My other passion - diamonds!! Thank you property!!

[Bandita]

Hi all,

I love this forum and have realised that I've been visiting it much less the past few weeks - as I've been consumed by another forum - (never thought I'd say this!) about diamonds!!

Some of you may know that Geoff and I are getting married in July this year in Hawaii (2007) - no simple task to plan! - but me, being the horrible procrastinator I am, plus the love of property, has meant the engagement/wedding has been LAST on the list of priorities the past year. Work, immigration, our reno, sourcing new properties has taken up so much of my time, the wedding has been put at the end of the totum pole to say the least. Geoff and I were engaged Oct 2005 - and I never got a ring (no worries to us, I knew what I wanted, what price I wanted to pay, and I was going to find it! )

Well, it's come into the 3 month before wedding timeframe - and panic has set in!! I found the perfect dress end of March (thankfully!!) - but the major task was to get the engagement ring. (I LOVE diamonds and knew what I wanted - but for the right price - I kidded with Geoff all year that "property" was going to buy my engagement ring (the tax return)) - well, we FINALLY filed our tax return at the beginning of April - and the return was more than we expected - not only will this tax return buy my diamond - but it will buy the setting, both our wedding rings and still have $$'s left over for the honeymoon!!

I know it's ridiculous to spend this kind of money on a diamond (I know I could use this to help buy another property!!) - but the reason we invest is to be able to afford what we want - we don't care so much where we live, have almost no gadgets - but this diamond (which I'll be wearing for the rest of my life) if something I really do want to love - and this will happen solely due to property!!

Isn't this what it's all about!!?!

So happy! I'll have the diamond next week, very exciting! By the way - if any of you are looking for a "Somersoft quality" forum concerning buying diamonds - check out www.pricescope.com (Oz is well mentioned!)

If there's any other diamond guru's on this forum - would love to hear from you! I can't wait!! It's as exciting as buying a property (now you all know what I'm talking about!! )

Cheers,
Jen

 

[sailor]

Hi Jen, I'm with you. At the end of all the hard work, you deserve an indulgence. In fact, I recall a thread on this very forum last year about "time to lick the marshmellow". So your marsmellow is a diamond...how brilliant! (Sorry for the pun....nah...not really sorry )

I don't know much about diamonds, except that I have an exceptional one I inherited from my Mum, which is a bagette cut (?). So tell us about your diamond...carrots, grade, colour, shape, and setting?
Are diamonds an appreciable asset (like property)?
Is supply diminishing on the world market?
Is it better to have a single stone, or surrounded by other diamonds or precious stones?

Congratulations on getting your diamond, and on your impending marriage. Do you have your diamond pic to post?

 

[BV]

Jen,
Congratulations on your wedding.
Dianonds are great aren't they?
Ofcource now you will have to buy an insurance policy for the new ring.
Hopefully you won't lose it or get it damaged during Geoff's next reno..
cheers

 

[Xenia]

Hi Jen,
Angelo and I got married 7 years ago. When we saw the price of diamond rings (and I don't like cheap stuff it's either all or nothing ), I couldn't justify spending that sort of money at the expense of building a property portfolio.

We put the money as a deposit on 3 properties instread. The capital growth of those properties in 7 years has been over $500,000. I doubt a diamond ring would have given us those types of returns.

I still don't have an engagement ring instead the properties are supporting us while we are getting 2 new businesses off the ground and putting our kids through school. We still don't have "disposal income" that we can justify spending on diamonds. But we maybe one day the businesses will buy them

 

[lizzie]

yep - lick that marshmellow girl!!

our marshmellow was a new yacht - but every now and then i pause outside a pawnbrokers and have a look. somehow i seem to end up with a new (for me) ring once a year ... and for 1/4 of the price of what i'd pay new at the jewellars. even my wedding, engagement and eternity set is secondhand ... $400 for the lot, that would've cost me nearly $2000 in the shops nine years ago.

 

[LynnH]

Hi Jen

I'm with you, too. When hubby & I got engaged, we decided to do without the baubles to buy a property. Seven years (and three beautiful daughters) later, hubby asked me what I would like for Christmas. Ever practical, I told him I would like a kettle to match the teapot I had bought several months previously! Christmas Day came, and I left my kettle until last to open, said "thank you" and looked up to see hubby with a stupid grin on his face. "Aren't you going to open the kettle?" - after some discussion, I did, and inside it was a beautiful sapphire and diamond engagement ring! I was speechless!

You've done the hard yards, and there's nothing that says you can't stop and smell the roses (or gaze at diamonds) from time to time. So enjoy!!!

All the best to you and Geoff for your upcoming wedding and for a wonderful future together!

Cheers
LynnH

P. S. I've been married to my Geoff for 29 years this year (gawd, that shows my age, doesn't it?)

 

[geoffw]

All the best to you and Geoff for your upcoming wedding and for a wonderful future together!

Cheers
LynnH

P. S. I've been married to my Geoff for 29 years this year (gawd, that shows my age, doesn't it?)

There's something special about that name

 

[The Y-man]

...carrots, grade, colour, shape, and setting...

I hope that was carats!

For the novices,

http://www.diamondring.com/forums/diamondtutorial.php

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[Tizzy]

It took me 15years of marriage before I finally got my modest diamond engagement ring from an antique shop. Now I've worn it for a further 15 years I'm thinking I'd like to upgrade it!!

How about it Mr Rolf Latham? Can you tack a few extra thousand onto our building loan and call it a diamond "home improvement"

I know I've seen precedence for this. Didn't someone on Somersoft recently fund a "kitchen reno" that looked suspiciously like a classic car???

 

[pennyk]

I just visited the jeweller today to discuss a design/ price for an eternity ring. When we got married, we were fairly poor, so while I do have an engagement ring, it is poor quality. So, I'm going to use the existing diamonds in the eternity ring and upgrade my engagement ring - keeping the same setting, but improving the quality, and size!, of the diamonds.
So, I'm also somewhat passionate about diamonds!!
Pen

 

[cava]

P. S. I've been married to my Geoff for 29 years this year (gawd, that shows my age, doesn't it?)

So, your 39 right?

 

[cava]

I know very little about diamonds, but ask me about sapphires, emeralds and rubies and it's a different story.

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding.

 

[sunshine]

Some of you may know that Geoff and I are getting married in July this year in Hawaii (2007)

Congratulations Jen.

We got married in Hawaii. Kauii - sunset - beach. FANTASTIC.

None of it was organised prior, except my dress which I took with me just in case. We saved ourself a fortune by being married on the beach and not in the hotel grounds, $600US I think. We still had our photos taken on the grounds though - waterfalls, tropical gardens, ocean backdrops ...

How exciting for you ..... enjoy

Sunshine

 

[LynnH]

Cava

Thanks - you've made my day!!!

LynnH

 

[LynnH]

GeoffW

Sure is!

Cheers
LynnH

 

[Norwester]

What is it with Chicks and pretty Rocks???.......... I've got some iron ore welded together that would look just as good..........no?

Mrs Nor suffers from the same affliction. Although I was surprised on our 25th anniversary. I was all prepared to lash out for the big Argyle Champagne eternity ring that she had been drooling about for years (10K) and she actually knocked it back...............for something only worth $600.

Her logic was something along the lines of that it would overpower her engagement ring (and that was expensive enough back in 1980........Just think Cattanachs in Armadale and she just had the claws rebuilt.....man that cost a packet).

Anyhow too late now, the doughs just been swallowed up by the two new IP's

But I know I'm gunna pay..........sometime.........

...And Jen congratulations on the up and coming wedding. From what I've read you guys have both worked damn hard and it's good to see that you can reap some of the benefits...


ciao

Nor

 

[bundy1964]

I don't like diamonds at all

 

[sue78]

Congratulations on your impending wedding!

I think the wedding and engagement ring is a very important piece of jewellery (though saying that we never wear our rings).

I know a lot about diamonds....was obsessed with it for awhile. A really good forum for loads of info is www.diamondtalk.com from memory.

As you probably know already, diamonds from high street retailers are usually not up to high standard and very expensive. Also,d on't ever trust the valuation because it is marked up more than 100%.

Always buy a certified diamond preferably GIA certified.

I guess you also know about the 4C's? Cut, Clarity, Colour, Carat Weight

I did buy loose diamonds from wholesalers in US (seems to be cheapest) but then I found a really good wholesaler in Oz based in Perth.

For example I have a Round brilliant Cut Solitaire 0.50, D, VS2 set in 6 claw platinum (like the Tiffany classic) which I only paid AUD $1450 for from US with GIA certificate. The same diamond ring from a high st retailer here would be over $5k minimum. The same diamond ring from Tiffany's would be over $7k.

So it does pay to shop around and I actually think if you can get the best diamond then it is an investment. However, they say only loose stones over 1carat holds value.

My pride and joy is my engagement ring which was purchased 2 yrs after we got married so not the original e-ring. I designed it myself and sourced the 3 loose diamonds from different wholesalers so that they would all match. It's a 3 stone oval diamond with 0.90 carat centre and 0.33 on each side all matching E, VS1 with GIA. It was a bargain considering the same ring I saw in Tiffany's which was smaller carat size was around $18k.

It's nice to have a few nice pieces of jewellery but I quickly stopped before it became a full blown obsession. Though I am currently on the lookout for a loose stone to set into a platinum cross pendant. At least that's something I'll wear everyday.

The best way to tell if you got a good diamond for a good value is if you are ever in asia to get in valued there. Asians are the biggest importer of diamonds in the world. They see jewellery as an investment and tend to buy a lot. Even the gold there is much nicer than the gold here. I am really happy that my ring only came in a little less than what I paid for it!

Also, it's easy to fall in love with the sparkles under down lights. You really need to look at it under the bright sunlight to see how well cut the diamond is coz if it's a good cut, it will sparkle like mad under the sunlight.

For me, Colour (has to be colourless D,E,F) and Cut is the most important factor. Clarity has to be VS2 or better. My friend actually has a marquise cut, 1 carat, D, IF engagament ring pretty much considered the perfect diamond.

Wholesalers around the world usually trade diamonds in USD so right now is a really good time to buy with the high AUD exchange rate.

Details please.

 

[sue78]

I love this rng and even now I still can't believe I have one.

This setting with a prncess cut was my 2nd choice.

 

[Altitude]

Even the gold there is much nicer than the gold here.

The main difference is in the karats.

Gold jewelleries in Asia have higher karats (mainly 22-24 k) than the gold jewelleries here (mainly 9-18 k).

The higher the karats, the purer the gold, but the jewelleries are also less durable, as they are softer than lower k gold jewellery.