mounting a loose diamond?

bradpierson26

bradpierson26

Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
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My soon to be fiance and I were out diamond shopping today (at Jared) and she found a ring without the diamond that she can't live without. I have yet to see the same mount anywhere else. The loose diamonds they had were a little too spendy for me though. we looked at two, one was $2200 and the other $2500. Well she is online now and looking at Shane Co.'s website which offers loose diamonds. seems like they are the only other place that does this and you can even get them fedex'd to your door. :eek:
So, is there anything wrong with buying a mount at one place and a rock at another?
another big question is warranties on the mount (which has lots of small diamonds and 14k white gold from jared) and then a seperate warranty on the main rock from shane Co.
is this going to be an issue?

thirdly, would I just bring the mount to Shane Co. and have them mount it? is there some unwritten rule that that is unacceptable? what would shane co. or any other jeweler charge to mount the rock?
here is the setting, the link shows a round cut, we would get a princess cut. approx .70 carats.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdesign.jared-diamonds.com%2Fengagement-rings%2Fsettings-with-sidestones%2Fring%2Fitem_58-5703.asp&h=119b21c2b1d00c593ae95e86277262d9
jared has the mount for $1k and shane co has the .70 carat rock for a little under $1500.
absolute price limit including warranties and everything is $3k
 
Someone knowledgeable will be along soon however have you considered a plain gold wedding band? Kidding.

When my wife of 52 years accidentally cracked the big diamond in her original ring I was surprised to learn cracking a diamond was not an uncommon occurrence..especially in office settings..hitting on a file cabinet and such...my wife is a RN..no clue on the event.

Also learned over the years it is a good idea to have all ring prongs checked, tightened or replaced on a regular basis such as yearly...have bought a few loose diamonds so far, LOL.
 
I'd be very cautious concerning the set material of the ring. Gold is much too soft to hold a stone, so the best ring sets are usually made of paladium, a very hard and easily worked mixture of metals.
Even using the best materials, as mentioned above,regular checking and occasional tightening of the set prongs is advised. After years of wear, the tips of the prongs wear down, and need to be replaced, by providing enough metal to securely lock over the top edge of the stone.
Unless some store only practices, I think most retailers of either sets or stones are accustomed to do the mounting, but make sure to inquire concerning a work warranty.
 
I'm not an expert by any means, but I had an engagement ring made for my wife about 20 years ago. The jeweler that I bought the setting from mounted the loose diamond ( that I suppled) right in front of us for free. The setting was covered under the jewelers warranty and the diamond was guaranteed to have an appraised value of what I paid for it. As a courtesy the jeweler weighed the loose stone prior to mounting and told me the carat weight. A written appraisal is not free and will vary depending on the jeweler, but you should have this for insurance purposes and to check that you got a good stone. It's actually beneficial to buy loose diamonds because imperfections are easier to detect prior to mounting.

I'm not familiar with Jared's , but the important thing is to find a jeweler that offers these services without sending anything out.
 
Food for thought: No one can tell cubic zirconia from diamond by looking at it. There is a difference in refractive index that can be measured with a relative refractometer, but the difference is so small even the experts can't see it.
 
I purchased my wifes ring and diamond at jared and I can tell you that I do not regret it at all. They took very good care of us at the time and the follow up service for cleaning and inspection has been nothing short of fantastic.:thumbup:
 
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I bought my wife's stone and mount separate of each other and the jeweler I bought the ring from mounted the stone for no charge. I brought it to another jeweler for an appraisal.
 
found a rock at shane company.
.53 carats, H color, SI1 clarity princess cut. little under $1200.
they charge $2.50 per 1/100 carat. math blows but the number came to like $145 for shane co to mount the rock. sounds pricey IMHO
buuuuut. only $30 flat fee to engrave the band. we are gonna get "Eternity" engraved on the inside. kinda cliche but who gives a shit.
gotta call jared to see what they would charge to mount a loose stone.
both companies would provide warranties on their own items for free for the lifetime of both. all cost including taxes come to $2550ish
 
I would NEVER order a diamond online. This was after speaking with a certified GIA (Gemological Institute of America - I think) advisor at a Helzberg. She told me that what happens is that if you are looking for a generic diamond, tehy try and sell you something with low clarity, lots of inclusions, and other crap that constitute a low quality rock.

She advised me to take my time and pick something that is clean (cut to spec to reflect light), colorless (a true white diamond not something with a yellow tinge), and reflects light at the top. The best way is to insist on looking at potential stones under a gemscope (like a microscope for stones). A good 1 ct. stone can cost up to $5000 or more. This process is likened to buying and negotiation with a used car dealer.
 
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