|
Thanks!
I really appreciate all of the help. I'm definitely looking to buy the right thing rather than focus on getting miles for it - I was hoping that I could have my cake and eat it too. :) I'm hesitant to make such a big/important purchase online and was leaning toward buying the ring/stone from CostCo (really good quality and great prices - lets me get her more for less) in Delaware (no sales tax). Since CostCo only takes AmEx, I'll probably put it on an AmEx that gets points and do a balance transfer to a 0% card. I really have to spend some time looking into the stuff that you all have posted since there's a lot to consider. I don't think I thought this much about the purchase when I bought my car! :p
Many thanks for the tips and the well-wishes! :D :D :D peace, ~Ben~ |
Don't worry about a few bonus miles and such. Getting an honest merchant with quality stones is much more important than a few thousand bonus miles. Some women know all about inclusions and color.
You might look at http://www.mervisdiamonds.com/ and get a good stone. A friend of mine used them and got a much better deal than he could find at a normal retail outlet. At the time, he lived in another state and had it shipped without sales tax. Not sure if that still works. If you still live WAS, you can go to their store either in Rockville, Tyson's Corner, or on L Street in town. You may need to call for an appointment. They will not try to sell you more than you want to buy and they will explain and show stones and settings in your price range. Washington Post 2004 Best place to buy a diamond. Their prices are also good. I do not believe that you will find better prices anywhere. Take the money you save, use it to buy tickets, and get status miles instead. Do you really want to buy your wife's ring at the same place you buy big lots of toilet paper? What sounds better when she's talking to her friends "He got my ring from Costco" or "He got my ring from Mervis Diamond Importers"? Finally, they do take credit cards and they do have financing. 90 days same as cash, and others options. Check them out, even if you don't buy from them, you won't regret the experience--educational and top notch service. You will not regret it. |
Originally Posted by BenK
Don't worry about a few bonus miles and such. Getting an honest merchant with quality stones is much more important than a few thousand bonus miles. Some women know all about inclusions and color.
You might look at http://www.mervisdiamonds.com/ and get a good stone. A friend of mine used them and got a much better deal than he could find at a normal retail outlet. At the time, he lived in another state and had it shipped without sales tax. Not sure if that still works. If you still live WAS, you can go to their store either in Rockville, Tyson's Corner, or on L Street in town. You may need to call for an appointment. They will not try to sell you more than you want to buy and they will explain and show stones and settings in your price range. Washington Post 2004 Best place to buy a diamond. Their prices are also good. I do not believe that you will find better prices anywhere. Take the money you save, use it to buy tickets, and get status miles instead. Do you really want to buy your wife's ring at the same place you buy big lots of toilet paper? What sounds better when she's talking to her friends "He got my ring from Costco" or "He got my ring from Mervis Diamond Importers"? Finally, they do take credit cards and they do have financing. 90 days same as cash, and others options. Check them out, even if you don't buy from them, you won't regret the experience--educational and top notch service. You will not regret it. Like I said to others on here before, I AM primarily concerned with getting her the best ring -- I don't think I said anywhere I was willing to compromise that in favor of miles -- I just was wondering if those two things weren't mutually exclusive. My soon-to-be fiancee doesn't care where the the diamond was purchased (so long as it isn't a conflict diamond or something obviously) and would rather have the most bang for the buck in terms of quality and size. CostCo has very good quality stones and settings and good quality control and guarantees. We've looked at some rings there together and were very impressed with what they had for the price. She said would rather have her ring from there rather than Tiffany's if it meant that the difference was .5 carat or more for the same price. Thanks for all of the input, FT! Keep it coming! peace, ~Ben~ |
Already a lot of good advice given and Costco does have good stones. I don't think anyone mentioned above but there is a book called How to Buy a Diamond by Fred Cuellar. It helps to explain everything and it helped me get a very nice diamond at a very reasonable price.
Good Luck! Keba |
About a year and half ago, I too bought an engagement diamond ring, and considering how much I was going to spend, I must of spent 40 to 50 hours learning about diamonds and shopping for one.
The interactive diamond search at BlueNile.com is excellent, it really shows you what a difference in minor changes can make. (For example, pick a 1 carat diamond size, then just change one of the variables by sliding the bars.... You will be amazed at the price differences.). see: http://www.bluenile.com/diamond_sear...c2m1&mod=basic So, I used this to narrow down what 4 C's I was looking for (Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat). To me, I picked the following: 1) Color - I went with G - near colorless. To the naked eye, it looked almost perfect. By no means did I want a slightly yellow looking diamond. (Putting my wife's diamond next to other women's typical diamonds and you can really see how clear it is... Most of them had H or I) Now, with all the data above, I then went shopping for price as I knew exactly what I wanted. 2) Cut - This is very important, as the more perfect cut it is, the more brilliance and fire (read: sparkle) that the stone gives. I looked only for Very Good or Ideal cuts - I wanted this baby to sparkle! (and it does!) 3) Clarity - I went with anything that looked flawless to the naked eye. (Who is going to take out a microscope???). So, I went with SI2 or better. You just have to be careful as some SI grade diamonds have visible flaws. The diamond I actually got was a SI1 and 3 gemologists (from different companies) all verified that it had no visible inclusions. (The price differential to jump up to a VS grade was really high.) This is the area that I compromised the most in and didn't go near the top in the scale. As long as it looked flawless to the naked eye, then that was good enough (whereas the other C's, most of them are visible to the naked eye) 4) Carat - The most obvious one - SIZE! After I narrowed all the above down to what was minimally acceptable to me, I then went for the largest diamond that I could afford. 5) Certification - I ONLY went with GIA certs. This is the most widely recognized one, and the most stringent certification process. If you are going to spend this much money, make sure that it is GIA cert, and not one of the others. If you decide to go Blue Nile, you also have an option to get cashback (if you shop at BlueNile by clicking through ebates.com). They give you 3% cashback. Other places to look is Diamond.com (ebates.com gives 5% back through Diamond.com) One thing that I found out is that many many diamond places all buy from the same wholesalers, and there are only a few of them. For instance - I found a diamond that I really liked on Diamond.com, and then searching on the net, I found the EXACT same diamond on 3 other websites (I know this because the GIA cert #'s were the same). The prices were all different. I then had lengthy discussions and found out a lot more on how the system works. Basically, when you order one, they call up the wholesaler to make sure it is available, and then they reserve it for you. It then gets sent to the store, who either mounts it in a setting for you or they send it to you loose (your choice). I ended up buying over the internet and I saved a lot on sales tax. I made sure that the vendor I bought it from had a 7 day money back gaurantee. Once I received it, I immediately took it to a jeweler and had it appraised. He couldn't believe how much I paid for it - he asked me if I was a dealer as the price I paid was close to what a jeweler would pay. Buy doing it this way (and not going to a local jeweler), I really knew that I was getting a good deal and not at all getting ripped off. If you use the BlueNile diamond selector, you can see slight changes in Clarity (for instance) drastically changes the price (and it isn't noticeable to the naked eye). So, if you the average Joe walks into a local jewelery place, you can be sure tha no matter what price and size you specify, they can find a diamond for you. The question is, is it really a good deal? I tried it with 4 local jewelery places and they wanted from 30% to 60% more than what I paid for ours by buying it online. Good luck to you! (And a huge congrats!) p.s - The other 'Finish' factors are also important, things like the Polish, Symmetry, Fluorescence, Girdle, Culet, etc - you should read the FAQ's on some of the websites I mention above and it explains these in more detail. Most people only consider the 4c's, but these things can be important, as well as affecting the price. pps - Do checkout Costco - I've heard that they are descent prices as well. If you find a stone you like, make sure you click on the 'certificate' link, which as the full details as well as the GIA cert #:. Here is the online link: http://www.costco.com/Common/Categor...h=108*&Browse= ppps - The 'Appraisal' value should be almost double what you paid. I didn't buy my diamond at Costco, but they do illustrate this quite well. For example, this 1.1carat, VS2 cut, G color diamond WITH a Platinum band, is selling for $7600. see: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...rPath=108*109* It is appraised at $15,600, see: http://www.costco.com/Images/Content...PDF/845247.pdf pppps - Since I got 3 emails on this already.... The search engine that I used was http://www.pricescope.com/ to compare diamond prices....It isn't as friendly as BlueNile or Diamond.com, but once you know what you are looking for, it is really in-depth. |
Been there done that
I'm really just parroting what was said above... but felt I should offer my "me too" to the thread.
I researched engagement rings for several months (both online and off). I was able to do some extensive comparison pricing from what I saw on the online sites. This allowed me to build a Microsoft Excel pivot-table to determine where maximum bang-for-the-buck calculations. Example, all things being equal, if I adjusted the color from F to G for a certain size and cut of diamond the price differed by $X, but if I changed clarity from VVS1 to VVS2 the price differed by $Y. I spent a lot of time in jewelry shops trying to visually see what that difference made in the end result. And, in the end I purchased the perfect ring online with bluenile.com. I felt they were reputable, priced well, and offered everything I needed. I proposed on Wednesday (11/24) and the rest is history. :D But... Thanksgiving afternoon I stumbled across the AAdvantage shopping/Blue Nile deal and fell out of my chair in finding out that I had passed up on more than enough miles for a Hawaii round trip. :( After several attempts to convince the better half to allow me to send it in for "resizing", I've resigned to my fate that I'll have to earn the miles via other avenues. But seriously, the punchline of all this rambling is that you should find the place that has the ring that will make her weak in the knees and go with it. Once you've found the diamond/ring/store that suits your needs spend a little time making sure you aren't missing out on an existing miles promotion. (I obviously missed this step) But, FWIW, I wouldn't trade that exact ring and moment for lifetime AA EXP. Good luck! |
There are several online shopping portals that you could use. Depending on your mileage preference etc you have a number of choices. See www.andrewcram.com/frequentflyer.html for a consolidated list of most of the major mileage program shopping partnerships.
|
Originally Posted by BenK
Do you really want to buy your wife's ring at the same place you buy big lots of toilet paper? What sounds better when she's talking to her friends "He got my ring from Costco" or "He got my ring from Mervis Diamond Importers"?
seoulmanjr, glad your fiancee isn't worried too much about where it comes from. I mean, how many people tell others WHERE the ring was purchased from?
Originally Posted by Internyet
I was able to do some extensive comparison pricing from what I saw on the online sites. This allowed me to build a Microsoft Excel pivot-table to determine where maximum bang-for-the-buck calculations.
|
I really don't think you have to worry about buying a diamond at Costco or other not so sexy named places.
A GIA cert is a GIA cert.... As long as it is a legitimate store (and the cert. that you are getting is really the one that belongs with that diamond), you can be assured that the quality is gauranteed, no matter where you buy it. The GIA cert. is the equalizing factor here. Just make sure that what is on the GIA cert is what you really want (nothing is better than going to a local store and seeing the differences for yourself - then go and shop online). For more info about GIA and how it works, just go to http://www.gia.edu/ I never told my wife where I got the diamond.... I just gave it to her with the GIA cert (which does NOT mention the name of the retailer). I explained to her all the research I did and all the info about how diamond grading works (at this point, I knew much more than she did due to all the data I had gathered). p.s. - I didn't buy ours at Costco, bluenile.com., diamond.com, or any of the other ones mentioned above. I DID use them for research though and found them all to be really good and competitively priced and I wouldn't hesistate to buy one at any of those places. Remember, most of the diamonds in the USA come from one place, DeBeers. Here is an except of an article: "Diamonds were not always so popular with the American public, and they were not always so pricey. A diamond placed in a mounting on a ring has a markup of about 100 percent to 200 percent. The only reason why we pay so much more for diamonds today than for other precious gems is because the diamond market is controlled almost entirely by a single diamond cartel, called De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., which is based in South Africa. De Beers stockpiles diamonds mined from countries around the world and releases a limited number of diamonds for sale each year. De Beers produces half of the world's diamond's supply and controls about two-thirds of the entire world market, according to a Washington Post report. At times, just to keep prices up, De Beers has bought tremendous numbers of diamonds from countries attempting to inject large quantities into the market. If De Beers were a U.S.-based company, it would be in violation of antitrust laws for fixing the prices of diamonds. The secret to De Beers' success is a marketing campaign that convinces women that they should receive a diamond ring from their fiancee and convinces young men to pay "two-months salary" for that ring to show how much their love is worth." see: http://science.howstuffworks.com/diamond6.htm |
Originally Posted by steve100
The secret to De Beers' success is a marketing campaign that convinces women that they should receive a diamond ring from their fiancee and convinces young men to pay "two-months salary" for that ring to show how much their love is worth."
see: http://science.howstuffworks.com/diamond6.htm[/INDENT] Diamonds are a horrible investment. If you must get a stone, consider a colored stone: A red beyl (red emerald) is found only in one mine in Utah (USA) is 50,000 rarer than a diamond and much rarer than red rubies or green emeralds yet costs about the same as a good quality natural diamond. Since synthetic emeralds and rubies are already less than 5% of the cost of natural ones, I'd be real worried about being ripped off. Certain synthetic gemstones go under fanciful names that sound like natural gemstones (eg Swiss Topaz) and consumers often do not realize they are buying a synthetic stone. The only safe jewelry investment is gold and platinum jewelry. I am told that the old testament injunction to use only a token of "unquestioned value" to give the bride, is interpreted by orthodox jews as requiring a ring made only of gold, since that is the only precious substance of "unquestioned value". |
Originally Posted by ananthar
Let me second steve's note of caution : thanks to DeBeers diamond prices are about 10x higher than they would be under a free market. Diamonds are one of the most common gemstones, yet are priced the highest. And finally sythetic diamonds from Russia are hitting the market at $2500/carat and less for a near perfect diamond, any color (including the ruby red color that used to cost over $500,000/carat for naturally ocurring diamonds). This price is likely to fall to below $100/carat in the next 10-20 years. While natural diamonds can be distinguished from artificial ones (artificial ones are too perfect and any blemishes occur in a regular 3-D pattern), the price of all diamonds will go down. Moreover natural diomands (unlike other natural gemstones) are extremenly plentiful deep in the earth's crust and eventually when mining is able go deep enough they will be more plentiful than gold.
Diamonds are a horrible investment. If you must get a stone, consider a colored stone: A red beyl (red emerald) is found only in one mine in Utah (USA) is 50,000 rarer than a diamond and much rarer than red rubies or green emeralds yet costs about the same as a good quality natural diamond. Since synthetic emeralds and rubies are already less than 5% of the cost of natural ones, I'd be real worried about being ripped off. Certain synthetic gemstones go under fanciful names that sound like natural gemstones (eg Swiss Topaz) and consumers often do not realize they are buying a synthetic stone. The only safe jewelry investment is gold and platinum jewelry. I am told that the old testament injunction to use only a token of "unquestioned value" to give the bride, is interpreted by orthodox jews as requiring a ring made only of gold, since that is the only precious substance of "unquestioned value". I have been looking at Canadian diamonds (much more $$) as well as the synthetic ones (still about the same price as the natural ones at the moment where I've looked). I know that it isn't a sound "investment" but that isn't what it's about - even if it were to accrue in value dramatically, I'd hope she wouldn't decide to sell it! :eek: :p I'm a fan of the plain platinum ring idea myself, but like steve wrote in the article above, a lot of it is about how expectations and perceptions have been built up in the US. She isnt' a shallow woman, but I wouldn't want her to feel bad/insecure not having a nice stone in her ring when her friends do if that's what makes her happy - even in the short run. No matter how silly I think it is to spend this much money on a lil' rock, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Sure, I would rather spend it on other things like weekly trips to enjoy season tickets to the Bears games and shiny rims for my car and... Dammit! (just kidding.. :D ) (mostly) peace, ~Ben~ PS> Besides, she's going to be a doctor and make far, far more than I do someday, so in a way it *is* an investment... ;) |
Synthetics are going to be big real soon. There are a couple companies out there working on man-made diamonds that you can't tell are synthetic without destroying them in the process.
Here's one article: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...iamond_pr.html |
Earn miles through currency arbitrage...
In addition to earning miles through the credit card purchase, you should consider purchasing the ring from a country with a weaker currency than the USD (are there any left?). When my colleagues from Europe visit, they often ask to go to an electronics store, and are amazed by the prices. You could at least fund a trip to Singapore or Sydney if your research shows you could get a 10 - 15% discount by purchasing in a weaker economy. Sure, there are issues to deal with (quality assurance, taxes, returns, etc.), but if you do your research, you could earn 20,000 - 50,000+ miles depending on your elite status. Not a bad start toward the honeymoon.
|
Originally Posted by CPRich
And don't let your wife-to-be ever know that how many miles you could get factored into selecting her ring.
If your girlfriend really loves you, she already knows and appreciates that that you are "playing this silly game." She would expect that you factored mileage-earning into such a significant purchase. In fact, how could she believe that you truly made the best purchase possible if you did not even factor these miles. Plus, this precedent sets you up nicely to insist on a wedding reception at a hotel where you can earn points for everyone's dinner (though most hotel programs do not allow point accrual for catering events). |
Originally Posted by flyatlanta
If your girlfriend really loves you, she already knows and appreciates that that you are "playing this silly game." She would expect that you factored mileage-earning into such a significant purchase. In fact, how could she believe that you truly made the best purchase possible if you did not even factor these miles.
Plus, this precedent sets you up nicely to insist on a wedding reception at a hotel where you can earn points for everyone's dinner (though most hotel programs do not allow point accrual for catering events). Yeah - and I'm pretty sure she won't complain about the pair of international first class award tickets that I've been saving up miles for.. :) peace, ~Ben~ |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 5:30 am. |
This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.