Best place to buy engagement ring?

Question

Key issue is cost abd quality. Trying to get a balance of both. Who should I turn to online or retail store etc.

Looking at something about 1 karat and between D-G, and IF-VS2.

Princess, or Emerald.

Who should I tunr to?

Answer 1

Try Tiffany's

Answer 2

I would shop around - especially at well established independant jewelry stores. Costco, believe it or not, has a really good selection of stones for reasonable prices. I would never purchase a diamond from one of the mall stores as they have a tremendous mark-up and often have poor quality settings. Tiffany's is just lovely and wonderful but they have such a high mark up that I don't buy anything from them that I can get elsewhere.

My best diamond shopping advice is to go for a diamond that is just less than a carat because there's a premium placed on stones that are a carat. Also, look at the color and clarity but pay special attention to the beauty of the stone. You can have three stones of the exact same size and color and only one of them might be gorgeous.

You can ask a retail store to have more of a selection brought in and you can bargain the price down if you're paying with cash or a check. Princess and Emerald cuts are considered "fancy" cuts and because of this you will be paying more per carat than you would if you were looking at a round brilliant stone. You can also check with estate jewelry auctions in your area as you can often find excellent prices for diamonds but make sure that you do your homework before you take this route.

After you've picked a stone, make sure that you get an appraisal and for a stone that size, it should also be certified. The ring should be added to your homeowners/renters insurance policy in a seperate jewelry rider.

Answer 3

Currently, the best place to buy engagement ring is online. Not only will you get a better deal due to the lower cost of running an online store, you can also design your own diamond ring without being pressured by a commissions-based sales person.

Besides Blue Nile, if you want to take a look at some other stores, you can go to the following site to do some comparison shopping. The stores listed in there all offers you the option to customise your own diamond ring.

http://www.diamondave.net/diamond-stores/build-diamond-ring.aspx

Answer 4

Do not buy online if you care about this girl. Go to a reputable jeweler and dicuss what your looking for. There are different claritys of diamonds and just because its a karat in one type doesnt mean will cost the same as another one the same size. This is a big decision that you should put your heart into. Trust me...she will know.
Good Luck......
Congratulations !!!!

Answer 5

Try the Jewelry Exchange - They're in all major cities and online. They are a lot lower than Mall stores (Gosh, stay AWAY from mall jewelry stores! Their markup is around 200%!).

They have broad ranges of loose diamonds and settings and seem to run about 50% of what you would pay anwhere else.

Buying a Certified Diamond is key though!

Answer 6

Go to BlueNile.com!!! You can design your own ring with any shape of diamond and many settings, and ALL of their diamonds come with certification! You get to choose the diamond based on exact measurements and factual information, with no pressure from a salesperson hoping for commission.
All the ring styles have dozens of customer reviews, so you know that it is trustworthy. Many people get their ring appraised and find that it is worth much more than they paid at bluenile because they are online and don't have stores to pay for.
It's by FAR the best jewelry store if you are concerned about getting exactly what you want and knowing the quality and value of the diamond.
Good luck!!!
(now if only I had a way of hinting about this to MY boyfriend!!)

http://www.bluenile.com/engagement_segment.asp?track=row_mod1&elem=miniheroHdr

Answer 7

I don't know how you feel about this issue, but for my engagement ring I'm telling my boyfriend to get me a lab-created diamond. Its flawless, a whole lot cheaper than a mined diamond, and is chemically and physically exactly the same as a mined diamond. If you go this route, be careful though. A lot of things are being called "lab-created diamonds" that are not really diamonds (cubic zirconia, moissanite, etc). www.apollodiamond.com and any other company that uses Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is good. www.gemesis.com is good also, but they only make colored diamonds right now, and since they use High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT), some nickel gets deposited in them, making them less pure and easily detectable as lab-created. Right now, the only way to tell that a CVD diamond is lab-created is because they are too flawless to be mined diamonds. Unfortunately, Apollo does not have their site completely up yet, but it's supposed to be up by the end of the year.

Answer 8

walmart :) j/k
check out overstock.com, qvc.com, acntv.com or do a google search. i've purchased high quality jewelry from all these websites and have had good experiences dealing with them. a princess cut is much prettier than an emerald cut...i think anyway. good luck to you.

Answer 9

zales or friedmans. I love their jewlry and they always have really good sales. Zales have wholesale outlet stores with prices up to 70% off, but I don't know where you live. Congrats!!!

Answer 10

emerald is ugly, is that really what she wants? most young women want round (the most sparkly) or princess. don't go online, just go to a nice jeweler in your area. you need to know what kinds she might like too...don't just guess.