Speaking of diamond rings

[whoisjohngalt]

We were at the mall last week and whenever I go (which is very rare) I ALWAYS look at diamond rings. I LOVE LOVE LOVE diamond rings and rings in general. I don't wear them, so don't buy them, but I like looking and trying them on.

Anywhooo, so my DH saw me looking at some and when I went to take care of bambinos he went to talk to a sales person. I saw her writing something down for him and when I asked him later what it was he told me that the price of the ring was $21K, but she said she'll sell it to him for $6900!!

How can that be? Are they trying to sell a $7K ring for $21K??? Or are they really that desperate for business now that they are willing to sell $21K ring for $7K??

Either way, something about it just doesn't seem right...

Thoughts?
Lena

[Urban Chicago]

Jewelry is one of the biggest rackets out there. I'll bet the ring you were looking at wasn't even worth $7K.

By the way, if you want nice jewelry at affordable prices, the WORST place you can go is a mall. If you're in or near a big city, they probably have a downtown diamond district where you'll find the best deals. There will also be real jewelers so they can make something custom for you and you won't be stuck with the designs on display at the mall.

You still need to know what you're talking about and looking at, as it's easy to get scammed.

Educate yourself or go with someone who knows gems.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

This thread is a big eye roller....

I still love you Lena!!!

[Deleted]

Do NOT buy diamonds in the mall stores. Rule #1 from theknot.com.

The short answer to your question is that she was trying to make DH feel like he was really getting a deal. Rule #2: if it's too good to be true, don't believe it.

There's a mind-boggling amount of variables that go into the price of a diamond. For example, you can get one that looks big when viewed from the top, but the shape has been "flattened" compared to better-cut diamonds of the same weight, and light won't refract properly so it doesn't sparkle as much. If you want a good education, go to bluenile.com (I have no affiliation with them other than as a happy customer) and use their "slide" icons to narrow down your choice in terms of size, clarity, cut and color.

Unfortunately, all this discussion of diamonds has me thinking about resetting an amethyst my grandmother gave me 40 years ago. The setting has broken and I think I need a diamond on either side in the new setting.

[Tiny]

Jewelry has one of the highest mark ups and one of the weirdest 'pricing systems ever'. Current or trendy stones, settings, metals are always more expensive than the less trendy. You also should educate yourself on the various quality ratings of the jems - especially diamonds but also other colored jems if you like them. Don't get fooled into thinking the jewerly is an 'investment' - odds are you'll never get what you paid for the peice if you go to resell it - odds are you'll get a whole lot less. I'm not trying to discourage you from buying or enjoying jewelry just don't get caught up in thinking it's the price of the jewelry that makes it "valuable".
Think of the resale value of once trendy and expensive Lime Green Coach Purse... it's no longer the current style or even a current color... yet someone once paid 1K for it... do you think anyone would pay 1K (or even 500) for it now? Jewelry is alot like that...

[Deleted]

Mar 18, 2011 10:34:53 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Jewelry has one of the highest mark ups and one of the weirdest 'pricing systems ever'. <snip> Don't get fooled into thinking the jewelry is an 'investment' - odds are you'll never get what you paid for the piece if you go to resell it - odds are you'll get a whole lot less.

Total agreement here, and I've been buying and enjoying jewelry for years. The only pieces that might qualify as an investment are the gold bracelets, rings and earrings I've bought in India- 22k gold, and the markup over the meltdown value of the gold isn't too awful. (They show you the gram weight on the invoice, and show the weight of any stones separately.) I'm sure I'd get more than I paid for the ones I bought in 2004 if I took them in now, but I wouldn't do it.

I checked bluenile.com this AM for some small diamonds to put on either side of my amethyst- interestingly, they cost about the same as the side diamonds we bought there for my engagement ring in 2002- similar weight and quality.

[whoisjohngalt]

Very interesting. I don't know anything about diamonds, like I said, I don't wear rings, but I can't imagine how many people get screwed on "deals" like this one.

Lena

[Tiny]

The thing with jewelry is that often someone is paying for the 'perception' or 'image' that comes with that peice of jewelry. If 7K buys the perception or image you are after - it doesn't really matter what the value/quality of the base materials are.
It's like designer clothes/goods and cars and watches. Is a Rolex really of better quality than my 25 year old often worn Seiko Mickey Mouse watch? I have to replace the band every couple of years I wear the watch alot - and I have scratched the watch face (or whatever the clear cover is called). The watch keeps time perfectly and has been thru lots of 'adventures' and wear. If I had a Rolex, and I wore it as much as the Mickey Mouse watch - I assume I would have damaged it in some way (scratched the glass) and that the band would have shown wear or needed to be replaced. Does a 5K watch keep better time than my originally $25 Mickey Mouse watch? (Yes, I've spent a small fortune over the years on replacement bands and batteries - but I LOVE my now vintage Mickey Mouse watch!)

Again not saying buying expensive jewelry is bad or wasteful - it's just important to know what it is about the jewerly that gives you the most pleasure -- the image? the trendiness? having the highest quality materials/jems? a unique design? That helps you figure out when inexpensive costume jewelry (or a well made faux diamond) will give you more bang for your buck than an expensive peice.

[Deleted]

Mar 18, 2011 12:07:31 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Is a Rolex really of better quality than my 25 year old often worn Seiko Mickey Mouse watch?

LOL! DH occasionally teases me that his drugstore Timex keeps better time than my Rolex, which I bought used 5 years ago and is probably as old as your Mickey Mouse. I love permanence and durability. I've worn that watch in a dozen countries, in the Atlantic, the Adriatic, the Mediterranean, the Pacific, in triathlons, digging in the garden, ripping out wallpaper... it's still beautiful. The crystal has some minor scratches but not bad enough to replace. That's my motivation- certainly not prestige. Few people know about it and I prefer to keep it that way. Most probably think it's a Seiko knock-off. I bought it after wanting one for about 30 years, so I figured I was unlikely to change my mind.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...still wearing a 25yr Armitron that's going strong... but I really like my Citizen Eco-Drive from a couple of Christmases ago... no batteries to change...

[Regis]

Heard an interview with Rick Harrison of "Pawn Stars" earlier this year. He said diamonds are the best deal you can get at a pawn shop because there's no such thing as a used diamond.

[debtheaven]

Lena you are SO money-conscious. It's fine to want a ring, and it's lovely that your DH considering buying you one. I'm very much a jeans and Cons gal, but I'm like Molly, I love "sparkle" too. DH got me a very beautiful but modest engagement ring, it was actually 2/3 of a Cartier trilogy, no diamonds. I love it, but I always wanted a diamond.

My sister, who lost not one, but two diamond solitaires over the years told me if she ever found our mom's (our dad hid it, long story) I could have it, since I'd never had one. After our dad died, she found it. My sister rocks.

So please, DON'T buy one from the local mall!!!

[lurkyloo]

Lena, you forgot the most important part of the story: What did the ring look like?

[whoisjohngalt]

Lena, you forgot the most important part of the story: What did the ring look like?

It was princess cut, 3 stones, very simple looking ring. I don't have a very original taste in jewelry

Debt,

It's not the money, I just don't wear rings. May be one day, when I am not changing diapers every two seconds or cleaning crayons or paint off everything or... you get the pic Also, in the winter, I don't like wear them bc they get "stuck" in my gloves, etc.

Lena

[qofcc]

It's not the money, I just don't wear rings. May be one day, when I am not changing diapers every two seconds or cleaning crayons or paint off everything or... you get the pic Also, in the winter, I don't like wear them bc they get "stuck" in my gloves, etc.

I hear you. I wanted to be sure I could wear my rings all the time, even when painting, gardening & changing diapers, so when we started talking about rings, I made sure to so shopping and find just the right type of practical setting so that I could casually point out the features & benefits when it came time to buy one.

My engagement ring has a small diamond recessed in a very smooth edged bezel setting and the wedding band (anniversary style band) has 20 tiny diamonds recessed in a channel setting that wraps around the other ring. It never gets stuck in my winter gloves or rubber cleaning gloves and dirt rinses off easily, plus the jewelry store offers professional cleaning any time, so I can stop by and they'll steam clean it in about 10 minutes.

[Deleted]

I used to sell "fine" jewelry at the mall (Macy's). There is a reason why the stuff is always 50% off plus sometimes another 20% off. They did have an exception for diamond solitaires, but we had very few of these.

Funny story about Macy's and a diamond solitaire: a guy bought one from me for $5000 cash. I had to call security before I could accept his money. Two days later he returned it. Of course, he wanted cash back. But whereas he gave me the $5000 in $100 bills, we had to literally scrape together almost every bit of cash in the store to refund his money. I was handing him a stack of fives, a stack of tens . . . you get the idea. He was really ANNOYED to get his refund in a sack. Security escorted him to his car so he couldn't blame us if he got robbed.

Our joke was that he wanted the ring to, um, . . . well, you know. And when he got what he wanted, he repossessed it and returned it.