Purchase a diamond online?

w1z4rd

w1z4rd

Karmic Sangoma
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I always promised my wife that when I had the loot I would purchase her a decent ring. When we met it was with very humble means so I was never able to get her the ring I wanted to. Things are different now, but Im a cheap bastard and I was watching The Shark Tank and they were talking about how jewellery does not hold value, but precious stones do. So my plan is buy a big diamond, and then pay a couple of thousand to set it in a ring. That way I will get best value.

Whats a good place online to purchase quality diamonds at competitive pricing?
 
A diamond is a precious stone? If I had another chance to buy a ring, it would not have a diamond. Diamonds make great tools, though.
 
ghoti said:
I always promised my wife that when I had the loot I would purchase her a decent ring. When we met it was with very humble means so I was never able to get her the ring I wanted to. Things are different now, but Im a cheap bastard and I was watching The Shark Tank and they were talking about how jewellery does not hold value, but precious stones do. So my plan is buy a big diamond, and then pay a couple of thousand to set it in a ring. That way I will get best value.

Whats a good place online to purchase quality diamonds at competitive pricing?
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Diamonds are a lousy investment. Maybe your grandkids will recover what you pay for it.
 
P924 said:
A diamond is a precious stone? If I had another chance to buy a ring, it would not have a diamond. Diamonds make great tools, though.
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Don't be a witless git.

Ghoti, check up for registered precious metal/gem sellers in South Africa and ask them all for quotes for what you need.
Take your stone to a good independent jeweller who can cut/polish and set it for you.
 
ghoti said:
I always promised my wife that when I had the loot I would purchase her a decent ring. When we met it was with very humble means so I was never able to get her the ring I wanted to. Things are different now, but Im a cheap bastard and I was watching The Shark Tank and they were talking about how jewellery does not hold value, but precious stones do. So my plan is buy a big diamond, and then pay a couple of thousand to set it in a ring. That way I will get best value.

Whats a good place online to purchase quality diamonds at competitive pricing?
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no idea mate, why not just go to a local jeweler and get him to source the diamond for you and then have him set it?
 
ghoti said:
.

Whats a good place online to purchase quality diamonds at competitive pricing?
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I am sure we can hook you up to some Nigerian sellers offering real good prices.

To be honest I would rather go to a reputable company, especially if I know zilch about diamonds, I only know that they are expensive and the female gender loves them.
 
Cubic Zirconia or Moissanite.

Diamonds prices are artificially inflated thanks to the De Beers monopoly, and will never hold their value for you, the end consumer.

If you don't want something sparkly, I'd go for one of the more interesting precious stones.
 
If you're in Cape Town, http://www.capediamonds.co.za/ comes highly recommended.

I have no conflicts of interest to declare, asides from them handcrafting some amazing pieces for my SO.

They can give you a separate quotation for the diamond - all GIA and non-conflict certified; very competitive pricing and match and beat quotes.
 
ghoti said:
I always promised my wife that when I had the loot I would purchase her a decent ring. When we met it was with very humble means so I was never able to get her the ring I wanted to. Things are different now, but Im a cheap bastard and I was watching The Shark Tank and they were talking about how jewellery does not hold value, but precious stones do. So my plan is buy a big diamond, and then pay a couple of thousand to set it in a ring. That way I will get best value.

Whats a good place online to purchase quality diamonds at competitive pricing?
Click to expand...

Blue Nile would be my pick of the bunch, very competitive pricing and easy to search for the stone you want. All GIA reports are available for download, so you'll know what you're getting beforehand.

Also in terms of certification GIA is the best, I've seem some diamonds rated by competitors that make you wonder how they can claim to be something they're clearly not.

What sort of size, cut, clarity and colour are you looking for?
 
ghoti said:
I have no clue, not sure what I should be looking for.
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Some quick pointers:

Cut - Always go for excellent or ideal cut, lower than that ruins the diamond's ability to disperse light nicely.

Carat - Go as big as you can, but know that there are large jumps in price around the key marks (0.5ct, 1ct, 1.5ct, 2ct). You can save yourself a decent amount of money by getting a stone just under these sizes.

Colour - Go for the best colour you can afford. They're rated alphabetically down from D. D, E and F are your colourless ratings, and are ideal for the diamond. G, H and I are near colourless, and you won't be able to see much with an untrained naked eye. J and onwards you'll be able to clearly see a slight yellow tinge to the diamond.

Clarity - Clarity scale goes down from IF (internally flawless) to I1, I2, I3 etc. (included). Diamonds between IF and SI1 will not have imperfections visible to the naked eye. SI2 and down will.

If you want the best possible value for money while still having an apparently "perfect" diamond to the naked eye, go for a diamond that is rated as I colour, SI1 clarity, excellent cut, and graded by the GIA.

There are other factors such as florescence, polish, symmetry and more to consider, but the above is a good starting point.
 
OP, come back and tell us how it went. I'm quite interested to see how this goes and where you eventually buy it.
 
I always use the post office when buying diamonds and ask the sender to mark as faulty spares. The ones from mid Africa seem to be cheaper too, also if you can buy in bulk uncut stones it helps.
 
Wasabee! said:
I always use the post office when buying diamonds and ask the sender to mark as faulty spares. The ones from mid Africa seem to be cheaper too, also if you can buy in bulk uncut stones it helps.
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Conflict diamonds are cheap because they'll arrive covered with the blood and tears of child soldiers and trafficked little girls, which is obviously gross. Just wash that off OP & you'll be good. Your lady will love the back story.
 
Time to download TOR and add blood in the search field
 
fastesthamster said:
Cubic Zirconia or Moissanite.

Diamonds prices are artificially inflated thanks to the De Beers monopoly, and will never hold their value for you, the end consumer.

If you don't want something sparkly, I'd go for one of the more interesting precious stones.
Click to expand...

http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Mining/Why-De-Beers-makes-diamonds-it-will-never-sell-20151008

While still a small part of the market, man-made diamonds are now being mass produced, and retailers like Wal-Mart Stores sell them to customers seeking cheaper alternatives. But because the gems are almost indistinguishable from those naturally formed, some sellers have tried to pass off synthetic types as ones that have been mined.
[...]
Retailers sell man-made gems at discounts of 30% to 40%.
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