Hey guys, I've posted in this thread before last year about being in the market for an engagement ring.
This is long overdue but I really want to share my ring purchase experience. Life got busy and I never really had a chance to sit down and type this all out.
Anyway, I purchased my ring through Aaron aka thediamondshopper and it was the best decision I made. For those of you who don't know he's the OP in this RFD thread:
Have questions about diamonds and engagement rings, ASK ME ANYTHING... - RedFlagDeals.com Forums
You can also find reviews of him online.
Anyway, in early 2016 I decided to start my research on engagement rings as I was planning on proposing to my girlfriend of 11 years. As an RFDer, I of course came across his thread above and was quite sure it would contain all the information I needed to make an informed purchase.
At the time I was simply doing research and therefore my plan was to get a crash course on the 4 Cs online through Google to get a basic understanding, then read through his thread above (as well as this thread
) to get a deeper understanding of what to watch for beyond the 4 Cs. Finally, I figured I would be able to take what I learned and purchase my ring on BlueNile or James Allen, thereby saving me lots of money compared to purchasing from a brick & mortar store.
That was my plan but as I read through the thread, I came across a few reviews people have posted of their experience purchasing through Aaron (I had no idea this was an option). I gave it a bit of thought but eventually bit the bullet and initiated the conversation with Aaron. Looking back this was the best decision I made. I'll lay out the process in points below to make it easier to read.
1. I first PM'd Aaron on RFD to ask some simple questions about diamonds and the conversation moved over to email once I decided I would be purchasing from him. This was at the end of April 2016.
2. I gave him my criteria and budget and sent him pictures of ring designs I liked and also used the videos on his Youtube as references. I also emphasized that I needed the ring by the end of June as I was planning on proposing on a trip in early July.
3. Over the next 1.5 weeks we narrowed down the perfect balance of cut, clarity, carat, and colour that would fit my budget and he also answered questions I had regarding the type of band (accent diamonds, 14k vs 18k white gold or platinum).
4. He came up with 8 great diamonds for me to consider (his form showed the Grading Lab #, 4 Cs, price,fluorescence, Dimensions, Grading Lab (all GIA), Comments (all Hearts&Arrows), additional notes) and we worked together to narrow it down to the one I wanted. Once we narrowed it down to the diamond, I put down an $80 deposit to hold the ring. For those who know, I checked all 8 under the Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA) tool and they all scored <2 which is what you want)
5. When the diamond came in, Aaron sent me images (ASET, Idealscope, and magnified closeups of inclusions) and explained to me what they were and assured me it was top quality. He would never recommend poorly cut diamonds.
6. For the ring, I ended up liking a design I found online and Aaron confirmed he would be able to get his designer to make the same ring. I put down a 20% deposit to get the ring started. He also provided free engraving on the band which I really appreciated and took full advantage of
.
7. When the design was almost ready, he sent me a computer rendered image of the ring and it looked great.
8. When the ring was complete, I paid the remainder of the invoice, provided the shipping address.
9. As we are approaching the end, he sent me a video of the ring as well an appraisal report.
The video is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE3T8slAMqQ
10. On June 28, he shipped the ring and sent me the tracking information.
11. On June 29th, the ring arrived and it was absolutely beautiful.
After I proposed I realized my initial estimate of my fiancee's fingers were way off. I had estimated a 5.25 ring size but she was actually a 3.5! I trusted Aaron more than the local stores so I actually shipped the ring back to Aaron to get it resized and everything was done perfectly without a hitch.
To this day, I am so glad I went with Aaron because I've done some comparison shopping and the equivalent diamond and band would have cost a lot more at Spence's and Birk's.
I could have bought something off BlueNile/James Allen but I would have had to put in so much more effort and possibly end up falling short because there is so much more to diamonds than the 4Cs. Aaron took all the guesswork out of diamond shopping. I HIGHLY recommend getting in touch with him if you're looking to purchase the best looking diamond for your budget while taking the guesswork out of it.
I posted this review on RFD as it was long overdue. Hopefully you guys find it helpful.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Absolutely the best purchase I've ever made.
Side note, one of my coworkers bought a ring from Birk's for literally double my price, 30% smaller (carat-wise) and IMO had no sparkle. Before I bought my ring I had chatted with this coworker about rings which was why he brought the engagement ring he bought to work. I was extremely underwhelmed when he brought it out and honestly feel bad he got ripped by the store so badly. I guess that's what happens when you walk into a random store and purchase on the spot lol....
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