Any tips for buying a diamond ring?

[redmonsoon]

Fully agree - carat is most easily noticed.
Colour/cut/clarify, you need to really know the stuff to tell & appreciate the differences.

Personal experience, go for carat out of the 4cs..
Of course not too shabby bottom grade in terms of color/cut/clarity as well lah.

Most Gals will still care more abt carats lah...:bsmilie:
Her friends will oso ask how many carats, not how clear..hehee
(*:sweat:Run & hide before flaming arrows shot in my direction..)

 

[iMac08]

this is so not true all the time..i once chance upon a ladies conversation.....one person was commenting this one bigger than this....then another ask..but why not so clear or shiny like the smaller one...

this is not good either. big but no quality...anyway once in a lifetime. spend within limit buy something with quality....your wife will understand. if they only understand b the size of the diamond and price..i say dump it...hahaha....i hate it when i see these women crazy abt larrys,TC...wau lau..like money fall from the sky....unless sibeh rich kind then don't say...some ppl can buy a 30k ring without a blink in the eyes....

just buy within limit. best deal is buy the diamond seperately definitely...

 

[huggable]

Oh well, the size (ie Carat) is easiest seen and most obvious among the 4'C's, hence if it's for that purpose, go for the biggest your pocket can buy.

Maybe we can get to hear this kind of conversation:

A: "Wow, your stone very the big! BF gave ah?"
B: "Yeah man, 0.99 Carat you know!"
A: "But color looks yellow..."
B: "Oh, that's because of this stupid shopping centre lighting." :x

 

[sprintist]

try bluenile.com

they educates their customers well too

 

[aryanto]

A: "Wow, your stone very the big! BF gave ah?"
B: "Yeah man, 0.99 Carat you know!"
A: "But color looks yellow..."

B: "Oh, that's the white balance is wrong." :bsmilie:

 

[Adriantanhc]

For investment, good to get certified stone in case you want to sell it later.

Don't think you have any intention to sell this ring you are getting.

So, go to a reputable shop, get one that is nice. Simple design will last. Not many people know how to inspect for flaw, even with 20x glass.

Budget is good to impress. Just buy one, and enjoy!

 

[redmonsoon]

Remebr 1 more pt..lol Deciding the 'setting', or prong/mount which holds the diamond to the ring...

6 prongs makes the diamond look more roundish, x4 prongs exposes the stone more but looks more squarish...decisions decisions..:bsmilie:

 

[yao86]

size matters

the rock is for showing off only

or a really meaningful design
be careful when you buy
as the next one cannot be smaller than the first one

Ha ha ha ha.......

True

 

[yao86]

For investment, good to get certified stone in case you want to sell it later.

Don't think you have any intention to sell this ring you are getting.

So, go to a reputable shop, get one that is nice. Simple design will last. Not many people know how to inspect for flaw, even with 20x glass.

Budget is good to impress. Just buy one, and enjoy!

Yah!

Main things is enjoy.

But don't buy Good Diamonds Below 1 Carat for Investment and end up you will lost a lot like more than half the price you bought.

One more!

Buy your Diamonds Ring now before the Gold Price shoot even more up!!!

 

[redmonsoon]

...
as the next one cannot be smaller than the first one

Haha, very important pt..
Thats why the next one shd suggest sml earrings for her petite cute little ears...

 

[KY1977]

Only after married for 6 years, my wife tells me its a waste of money to get diamonds. Go get a yellow one!

 

[dafansu]

go to hwz, there's a thread specifically on diamond and u can post the details and those members will advise you accordingly.

 

[Wai]

i bought a diamond from USA and have it shipped over and set it in a local shop. You might go to www.proposalring.com to read more.

After reading all the tips at www.proposalring.com and 300 pages long thread at http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=1434486

I finally ordered mine from www.jamesallen.com

You can get better quality stuff at better price when purchase online. After that, just bring the stone to jewelery shop in singapore to do the setting. Do take note of the serial number engraved on the stone, just in case the shop mix up with other stones after the setting.

 

[Wai]

Learned this the hard way. Bought a Brilliant Rose from Soo Kee last year without doing much research. Realized later that similar specs stone when bought direct from dealers, with GIA certs, cost a lot less.

Wait till you compare the price of similar spec with those online store, mine is AGS certified, which is supposed to be more detailed than GIA in terms of certification (and hence worth more if it is AGS certified)

 

[Wai]

Buy your Diamonds Ring now before the Gold Price shoot even more up!!!

dont use gold ring to set the diamond la

 

[Wai]

I used part of my budget on this super dper macro lens to take a picture of the serial number.' and she should figure out why the diamond is small :bsmilie:

ha...i took a photo of the serial number and compare with the cert to confirm I got the right stone

btw, when setting the diamond, remember to tell the shop NOT to cover the serial number with the "claws". Tell them to exposure the serial number so that you can verify with a microscope after setting

 

[huggable]

Talking about after-sales service. Not sure about getting from those online stores, or even less-reputed stores. So far, my wife has resized the ring once (for a nominal fee), and got the claws adjusted as they came loose, FOC at Goldheart.

And yes, polishing is FOC too. The salesperson will mount the diamond ring on the magnifier for her to verify the serial number of the diamond each time.

 

[goon]

WOW! Thanx for the overwhelming respond everyone! My friend who's not a CS member is very grateful for all the tips!:thumbsup:

 

[ConnorMcLeod]

Hmm, for under S$4.5K. You should only be able to find a mounted, half carat of under F colour & hopefully VVS.

Anything D with good cut & clarity, GIA + 1 carat is well over S$10K excluding the ring which can cost more than S$1.5K

Hope the prices still hold from what I know.

There's also Belgium cert. & qualified locals.

Last I enquired a 1carat non perfect cut D/E is about 12K.
When its perfect cut, easily double this price.

So again, figure out what your wife-to-be will focus on and get what she wants.

as someone said, the ring is mainly for show off, most ppl don't have the sharp eyes to spot the difference between D/E/F or vvs/vs stone.

 

[ConnorMcLeod]

Talking about after-sales service. Not sure about getting from those online stores, or even less-reputed stores. So far, my wife has resized the ring once (for a nominal fee), and got the claws adjusted as they came loose, FOC at Goldheart.

And yes, polishing is FOC too. The salesperson will mount the diamond ring on the magnifier for her to verify the serial number of the diamond each time.

I think most of the shops do offer free cleaning and adjustment at a nominal fee.
Why? this makes you visit them twice (drop off the item and collect the item) and they got plenty of time to suck you into buying another piece, 'upgrade' to a bigger stone etc.