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| - I wanted to buy my now fiancée an engagement ring back in October/November. I toyed with the idea of buying my own diamond and having a jeweler set it but was uncertain at that point. We were looking for a simple yet elegant solitaire with a high-end quality diamond. We came across Brinkhaus - the third store we had visited - through our search of high-end jewellers.
When we entered the store we were greeted by a very friendly female sales representative. She was very knowledgeable on what we were looking for and presented us with some great options. She was very smooth when focusing on my fiancée needs and desires, going as far as complimenting her skin, hands etc. explaining what would be the best setting based on her hands/skin type. She definitely sold her on the ring we were looking for!
After understanding what she was looking for, we sent my fiancée upstairs so myself and the sales agent could talk "business". We discussed a quote for the ring to which I mentioned the option of bringing in my own diamond. The tone and feel of the conversation changed immediately. The sales rep became rude, cold and condescending. She questioned where I had planned to get the diamond. I did not mention the shop but did say that the person we were potentially purchasing the diamond was a certified gemologist. She continued by asking the name of the gemologist (claiming that she basically knew all the gemologists in the city) likely with the intention of questioning their credentials. I thought that was very unprofessional. She said that they would ultimately agree to set the diamond if I did decide to buy the diamond elsewhere (At that point, I was already a hard no to going with Brinkhaus). Furthermore, she was sure to mention at that point that the quoted price attached to the setting would now go up if I did go with my own diamond.
I decided to go back to the basics after this experience. After another 40 hrs of self educating research (understanding the 4 C's of diamonds, the different diamond certifiers (EGL, GIA, AGS), the various on-line reliable retailers available) I came across a beautiful GIA diamond for probably $3k to $4k less than what Brinkhaus was able to supply with the same characteristics that we were looking for. I also came across a local jewelry design shop that was happy to work with my purchased diamond to set it. I sat down with their staff and designed the ring I was looking for using a state of the art computer design application. Besides that, they were with me step by step through the entire process from the design/purchase of the setting to the date of the proposal.
Overall - If you are looking for a simple,elegant solitaire diamond ring do not go with a "high-end" jeweler. With a few hours to spare you can build something that has outstanding value while saving thousands of dollars.
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