Buying Diamond Earrings. Help!

[spartan1979]

I was thinking about buying my wife diamond earrings for Christmas. I bought her a pair about 10 years ago, but she lost one.

The problem is that I hate buying jewelry. I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t really want to spend much time learning about it and I know there’s a huge markup on this stuff, so I feel like I’m getting ripped off. I usually mange to avoid buying jewelry, but I think she’d really like a new pair.

I checked a couple of websites for local and national jewelers but it didn’t make me feel any better. I did find this: http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watche ... ku=1150703 and it seems to be a decent deal, reasonable quality/price.

Can anyone send me in the right direction and/or comment on the link? Thanks.

[bravedave]

Some people have a jeweler that they just 'trust.' I do, and I have recommended him to other people. So far everyone has been satisfied. If you lived anywhere near me, I'd recommend him to you too.
I might have paid a few dollars (literally!) more than the lowest internet price that can be found, but the trust of dealing with someone face-to-face is reassuring.
Ask a friend, neighbor, or co-worker if they have a jeweler that they would recommend. Even if you only visit the store once, your peace of mind will be worth the trip.

My jeweler's name is Kenny, and he is a prince (not literally). I have known him for more than thirty years. I have only purchased about four (big-ticket) items from him, but he treats me like his best customer. And he gladly services what he sells (and sometimes other stuff too!)

[buffettbride]

Some people have a jeweler that they just 'trust.' I do, and I have recommended him to other people. So far everyone has been satisfied. If you lived anywhere near me, I'd recommend him to you too.
I might have paid a few dollars (literally!) more than the lowest internet price that can be found, but the trust of dealing with someone face-to-face is reassuring.
Ask a friend, neighbor, or co-worker if they have a jeweler that they would recommend. Even if you only visit the store once, your peace of mind will be worth the trip.

My jeweler's name is Kenny, and he is a prince (not literally). I have known him for more than thirty years. I have only purchased about four (big-ticket) items from him, but he treats me like his best customer. And he gladly services what he sells (and sometimes other stuff too!)

I agree with Dave. We have a jeweler, too.

If all else fails, any woman would likely *love* anything from Tiffany's. Mark-up? Yes. Your wife's eyes when she sees the little blue box? Totally worth it.

[Coconuts]

Overstock.com is never a deal. I trust that they will promptly send me the item I've purchased, but the quality hasn't been good for the price in years.

Those earrings are really not very good quality. The I2 designation means that there are black bits visible to the naked eye. The color is ok, but won't be super clear.

Have you considered taking the single earring to a jeweler and having it matched?

Also, you're looking at pretty big rocks- can your wife's ears/frame support that? We can't remember whether mine are 1/4 each, or 1/4 tw, but everything larger looked stupid on me.

[ph4ever]

My uncle owned his own store, my ex husband was a jeweler and I worked in a store for awhile myself.

Yes there is a markup. When I was in the industry I worked for one of those "mall jewelers" and we triple keyed everything.

I suggest you go to a local jeweler - not one of the mall stores and definately not overstock.com You need to look at what you are buying. A picture may be pretty but the actual product may differ drastically from the picture.

Remember your C's. Cut Carat and Clarity. The better the quality the more you will pay but it's always worth it. For earings I also strongly suggest screw backs. Thery're not 100% fool proof to keep them from being lost (your wife has to make sure she screws them on good) but they are better than the pushback ones.

[Coconuts]

My uncle owned his own store, my ex husband was a jeweler and I worked in a store for awhile myself.

Yes there is a markup. When I was in the industry I worked for one of those "mall jewelers" and we triple keyed everything.

I suggest you go to a local jeweler - not one of the mall stores and definately not overstock.com You need to look at what you are buying. A picture may be pretty but the actual product may differ drastically from the picture.

Remember your C's. Cut Carat and Clarity. The better the quality the more you will pay but it's always worth it. For earings I also strongly suggest screw backs. Thery're not 100% fool proof to keep them from being lost (your wife has to make sure she screws them on good) but they are better than the pushback ones.

I've never lost an earring I was wearing- I always lose them between the time I take them off and put them in a jewelry box.

[ph4ever]

My uncle owned his own store, my ex husband was a jeweler and I worked in a store for awhile myself.

Yes there is a markup. When I was in the industry I worked for one of those "mall jewelers" and we triple keyed everything.

I suggest you go to a local jeweler - not one of the mall stores and definately not overstock.com You need to look at what you are buying. A picture may be pretty but the actual product may differ drastically from the picture.

Remember your C's. Cut Carat and Clarity. The better the quality the more you will pay but it's always worth it. For earings I also strongly suggest screw backs. Thery're not 100% fool proof to keep them from being lost (your wife has to make sure she screws them on good) but they are better than the pushback ones.

I've never lost an earring I was wearing- I always lose them between the time I take them off and put them in a jewelry box.

I have - and working in the industry I've seen quite a few people having one earring made for that reason.

And I forgot the other C - Color

[ejr]

I know nothing about diamonds but have a close friend in the jewelry business, and I know with diamonds there's enormous range of quality. First of all, I would never buy diamonds on the internet--you have no idea of quality whatsoever.

Figure out what you can or are willing to spend, find a reputable, non-mall jeweler (check with friends, colleagues, etc and take one with you if needed) and buy quality--there really is a difference.

[sunseeker]

I'd take the one lone earring and see if a jeweler could match it....

[Bicycle Bill]

Echo the idea of working with a local jeweler; preferably one that has been around for a while.

When I gave my lady friend a (modest) diamond pendant necklace, it came with a guarantee against diamond loss so long as it was brought back to the jeweler regularly for inspection. I'm presuming this was so that they would be able to detect if the setting was starting to loosen or fail, and take corrective measures if necessary.

You also get to see the actual piece you are purchasing, not just a "representative illustration". Let's face it — pictures lie. What looks huge in a picture may be itsy-bitsy by the time it's in your hand.

And should you ever need to sell/return/dispose of it — the jeweler you bought it from might even be willing to take it off your hands for you at a fairer price that PawnAmerica. After all, he sold it to you, so he knows what he's getting back.

-"BB"-

[East Texas Parrothead]

I have a relative in the wholesale side of the business. I've never paid retail. At one time, he was the largest wholesale diamond dealer in the southwest.

If you want, I'll give you his number.

[Big Phan]

I'd take the one lone earring and see if a jeweler could match it....

And if the jeweler can't match the lone earring, have it made into a pendant and STILL get her new earrings. She'll LOVE you (even more) for it! Good luck.

[SharkOnLand]

Buy a couple pieces of coal and bury them in the back yard for a million years or so...

[dnw]

I'd take the one lone earring and see if a jeweler could match it....

And if the jeweler can't match the lone earring, have it made into a pendant and STILL get her new earrings. She'll LOVE you (even more) for it! Good luck.

Great idea!

[spartan1979]

I went out this afternoon and stopped at a jewelry store that's been around a while and the 1 carat earrings where $3600. I asked about the quality and was told that they were g-something and all the earrings they carry had occlusions in them. I stopped at Kohl's to buy a sweater and while I was there I took a look at what they had. They had 1 ct. earrings on sale 65% off or $650. The quality was IJ-something.

Reminds me why I hate buying jewelry. I'm looking at these little stones that don't do anything for me and I have to believe whatever the store says they are. $3600 looks about the same to me as $650.

[The Lost Manatee]

A couple of things to bear in mind when buying diamonds, color, clarity, quality. Okay, there are three things to bear in mind when buying diamonds, color, clarity, quality and cut. Fine, there are four things to bear in mind when buying diamonds.......

Seriously, in terms of mark up, the greatest amount of mark up, as a percentage, happens on the lowest priced diamonds. So a $500.00 diamond has been marked up at far higher percentage than the $2000.00 diamond. So you get far less diamond for your money when you go with the bottom end diamonds.

Next, you may want to consider lab created diamonds. These are man made diamonds and what sets them apart from natural ones are pricing, consistent color, clarity, quality and sparkle. They don't have the flaws that diamonds that have been mined have, the colors are constant and they have a far brighter refraction level for the some cut of diamond. They are significantly less money for the same quality and size.

And, one last thing, diamond prices are artificially inflated by a diamond cartel that holds back a great many diamonds to drive the price up. Rubies and Emeralds are fare rarer and therefore are inherently more valuable.

[Coconuts]

I went out this afternoon and stopped at a jewelry store that's been around a while and the 1 carat earrings where $3600. I asked about the quality and was told that they were g-something and all the earrings they carry had occlusions in them. I stopped at Kohl's to buy a sweater and while I was there I took a look at what they had. They had 1 ct. earrings on sale 65% off or $650. The quality was IJ-something.

Reminds me why I hate buying jewelry. I'm looking at these little stones that don't do anything for me and I have to believe whatever the store says they are. $3600 looks about the same to me as $650.

That's because, from your description, those are pretty close to the same.

The I is imperfect, meaning inclusions, but there are three degrees of "I"s, so if the jewelry store had I1s, and Kohls had I3, that would account for the price difference. The G/J is the color- the more yellow, the farther into the alphabet you get, but it starts with D.

Here's some info:

http://www.costco.com/images/content/mi ... iteria.pdf

Would your wife care if you went Moissanite? Personally, I knew before I got engaged that I would probably give up wearing a big ring eventually, and by going with a less expensive stone, I knew I could do that without feeling horribly guilty about it. At this point we've even replaced my original wedding band with a cheap tungsten carbide band that can stand up to things like kneading whole wheat pasta and bread dough, or grouting tile. I also couldn't bear the thought of possibly wearing a blood diamond, so it was the right choice for us.

[nutmeg]

Do you do QVC?

I've gotten a few of the Diamonique things in the past and they are really quite nice. And if you wife has a tendency to lose her earrings, these would be just the ticket. 14k gold and very inexpensive.

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view ... s-14K-Gold

If you are set on real diamonds, I'd go with the advice of the rest of the crowd. Find a local jeweler and work with him/her to get the best quality you can for your price range. I deal with a couple who purchases estate jewelry and though I've never bought diamond earrings from them, I know that they will tell me the truth on what they sell.

btw you don't need to go for the whole carat earrings. 1/2 carat (1/4 in each ear) are plenty for most women.

[ph4ever]

There is rarely a perfect stone. The majority of all diamonds have some type of inclusion. The only way you're going to be able to tell the difference in the diamonds at Khols and the jewelers is to use a jewelers loupe and then you have to know what to look for. I'd go with the $ 650.00 ones if they have a nice sparkle that is colorful. I think to try to educate you furthur would become more frustrating for you in the long run.

[spartan1979]

Would your wife care if you went Moissanite?

Actually, I had never heard of it. I'll have to look into it.