Cushion Cut Diamond on Blue Nile?

[surfergirljen]

I am also not trying to start the Tiffany vs other discussion up, nor am I really bashing Tiffany's. I am just stating what I know, as well as some of my educated opinion. I already mentioned earlier in the thread that if she wants the Tiffany, which she really does, she should get it. It's not worth skimping on what you really want unless you truly cannot afford it. Her budget is quite large, though she can't get the size she is in love with at Tiffany's with that budget. She just has to decide whether she wants a smaller stone from the original or a larger one from a non-brand. I won't judge her either way. Everyone wants different stuff, everyone's priorities when buying these items is different.

Hey Ame! LOL - I'm sorry... I just read this, and I don't think you're judging her - I just get on my soap box as much as you do about Tiffany's, just on the other side! It's all good fun - I must be in the mood for a battle today! :boxing: But I didn't mean to make it personal just so you know. Sorry if it came off that way!

I just advised my little bro to buy a Tiffany's embrace ring for his GF and I know he felt really good about investing in the name and not having to over think it... good things come in the little blue box too! Hope we can still be friends!

 

[lilmountaingirl]

OP, all of this information is good info when you are trying to be an informed consumer, and everyone on this forum is so helpful, but of course we all have differing opinions. I think the most important diamond grade, whether it be GIA, EGL, Tiffany's, is the grade we give the diamond ourselves. There are GIA graded Tiffany stones. And of course all grading is subjective. I have seen reports from a reputable jeweler where they sent the same stone into the GIA for grading three times and it came back with two different grades between the three submissions. So even though there are very very strict guidelines, even educated graders can see stones differently. Human genetics i guess. I think the most important grade is the one you'll give your diamond. You want to love it! So whether

 

[surfergirljen]

Thank you both - it's nice to hear various opinions. And thank you surfergirljen for sharing your positive Tiffanys experience and the upgrade policy. I tried to remain neutral in this thread, but even you guys can tell that my heart is with the Tiffanys rings and I think you are right. I really just need to go there and see what I can get with my budget (last time I was there I was looking strictly at 1 carats). If I know that I want to upgrade, it might even be worthwhile to go more towards the lower end of my budget (probably would get me a 0.5-0.6ish ring, depending on which style I choose) and then it would be financially easier to double the price so I could upgrade.

Surfergirljen - Do they guarantee the price you paid for your original ring towards the purchase of the upgraded ring? For example, if I bought a ring that was $5000 total (before taxes) and then wanted to upgrade to a ring that is $10000...we would have to pay $5000 to upgrade??

I just looked at the Birks website and I'm not really that impressed with their ring styles, but maybe they look better in person? Just seems like they have really large prongs or something. Again, I think my heart is set on Tiffanys.

Well, the title of this thread doesn't really reflect what I'm thinking anymore! Haha. It's amazing how minds can change in a matter of days.

Go with your heart and you can't go wrong! I think that's a good strategy - start small and good quality and the smaller it is, the smaller the double up price will be hence the shorter the wait! I think it's a great idea - you'll get the ring you want and then be able to make it BIGGER when you comfortably can do so! The good part is - I don't think there's ANY rule about the style either so there's really no reason you couldn't do an upgrade from a solitaire to a novo or vice versa. You could do a soleste (which offers HUGE bang for the buck on a lower budget with the double halos) to start and then when you upgrade go for a bigger centre stone style like the novo or classic?

I'm not 100% sure about the exact guarantee. I only waited about 8 months before upgrading mine and I'm pretty sure they put the entire purchase price towards the new one as if it was an exchange. I would think that they would re-evaluate what that ring would sell for in the store now and apply that towards the new ring? It would make sense that they would only charge you new taxes on the new upgrade value... so maybe they do it like you said, apply $5K towards the 10K price tag and you pay $5K plus tax on $5k. Anyway it's close! Call up and ask for a manager - I'm sure they can give you the exact way that they calculate it. If you waited 5 years say, the price of your ring would go up (retail in the store) so I'm not sure if they'd use THAT figure or your ORIGINAL figure... probably your original though??

Good luck!!!

Yeah - I pushed my brother to go to Tiff's when I saw the Birks take-off on the "Embrace" ring, the "Caress" (ew on the name!!) It wasn't nearly as elegantly made as the Tiffany's one was, design wise... that was the main reason I sent him to my SA at Tiffany's!

 

[ame]

Oh I don't take it personally at ALL. No apologies necessary and no sweat! I certainly didn't mean to offend. I just say what I am thinking and often it's probably rude as can be.

That's what I love about this place--everyone has different desires, knowledge, and interests, and above all their own opinions and thresholds! Just because I don't believe Tiffany's is always a worthwhile spend, sometimes it is, and others do. Others aren't as maybe "cynical" as I am either.

But you do make a valid point about buying into marketing, I do believe we ALL are. I want sparkly little rocks just as much as everyone else! And if I did find a design or item I wanted from Tiffany that I couldn't get somewhere else equal, better, cheaper or otherwise, I'd buy it from Tiffany for sure. They have spurred quite a lot of trends, and that's not a bad thing at all. They also viciously try to protect their brand, and who doesn't. We all buy in to more than just diamonds even. We all want the best we can get, and we all form opinions about brands, styles, whatever! And let's face it, we deserve a little luxury.

But uh, why no pics of this ring your brother got???

 

[surfergirljen]

Oh I don't take it personally at ALL. No apologies necessary and no sweat! I certainly didn't mean to offend. I just say what I am thinking and often it's probably rude as can be.

That's what I love about this place--everyone has different desires, knowledge, and interests, and above all their own opinions and thresholds! Just because I don't believe Tiffany's is always a worthwhile spend, sometimes it is, and others do. Others aren't as maybe "cynical" as I am either.

But you do make a valid point about buying into marketing, I do believe we ALL are. I want sparkly little rocks just as much as everyone else! And if I did find a design or item I wanted from Tiffany that I couldn't get somewhere else equal, better, cheaper or otherwise, I'd buy it from Tiffany for sure. They have spurred quite a lot of trends, and that's not a bad thing at all. They also viciously try to protect their brand, and who doesn't. We all buy in to more than just diamonds even. We all want the best we can get, and we all form opinions about brands, styles, whatever! And let's face it, we deserve a little luxury.

But uh, why no pics of this ring your brother got???

Thanks Ame! I know I LOVE this forum (although it has gotten me into SO much trouble!) and I know I've learned a LOT about diamonds from you and others so appreciate it, debates and all! And yes we all deserve it! (Somehow I have very little trouble convincing myself of that lately - need a good bag slap!)

OMG I haven't even seen this ring yet! Am dying! He had it sized last week and promised me a peek - I'll try to sneak a pic for you guys! I feel like I brokered the deal, I called all over the US to bring one in and hooked him up with a SA, put it on hold... LOL I hope she loves it!!! It's a .57 carat H "embrace" ... they'd gone to Birks and she'd fallen for the "caress" but as soon as I saw it online I knew something was off ... it lies flat on the band and let's NO light into the centre stone. The design is just not great - so I looked up the Tiffany's version and sure enough, it holds that diamond up to the light! I can't wait to see it! I think he's proposing in November? It was a great option for his budget and tons of bling and finger coverage... I think he's in love with it!

 

[lilmountaingirl]

My post got cut off. Lol too much thread activity. But i wanted to add i would totally sacrifice size for Tiffany if it was what i always wanted.

 

[ame]

I look very forward to it! I just looked at the Birks version and I do agree that it is not as appealing. I hope she loves it but I cannot imagine she won't!

If you did the work, you are definitely entitled to photos, that can be your finder's fee.

We DO deserve it. Though I have done very well at keeping myself in check lately. I just had to finish this stupid band swap and be done for a while. But for some weird reason, I am now in dire lust for an Erica Courtney bow necklace that costs more than my car and yet I'd still never wear, AND a freakin fancy watch I also would likely never wear....

 

[ame]

My post got cut off. Lol too much thread activity. But i wanted to add i would totally sacrifice size for Tiffany if it was what i always wanted.

Agreed. If it is your dream to have a Tiffany ring and you can swing it, get what you dream of. It might not be as big, but itll be worth it because itll make your dream come true.

 

[coconut32]

I think the most important grade is the one you'll give your diamond. You want to love it!

So true!

 

[acrowcounted]

A bit of info on the Tiffany upgrade policy. I've done it twice in the past year so here goes: You can upgrade your ring for any other engagement ring spending at least twice the original price. You DO NOT get reimbursed for the tax. They also keep a "fee" for resetting/polishing/whatevering your original ring ($500 for me each time). When you pick another ring to upgrade to, they take your original ring back in its entirety, add tax on the full new ring's price, and then credit you the purchase price of the original ring minus the fee and you leave with the new ring in its entirety.

Soooo, lets say my first ring was $10,000 and that my tax is 5%. I would have paid 10,500 to buy it originally, then I would have to buy a ring for at least $20,000. Lets say I found one for exactly this amount. My final price for the second ring would be $20,000*1.05 = $21,000 - $10,000 (credit) + 500 (fee) = $11,500 and the surrender of my original ring. (Which, in this example, makes the cost of not going directly to the bigger diamond a $1,000 decision.) Whew! Make sense??? =)

BTW- I love the Tiffany and Co original 6 prong solitaire and think its completely worth the extra cost (which really isn't that much, ~10% markup in my experience). Good luck deciding!

 

[kpai]

Just wanted to say that i had always wanted a tiffany, and decided to settled for a smaller stone initially and did a upgrade with them a few years later. It's definitely a personal preference, size vs brand. The question here is would you always be thinking about the tiffany ring if you get the other ring?

 

[surfergirljen]

A bit of info on the Tiffany upgrade policy. I've done it twice in the past year so here goes: You can upgrade your ring for any other engagement ring spending at least twice the original price. You DO NOT get reimbursed for the tax. They also keep a "fee" for resetting/polishing/whatevering your original ring ($500 for me each time). When you pick another ring to upgrade to, they take your original ring back in its entirety, add tax on the full new ring's price, and then credit you the purchase price of the original ring minus the fee and you leave with the new ring in its entirety.

Soooo, lets say my first ring was $10,000 and that my tax is 5%. I would have paid 10,500 to buy it originally, then I would have to buy a ring for at least $20,000. Lets say I found one for exactly this amount. My final price for the second ring would be $20,000*1.05 = $21,000 - $10,000 (credit) + 500 (fee) = $11,500 and the surrender of my original ring. (Which, in this example, makes the cost of not going directly to the bigger diamond a $1,000 decision.) Whew! Make sense??? =)

BTW- I love the Tiffany and Co original 6 prong solitaire and think its completely worth the extra cost (which really isn't that much, ~10% markup in my experience). Good luck deciding!

Thanks for the info! Good to know!