Tips & Tricks to Buying an Engagement Ring

I've been a long time lurker but am a first time poster, so please go easy.

I am currently shopping for an engagement ring and am wondering if some of you may have tips/suggestions as to how to maximize the value I can get. I've done the research regarding the 4C's and have gone to quite a few stores to look at diamonds but could definitely use all the help I can get.

For instance, is there a time of the year when diamonds are cheaper due to seasonal sales, etc... What are some of the strategies that can be used to get the best bang for the buck -- is it buying the diamond over the internet, negotiating with BM stores, etc...

Is the reason diamond pricing is all over the board is because retailers have different markups on the same diamonds or are Tiffany's diamonds in some way superior to the lower priced counterparts?

I've searched FW but the only threads I've been able to find so far have all been archived. Would anyone here like to offer some new ideas or strategies?

The threads I've found are:
Buying an engagement ring does not have to be painful, right?

Ebaying (?) engagement ring...advice, better alternatives?

Engagement Ring, Question... Kind of Money Related

this belongs in Deal Discussion

mrmakochan said: Have you checked out Pricescope and the forums there?
There are a lot of knowledgeable people there.Thanks, I have. Pricescope seems to focus very heavily on internet shopping and on the best specs but I'm trying to get some tips of maximizing the best deal, which may or may not be by going with an ideal cut from an Internet vendor.

PopTart777 said: this search should help

BTW, i'm a fan of man-made diamonds. read the WIRED (computer magazine) article if you're really interested. great info in that article. it's a couple of years old though.Thanks, I quoted the above threads in my post above. As for CZ, they are just not an option. I don't think that a diamond symbolizes my love and commitment any more than a CZ but the idea still makes me cringe. Besides, I'm quite certain that my girlfriend feels the same way about it.

bozo007 said: So after finding all those threads, you still felt your situation is unique enough to start a new thread?The situation is anything but unique, which is the reason that quite a few people might benefit from a current thread (i.e., one that hasn't been archived) that discusses the latest diamond tips & tricks. For instance, I keep hearing that diamond prices have gone up 20-30% over the past year or two and that gold and platinum have gone way up as well. Having said that though, would it make sense for a jeweler who has a gold setting in stock that he purchased before the prices skyrocketed? Are jewelers willing to negotiate on the price? What are the best techniques that can be employed?

Even more importantly, we may end up upgrading the diamond at a later date. My question then is what characteristics I should look for to make sure that the diamond either appreciates in the future or at least doesn't drop too much in value.

P.S.
Why all the negs and the hostility? I thought that I searched and then asked a legitimate question that many people can benefit from but instead am receiving rude replies.

Don't be discouraged SnakeEyes09. I've been lurking FW for 4 years now and the crowd is just getting tougher by the day. You just gotta ignore them and not let the "senior members" bully you around.

I've also been doing my research on an engagement ring. But that's about a year away... so no pressure yet!

SnakeEyes09 said: PopTart777 said: this search should help

BTW, i'm a fan of man-made diamonds. read the WIRED (computer magazine) article if you're really interested. great info in that article. it's a couple of years old though.Thanks, I quoted the above threads in my post above. As for CZ, they are just not an option. I don't think that a diamond symbolizes my love and commitment any more than a CZ but the idea still makes me cringe. Besides, I'm quite certain that my girlfriend feels the same way about it.

I never said anything about CZ. i said man-made DIAMONDS (AKA flawless diamonds). if you dont know, you should invest some time reading about them. they ARE BETTER than mined diamonds for 3 main reasons:

1) slaves (or mine workers) are not needed to mine flawless diamonds as they use a seed diamond & are lab grown.
2) mined diamonds are not flawless
3) you'll save $$$

PonziWatchDog said: Don't be discouraged SnakeEyes09. I've been lurking FW for 4 years now and the crowd is just getting tougher by the day. You just gotta ignore them and not let the "senior members" bully you around.

I've also been doing my research on an engagement ring. But that's about a year away... so no pressure yet!Thanks, Ponzi! I was about to assume that all the responses I'd receive on FW would be rude and unhelpful but your post and a few others here gave me lots of hope

CoffeeEater said: You've been brainwashed by DeBeers.Engagement rings and diamonds are a very personal choice, so I am somewhat puzzled as to the reasons that you find it necessary and acceptable to tell people how they should be expressing their sense of commitment for each other.

The majority of people in this country think of a diamond ring as an essential engagement symbol. Yes, DeBeers has done a masterful job of marketing this to people but if people, for whatever reasons, want to give diamonds to each other, who are we to tell them that they shouldn't do it (as long as they are being financially responsible). Please don't hijack this thread with OT comments about DeBeers, diamond monopoly, etc...

Yes, a diamond ring or any jewelry for that matter is a discretionary purchase as are nice clothes, nice cars (or even basic cars with various options), dining out, etc... It is perfectly fine for you to completely abstain from these purchases but I'd encourage you to think twice about making these comments to people who disagree and can afford them.

I do this all the time. I stay in a tax free state and friends living on the orther side of the stateline get their stuff shipped to me and pick it up later.

I am not sure if the law can do a lot. How is it different from driving across the state line to do tax free shopping (or asking a friend across the stateline to buy something from the mall for you) ? I can understand a moral/ethical issue can be made out of it, but I think it will be difficult to enfrce using the law.

bye


Dman081 said: I just learned that you can have a newly purchased ring (or any shippable purchase I suppose) shipped out of state to a someone who you know and trust and avoid sales tax. They then ship back to you. A friend of mine mentioned he just did this. I'm suprised I didn't know of this already.

How legal is this type of thing? I would image there is some sort of law that frowns upon this practice. But are we talking the type of law that says you're supposed to pay state sales tax at the end of the year on goods purchased on the internet from and out of state retailer? Or the type of law that sends you to jail for not paying income tax?

I can see how this would work if you were sending something to a state where no sales tax was charged. But, in this case my friend sent it to Michigan, which has a sales tax, as far as I know. Because it was sent out of state, no tax was paid, not because MI has no sales tax. Am I wrong?

shop around.
go to pricescope learn about diamonds.
then look at all the online stores to find what are the going rates for stones. Most online places have a smaller margin then mall stores.

I just got engaged last month.

bought the ring and stone from a very small local guy.
G/f loved the setting.
and I wanted an Ideal AGS stone.
I watched alot of websites, and for some reason the supply was running low on ideal stones.

But Whiteflash had one. for roughly 2500k

I told my jeweler what I wanted.

He overnited stones to his store twice. (the first set was not ideal)
The 2nd set had 3 ideal stones. I got a stone that was almost excatly like the one on whiteflash, for the same price. and got almost 300 bucks knocked off the setting.

(setting was white gold, 14k, with .4C of side stones, for about 900, 600 after the 300 bucks off)

But the setting was 'old' gold and he sold it to me at the old gold rate, as opposed to the new prices.

You always get 'ripped' off because of diamond monoplies,
but you can minimize the rip off.