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Engagement Rings......

I had the opportunity to go to South Africa in the eighties...

Diamonds are just shiny rocks. They are rocks laying on the beach. DeBeers patrols the beach with AK 47's, but that is just business...
 
catch2otwo said:
Kinda off topic but not really. I don't want to go to a mall jewelry store but know I cant really afford to go to a jewelry store like Cartier, so whats the middle ground for us normal working class heros? I'm not looking to buy something extravagant but I do believe in getting a quality piece. Quality over quantity. Any recommendations for a jewelry store? Im used to buying tools and bike parts not rocks.
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holy shit dude - you can't see middle ground from cartier with a telescope. you can buy something super nice for a micro fraction of what you'd spend at a place like that. PM me with your budget if you want some ideas.
 
catch2otwo said:
Kinda off topic but not really. I don't want to go to a mall jewelry store but know I cant really afford to go to a jewelry store like Cartier, so whats the middle ground for us normal working class heros? I'm not looking to buy something extravagant but I do believe in getting a quality piece. Quality over quantity. Any recommendations for a jewelry store? Im used to buying tools and bike parts not rocks.
Click to expand...

Estate sales. Vintage settings with good rocks for a fraction of what they cost in stores.
 
catch2otwo said:
Kinda off topic but not really. I don't want to go to a mall jewelry store but know I cant really afford to go to a jewelry store like Cartier, so whats the middle ground for us normal working class heros? I'm not looking to buy something extravagant but I do believe in getting a quality piece. Quality over quantity. Any recommendations for a jewelry store? Im used to buying tools and bike parts not rocks.
Click to expand...

Cycle61 had a fancy diamond ring for sale recently-pretty sure he still has it.
 
the two months salary nonsense is marketing direct from DeBeers
 
Consider a boob job instead of a ring. Something both can enjoy.

Lucky mah woman didn't need either.
 
Off topic, sort of.

I laid away a 1 carat ring for my wife, since the $100 broke dick ring I first bought her embarrassed even me. In the year I kept dropping into the store, many, many times when I went there, there was somebody getting a ring appraised. Nearly every time, I overheard them telling the (invariably) young guy or couple, that they'd been burned, and should have bought from them, instead. It got me thinking. Ask me about carbide tooling, or properties of different varieties of stainless steel, I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. Ask me about Diamonds, precious stones, etc., and I've got this blank looking stare (more than my normal blank stare...). How do I know that place didn't sell me crap? I don't. I think it's a business that is set up to take advantage of the less than well informed.

And no, I never had it independantly appraised, I don't really want to know.
 
corndog67 said:
Off topic, sort of.

I laid away a 1 carat ring for my wife, since the $100 broke dick ring I first bought her embarrassed even me. In the year I kept dropping into the store, many, many times when I went there, there was somebody getting a ring appraised. Nearly every time, I overheard them telling the (invariably) young guy or couple, that they'd been burned, and should have bought from them, instead. It got me thinking. Ask me about carbide tooling, or properties of different varieties of stainless steel, I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. Ask me about Diamonds, precious stones, etc., and I've got this blank looking stare (more than my normal blank stare...). How do I know that place didn't sell me crap? I don't. I think it's a business that is set up to take advantage of the less than well informed.

And no, I never had it independantly appraised, I don't really want to know.
Click to expand...


All part of the scam. I inherited a $5000 ring that so far the best offer I've had on it was $160. They didn't even want the diamonds-that was just for the gold.
 
MrIncredible said:
All part of the scam. I inherited a $5000 ring that so far the best offer I've had on it was $160. They didn't even want the diamonds-that was just for the gold.
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the frontline video in this thread on diamonds is a pretty good expose:
[youtube]s4c1p_DMkIw[/youtube]

why would any store buy a used diamond at close to retail when
they are so abundant?

a seller in the video said for a low end diamond ring selling at $75, the diamond costs $1. that's a huge markup.
assuming the higher end diamonds are also marked up (they are if you believe the frontline piece), there's no reason any store would buy it back for close to retail (since they know it's not worth what you paid). the "diamonds are forever" slogan is a clever marketing strategy since this prevents people from realizing what they are really worth (not nearly as much as they paid for it).

buying diamonds at retail price seems like a chump financial move:
1) over abundance
2) high mark up (due to heavy restriction of supply, despite the large quantity of diamonds).
3) difficult to recoup costs (because buyers in the business know they are marked up)
4a) no functional purpose. diamonds exists to satisfy a strictly emotional need.
4b) this emotional need was artificially created by a debeers(diamond seller) marketing campaign.

the entire diamond market is so heavily manipulated, i don't think i could buy one since i don't think i could stomach taking the loss (even if it's an unrealized loss). it would be better to spend the money on a vacation, or adding some extras to the wedding.
 
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Here you go, Kyle

1555278_393490134120772_1454252040_n.jpg
 
wazzuFreddo said:
the two months salary nonsense is marketing direct from DeBeers
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And very good marketing :(

Women aren't the most rational of creatures. Engagement rings are probably one of the biggest wastes of money you'll spend in your life time. Yet you'll do it, and you just chalk it up as an unnecessary expense that you did to make your future wife happy and give her the ability to rub it in the faces of all her friends. That's really all it's about.

That being said, i spend my money in this direction when choosing the diamond for my wifes ring.

Cut
Color
Carat
Clarity

She likes her ring, a lot, but if i were to do it again i'd do it in this order,

Carat
Cut
Color
Clarity

Sure all the aspects are important, but at the end of the day all they care about is how big it is. Cut really makes it jump out, and while i believe that is the most important element when choosing a diamond, women don't. Outside of the first few weeks I don't think people get close enough to the diamond for color or clarity to really come into play.

Make sure the certs on the up n up too.

That is all, have fun emptying that bank account.
 
The whole point of conspicuous spending is wasting money on exorbitant things. Yay diamonds. :laughing :laughing

The missus said she was okay with a modest ring but I didn't want to put her in a position where she would be embarrassed on social occasions so I got her something that holds its own and we've been complimented on the quality of the stone by gemologists while shopping for other things.

On a related note, I did want to get her a lab created (chemical vapor disposition) stone since she's a science nerd and expressed interest in it but Gemesis wasn't quite ready for prime time yet.

http://gemesis.com/

http://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research-improved-quality-identification-challenges
 
JesasaurusRex said:
That being said, i spend my money in this direction when choosing the diamond for my wifes ring.

Cut
Color
Carat
Clarity

She likes her ring, a lot, but if i were to do it again i'd do it in this order,

Carat
Cut
Color
Clarity

Sure all the aspects are important, but at the end of the day all they care about is how big it is. Cut really makes it jump out, and while i believe that is the most important element when choosing a diamond, women don't. Outside of the first few weeks I don't think people get close enough to the diamond for color or clarity to really come into play.

Make sure the certs on the up n up too.

That is all, have fun emptying that bank account.
Click to expand...

My order is:

Cut
Color
Clarity
Carat

If all she is concerned about is size - My wifes best friend has a 3ct stone and you can see the inclusions in it a mile away and they still paid a pretty nickel for it. We stayed modest at 1ct with 1/2ct of surround and 3/4ct on her wedding band. It's more sparkle then she needs

Those first few weeks is all "they" need to pass judgement :laughing :cry
Silence said:
The missus said she was okay with a modest ring but I didn't want to put her in a position where she would be embarrassed on social occasions so I got her something that holds its own and we've been complimented on the quality of the stone by gemologists while shopping for other things.

On a related note, I did want to get her a lab created (chemical vapor disposition) stone since she's a science nerd and expressed interest in it but Gemesis wasn't quite ready for prime time yet.

http://gemesis.com/

http://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research-improved-quality-identification-challenges
Click to expand...

samesies
 
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I bought her a black diamond ring from here. I haven't spoken to her in weeks, she has no class.
 
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