The Ring Has Been Ordered!!!!!

We went out today with the thought of comparing diamond prices, since that seemed to be the sticking point. I pretty much knew what setting I wanted, and we had seen it at two places, Bailey Banks & Biddle and Jared. Jared’s price for the setting was less, but they carry the Leo(R) diamond, which I didn’t really want. It’s possible that they carry regular cut diamonds as well, but we didn’t ask about it. Since they aren’t in a mall (they are located in their own building near the Target that we frequent), it’s not as convenient for us to get there.

When we got to the mall, we first stopped at BBB. The salesman showed us a .50 carat diamond with its GIA certs, and it looked pretty good. In fact, it was near colorless with SI1 clarity and good cut (I don’t remember the numbers exactly). Even better, it was within our price range. We also looked at the Tacori settings, and found the one I wanted. It was actually a bit less than at the other BBB were I’d first seen it. On the other hand, it was a bit more than at Jared.

Then we moved on to Christian Bernard. They were in a temporary location in the mall, and seemed a bit disorganized because of it (though, that is not why we didn’t buy their diamond). They showed us a diamond with slightly better color and clarity that the one at BBB, but that was at a lower price. The reason? The cut wasn’t as good. They also didn’t have any settings that struck me. They did have a couple antique-looking settings in platinum, but they were a bit much for me (not price-wise, but too big, too flashy).

Andrew and I talked for a bit after visiting CB to see how we were feeling. We were both very tired of having sales people talking at us, and tired of ring shopping. We decided to just get the whole thing at BBB — both the setting and diamond, even though we could get the setting for ~$100 less at Jared — since that would be the least hassle (and we wouldn’t have to carry around a loose diamond to Jared, which made me a little nervous). We went with the BBB half carat diamond rather than the CB one because of the better cut. Every source we’ve consulted has said that the cut is what really affects the brilliance of a diamond, so it seemed best to skimp just a bit on color and clarity (though both seem just fine to me anyhow) to get a better cut.

I think we’re both relieved that we’ve finally made that decision. I’m happy with it, and very comfortable buying at BBB. (Yay!) Now we just have to wait 6-8 weeks for the ring to arrive. (Sigh)