At Least 50% More When Buying From A Store

Q:

Hi Liz,

I need some advice. I have been looking for some diamond stud earrings for a couple months now. Sparkle is very important to me and I believe this comes from the ideal cut. Now a lot of jewelry consultants have tried to talk me out of the grade I want because they claim it’s far away people won’t notice. The thing is, I notice. I am looking for 1 ct total weight SI1 D-H/I in color with $6k budget. No lower than ‘I’.

Now people have quoted me that it will be $5900 for a Forevermark. Is this a good deal? Then I went to Sidney Thomas and looked at Hearts On Fire and they showed me a VS1 for $6,250. How can these prices be so close? To me the VS1 should be way more than the SI? I went online to search reviews and see if I can find help.

Thanks for your time,

Jenny

Forevermark and Hearts On Fire At Least 50% More Than Online

A:

Hi Jenny,

You didn’t mention what color your diamond studs were for both Forevermark and Hearts On Fire. If they were both ‘I’ color for example, then the price difference between these two pairs of diamonds could be due to any number of factors including: cut precision, fluorescence, and most importantly general retail mark-up (overhead costs, marketing, salaries, available margins, branding, etc) that get entered into the equation of a final asking price. You will always pay more for a diamond engagement ring if purchased in a store as opposed to purchased online.

So, if you are willing to purchase online, I strongly recommend Brian Gavin Diamonds. For example, as you are looking for a 1.00ctw diamond stud earrings (.50ct/each diamond) with a budget of $6K, I recommend any of the following:

Matched Pair of 1.056ctw G VS2’s for $4,325.00

Matched Pair of 1.22ctw H VS2’s for $4,835.00

Matched pair of 1.00ctw I VS1’s for $3,350.00 (vs. $5,900 for Forevermark or $6,290 for Hearts on Fire: A 53-56% More Than Online)

Each of these diamonds are part of Brian Gavin’s ‘Signature’ super-ideal Hearts and Arrows diamonds. As you can see, they are all significantly less than the quoted prices from either Forevermark or Sidney Thomas even with higher color grades.

If you really wanted to spend your max budget and get the highest color grade then I recommend this beautiful matched pair of 1.209ct F VS1/VS2 for $5,821.00.

If I were you, I’d take a look at the hundreds of options available via BGD’s matched pairs and see what different carat weight/color combinations you feel comfortable with. Forevermark and Hearts on Fire are much bigger companies and therefore have much higher operational costs than smaller privately owned businesses, but I still wouldn’t pay 50% more just because of it. I’d rather shop online.

Kind Regards,

Liz