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@jax: have you been to pricescope? they seem to be about as ocd about jewelry as we are about weddings!! lol!! i'm sure they could give you the best sites etc. i agree that blue nile doesn't have enough selections... but you could also check overstock. they have several of my favorite rings...
thanks cre! i'll check it out. i just have this nagging fear that sometimes what you get online isn't what you think it will be or look like (i'm more concerned about the setting than the quality of the diamond). i'm so jealous that you have picked out "the" ring. the more i look, the more i find stuff i like! i'm actually dragging out the process because i haven't passed on my formal requests yet!
that's what pricescope is for, they have all of these reviews etc on where to buy what it looks like blah blah blah.. it's actually pretty cool.. i referred m to it.
Can you post some of the settings that you like? Are you more interested in the setting or the stone? For me and my fiance, the diamond was the most important. We got mine through engagement rings direct (stone and custom setting) which is an online business, but the owner has an office in New York's diamnd district, so we went there and looked at a couple of stones through a loop and looked at their certificates and all their qualities - it was really educational and I would definitely recommend it. If the diamond is really important to you, I wouldn't buy it online without looking at it in person.
For setting ideas and all things engagement ring, I used pricescope.com to figure out what I wanted. I would recommend this site to anyone in the market for an engagement ring.
i haven't bought online nor do i know anybody who has, but for some reason i just don't trust it. i like being able to be in the store and see what i'm getting, and knowing the people who are selling it to me. i'm sure you can get a great deal online, but for me it's worth calming my anxiety to spend a little extra.
I would have to see it in person. I am such a skeptic, especially about an investment piece like an e-ring.
Jacqi - where is their office? I am looking for DD recommendations. I think the setting is more important to me because I don't want a solitaire. I won't make flip through all of the ones I like, but here's a sampling.
I'm on pricescope and I was happy to find that there are some good quality diamonds on one of the sites that has settings that I like! yay!
whoops - forgot to upoad pics
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I wouldn't have minded an online ring, but the free resizing/cleaning that the store FI bought from is pretty awesome. I don't think you could get the same sort of services with an online purchase?
Fi and I looked in several jewelry stores and tried on a variety of rings. The problems was that we couldn't find what I wanted. I liked the setting, but it was platinum and I wanted white gold, or something along those lines.
I found a few rings that I loved from blue nile. I knew someone whose FI had purchased from blue nile and had a great experience, so I encouraged FI to order from there and showed him the rings I liked. He picked the stone and the setting, and had an awesome experience. The ring was exactly what was pictured, we got a better quality diamond for much less than we could find in stores for the same price. The quality is great. I have banged my ring around a lot and it's still in perfect condition.
I would only purchase online from a well known retailer and with the diamond quality report. FI viewed the one from the stone he purchased before the purchase and then was able to compare it to the one that came with the diamond. We insured it based on that, and have had zero prolems.
wow Jax, those are really unique settings! That last one is my favorite!
Here is the website: http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/
I don't remember the exact address, but I'm sure you can email him if you are interested. His office is not a store front, and he doesn't really have settings there (at least not that I saw). He will show you diamonds that meet your criteria and give you a lesson and help you look through a loop. It was really awesome to see how different 4 diamonds could be that all met the same criteria! We could totally see a difference in color of high G and low G, which you would never be able to tell what you were getting if you didn't look at the stones in person. My fiance thought his prices were competitive, and we both really enjoyed meeting with him (appointment required) and learning a lot about diamonds. He is known for cushions. He also worked for 20 years or something for GIA grading diamonds, so he definitely knows his stuff. My ring is just a solitaire, so I can't really give you any advice on getting the setting you want made.
I'm pretty sure my FI bought mine online.. from Walmart :o
But.. i love it anyway!
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you can definitely get a great deal online. bluenile.com and shaneco.com were my two faves. that said, i think you've got to buy with your eyes. Not all SI1s look the same, not all 1carats look to be the exact same size, etc. Looking in the store sometimes you'll be drawn to something that's actually way cheaper than another, and you could ultimately end up saving thousands! Honestly, when we looked, I prefered something that was 2 clarity grades WORSE than the seller was trying to push...it was just prettier to me! and it happend to be 2 grand cheaper than the one my fiance originally thought i'd want! so, i vote for in store ;)
We bought my e-ring from Blue Nile and had a great experience. I wouldn't buy a diamond any other way now. The diamonds are fully certified and I've not heard any horror stories or really negatives at all about buying online from reputable vendors (most of my friends' rings came from Blue Nile).
You will definitely get more for your money buying online vs. in a store (a larger, better quality stone for less $)
I second the Pricescope recommendation, they have a lot of great information and can recommend several specific online vendors that have stellar reputations (at least as good as Blue Nile, if not better). These other vendors will have many other "high end" setting options you might not see on BN.
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My FH bought mine online. We looked in stores, but everything we saw seemed a little dated, and it seemed like it had a huge premium on the diamond and everything. So he got mine from James Allen. They have a store location, but just one. It's in NYC and you have to have an appointment to go and shop there. We didn't go into the store. I got sized at a different store, and found a ring I fell in love with. The best part? It has several different wedding bands that match.
Here's there site: www.jamesallen.com
And here are pictures of my ring. The first is the engagement ring. And the next is the wedding band. I love that the engagement ring is white gold and the wedding band is rose gold! And the last is the wedding set I eventually want.... like 5 year anniversary, lol.
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There are definitely Pros and Cons to buying online.
The pros:
- cheaper
- No pushy sales people (huuuuuge plus to me)
- you know that you're getting the best deal and that you couldn't have "haggled" your way lower
The cons:
- You can't see it in person first
- usually don't come with a warranty or free ring cleaning plan
- depending on the site, less variety
Now... keep in mind that most websites have excellent return policies and if you don't like the ring you can simply return it no questions asked. Also, almost every jeweler in the mall will clean your ring for free regardless of where it is from. Lastly... getting insurance through my renters is only like $9/months so insurance isn't hugely expensive.
My FI bought my ring via bluenile and I love it. I think that the ring looks as good (or better actually) in person vs. on their website (photos below... when can I resist? this is the photo it gives me for the exact ring that i have including stone size/clarity/etc/etc). I can't speak for other websites but I am extremely happy with bluenile (but I do get that you have less options if you want a fancier/more unique setting).
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i dont have my ring yet but we have picked one out. we found it online (kay jewelers) and went to the store to try it on. it was $500 more in stores. so its definitely a benefit to buy it online for that much cheaper. also, if the ring you get doesnt have a cleaning plan, places like zales and kay's will clean it for free whether you bought it there or not. so i definitely wouldnt worry about that at all. :)
We ordered from skyfacet.com in Aug 08. We've had serious problems working with them to resolve our complaints since then and still working with them to this day to get our certification paperwork (since you do pay more for the certification and we want to make sure we got what we ordered). Since we've ordered they now have a negative rating at the BBB. If you want to know more details you can pm me, or checkout complaintsboard.com and search their company name. The low prices they offer is what swayed us to order online. After my experience, i definetly say go to the store!
Well, I fell in love with one online and could not find ANYTHING like it in a store (Antique style) with out having it made up for us. Ended up getting mine on line. Its amazing, I love it, and I get compliments on it ALL the time! So many "Wows" and "I have never seen anything like that" And I love that, the fact that its not something thats the norm or something you can just go and pick out in a store. God a way better deal and saving by ordering online, good experience and no complaints with ordering online!
Ladies - thanks so much for all the advice. I think I'm just going to have to get my butt up to the diamond district this week or weekend, and look up there. I have seen a couple of stores that have searchable websites, so I think I'll go get an idea of what these settings really look like on me and then comparison shop online. Yay!
Aimee - LOVE LOVE LOVE your ring!! who cares where its from?? I'm kind of into marquise cuts myself. love it.
KT - I'm kinda in the same boat at the moment. I haven't been to many jewelry stores yet, but the ones I am liking so far, I have yet to find in a store.
Yeah, its frustraring, because I was hesitant for FI to buy one online, You want to SEE it and touch it before dropin all that $$$ on it! But my savings for buying it online was MORE THAN Hundreds! So it was worth the chance, and the fact that it all worked out and was a easy smooth process and what not was a plus! I will try to attatch a pic of my ring (But mine in Yellow gold)
BEST OF LUCK!!
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If you know enough about the stones, you can browse inventory for your center stone online from a lot of sites. Mondera.com is a good one, and there are a few others that are great if you go to pricescope. They tend to have a few favorites over there and if you know exactly what you are looking for, cut, color, clarity, carat size, table width/depth, girdle size, etc. you can pick up a nice Tiffany quality stone for much less. Most of these stores that allow you to choose your own stone are showing the same inventory and then once you pick that particular stone it gets taken off the inventory search on all the sites simultaneously.
We got my ring on brilliantearth.com and we were very happy with the experience.
Although, I do have one regret, and that was going to a store and trying on similar styles, first. I sometimes wish I had gone with a thicker bang because I have sausage fingers, but I still love the quality of my ring.
So yeah, I would suggest going to a store, say you're just trying to get a feel of what kind of ring you want (without letting the sales associates know you're buying online, of course!), and then when you leave, start looking for deals online in the styles you liked.
Often when you buy online, you don't have the pay sales tax, which will end up saving you a lot of money (which could be put toward a higher quality or larger diamond). Brilliantearth.com was amazing to worth with, and my ring is STILL sparkly (I've never once cleaned it in the 16 months I've had it, even though I know I should - but it still shines).
My boyfriend and I have looked online at rings and in the store. When shopping online we checked with Better Business Bureau and read reviews. Each website should have a BBB logo on the page, click on it and see what it says.
We liked adiamor.com alot but I don't know where he will buy it from.
I'll chime in here, though you've got a lot of good responses.
For my ring, I saw the setting in the store, first and already tried it on. I loved it immediately. He later on purchased the setting and the stone from an actual store with a website out of New York City. The savings was a lot. Also, you don't pay sales tax, and when you're taking about thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars, it adds up!
FI told me that he was NOT able to get the quality of stone from local stores, unless you go to tiffany's, etc. Many of the diamonds in mall type stores are not certified by the two reputable (EGL and GIA) labs and you simply can't get a great quality diamond if that's what you're looking for. You get most bang from your buck from Blue Nile, IMO, whether you're spending a little or a lot.
Blue nile probably has the best selection of diamonds, you can find online or any store. I agree that their settings selections are smaller. He said he would have gotten the diamond from Blue Nile, if they carried my setting, but they didn't. So, he got it from the other jeweler, and saved a little bc he bought both (stone and setting) from them!
hope this helps! btw, the website he used was www.since1910.com ~ he was SO pleased with them!
I still say that uniondiamond.com has the best prices and a web site that is very easy to navigate. I've been stalking their website for months and sending my boyfiend my "wish list" so he will know what I like.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/union-diamond-corporation-atlanta
http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=2980
I have checked their reviews and they seem to have a pretty good reputation.
Compared to bluenile, I think they are much cheaper and have a huge selection of diamonds. I'm not crazy about their band selection, but I have read in a few reviews that you can call and send what you are looking for and they will customize your ring.
Good Luck.
We did both... he purchased the setting from a brick-and-mortar store, but brought them a diamond he had ordered on bluenile to put in the setting. This way we got the setting and the free cleaning plan and all of that from the store, but the grade/size/quality/right-priced diamond that he wanted.
I don't think that buying online has to be scary, and it can definitely save you money. Just make sure you:
1. Check the site's return policy. Most stores will allow you to return a ring within a reasonable amount of time if it's not what you want!
2. Restrict your search to diamonds that come with grading reports, so you know what you're buying. GIA is considered the "gemology experts," and they're an independent lab (not affiliated w/any vendors), so you can trust their report to be bias-free.
Also, I second the advice about going to try rings on! You might think you love the style of a ring in a picutre and find out when you try it on later that it just doesn't work with your fingers. You should look at diamonds with the different qualities that you're considering in person, too, to decide which of the 4C's to prioritize for your ring.
Hope this helps! Good luck and happy shopping :)!
FI got my ring from zales.com - he found an online coupon and got a killer deal. Much better than he would have gotten in the store. BONUS - I still get the free cleanings and re-sizing from Zales. It was a win-win for us. He sent me about a million pictures of rings before buying one, plus we had been to an actual store (not just Zales but local jewelry stores, too) to narrow down a style. That helped a ton. I'm in LOVE with my online ring!!!
My ring was purchased from bluenile.com. When my mother heard, she freaked out. She couldn't believe that my FI would buy it online. She was so worried that it would be fake. Blue Nile has a great return policy, so it enabled my fiance to get it indendently appraised before we were "stuck" with it. My ring actually appraised for thousands of dollars more than what he paid for it. It makes sense, because Blue Nile doesn't have to spend money on pricy overhead (sales people/brick and morter stores). My ring is perfect and I love it.
I agree with Jamie, my ring appraised for thousands more as well and this was by an independent appraiser (not one that works for the jewelry store) that is very well respected and even used in court cases to settle estates, etc. FI also bought the stone seperately and had it set locally. If you can educate yourself enough on diamonds it's really, really worth it to explore your options. You can even examine the diamond and send it back if you don't like it through many of the online retailers...
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Hello lovely ladies!
I just wanted to get some opinions about buying e-rings online vs. going to the store. Has anyone ever gotten a ring purchased online w/out having tried on at least something similar first? Is there any benefit to buying online? If so, can anyone recommend sites (besides Blue Nile - they don't have enough of a variety of settings for me) that sell good quality e-ring settings and/or diamonds?
I've seen loads more settings online that I think I will like, and while I am certainly planning to go to at least two more jewelry stores before narrowing down what I want, I have yet to ultimately see anything in a store that would tell my BF to pursue.
Thoughts?