1 carat engagement ring

Itsonlyme 2021

Hi all. I’m looking online at buying an engagement ring and I think I’ve found a decent one. At the same time I’m not sure if I’m overpaying or not as I haven’t gone into any jewellery shops (damn COVID) so any advice would be appreciated.

It’s a 1.06 carat VS1 triple excellent (cut, polish, symmetry) I colour faint fluoresce GIA certified diamond, set in a thin 18carat yellow gold plain band. It’s 5800e all in.

Itsonlyme 2021

Anyone have any idea at all?

Faith

That's a very specialist question and while posters here may be able to guess at an answer, you'll need to give it some time, I'd imagine.

downwesht

When you are spending that sort of money you would want to be sure of what you are buying.You should consult a reputable jeweller or maybe pay for proper advice from a gem firm.
I have a friend who makes bespoke items,he worked in Hatton garden in London as a gem setter.If you want his name you can pm me and I can put you in touch.

Michellenman

Lab diamond or mined?

I was quoted €5500 for 1.2ct lab diamond from an independent Irish jeweller with two .25ct side diamonds.

What you’ve detailed seems like too good to be true price for a mined diamond in my opinion. A family member bought 1.4 ct mined diamond with very high specs from diamond dealer in Doha and that was ~6.5k. Doha is excellent value for diamonds, the ring was valued at more than 15k in Ireland (that’s not to say that that’s what you pay in store for something similar).

It’s a good idea to check out auction houses too if you are open to pre-loved diamonds. There’s really really good value to be had at auction as long as you do your research and know what you are looking for. Don’t be put off if you find a ring that doesn’t look exactly how you want it to when you buy it. If you know you want a 1ct solitaire buy a ring/necklace/earring that has that stone and then you can work with a jeweller to rest the stones. I knew what wedding band I wanted to sit with my engagement ring but it was super expensive. I bought a pre-owned ring through o’Reillys auctioneer and had all the stones reset to the ring that I wanted. Spent less than a quarter of what it cost to buy the same ring from a jeweller and I still have another round brilliant diamond of the original ring to set in to another piece of jewellery eventually.

Itsonlyme 2021

It’s a mined diamond alright: it comes with a GIA cert with all the details about the ring. It’s through an American website called James Allens which seems to have good reviews but as I’ve zero idea of the equivalent price for a similar diamond in Ireland it’s difficult to work out if the price is fair. I’m not necessarily looking for the bargain of the year, just an honest and fair price (if there is such a thing !).

Michellenman

I’ve never bought from James Allen but it does have some good reviews for sure!

Be mindful of customs I suppose, that could wipe out any value for money you might be getting if you get caught out.

I think there was another poster recently who bought from James Allen so it might be an idea to search the forum and check out that thread.

EagererBeaver

I bought a diamond and ring off James Allen for about 10k sterling all in just over 4 years ago. 1.51ct round cut solitaire, excellent, excellent VVS2, I colour. GIA certified Was valued at 21k when we got it appraised back home. I couldn't find a better diamond at that price at the time. I was travelling to New York so paid via revolut, shipped it to FedEx in New Jersey where I was staying, avoided sales tax. Had a great experience with them and would have no problem recommending.

Millem

Itsonlyme 2021 wrote: »

Hi all. I’m looking online at buying an engagement ring and I think I’ve found a decent one. At the same time I’m not sure if I’m overpaying or not as I haven’t gone into any jewellery shops (damn COVID) so any advice would be appreciated.

It’s a 1.06 carat VS1 triple excellent (cut, polish, symmetry) I colour faint fluoresce GIA certified diamond, set in a thin 18carat yellow gold plain band. It’s 5800e all in.

Did you check on Blue Nile? Or what about shops in Hatton gardens or the jewellery quarter in Birmingham.
Ring some. They will send pictures of rings on a female hand etc.
Personally the colour isn’t great. I looked at a similar one here in Ireland when we got engaged. Personally the colour is noticeable in a diamond that size. I wouldn’t go further than a G.

Millem

I just did a quick Google and something called the diamond factory.ie came up (I have heard of the uk one).
A 1ct, I colour, excellent vs1 solitaire, 18 ct Gia certified if coming in at €5518.

If yuu is change the colour to G the price is over €7k.
A lab diamond (no experience at all) is half the price according to that website.

No experience with the diamond factory.

Here is the screenshot.

Itsonlyme 2021

Wow: that sounds like an amazing ring!!!!! A 1.5 carat VVS ring is something that I could only dream about! I’m delighted to hear that you would recommend the company: my friends think that I’m
Insane to consider buying it on line. With COVID and everything else I won’t be able to collect it. Customs will probably get a nice pay day 😂🀣

EagererBeaver

Itsonlyme 2021 wrote: »

Wow: that sounds like an amazing ring!!!!! A 1.5 carat VVS ring is something that I could only dream about! I’m delighted to hear that you would recommend the company: my friends think that I’m
Insane to consider buying it on line. With COVID and everything else I won’t be able to collect it. Customs will probably get a nice pay day 😂🀣

The VVS was a bit of a fluke to be honest. I was looking at a different diamond that was VS and the one I got was only marginally more expensive.

Importing it will sting for sure. The fact I knew I was going to New York and could collect it made it by far the best option for me. Given the current circumstances it might not be the same for you, but in terms of customer service and reliability, I couldn't fault them at all. I had to phone them a couple of times as the price was over the revolut limit at the time for a single transaction and they were really great any time I dealt with them. That sickly, honey sweet American style customer service.

Of course, I've only ever done it that one time, and nothing will ever replace seeing the diamond in the flesh and inspecting it, but their photos, 360 views are incredible. I imagine it's even better since I used them.

And while you're not asking for this advice, I'll just share my experience. Unless your other half of all about the details of the diamond and knows the ins and outs of it, she will not give a single **** about flawless, VVS, VS or degrees of colour. Unless it's visibly **** to the naked eye and is yellow, she won't care. If it's big and clear and looks like a diamond, she'll love it.

Best of luck.