Disclaimer:
YES I realize this is the epitome of FIRST WORLD problems lol. I know I am blessed to even be able to consider this. Just cause I can afford it doesn't mean I want to get ripped off though.

Background:
When I married my wife I was broke as heck, I sold a beat up, emissions failed beast of a 80's suburban for 500$ and bought a ring. The beauty of that situation is that there was little choice in that price range, so i knew i wasn't going to get anything special, it made the choice simple. Well now my sweet thang is turning 50, I have money now, and I want to get her a right hand ring worthy of Mordor!!!...

Issue:
..but holy moley talk about a wild west business! Who in the heck can you trust? Two rings that look dang near identical one is 10 grand more than the other (for example that is not my budget). Every jeweler wants to talk about how they are honest but the other guy isn't blah blah blah. Also specifics, do I want platinum or white gold? Is platinum worth the extra price? I ask jewelers and I get the feeling they are just trying to get the most commission from me.

She is the kind of girl who never, ever, ever, buys anything for herself and we live fairly mediocre lifestyle. She doesn't own but three pairs of shoes and only half a master closet worth of clothes, she's easy maintenance but also hard to buy for, so I want to really splurge and get her a emerald stoned ring for her right hand for her big 50 birthday (may birthstone). But emeralds seem to vary widely in cost and quality (although my plebeian eyes can't hardly tell a difference them). Lab grown vs natural? How do i know if I'm getting the old bait and switch?

TL;DR:
Does anyone know anything about jewelry? Who do you guys trust and use for jewelry?

Here's what i was looking at but it other companies seem to have similar pieces for less. Should I consider upgrading to same design with platinum instead of white gold? Good idea? not worth it? What am i missing? What don't I know? I hate going into something like this un-educated, feel like a giant target is on my back!


https://diamondsdirect.com/jewelry/BDEMD00238

Worthy of Mordor? You want her to have the ring of power?

Let me know if you find one. I'm in the market for a big gold medallion.

Whenever I’ve purchased jewelry for my wife I’ve gone to Kay’s. Point blank: the stuff ain’t cheap. Kay’s has lifetime guarantees on certain stuff as long as my wife pops in every 6 months to have them cleaned. Obviously, this is probably worked into their cost, but if I ever say something stupid and she loses a Diamond in my cheekbone - they will replace it at no cost to me.

And I like being able to see stuff in person. I’ve looked online before and they make something look like a dinner plate only to see it in person and it’s the size of a grain of sand. Online jewelry photos are just like extended arm fish photos.

I just messaged an old fishing friend in florida that I've known for years... in the jewelry business for many years and sent him a copy of this thread.. He is on the road to New Mexico... his advice was this: Just tell them not to buy any of those warranties and upgrade contracts and they'll do fine.

try a zales outlet. When I worked at zales corp. office they sold the same stuff but it was about 30% cheaper

I bought Tory a nice ring from Kays. But I found it online, because every dang ring they had in store was a simple ring with a rock of a diamond on it. They all looked the same, except for the size of the diamond. BORING. Anyways, we almost made it to the 6month cleaning, where I was gonna purchase the lifetime warranty, when the main diamond fell out. So we get there, and the guy behind the counter tells me its gonna be like $400 to replace the diamond at a good faith price, well I told him he could shove that as alls I was paying for was the warranty, and yall can fix this one. He tried hard to get the "well we could trade it up to something in the store" bit on me. I looked him dead in the eyes and said "do you see one ring in this joint that looks like that one shes got?". He said "no, but...." . He tried multiple times to give me that pitch. Finally I said "you try that chit one more time with me, Ill drag you over this counter and feed you these rings, now get this one fixed". Needless to say, I got a phone call asking about my experience, and when I asked the guy on the phone what kind of azzhole would just give up the perfect ring he spent time looking for, for their woman, he was pretty shocked himself. That guy dont work there anymore, and the ring came back better looking than ever, and the design issue fixed.

Yes, they can be expensive, or not. It all depends on if you are really gonna look at the dang thing under a microscope all the time. Thats just my opinion.

I bought my wife a nice Diamond ring ~1996 or so. Several folks recommended Collections Fine Jewelry in Saginaw, Tx. I was very pleased with the buying experience there. A few years ago I updated the insurance policy and had it appraised again here in Dallas. There are Jewelry appraisers that are certified somehow. Anyway, the ring is still worth a decent amount. Buying one unseen /online is not something we would do. Clarity, inclusions, etc. all make the piece look a certain way. It is not a bitcoin. Go to a store and look and agree on how nice it looks maybe. Collections is still in business. If I were looking to buy another piece of nice jewelry, I would go there again. IMHO

https://collectionsfinejewelry.com/pages/about-us

Edit BTW: Same situation for us when we married in 1974. I had to buy our gold wedding bands on credit $195 for both rings. Couldn't afford a diamond engagement ring. Only love can make a golden wedding ring I guess.

[quote=LMG]I bought Tory a nice ring from Kays. But I found it online, because every dang ring they had in store was a simple ring with a rock of a diamond on it. They all looked the same, except for the size of the diamond. BORING. Anyways, we almost made it to the 6month cleaning, where I was gonna purchase the lifetime warranty, when the main diamond fell out. So we get there, and the guy behind the counter tells me its gonna be like $400 to replace the diamond at a good faith price, well I told him he could shove that as alls I was paying for was the warranty, and yall can fix this one. He tried hard to get the "well we could trade it up to something in the store" bit on me. I looked him dead in the eyes and said "do you see one ring in this joint that looks like that one shes got?". He said "no, but...." . He tried multiple times to give me that pitch. Finally I said "you try that chit one more time with me, Ill drag you over this counter and feed you these rings, now get this one fixed". Needless to say, I got a phone call asking about my experience, and when I asked the guy on the phone what kind of azzhole would just give up the perfect ring he spent time looking for, for their woman, he was pretty shocked himself. That guy dont work there anymore, and the ring came back better looking than ever, and the design issue fixed.

Yes, they can be expensive, or not. It all depends on if you are really gonna look at the dang thing under a microscope all the time. Thats just my opinion. [/quote
Finally I said "you try that chit one more time with me, Ill drag you over this counter and feed you these rings, now get this one fixed". Anyone seen Snopes? Snopes, you here boy?

I did a bit of cutting back in the day and taught a few how to do it. I still cut some but take in no outside work. The Chinese screwed up the gem market by dumping millions of fakes on us and it's to the point anyone without testing equipment just assumes everything on a ring is bling and that's it. What you can do is make sure she gets a good cut - hold it to the light, put your finger underneath the stone - if you can see through to your finger - it's mis-cut (referred to as a dead stone). All cuts (facets) are mirrors - cut the right way they reflect light back through the stone to your eye. Facets cut at off angles may not reflect properly and you have a dim stone. Make sure she gets one that reflects and is bright and she'll (and you by extension) will be happy. Agree on the insurance etc. above - waste of money.

I have one jeweler that I buy from when I need to. Elena at the Helzberg Diamond in Parks Mall. She never really tries to sell anything. Just shows me what I want to see and answers any questions and she’s GIA certified to grade diamonds.

Lab grown and natural are chemically the same stones. Lab-grown are better quality but lower cost. I like natural stones but that’s just my preference.

If you’re looking for emeralds, my understanding is that the clearer stones are the better quality but I’m no expert.

On white gold vs platinum, how active is she? Is she a DIYer or someone who uses her hands a lot? If so, it might be worth the money to go platinum. It’s significantly more durable. It’s also a little heavier and pricier. If you go white gold, there’s not much difference between 14k and 18k so I wouldn’t worry about upgrading on that.

Go to Blue Nile, do the tutorial, look at a few diamonds and review classifications. You may even buy one.

Blue Nile is an online diamond seller that has been around a long time.

Contact The Jewelry Store in San Antonio at 210-370-3026. Take a look online atthejewelrystore.com. These folks are the best in the business and honest as the day is long.

CostCo or Sam's Club actually have great jewelry and the prices are not outrageous.

Woolard's in Burleson was great, but they retired about 2 years ago. Gayla at Southern Gem has great Google reviews.