Buying Wedding Rings Online

[Loving]

Ok ladies, I have a dilemma. I am engaged....wedding is in November 2013 and we are having problems buying the wedding rings. We don't live in the States and are on a budget. We went ring shopping over the weekend and let's just say...the rings are out of our price range.

I went online and saw some that are much more affordable but at the same time I am scared. We would be running a risk as we won't be able to see what we are buying before hand and also are not guaranteed a quality product.

I have the option of visiting the States to get the rings. I was thinking of Zales and have seen mostly positive reviews of the rings I like. Of course, there is the odd negative review that speaks about the gold being fake, or the band scratching easily etc.

So my questions are:

- Has anyone ever bought wedding rings online? What was your experience?

- Has anyone bought wedding rings at Zales? What was your experience?

- If I buy them at Zales, what would their warranty be like? Would I have to visit the States to get any repair done etc.?

Thanks in advance

 

[Jmartjrmd]

Loving you could check since1910 they ship internationally but if you have time they also have layaway if you're interested in that

 

[Loving]

Jmartjrmd Thanks!

 

[FrazzledFraggle]

DH purchased my engagement ring online. We had seen it in person but we ordered the same style online from somewhere else. It looked totally different when it got here. The luster was not the same and it looked gaudy...I wasn't happy. They did have a return policy...I ordered another one...same thing...returned. I returned the rings twice I think and then finally we went to a local jeweler to purchase the ring.

Regardless of my experience...I've heard people are happy with Diamonds International. I've been to a couple of their stores in the Carribean...I don't know about them personally but I know a few people that have engagement rings from them.

I was concerned with buying conflict diamonds but apparently it's becoming more and more difficult to avoid that...I went with a conflict-free jeweler (so he says) just for my own personal peace of mind. I was happy with the product.

I have purchased a ring from zales before...it wasn't an engagement ring but I was happy with the quality. I don't recall what the warranty was...I imagine it's on their website. You can read their policies here: http://www.zales.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3730129

Congrats!

 

[BGT]

Ask Arcadian

 

[Arcadian]

Yes, I buy settings online and in person. In my case, I always buy stones separate from rings to ensure I get what I want, but I'm a snob that way(and I have no problems saying so!!)

Some of my favorites:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/ I had a setting custom made through them which exceeded all expectations They stayed within my budget and had no issue setting the stone I sent to them (if you do something like that, always make sure your stone is appraised and insured)

Another place
http://www.whiteflash.com/

They do settings as well as have a very nice diamond selection. The above will do some diamond cutting in house.


Note that these places are nearly exclusive to diamonds. However, they're very very good doing custom settings.

https://www.artofplatinum.com/vault/ they do mainly platinum rings, however, just about all the rings I've seen from them is TDF. I priced out a setting with them a few years ago and it would have ran me a tad under 5K. (it wasn't for an exceptionally special stone either, but thats custom plat. settings for you)

They have their ready made site as well which is http://www.micropave.com/index.php/engagement-rings.html#

Yes go ahead and grasp the pearls because its serious sticker shock. However I will admit one of my favorites is the VS1/N colored French cut diamond ring


http://www.mc2jewels.com/jewels/rings.html
Went down to the Berkshires to see their settings in person. They're expensive yes...the setting I loved was 20k but OMG..... Very drool worthy.



http://www.victorcanera.com/
I've not used him but know people who have, and he does amazing work. I believe he's on the west coast.

So yes, its very possible to get what you want as long as you do your due diligence with the vendor. All the places I listed also have brick and motar stores, which IMO I think is very important. Any of the companies above I've sent emails to and asked questions have always responded in a reasonable amount of time. They don't fear questions, they like talking to potential customers, and in the case of BG, they helped me stay within my budget for the type of custom setting I wanted.


-A

 

[cookiemonster287]

I bought my fiance's band online and we both love it...I had to exchange it once only because it was a little too big for him, but besides that everything was good.
It'd say his is nicer than mine because mines are white gold and his is cobalt chrome...which never fades and is hard to scratch.

He bought both my engagement ring and wedding band from Zales, although he did both in store. I've had my engagement ring for exactly a year now, and the white gold is just now starting to turn....but barely.
The rings come with a lifetime warranty, so you can go to them and have it "repainted" or whatever they do, checked for loose diamonds, and thoroughly cleaned every six months.
I have yet to take my ring to them....so I'd say after a year of knocking it on things and using tons of products, the ring is well done.

They also have a thing where you can upgrade your ring...you can turn it in for credit towards another. The only catch is that the upgrade ring has to be double the price of the original ring...basically meaning you're paying for another ring. I guess its about getting a better quality ring for half the price.

If you get any online, just be sure that you know their return/exchange policy just in case.

 

[greenandchic]

From what I've seen so far, if he's a diamond ring, online is the way to go. Big name brick & mortar stores (even their online versions) are way overpriced for the same quality product that you can get at online only stores such as James Allen or Blue Nile and the ones Arcadian mentioned. I've never shopped at Zales, but when I checked their reviews they are less than favorable for various reasons but its possible to have a positive experience with right SA and location.

Depending on the type of ring, I would do my research before going into a store. If its a diamond, learning about the various certifications, the 4c's and price range for certain stones before going in would help a lot. After doing price comparison online at online only diamond stores I went into a Kay's over the weekend just to see how certain styles would look on me and the prices were thousands more there than a comparable diamond/ring at JamesAllen.com. I even wrote down the Cs, etc and looked it up at home and realized you're basically paying for brick & mortar stores overhead.

 

[ommns]

op you should check out www.pricescope.com. The people on their seem to know they stuff about buying diamonds online.

Congrats

 

[greenandchic]

op you should check out www.pricescope.com. The people on their seem to know they stuff about buying diamonds online.

Congrats

I agree. Also www.truthaboutdiamonds.com.

 

[Loving]

Thanks so much ladies! You have all been of great help!

 

[tmhuggiebear]

I got my fiance's ring at Zales. We had a great experience there. He got a white gold diamond wedding band. If you do go with Zales, I suggest going to the Zales outlet. The ring I purchased for SO at the outlet was almost 50% what it is at a regular Zales store.