Places to buy GIA certificated diamonds and alternative suppliers for ring mounts.

[justwondering]

Hi , I thought it best to be polite and say " Hi " !! , my name is Paul , I am very new to the Jewelry business , so new that I kind of have only decided to learn much more due to seeking a engagement ring for my girlfriend , I was initially overwhelmed at the amount of terminology , for me that is a buyer beware warning sign , if I do not understand what I am buying then it is best not to buy.....and there it began !! so I guess my first custom piece of severely will be for my girlfriend , so that I can ask her to be my wife , she is been extremely patience with me considering the road I have decided it would be best to take with me deciding to find out more and to source a good quality diamond , buy a good mount and also to set the diamond myself !

I have looked online and I have decided BlueNile looks to be a good place to purchase a diamond from , I understand the there will be duties to be paid , I have been in business for around 20 years so I understand the potential hidden costs.

I was recommended to sign up to Eurofindings to buy a nice mount , I have applied online today and my account has been opened

But can anyone recommend a better / trade place to buy a diamond with GIA certification and perhaps good alternative suppliers to consider other than Euromounts ?

[ps_bond]

Blue Nile run on *very* low margins - they hold no stock and source the stones they list from suppliers all over, which is why there is the delay on shipping diamonds. However... Caveat emptor. The cert is a place to start when picking out a stone, but there's no comparison with actually studying it in the flesh. Then you're into the fun of trying to ship them back.

R M Weare in York are pretty good, as are Clark Diamonds in London. If you're purely buying on price then they probably won't be able to compete, but if you want support then they're miles ahead.

I would be remiss if I didn't say I can put you in touch with someone importing lab-created diamonds; depends where in the continuum of "must be dug out of the ground" to "must be ethically sourced" you sit.

[justwondering]

Hi Peter, Thank you for your reply , Please feel free to P.M me with a alternative supplier would the lab created diamonds still come with GIA certs ?

TY.

[ps_bond]

It's http://www.deluxediamonds.co.uk/ - I do the setting work for them. In the interests of disclosure, I'll end up with some sort of intro fee (a beer, I suspect!) if you do buy loose stones from them.
Yes, they are all certified; everything I've seen so far has been GIA, but there are some will end up with IGI certs.

There should be a Guardian interview with Jo about the stones shortly; should have been this week, but it's been delayed AFAIK.

[SteveLAO]

Wow...I do admire your bravery, but would encourage you to do a considerable amount of homework first! Buying a diamond of a size and quality that warrants a GIA certificate (which aren't cheap!) with no prior knowledge of diamonds is a brave move, and it would be so easy to buy what's known in the trade as a "paper pretty" stone. These are ones which look good if you read the stats on a certificate, but are dogs when you see them in the flesh!
In a previous life I have purchased millions of dollars worth of diamonds from all over the world and always used the certificate as a back up...I always looked at the stone first, and often found beautiful looking stones that didn't look so great on the certificate - but then are you going to be wearing a stone or at a piece of paper?!
I would also recommend some lessons in stone setting to avoid a costly and irreversible mistakes when setting the diamond. Although they are extremely hard, they have a grain like wood, and will split down the grain just as a lump of oak would!
I'm not trying to put you off, far from it, and you don't say if you have any prior experience either in diamonds or jewellery making, ( you mentioned "being in the business for 20 years", but didn't say what business!)but you can never do too much homework in this field. Go to a lot of jewellers shops and talk to the staff, read up on line, maybe even do a couple of beginners courses in diamonds and setting if you haven't got experience. Speak to manufacturers, suppliers, as many as you can, and maybe even have a "dry run" with some cheap stones and mounts before doing the "real thing".
Good luck, have a huge amount of fun, and we want to see the pictures as you progress as well as the finished article and the huge smile on your girlfriend's face! There are lots of people on this forum who can help you!

[pearlescence]

If you're thinking outside the conventional box then why not think about coloured diamonds? much more interesting.
I wouldn't dare spend a lot on diamonds, I just poke my nose into the diamond halls at the Hong Kong shows, gawp at the acres* of stones and leave quickly. It is a whole separate specialisation. Even Steve Bennett doesn't do his own diamond buying I believe.

*I do mean acres!