Is anyone in the group a jeweler that can provide advise.

It seems like the price of 3/4 c is much less than 1 c, can you see the difference?

May basic understanding is that the quality for earind does not have to be as high. It does not mean as much as a ring and for this purpose size is more important than quality.

Hey, I love the consumer society, too. But, $6 to $28Gs for a pair of fookin earrings?! WTF!

Exactly my point on the cubic zirc rec'd,

Hey, a diamond dlr or xpert might be able to tell the diff, but I guarantee that few, if any consumers on this board, could tell the diff., espc. when hanging on your wife's ears. But, diff'n strokes.

(You could park that 28Gs in an index fund and retire 5 years earlier than planned; course, Mom wouldn't have real diamond studs.)
I'll shut up, but this thread is freaking riot, imo.

Edit: I must say that a couple of posters provided outstanding info on diamonds...I just didn't get the need for earrings that cost more than my first house, lol!

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Is the diamond 1 carat exact, or 1.01, 1.02, etc.? That makes a huge difference in price. All jewellers base their price off of the "Rapp Report". Basically, the higher the carat the diamond is, the higher the per carat price. Diamonds under 1 carat have a set per carat price, depending on color, clarity, and cut. That's why you rarely see a loose diamond that is a .95, .97, etc. because if it's cut to 1.01, it costs more, even though it's only a small difference in size. So, a diamond between 1.01-2 carats has a higher per carat price than a stone 1 carat and under, a stone between 2.01-3 carat has a higher per carat price than stones in the 1.01-2 range, so on and so forth. That said, I feel color and cut is the most important. Very hard to tell between D and F, but you can see a difference between F and G color. Cut is what brings the sparkle. The better the symmetry, the better the light reflects in the diamond. To the naked eye, VVS1 is no different than VS2, or even an SI grade. The website WagnerX5 recommends, www.bluenile.com, is a great website with pretty good info and prices. You should be able to find better deals through jewellers, but use that as a base. Make sure that any diamond you look at has a GIA certification. I know they had that scandal last year with some appraisers being bribed to fluff up the quality of certain diamonds, but they are still the gold standard. I wouldn't look at any diamond that didn't have that. For example, a GIA rated SI2 quality diamond is probably at least a VS2 in EGL standards. Plus, because of this scandal, my understanding is GIA will re-appraise any diamond for free if you're uncertain of it's quality. My recommendation would be to get a better color diamond with a lower clarity. Lowest I would go would probably be SI2 clarity; no one is gonna get that up close to your ears to look for carbon, but they'll probably notice the color. Ask to see the Rapp Report; from what I remember when I went diamond shopping, if you can get at least 20-25% off that Rapp Report price, that's pretty good, but expect about 10-15% unless you really haggle. Sorry for the long post, but I hope that helps.

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Aha, you know the right place in Vancouver to get nice diamonds. Colin and his crew have some nice stuff. I flew up there with the fianceé to pick out her engagement ring. We scored bigtime with a super nice stone for a very reasonable price. My brother had dropped some big money there so I knew what to expect. Did you see my picture besides Jovo's and Cloutier's?

The only thing that has ticked me off about them was that the stone is now a little loose in the setting and they have not responded to my e-mail. I have to get after them.

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I think to better help you we need a little more information. To me, your budget will dictate what you buy. Also, while it sounds strange, consider the size of the wearer's earlobes. If they are small, a .5 carat diamond should look good whereas a 1 carat might look too big. (The ladies might disagree that a diamond can never look too big.) What about hair length? Will the hair cover the diamonds most of the time? I agree with the general statement that diamond earrings need not be as good as a ring. Something reasonably good is good enough. This applies especially if you're on a budget. If you've got Oprah money then you can get a pair of 5 carat each earrings like she has. I call those "headlights".

I agree with most of what x5guy said. I would never buy a high price stone without GIA certs. Something like an engagement ring or wedding ring is too important to not get certified stones. If you're looking for some nice earrings as more of a fashion thing and if it's not that expensive then I'd be less concerned about certification. I do agree that color is more important than clarity for earrings.

Check out your local Costco. Believe it or not, they sell some nice stuff and their prices are pretty good. As suggested, Bluenile.com is pretty good too. I have bought diamond earrings from them and they were very nice. They are also good about returns too.

Good luck!

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Definitely...quality over size for the hands, give up a grade or two for the ears, since they don't get the exposure the hands do. If you don't mind dealing over the phone, there are two old school Long Island jewelers in Casselberry, FL who will not only give you great advice but will not sell you any less or any more than you want...Trimblett & Brooks--google them. And their wholesalers are the same guys in Israel, Armenia, and Holland who the 47th Street guys (and Tiffany, Harry Winston, etc) deal with, but since Trimblett & Brooks do not advertise and have 20% of the 47th Street rent, they can provide a ton of value. Oh, and you won't pay sales tax..ask for Jim Trimblett.

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Yes Colin is a good friend. I bought my wifes ring there as well. Haven't seen the pic put I may pop by there this week...I will have a look.

With the stone they should fix right away...give em a call if you cant get through with the email.

No doubt its expensive just giving some honest info...when someone says they are looking for 1-2 carat earings they should know what they are getting into!

I was kidding about my picture being there, unless they put up a picture of Hello Kitty. I was very afraid when I walked into the offices with all those pictures of NHLers and assorted celebs, plus the amazing view that I thought I'd be paying for. Colin is a character for sure. When he saw my fianceé he flat out asked her what the hell she was doing with me. We answered that question when I bucked up for the ring.

I'll be going back to him for any other important items in the future.

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