<p>I’m not a jewelry person, and really don’t know where to go to buy really good jewelry.
I want to get a pair of quality diamond stud earrings for D graduating from college. Tiffany’s? Zadok’s? I have no clue! Any stores that you can personally recommend (not online). And those of you who have them, what sizes do you have? Thanks!!</p>
<p>Costco. I’m not kidding. Unfortunately, many diamonds sold in the World are blood diamonds.</p>
<p>I will have to agree with the Costco suggestion…but for myself and my DD I have opted for the great looking CZ’s…set in silver…about 1 carat. They look great…and yes I have lost them and replaced them on occasion…completely guilt free.
Maybe if they were real I would not have lost one…but I would prefer not to know! It’s safer!
Happy shopping!</p>
<p>Pay extra to have the backs changes to SCREW backs. Trust me, I waited until I had to replace one. </p>
<p>What part of the country do you live in? Tiffany is nice, but to be honest, you will not get as much for your money. Is the brand important?</p>
<p>I agree about the blood diamonds.
What about a nice set of pearls?</p>
<p>Online, Blue Nile is cheaper than Costco. I was thinking of the same thing for my daughter. Either that or pearls. She said “NO JEWELRY! I’ll just lose it when I move.”</p>
<p>She’d prefer a nice designer purse for graduation.</p>
<p>Look into green diamonds. They get difrent colors depending where they are from. And use platnum instead of gold cause it costs more. And don’t get small ones cause that would be cheap.
Probubly the best place to get them is Africa or India cause thats where they make them. So you can go on vacation and get them at the same time. And to save money you can get there on a cargo ship but i dont have time to tell you about that.</p>
<p>In general “mall” stores have extremely high mark ups and lesser quality. Tiffany’s seems to have better quality but again huge mark up. Check with friends as to where they buy their jewelry. Make sure you have a gia statement and a guarantee of quality. Appraisals are nice, but you can’t sell the earrings for the appraised value.</p>
<p>Substitution of diamonds for pearls isn’t a good idea. Pearls are very delicate: you will ruin them if you get perfume, soap on them. Please note that the movie aside most things we consume, be it food, furniture, clothing or jewelry are produced in what many of would be considered less than optimal circumstances.</p>
<p>You probably will do best at a really good local jeweler if you can find one. Ask your friends. I think Blue Nile is good, but I’ve never used them.</p>
<p>sillymilly – Speaking as a former jewelry salesperson…look in your local paper for anyone having a sale. Going out of business is best (!) but often your local store (like a Macy’s or Lord and Taylor) will have very nice discounts, plus extra for things like store credit cards, coupons, etc. It’s Memorial Day weekend coming up so there should be some sales. I don’t recommend Sears, Penneys or Kohls for jewelry though. It may be inexpensive but it is also cheap. </p>
<p>A privately owned jewelry store will take the time to teach you what you need to know…but you may pay a little more for the privilege. It may be worthwhile to build a relationship with someone at the store. There may be more jewelry buying in your future…wedding, babies, other graduations.</p>
<p>Buying locally will also give you someplace to return it if there’s a problem, unlike traveling out of the country. I don’t really think you get all that much better deals on cruises and such, though you can see items that you might not see in the States. </p>
<p>I would also recommend pawn shops, as they will frequently have diamonds for sale, but you may not be comfortable with that. </p>
<p>For optimum quality at a decent price, go for SI-1 (that’s clarity), G through I (that’s color), in whatever shape you want. Rounds are most common so not quite as expensive as some other cuts. I don’t know what size you are interested in but anything under a carat (even .95) is cheaper than 1 carat or larger. The bigger, the pricier, naturally. If you choose a white setting (gold or platinum), the stone will have to be slightly better than the ones set in yellow gold…just because any discoloring will show up more plainly in a white setting. It’s not a big quality difference, but it’s some. </p>
<p>Mostly though, look for brightness and life…how does it sparkle? If it looks milky to you or has big cloudy areas, never mind what the tag says. You have to really like a diamond in order to buy it. If you can, use a loupe to look at the stone in 10X…it takes a little practice to get the focus right (by moving your hands) but it will let you look into the heart of the stone. A few inclusions don’t matter – that’s what SI -1 means: slight inclusions – because an earring is not looked at as closely as is a ring. </p>
<p>If you are concerned about the provenance of your stone, ask. The U.N.'s Kimberly Process Certification should be mentioned. There are also Russian and Canadian stones. If the salesperson says “India” or “China”…that is probably where the stone was set, not mined. </p>
<p>I’m sure your D will love them and remember always that you gave them to her.</p>
<p>Tiffany, Cartier, etc. only sell G or better color and VS2 or better clarity for rings, slightly lower quality for earrings. The top jewelers get first dibs on the best diamonds available on the market. This is part of the reason the cost is much higher - there is a large markup because the reputation of the jeweler comes along with the jewelry. Tiffany and other name brand jewelry also tends to hold its value because it has an intrinsic value beyond the value of the stones.</p>
<p>Diamonds used for earrings are often lesser quality than those used for a ring, probably because the quality is less apparent on the ear than on the finger. 1 ct. total weight earrings set in platinum, G color, VS2 would cost in the range of $5K to $7K depending on the jeweler - Tiffany would be closer to $7K and a good local jeweler may be much lower. Much lower than that would most likely be inferior in quality. </p>
<p>One of best jewelers in the US, and known for fair prices is Shreve, Crump and Low in Boston.</p>
<p>What a wonderful graduation gift! As much as I like Tiffany, I would not go there for diamond studs. You will pay far more than necessary and they will not look any different than those from any other quality jeweler. Look for a well-established local jeweler.</p>
<p>What size to get is really a personal preference and depends very much on your budget. You might want to start out looking at 1 carat total weight and adjust from there. I agree that you definitely want to get the screw backs for safety.</p>
<p>You will pay a little more for GIA certified stones, but that is the best way to know you are getting exactly what you’re paying for. A diamond’s price is based on it’s carat weight, cut, color and clarity. For earrings, I would put the money into color and cut rather than clarity. F/G color is very nice.</p>
<p>Good luck - your daughter will be thrilled.</p>
<p>Re: Who gets first dibs on the stones they want…that would be Kay’s. They are the largest retailer of diamonds in the country, possibly the world. </p>
<p>I forgot to mention one thing. If the tag says ‘half carat diamond studs’ that means that each stone is a quarter carat.</p>
<p>Well, Kay probably buys up the odd lots after the other jewelers buy the stones they want.</p>
<p>I agree with ^ Grits80. I actually worked for Cartier many years ago. I also worked for several other jewelry stores and studied with the GIA.</p>
<p>The best diamond is a D-Flawless --D being colorless and F meaning flawless–no inclusions.</p>
<p>After D, it goes E,F, etc. After F flawless it goes VVS, VVSI, etc.</p>
<p>You can find the best quality stones at stores like Tiffany and Cartier, but you will pay more because of the name (and guaranteed quality).</p>
<p>If you buy from stores like Zales, Macys, etc., you will probably get inferior stones, meaning no where near D- flawless. But if they look good to you-- go for it.</p>
<p>If you want to be assured of top quality stones and not buy at a Cartier or Tiffany, ask your local jeweler. He/ she will probably be honest, but also most likely expensive. Also ask for a GIA report.</p>
<p>You can also check out stores like BJ’s. No guarantee as to quality unless they say.</p>
<p>Good luck and great choice. I always try to give my daughters good jewelry. It lasts forever and can become an heirloom. I love jewelry.</p>
<p>Flawless is too expensive and you really can’t tell by the naked eye what’s flawless and what’s just darn good. And as for the color graduations…the average person won’t be able to tell one from another. That’s why gemologists train hard. </p>
<p>I’ve assumed throughout that sillymilly isn’t looking to spend $7K +. Maybe she is.</p>
<p>Sorry–Tiffany’s person here. I’d rather have the tiniest pair of diamond studs from Tiffany’s than the largest rocks from Kay’s. No–I can’t tell the difference in quality by just looking at them. That’s why I’d go to a place that I know would only have high quality stones and workmanship. (And I was just looking at Tiffany’s online for diamond studs for a friend whose daughter just graduated from college. They’re $1k.)</p>
<p>I have purchased diamond studs/necklace for my daughter, a diamond tennis bracelet for my to-be DIL (S getting married in July in Spain) and sapphire earrings and necklace from a wonderful jeweler in D’s uni city. The last were made from loose stones I chose to the size I wanted. All are wonderful. I don’t think I paid too much, and I saw lots on line for much more.
The stories here have been interesting for me to read.</p>
<p>I’m another fan of Tiffany’s here. This is the sort of item you’re only going to buy once in your life, and I would buy it with the intention that it’s going to become an heirloom. I’d go for top quality, top setting, top service. </p>
<p>Here’s only one of my Tiffany stories:</p>
<p>About 20 years ago, my DH said he wanted a pinkie ring with his initials on it. I am not a fan of pinkie rings, especially on men, but hey - it’s what he wanted. I “borrowed” another ring from his dresser to make sure of the size and picked it out at Tiffany’s. It cost around $800, if I recall correctly. </p>
<p>When I gave it to DH, he loved it, loved the thought, loved me. But then he looked at it on his hand and said, “Ya’ know, I think I’d prefer it on my ring finger.” Because it was from Tiffany, I knew he could get it made bigger, so I told him to go in and discuss it with them.</p>
<p>Because of the design of the ring – it was flat on top, where the initials were engraved – they balked. They said that if they enlarged the ring, it would make the flat top “bow,” and they wouldn’t do it. Frustrated, my DH said to them, “Listen, I really don’t want it this way. Isn’t there anything you can do?”</p>
<p>They took the ring back and totally remade him a new one, at no extra charge.</p>
<p>And that’s why I’ll always buy my serious jewelry from Tiffany.</p>
<p>I’ve used Blue Nile several times with great success. You can browse by price, cut color, etc. Full easy return policy. Usually run a special that’s 10 % off listed price. They also have great non-diamond gift ideas.</p>