Originally Posted by Sam - DFW

i have been doing A LOT of homework and am very happy with the price for a loose diamond that i found on bluenile.

as someone who worked in jewelry worldwide for a few years, i understand the business somewhat.

i took the GF to a jeweler that I knew very well. she found a gorgeous ring that she loved as is. i had the jeweler e-mail the cert, and then i started doing legwork. fwiw - the price i was quoted was far below half of his retail, and was IMO a very substantial discount.

first, the stone in the ring came with an EGL cert. IMO a even money swap GIA for EGL would be beneficial. that being said, i found a very similar GIA on bluenile for a few dollars less. 3.06 carat loose v 3.05 carat already set, so it was ever-so-slightly bigger, too. more importantly, the loose stone was nearly .5mm more in l and w and slightly thinner depth. so, it is going to look a little larger than the more expensive EGL.

i don't get to see the bluenile stone until it is purchased - no worries. once it arrives, i will take it to the jeweler and compare the two stones. if i feel that i am getting a better stone for less money from bluenile, he can offer monetary compensation to level the playing field. the ball is in his court, so i won't feel like i am screwing him if he declines to be competitive.

the fact that i get 79,000 miles doesn't hurt.