To add my 2 cents, bear this in mind when buying diamonds:

1: the concept of rarity is a only a marketing trick. Diamonds are not rare, neither in terms of mining capacity or diamonds already mined. DeBeers quakes in its boots every time there is a new diamond find and they attempt to buy up the new source to keep control over the market. Also Debeers added the "diamonds are forever" marketing trick to get people to think that because a diamond is a personal token of love, no matter what it should never be sold. This was actually done primarily to avoid the market being flooded with preowned diamonds, sold for cash or so that instead of trading up, people would just buy more. If it happened, with all the diamonds sold over the last 100 years, debeers would be out of business in a minute.

2: The idea that diamonds are a good investment or retain value is also, for the most part false. See #1, above regarding the falsity of rarity. Just try to sell a diamond for what you paid for it. With few exception, you wont even get that, despite a million appraisals to the contrary. Another factor in this is the huge mark up from wholesale to retail. Of course there are many discount outlets, including the internet, but by the time you got to my post, you read many others warning against it because you might get something that was not up to snuff.

3: Don't forget about blood diamonds. Abysmal mining conditions, slave labor, mines controlled by warlords, and the fact that diamonds are used both to fund terrorist organizations and by terrorists as currency.

4: I personally have no objection to buying a diamond or spending a lot of money on one, despite this being said, because it is embedded in our culture as a token of love, and I accept it from that perspective. With that being said, buy only canadian diamonds. At least you wont be supporting debeers or terrorists.


Do the research, you will see that the above is true.

TypeEE said:dealhunter999 said:GooberedUp said:10 years ago I bought my wife (my finacee then) an almost 2 carat, E color, VVS2 diamond.

I'd do it again.

3 years back,I bought Tiffany ring VVS1 for my wife and I would do it all over again. I don't know much of diamonds but It looks beautiful on her finger and that is priceless!
It's one thing to get a cheap electronics and another to buy a quality stuff.Quality does matter.

I know one day she will pass it on to my daughter and I think it is simply beautiful!

Just a different perspective from a fellow FWer

With a Tiffany label, the cost will be at least double on what it is worth.

True, but if you get some type of multi diamond setup, the Tiffany's diamond matching is superb. We almost pulled the trigger on a Tiffany ring, but ended up going with an acquaintance who is a Belgian Diamond distributor. Great price and great selection and quality. After that, it was impossible to justify the Tiffany ring. That being said, Tiffany diamonds and settings are superb and you can never go wrong with that selection.

I will sell you chunks of coal for $3.99 and it will look nicer then the crap you are getting here. If you buy this expect to hear NO! get a good slap and a tink as she throws the sucker in the toilet and flushes it down to where it belongs.

Lots of good food for thought in this thread. Opened my eyes to things I did not know. So now I will add my own. Consider this: 50% of first time marriages end in divorce. For second marriages it is closer to 70%. When I got married I would have been willing to spend far more than I did. I couldn't because I was working oversea's and wasn't willing to risk my lack of knowledge buying on the local market. So I bought what was available from AAFES for $700 figuring I would buy something better when I got back to the states. Well I never got around to buying that bigger stone thank god and eight years later we were divorced. Money well saved.