Ebay and diamonds
Discussion
My g/f has announced that she thinks she should be getting diamond earrings for Christmas. And not just any - 0.5ct, high clarity and colour. She has also suggested sapphires might be OK.
I have made it clear that I am not willing to spend the kind of money those diamond earrings would cost. I've already chatted to one of the regular jewellery guys that post on this forum (ecain63) - who's confirmed that the diamonds are as expensive as I expected, but Sapphires might be an option. And there is a good chance that will be what I choose (although I'm also thinking it would be simpler to find a g/f who doesn't think she should be getting diamond earrings for Christmas).
In the meantime, my g/f is assuring me that diamond earrings are only too expensive "because I am looking at retail stores". If I use ebay, or some other jewellery auction site she told me but I've forgotten - or order direct from America - then I'll be able to get certificated diamond earrings of the type she wants for about 50p (actually, she said "about a third of the price") - she believes they would come in at under £1k fairly easily.
I am very dubious. I have used Ebay rarely in the past but not for anything like this - and I tend to think that if I order diamond earrings from somebody I've never heard of on Ebay or some other auction / USA site - I'll either end up with nothing, or cubic zirconia with a nice made up certificate. I'm aware that paypal gives some protection, but even so my gut feeling is that this is a bad idea.
Am I being unnecessarily cautious - or should I snap up an Ebay bargain? A quick browse suggests there is stuff on there cheaper than high street jewellers but perhaps not the bargain she suggested.
I have made it clear that I am not willing to spend the kind of money those diamond earrings would cost. I've already chatted to one of the regular jewellery guys that post on this forum (ecain63) - who's confirmed that the diamonds are as expensive as I expected, but Sapphires might be an option. And there is a good chance that will be what I choose (although I'm also thinking it would be simpler to find a g/f who doesn't think she should be getting diamond earrings for Christmas).
In the meantime, my g/f is assuring me that diamond earrings are only too expensive "because I am looking at retail stores". If I use ebay, or some other jewellery auction site she told me but I've forgotten - or order direct from America - then I'll be able to get certificated diamond earrings of the type she wants for about 50p (actually, she said "about a third of the price") - she believes they would come in at under £1k fairly easily.
I am very dubious. I have used Ebay rarely in the past but not for anything like this - and I tend to think that if I order diamond earrings from somebody I've never heard of on Ebay or some other auction / USA site - I'll either end up with nothing, or cubic zirconia with a nice made up certificate. I'm aware that paypal gives some protection, but even so my gut feeling is that this is a bad idea.
Am I being unnecessarily cautious - or should I snap up an Ebay bargain? A quick browse suggests there is stuff on there cheaper than high street jewellers but perhaps not the bargain she suggested.
MarcelM6 said:
Have you dropped hint about your expected Rolex?
She's assured me that she is buying me something that I'll love, which is very expensive. But not anything I've asked for, so that should be interesting.I suspect I'll go with Eddie / Ecain63 since I've seen enough posts in the past that I would trust him - which means she'll get Sapphires not diamonds. If she thinks they're a bargain on ebay etc. then she can buy some herself, but I don't trust that way of buying things.
BlueNile might be an option I guess - they're certainly cheaper than the high street jewellers - but still rather expensive!
davek_964 said:
She's assured me that she is buying me something that I'll love, which is very expensive. But not anything I've asked for.
She is pregnant. Congratulations.She may have mentioned Blue Nile as an online retailer. They offer diamonds that score high grades when being certified but are not ideal shapes. A jeweler will be able to point you in the right direction.
Why the hell would you demand high clarity and colour diamonds for a pair of earings, unless you were more interested in the value of them, than the items themselves.
You can notch back the demands for clarity and colour and save a lot of money, and the differences will not be noticeable to the naked eye. Obviously, she will wear them on her ears, so not see them most of the time and the only person who should be getting close enough to her ears to really look at them should be you.
Save some money. Compromise on the colour and clarity (to naked eye levels), and concentrate on cut for the sparkle.
You can notch back the demands for clarity and colour and save a lot of money, and the differences will not be noticeable to the naked eye. Obviously, she will wear them on her ears, so not see them most of the time and the only person who should be getting close enough to her ears to really look at them should be you.
Save some money. Compromise on the colour and clarity (to naked eye levels), and concentrate on cut for the sparkle.
cbmotorsport said:
Why the hell would you demand high clarity and colour diamonds for a pair of earings, unless you were more interested in the value of them, than the items themselves.
You can notch back the demands for clarity and colour and save a lot of money, and the differences will not be noticeable to the naked eye. Obviously, she will wear them on her ears, so not see them most of the time and the only person who should be getting close enough to her ears to really look at them should be you.
Save some money. Compromise on the colour and clarity (to naked eye levels), and concentrate on cut for the sparkle.
As has been the advice from me. You can notch back the demands for clarity and colour and save a lot of money, and the differences will not be noticeable to the naked eye. Obviously, she will wear them on her ears, so not see them most of the time and the only person who should be getting close enough to her ears to really look at them should be you.
Save some money. Compromise on the colour and clarity (to naked eye levels), and concentrate on cut for the sparkle.
Unfortunately, although I agree that she doesn't need that quality for earrings - she is adamant she does. Which means anything less is likely to be wasted money.
However, that's not actually a bad thing because it simply means I can't afford what she wants. Sapphires are her birth stone and hence were also an option she gave, and the price of those from Eddie seems possible - albeit rather higher than the Christmas budget I thought we were planning!
However, that's not actually a bad thing because it simply means I can't afford what she wants. Sapphires are her birth stone and hence were also an option she gave, and the price of those from Eddie seems possible - albeit rather higher than the Christmas budget I thought we were planning!
ecain63 said:
davek_964 said:
Exactly. And to be fair, her view is along the lines of : look what you spend on your cars - I should be at least as important to you as your cars.
Stepping over the line with the cars! 
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