Diamonds are really old so there being used will have no impact on their value. The only thing that impacts their value is the 4c’s Caret, Cut, Clarity, and Color. If new technology allows jewlers to polished the diamond in such a way as to get a better clarity then yes newer diamond will be more expensive, but it’s because the color is better not becuase it’s “new.”
Also, Tiffany’s buys their diamonds from the same place everyone else buys them: NYC Diamond District. You shouldn’t pay any premium for a Tiffany’s diamond (maybe the setting) because again it’s value is based on the 4 C’s.
Check out bluenile.com, it’s a true free market for diamonds. If you’re hesitant buying diamond on the internet price them out there and then go pick them up in the diamond district. If it’s GIA certified and the price is 2 - 4% higher or lower I’d stay away.
How much cheaper could you get a GIA certified diamond from the Diamond District vs. Blue Nile, all else equal? Any suggestions on which vendors to go see, and which to avoid?
The disadvantage of Blue Nile is they don’t have photos of the actual rock on their website, just their evaluation of the 4C’s. You’ll find that slightly included varies greatly, for example. I found James Allen was better in that they have an actual photo that you can zoom in and study each diamond to find one that actually looks great.
You’ll find that two diamonds could be equally priced but one may have way better symmetry and the inclusions less noticable. That’s something lacking with Blue Nile. Don’t cheap out on cut, or colour. I found in looking at tons of these that you can get away with a bit more on the inclusions if the diamond is cut right, a well cut diamond hides inclusions and if your cut is good, it won’t impact the radiance of it.
Fluorescence is another factor that weighs down prices, but can actually be desirable if your lady wants something really sparkly. My wife’s is blinding in natural light with blue/white fluorescence. It actually looks ridiculously sparkly (if that’s a word). The fluorescence is not noticable without UV light.
I think women are stupid to pay so much attention to a wedding.
We are not princesses, we do not need fairy tale weddings.
And to me personally, i think it’s WORSE when you have a fantastic wedding and then you wake up the next day back to reality, back to small house, back to old job, only way more broke!
I still think that anyone serious about diamonds should consider going long DDC (Dominion Diamond Corp), which was formerly Harry Winston Diamond Corporation. They’re a Canadian-based pure-play on diamond mining, and are trading at 0.65 price to NAV.
Attention, ladies: Why even bother with one diamond ring, when you can get shares of stock that lets you be an OWNER of a diamond company?
I owned Harry Winston before the Swatch acquisition. The mining side is industrial diamonds if I recall correctly. Ever been in the Harry Winston store? If in NYC, shoudl stop by. Pretty impressive.
I agree that DDC is probably still a good buy, unfortunately for me.
Many of you complain you have to spend a lot of money on the ring.
What about the opposite? Would you marry a woman who refuses to accept and wear the ring all together (assuming she says yes to the proposal itself)? Or will it be a problem for you?
Depends, can I wear the ring instead? Because I’d get a sweet gold one with a cobra rearing back with a huge ruby in its mouth. If guys could get engagement rings that would be kickass.
Nice! When I seach “managagement ring + cobra” this comes up. Not exactly what I was imagining, but still pretty sweet. Other dudes need to take you seriously with this thing. Can you imagine how jelly they’ll be?!
