I do have one word of warning for people searching for deals on diamonds on the internet (especially ebay) - BE CAREFUL! If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't. Some stores or ebay sellers will try to sell treated diamonds. These are real diamonds (not diamoniques or other imitation diamonds), but they treat such things as inclusions in them by drilling tiny holes in them and filling them up. Essentially, they'll take a bad quality diamond (like a bad I clarity one) and try to turn it into a better clarity diamond (like an SI), but these treatments can wear out over time and change the look and quality of your diamond. I would not recommend these for engagement rings. If you find these for less expensive jewelry, it might be a good buy, but you don't want to mess around with something as special as an engagement ring. Be careful and try to buy from trusted, well-known dealers.
Another secret that most people don't know about is that you can save hundreds to a thousand or more dollars by shopping at other places like Blue Nile
or other online stores. They often offer excellent cuts at a great price. Often, they'll have excellent quality diamonds that you can find for cheaper than comparable diamonds that are of a lesser quality at jewelry stores. Jewelry stores often try to trick you by offering a "good" quality for a similar price, while Blue Nile, for instance, will offer you an "excellent" (or "ideal") quality for the same price if not cheaper. And even better, online sales don't include tax (some states in the U.S. ask that you claim it on your tax form at the end of the year, though), so you'll automatically potentially save a few hundred (in addition to the fact that they are already often cheaper).
Sometimes jewelry stores will sound like a good deal with their package deals of free resizing and such for a couple years or the rest of your life, but in reality, a resizing only costs about $15 at a normal store ($20 tops), and you probably won't be resizing a ring much throughout your life.
All in all, be very careful when it comes to dealing with jewelry stores. They often try to trick consumers into paying too much for something that isn't even the best of qualities (the lighting in those stores can make the diamonds look better than what they really are). Many of the sales people often don't know the finer points of diamonds. I've overheard sales people at jewelry stores give customers completely wrong answers as to what does and doesn't affect a diamond's sparkle and such.
In my honest opinion, Blue Nile and other reputable online diamond/jewelry sites have some of the best deals you'll probably be able to find (even if you find a nice used engagement ring through classifieds - but be careful with that ... even then they are sometimes way overpriced). I would highly recommend several online diamond stores, as they often have a much larger selection and can have higher quality diamonds at cheaper prices than retail stores or jewelry stores.
We set up our free diamond search to help customers with the hassle of finding high quality diamonds at cheap prices, and we ask all of the important questions for you and provide you with straight forward advice on each of the specific diamonds we find for you from dozens of the top diamond websites online. You get to see the website, the diamonds, and everything like you normally would -- we just help you along the way for free. Even if you already picked out your diamond, contact us at info@marriage-proposal-ideas.com as we can often offer you special deals and sometimes negotiate the price down for you.
Please also visit our deals page at www.marriage-proposal-ideas.com/deals.html as we try to keep a long list of special deals and savings through several online and in-store jewelry stores that offer engagement rings. And remember, if you don't see a current deal, still contact us (new window will pop up to write your message), as we often have dozens of other deals off-line that we can't publicize.
Feel free to contact us for any help in selecting your diamond engagement ring. We'd love to help you and offer advice anywhere we can. Also visit us at www.Marriage-Proposal-Ideas.com. You'll find tons of good advice on diamonds, as well as marriage proposal ideas! Our free marriage proposal guide contains over 100 marriage proposal ideas! Hope you found our diamond ring buying guide helpful!
