection- then stand by for some discounts!


Edited to add: Hatebreed gave you some good advice as well

I'll make a few suggestions, I am a gem hobbiest but I don't get involved with diamonds. I cut colored stones.

First, you may not have time but if you do, check with a local gem & mineral club. You can likely meet someone who is honest that will sell/order you a quality diamond at a substancial savings. At the very least educate you and give you some hands on training about diamonds. Remember, jewelers have significant markup, they have to in order to cover their overhead.

Second, check the newspaper classifieds. Many times I see folks selling engagment rings at %50-%25 of their retail value. Forget the mounting, just look for a stone.

Third, find a goldsmith that will make you a custom ring. It will mean alot to your new wife if you design it yourself or have a hand in it.

Fourth, seriously consider white gold. Very few people can work with platinum. In most cases, if you need a prong replaced or the shank repaired or resized on a platinum ring, the jeweler will use white gold to repair it & not platinum. If you want it fixed right, it usually will have to be shipped off.

Fifth, consider color as the primary concern. E, F, G, color will be more noticeable than the difference between a VVS1 & a VVS2. Most flaws & inclusions can be hid under a prong. Pay attention to the cut quality as well & girdle thickness. Stones are sold by weight as you know, cutting the girdle thicker is one way they retain weight to keep the price up. A thick girdle can affect the brilliance and make the stone harder to mount.

Sixth, take you time shopping & don't succomb to the sales pressure. Especially if you go to a retail store. If you're trying to do this for a xmas gift, fine, but don't make that your deadline. If you can't find what you want at the price you want, have a backup gift idea. Believe me, getting an engagement ring on a wednesday of an ordinary week will mean just as much as getting it on xmas exspecially if you take the time to plan the moment.

Keep us all posted as to your progress.

Okay,  this is great advice.  Right now my fiance kind of has a "temporary" ring but now I want to get her a really nice one.  Since I have cash I was hoping to find someone that could cut me a good deal.  The thing that is comforting about a brick and mortar store is you know your not getting a fugazi.  It would really suck if I got one out of the paper to find out it was fake.

I am going to check the local paper right now just see whats out there.

I will look at some other ebay listings as well.  

By the way,  what do you guys think about Costco????

Fill up your Pinto and head down to L.A.

There's a wholesale jewelry place(I forget the name, but will post in a bit)The place is pretty well known around the state for the best deals on jewelry.Just don't get scared when you see 50 short guys running around with Yarmulkes and guns on [}:D]

I bought my wifes 1qt. solitaire there for 1,000.

Most guys are stuck when shopping for an engagement or wedding ring in that the fiancé wants to go along and shop for what she likes and wants to wear.  My advice is go to a reputable jewelry store.    If you’re one of the lucky ones and she wants to be surprised, there are good deals out there but be very careful.  If you find a stone in a pawnshop, make sure it’s okay to have it appraised.  My .02.  

I'm very interested, please post the name.

I ordered my wife's diamond for her engagement ring directly from the cutter in Tel Aviv. I was able to view all of the GIA certificates for the diamonds they had and pick one online. They then had a third party verify that the rock I purchased matched the certificate. It was then Fed Exed to my jeweler to be set. I again had it verified that the rock matched the certificate. The whole experience went well and I saved a bunch.

I would never buy a diamond, sight unseen.  Go to a wholesaler, buy the diamond first and then pick out the ring to mount it on.  While it will cost more, you have a more valuable diamond if you get one with certs.

Just go to a bookstore and read up on how to pick a good diamond.  Remember the 4 C's:

Color
Clarity
Carat
Cut

Color will give you the most bang for the buck as it is the trait that is most readily visible to the eyes.  If you can afford it, try to find the whitest diamond you can afford, followed by good clarity.  For the average shopper, I think it's better too sacrifice some clarity for a better color rating.

If you're going for a traditional brillant cut (round) try to find certs that come closest to an "ideal" cut in your price range.  Go read up in the book for the specs on an "ideal" cut.  Whatever you decide, good luck.

Can anyone tell me about fluorescence...I think that I have most of the other part about the diamond down.  I too am in the market...

Their appraisal holds no water, but at least one of their certs (the last link) also came with an EGL certificate. I'm guessing more than one of them did, but the last is the only one I remember for sure.

Don't be intimidated by ebay! Just check the sellers feedback. If someone has 2000+ positive feedbacks, do you really think none of those buyers checked the stone against it's cert or research what they receive? Ebay is perfectly safe if you're smart about it. There's some good advice in this thread, especially the guy who said to check the girdle thickness. Girdle has more effect on the stone than most people ever imagine!

Also, if you're considering buying a diamond out of the newspaper, bt are scared of fakes, I suggest you invenst in a Diamonds tester. Make sure you get one that will not be fooled by Moissanite. I'm guessing the quickest place you'll find a diamond tester is, again, ebay. Also, if you can, do what I said and shop ebay on Thanksgiving around dinner time for auctions ending at that time. I guarantee you'll find some very regrettful sellers as well as a good deal in all likelyhood.

Thanks for all the help guys.

I just bought a .73 carat princess cut diamond with vs1 or better clarity and I or better color.  It is set in a white gold band.  I say "or better" because that's how Costco sells the diamonds,  they guarantee the diamonds to be AT LEAST vs1 an I color.

It looks great and it only set me back $2200 so I can't argue with that.

Thanks for all the help,  the little lady is just PUMPED TO THE MAX.  SHE LOVES IT!!!!!

Don't mean to hijack this thread but where can I get a good bargain on a Princess Cut diamond. 10 anniversery next year and the wife wants one. I know they are quite expensive and i have budgeted 10K, is this enough ??

$10 g's huh?? Is this enough???

Hell yah,  I just got a princess cut diamond ring at Costco for $2200 and my fiance and I both love it.

I'm guessing for 10k you could get something very big and clear.

Here's what I turned up on a cursory search of one of my favored retail sources in Israel. This should answer your question. If you'd like to know where this is, drop me an email. All gems are certified by either GIA or EGL.  


Shape: Princess
Weight: 3.02ct.
Color: K
Clarity: VS2
Appraisal:  $30,500.00  
Price:  $9,445.00  



Shape: Princess
Weight: 2.50ct.
Color: J
Clarity: I1
Appraisal:  $13,500.00  
Price:  $4,494.00


Shape: Princess
Weight: 2.02ct.
Color: E
Clarity: I1
Appraisal:  $17,800.00  
Price:  $5,978.00


Shape: Princess
Weight: 2.00ct.
Color: K
Clarity: SI2
Appraisal:  $14,500.00  
Price:  $4,344.00


Shape: Princess
Weight: 1.52ct.
Color: J
Clarity: VS2
Appraisal:  $13,750.00  
Price:  $4,740.00  

Plan on coming back to this one[):)]

When my wife and I were looking for a ring we went there also, BUT you've got to watch for crooks, one guy tried to pass on a chipped stone to us. You can clearly see the chip clearly with a 10X loupe.

marked for later