Proposal Ring - Part 3

[mero_cwj]

I agree with mero. Etsy is like a gumtree but for handicrafts. I got some handmade coasters and small furniture items there before. Jewellery wise, they are more for costume rings or accessories. I think its ok for anniversary/bday gifts. Don't think its a place for proposal rings.

You're a lucky man that your gf don't want you to spend much Another way is for you to get wedding bands which will be cheaper and is for daily wear. And if you want to spend more, can always consider buying a nice watch too. Doesn't need to be a ring

but hor, I bought a custom dual ring box from there for my wedding bands to use during solemnisation, it is really very very well made. Handcrafted from solid bubinga wood and inlaid with our initials. That one I would heartily recommend. Not that expensive for the quality of the product either, I paid around 60+ USD.

 

[Initiatives]

Anyone have experience at Michael trio before?

I wanted to see a diamond but they told me their warehouse is overseas and need to ship the diamond to singapore.

So I have to pay a 10% deposit of the diamond before viewing it. And if I chose not to take the diamond, the deposit is non refundable.

I just want to underatand if that is a reasonable or standard practice in this industry.

It doesn't feel right to pay to view the diamond.

 

[morpheus2480]

.

My hub got me a 0.7Carat at a local retailer for only 2.1K and its quite shiny and of great cut.

Wow that is a great deal. Did it come with certification?

 

[mero_cwj]

Anyone have experience at Michael trio before?

I wanted to see a diamond but they told me their warehouse is overseas and need to ship the diamond to singapore.

So I have to pay a 10% deposit of the diamond before viewing it. And if I chose not to take the diamond, the deposit is non refundable.

I just want to underatand if that is a reasonable or standard practice in this industry.

It doesn't feel right to pay to view the diamond.

yes and no.

Yes in the sense that a lot of retailers practice "drop-shipping" where the diamond is actually at a central warehouse which can accessed by a lot of retailers - kinda like a central diamond repository. I can understand the rationale if it is a small shop without a large inventory and the diamond is one that perhaps may not have a ready pool of buyers.

No in the sense that it is not really reasonable if it is just a standard diamond without any non-conventional specifications and the only reason is that they don't keep a decent inventory.

IMO I would not enter into any transaction where I would have to pay 10% to have the diamond shipped here for my viewing before I decide. There are plenty of good retailers here who will have a large enough inventory for you to find an alternative.

 

[Initiatives]

yes and no.

Yes in the sense that a lot of retailers practice "drop-shipping" where the diamond is actually at a central warehouse which can accessed by a lot of retailers - kinda like a central diamond repository. I can understand the rationale if it is a small shop without a large inventory and the diamond is one that perhaps may not have a ready pool of buyers.

No in the sense that it is not really reasonable if it is just a standard diamond without any non-conventional specifications and the only reason is that they don't keep a decent inventory.

IMO I would not enter into any transaction where I would have to pay 10% to have the diamond shipped here for my viewing before I decide. There are plenty of good retailers here who will have a large enough inventory for you to find an alternative.

Hi Mero. Thanks for the explanation. The diamond I am looking at is a cushion cut diamond, I am not sure it is considered to something that is unconventional.

Yes. I am very uncomfortable with the fact that it is non-refundable & exchangeable. If I were to reject the first diamond and get the 2nd diamond, I have to pay 110% of the diamond. I don't mind that a deposit is required but I want to have the flexibility to pull out of the deal if the diamond is really not what I expected it to be based on its specs.

 

[mero_cwj]

Hi Mero. Thanks for the explanation. The diamond I am looking at is a cushion cut diamond, I am not sure it is considered to something that is unconventional.

Yes. I am very uncomfortable with the fact that it is non-refundable & exchangeable. If I were to reject the first diamond and get the 2nd diamond, I have to pay 110% of the diamond. I don't mind that a deposit is required but I want to have the flexibility to pull out of the deal if the diamond is really not what I expected it to be based on its specs.

The reason why they ask for a deposit is because I believe they actually have to purchase the diamond from the repository, so it is to cover themselves in the event that you don't want that diamond.

Suggest you have a look at House of Hung for traditional cushion cut diamonds, they have a decent selection of cushion cut diamonds in stock and I doubt that it will be much pricier than Michael Trio. If you're going, might as well take a look at the Brellia diamond at JP as well, it's a hearts and arrows cushion cut that is similar in shape to the traditional cushion cut, but is a hearts and arrows diamond.

 

[Initiatives]

The reason why they ask for a deposit is because I believe they actually have to purchase the diamond from the repository, so it is to cover themselves in the event that you don't want that diamond.

Suggest you have a look at House of Hung for traditional cushion cut diamonds, they have a decent selection of cushion cut diamonds in stock and I doubt that it will be much pricier than Michael Trio. If you're going, might as well take a look at the Brellia diamond at JP as well, it's a hearts and arrows cushion cut that is similar in shape to the traditional cushion cut, but is a hearts and arrows diamond.

I will certainly do that. Unfortunately, my budget is max 4k so I am not sure if I can even find any decent ones at JP with my budget.

 

[KinoChoco]

I will certainly do that. Unfortunately, my budget is max 4k so I am not sure if I can even find any decent ones at JP with my budget.

4K is more than enough to get a good 0.5 Super ideal and above or even bigger if ideal

 

[bb_100]

Anyone have experience at Michael trio before?

I wanted to see a diamond but they told me their warehouse is overseas and need to ship the diamond to singapore.

So I have to pay a 10% deposit of the diamond before viewing it. And if I chose not to take the diamond, the deposit is non refundable.

I just want to underatand if that is a reasonable or standard practice in this industry.

It doesn't feel right to pay to view the diamond.

I went to Michael Trio to look at their heart shaped diamonds, and let me tell you, that will be my first and last time there. Why? Read on.

My friend went there on my behalf the day before to source for any available heart shapes. He clearly told them that I wanted to view the stones first before deciding, and the salesperson said ok, he will make arrangements.

So the next day I went over with my friend, and we were served by someone else, as the guy who dealt with my friend was not available. The new guy shoved a piece of printed GIA cert into our faces before taking out his invoice and asked us for a 10% deposit. Then we were like, "what the fish?? Aren't we supposed to view the actual diamonds first before deciding?"

It turned out that the previous sales guy who served my friend did not tell him that we were coming for viewing. In the end I told him that I won't be paying for something which I could not see and quickly left the store. They don't even have an actual photograph of the diamond.

Seriously, this has no difference with buying blind man.!

 

[Initiatives]

I went to Michael Trio to look at their heart shaped diamonds, and let me tell you, that will be my first and last time there. Why? Read on.

My friend went there on my behalf the day before to source for any available heart shapes. He clearly told them that I wanted to view the stones first before deciding, and the salesperson said ok, he will make arrangements.

So the next day I went over with my friend, and we were served by someone else, as the guy who dealt with my friend was not available. The new guy shoved a piece of printed GIA cert into our faces before taking out his invoice and asked us for a 10% deposit. Then we were like, "what the fish?? Aren't we supposed to view the actual diamonds first before deciding?"

It turned out that the previous sales guy who served my friend did not tell him that we were coming for viewing. In the end I told him that I won't be paying for something which I could not see and quickly left the store. They don't even have an actual photograph of the diamond.

Seriously, this has no difference with buying blind man.!

Thanks for the sharing! So it seems that Michael trio really have this 10% down-payment before viewing policy.

 

[Initiatives]

4K is more than enough to get a good 0.5 Super ideal and above or even bigger if ideal

I am also looking for a halo setting to go with the diamond, not sure if it is too far fetched with my budget but I will still go down jp and few others jeweler first for comparison.

 

[KinoChoco]

I am also looking for a halo setting to go with the diamond, not sure if it is too far fetched with my budget but I will still go down jp and few others jeweler first for comparison.

You're probably gonna get the best deal in JP to be honest. Yeah Halo setting I believe it's slightly more expensive (1-1.5k?) due to the high numbers of hearts and arrows melee diamonds they uses.

I'll also recommend you get minimu a F Color for your main stone as their melee diamonds are all colourless (D-F), if your main stone has a lower color grade, it might bring out the yellow tint. Try check for 0.40-0.49 range of diamond F Color VS2 and see whether Super ideal/cushion/ideal fit for budget

 

[bb_100]

Thanks for the sharing! So it seems that Michael trio really have this 10% down-payment before viewing policy.

Yes, for those diamonds which are not in their store.

 

[Initiatives]

You're probably gonna get the best deal in JP to be honest. Yeah Halo setting I believe it's slightly more expensive (1-1.5k?) due to the high numbers of hearts and arrows melee diamonds they uses.

I'll also recommend you get minimu a F Color for your main stone as their melee diamonds are all colourless (D-F), if your main stone has a lower color grade, it might bring out the yellow tint. Try check for 0.40-0.49 range of diamond F Color VS2 and see whether Super ideal/cushion/ideal fit for budget

Thanks! I will be heading down to jp today will enquire more!

 

[kaelstorm]

Hi guys, i recently bought my proposal ring.

im puzzled that when i key in the specs to get the HCA grade, i get 2 different grades when i key in "angle" & "percentage" for Crown & Pavilion.

May any pros here advise?

Thanks!

 

[mero_cwj]

Hi guys, i recently bought my proposal ring.

im puzzled that when i key in the specs to get the HCA grade, i get 2 different grades when i key in "angle" & "percentage" for Crown & Pavilion.

May any pros here advise?

Thanks!

Your cert has both the crown/pavilion angle and percentage?

If I recall correctly, one of them (I cannot remember whether it's angle or percentage) is rounded up/down, so that may be why.

 

[bb_100]

Hi guys, i recently bought my proposal ring.

im puzzled that when i key in the specs to get the HCA grade, i get 2 different grades when i key in "angle" & "percentage" for Crown & Pavilion.

May any pros here advise?

Thanks!

HCA score calculated using crown angle and pavilion angle is more accurate.

 

[bb_100]

Your cert has both the crown/pavilion angle and percentage?

If I recall correctly, one of them (I cannot remember whether it's angle or percentage) is rounded up/down, so that may be why.

Percentage is rounded up/down. So the HCA score calculated using these parameters is not so accurate.

 

[kaelstorm]

Your cert has both the crown/pavilion angle and percentage?

If I recall correctly, one of them (I cannot remember whether it's angle or percentage) is rounded up/down, so that may be why.

HCA score calculated using crown angle and pavilion angle is more accurate.

i see, thanks! in that case my diamond's HCA score is 2.0. whereas using percentage is 1.4. what a huge difference.

 

[mero_cwj]

i see, thanks! in that case my diamond's HCA score is 2.0. whereas using percentage is 1.4. what a huge difference.

yup. tiny deviations can completely throw off a diamond's optical symmetry. hopefully that joker who insists that "small" deviations in crown/pavilion angle doesn't matter doesn't chime in