Ring Shopping...how important?

fmb2011

Hello Ladies! I've been kinda lurking on here for a while...my bf and I have talked married but I'm still NEY.

Well, Friday night we went to the mall just to get an "idea" of what I liked. I came across a ring which was not orignally the style I planned but I put it on and fell in love. Plus side is bf liked it too.

My question comes in how important is the whole 4 c's thing? I mean, I never asked what the grading system was on the diamonds in it and in all honesty, it was so sparkly and pretty...I didn't care. Is there a reason that I'm just not getting as to why I would need to know such things? Is it more for insurance purposes? Not that it would change my decision on whether I liked the ring or not, I just didn't know if there was a reason I should know these things Thanks for your input!

purplepeopleeater11

You and your BF should research the 4 C's in depth if you're going to buy a diamond.  Any one of the characteristics, cut, color, carat, clarity, can effect the price substantially.  For diamonds the 4C's are VERY important.  A low clarity diamond could fracture or split, a low cut diamond won't have the scintillation a high cut would, color impacts whether it looks clear or yellow, and obviously carat is the size.

loves2shop4shoes

The four C's basically help you to determine the quality and rarity of your diamond.  It is good to know them so that you can make sure you're not getting ripped off when you buy the diamond.  Also, they are necessary for appraisal/insurance purposes.

Generally, the better each C, the more valuable the diamond.

Elle1036

In general, I think that if you're happy with the look of the diamond, there's no reason to be overly concerned with the stats.  In fact, you can save yourself a lot of money that way.

HOWEVER, proceed with caution.  The bright flourescent lights in jewelry stores can make almost any diamond look clear, white, and sparkly.  It would be a real bummer to get it home and suddenly see a huge inclusion or realize that it is faintly yellow or something.

Check out www.truthaboutdiamonds.com. It will tell you the short and simple of everything you need to know.

fmb2011

I should have proof read that a little better..."talked marriage" not married

Thanks for clearing it up...I had no idea a diamond could frature or split because of the clarity. I'm not typically a jewelry person so I've never paid much attention to it.

forthepocket

I agree with what the others have said. I would say if you know more about the 4 C's then you will be able to tell if the diamond you love is worth the price they are asking. If it isn't you may be able to get the price down depending on the jewler and walk away with not only the diamond of your dreams but for an awesome price to boot!

jemmini6

My FI and I decided on the size diamond that we liked, and I honestly don't know the other 3 C's about it.  It looks nice, that's really all I cared about. LOL.  I'm gonna guess that mine is probably mid-range on all of them though because it looks very clear in the sunlight and you can really see all the facets in the cut that really help it catch the light.  To me though, it's really just a piece of jewelry and the quality of my diamond doesn't equate to the quality of my relationship.

Blue & White

I don't know a ton about ring shopping (at all) but I do know I only want what my boyfriend can afford comfortably...

SeaTea02

My mom had a nearly perfect diamond. My grandmas was very yellow and very included. I could visually see the difference.

When I went in the store and saw a mid level diamond and a near perfect diamond (in all Cs) I could not tell the difference with my naked eye.

Elle1036

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ring-shoppinghow-important?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:cf205924-c6c1-447f-a480-0a8e61a43cb0Post:8c3bbc9e-67ea-48b6-858d-219015dacc4d">Re: Ring Shopping...how important?</a>:
[QUOTE]I agree with what the others have said. I<strong> would say if you know more about the 4 C's then you will be able to tell if the diamond you love is worth the price they are asking. </strong>If it isn't you may be able to get the price down depending on the jewler and walk away with not only the diamond of your dreams but for an awesome price to boot!
Posted by forthepocket[/QUOTE]

This is a really good point.  Diamonds are already ridiculously overpriced, and jewelry stores (especially the chain stores you find in malls) are really bad about marking prices up even further.  A guy at Zale's tried to sell BF and me on a 1 carat, far-from-perfect diamond for $13,000.

Before you buy anything, compare prices with the stock at bluenile.com.  Enter your diamond's info in their loose diamond search and compare the prices that come up.

Also, the more you know about the C's, the more confidently you can talk to the jewelers, which means they won't try to to scam you.  Another sales person (this time at Kay) tried to convince me once that cushion cut stones and emerald cut stones are "basically the same" (they're not even close) because she didn't have any cushions to show me.

motoLyn

I try to stay away from mall chain stores.  Comparison shopping is the best way to go when it comes to purchasing a diamond or any precious stone for that matter.  Far better is to be educated.  The Knot has a info page in the four Cs.  Its up to your BF and you to decide of what you want. 

In my case my FI had cut and clarity as his top priorities.  He knew more about the four Cs than I did, go figure.  I didn't care so much about color.  So in the end FI picked out a stone that was mid range for color and clarity and excellent for cut.  The way the diamond is cut makes it sparkle like a star in the sun. 

Prices can drastically change depending on the color and the clarity.  There was two stones that a jeweler had shown us one was  VS2 and the other one was VVS2 and the price difference was a $1,000.  There was NO WAY I could see the inclusions with my naked eye so why would i want to pay 1K more for a stone.  Same goes for any of the other Cs.  So shop sites like Blue Nile or similar and just look at various stones, no two are alike.  Always make sure you get a chance to see it in person, I'm one of those that has to see something before I buy it. 

Last any jeweler worth their own is not going to push something on you.  Our jeweler was patient and helpful and let us make our own decisions.  Hence why I would recommend him to any one looking for a reputable jeweler. 

loves2shop4shoes

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ring-shoppinghow-important?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:cf205924-c6c1-447f-a480-0a8e61a43cb0Post:207ad049-fd4b-4a4c-96ff-8b266b9962b0">Re: Ring Shopping...how important?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Ring Shopping...how important? : <strong>Another sales person (this time at Kay) tried to convince me once that cushion cut stones and emerald cut stones are "basically the same" (they're not even close) because she didn't have any cushions to show me.</strong>
Posted by Elle1036[/QUOTE]

<div>My jaw just hit the floor.  I have a cushion cut...it's NOTHING like an Emerald.  I'm sure they are "basically the same"...if you're on glue.</div>

Elle1036

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ring-shoppinghow-important?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:cf205924-c6c1-447f-a480-0a8e61a43cb0Post:b17179fd-9d01-44bd-975a-1157a003f8df">Re: Ring Shopping...how important?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Ring Shopping...how important? : My jaw just hit the floor.  I have a cushion cut...it's NOTHING like an Emerald.  I'm sure they are "basically the same"...if you're on glue.
Posted by loves2shop4shoes[/QUOTE]

Yeah.  We left right after that.  I will have a cushion, too, but when we told her that was what we wanted, she acted like we didn't know what we were saying.

leia1979

Definitely comparison shop...not just the stone, but the setting itself. We got my setting for $500 less by going to a different store. Same brand, same style, just cheaper.

fmb2011

Thanks again everyone! I guess I never really thought about it since I'm not going for a big diamond...the one I love has smaller diamonds so I didn't think that I would need to be so aware. But we are on a budget so it sounds like checking into it would be best!

PandaBurr

Look at the new Blue Nile post for a perfect example of why you should learn your 4C's, and to shop around.

leia1979

Not to threadjack, but Panda, I love the UW pumpkin. Did you carve it?

PandaBurr

Thanks! Yep! It was practice pumpkin this year, since I haven't carved one in about 3-4 years. My "real" pumpkin is usually a Stitch one (from Lilo & Stitch). Here's that one:



Okay, I'm done AWing, hehe.

figment23

Regarding the 4Cs...some are more important than others.

Cut is really, really important to the appearance of a diamond. A poor cut with poor depth will look big on the face but be dull and not catch the light properly. Often you see these in mall jewelry stores because they look big and most people are drawn to size before anything else.

Clarity is only important really down to the level of "eye clean." Nothing that is eye clean is likely to have inclusions that could cause the diamond to fracture or chip, and an "eye clean" stone with inclusions (this is usually down to the SI1 level) will be substantially cheaper than for example a VVS2 stone that is only included under magnification. An eye clean stone will not show inclusions at any normal viewing distance, and an ideal cut one will hide inclusions well.

Color is only important to some people-- some are more color sensitive than others. I can't see the difference beween an E color diamond and an H color one, except when they're put on a white background under very bright lighting, but other people can see it immediately. Cut makes a difference in how the color appears, too. An ideal cut stone will reflect much more light and appear whiter than a non-ideal proportioned stone.

Carat weight is probably the least important because it ties into cut. A poorly cut diamond can have a larger carat weight because it was cut to conserve the most rough, not to be the best looking diamond. The same carat weight will exist in different proportions depending on the cut (round versus any of the fancy shapes).

Remember that you can save money by looking for a stone that is just shy of one of the magic numbers (.4, .6., .8, .9 instead of the magical .5, .75, 1, etc) and the difference in face size may be micrometers. A .75 ct may only be 4% smaller on the face than a 1ct stone.