Diamonds are to girls as dog is to man

Attempt 2…

I tried to write this blog last night; I needed to look something up, so I hit the 'new tab' button… or so I thought. I pushed 'home' and went to my homepage. In a panic, I hit the 'back' and my entire blog was G-O-N-E, gone.

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So- this blog serves 2 purposes. First, it is a place for me to sort out my thoughts about my diamonds. Second, it's a common ground for people to stay informed- I've been talking about my diamonds to several people for weeks now, and here I can update everyone without having to type the story a million times (or so I hope).

I'll first start by recapping what is going on, for those who haven't been told and for those who forgot (cause I know you care).

It was mid-December, my mom comes to me and says "you're birthday is coming up, do you want to wear my earrings for it?" So, sure, why not? I say "Yep!" Pretty little things they are; roughly 1cttw., (1 carat total weight, which is approx. a half carat each) round, perfectly cleaned and shiny studs. So I wear them for a few weeks… then after the holidays, I find myself starting to become attached so I ask her if she wants them back, she said "nah, keep them for awhile longer, I'm in no hurry to have them back." Fine by me.

Then, one random day out of the blue, she comes to me and says "ok, I want them back now." I could have cried.

So now… I must own my own.

I've been browsing the web to get a rough estimate of how much I'm looking to spend and just see what my overall options are.

Diamonds are not cheap; they are so darn pretty though!

I finally make the decision to go look at some in person and learn more about them. I see a commercial for The Jewelry Exchange and they are advertising $399.99 for 1 cttw. diamond studs. That is cheap, and appears to be a great deal- we will see. I haven't been there yet, but online they list those studs as being SI1-I1 clarity and color H-J (more on what that means later). I hope to make it there sometime this weekend to see what they have to offer. I'll keep you posted.

As I continue to think more and more about these diamonds that I don't own- I remember that I have a loose diamond, kind of. A few years back when I was working at the mall, I found a diamond earring in the store, and I kept it (don't tell!!). I took it to my friend the jeweler, and he told me it was surely real… so I hung onto it all these years.

Here are my thoughts: with that diamond I figure I can take it in and have someone find a matching diamond and set them both in a setting of my choice OR I can take it in and trade up for a pair OR whatever else the stores tell me they can do.

Let me tell a bit about my pretty little friend: it's a round cut, I've been told it's roughly .50 carat, VS1-SI1 clarity (very slightly included-slightly included), G-H color (near colorless). Overall, for a found diamond, that is a pretty good find!

1. So I take it to the first place, ask them how much to get another diamond and to have them both set; $2100.00!! OMG, and the settings were only $150 of the cost!

NEXT…

2. This place can't order in another diamond, but can give me $439 for mine that I can use towards a purchase at their store. Not a bad deal, but let's keep asking around.

3. Next place tells me that can't do jack for me- assholes.

4. This store tells me they can order in a diamond for roughly $800 and set the pair for an additional $200, so $1000 total for a round pair of 1 cttw. diamond studs, about average. The lady that helped me was a bitch though, so I won't be giving her my business.

5. Upstairs in the mall I walk into this store and this guy looks familiar to me, so I ask him if he works downstairs at the other jewelry store (option 2). I remembered him from this past Christmas when I went into buy my mom and sister-in-law a necklace, he kept doing Borat impressions, so his face stuck with me. Anyhow- "Yes, I work at both stores, we're owned by the same company" he says. So, figuring that he will probably tell me the same as his other store, I figure it's worth a shot anyhow... maybe flirt him up a bit and see what I can get done! His jeweler tells me they can give me $500 for my diamond to apply towards a purchase at their store. Very Nice! He also told me he might be able to help me a little with the price when I am ready to buy

Here is my want: Ideally, I want a pair of Princess Cut Diamond studs, roughly 1 cttw., my diamond is round- I would certainly take a pair of round studs, but if I have a choice, I'm going Princess (which is square). I can get a pair of Princess Cut .75 cttw. for $1099.00 from both places that offer me the money to apply towards a purchase. That means I'd be paying about $600 for my earrings… not a bad deal, imo, especially with the check I am expecting from our loverly president who wants to boost the economy.

So I still have The Jewelry Exchange to check out, maybe they can do something for me… if not, I have some serious decisions to make. Should I really be spending money on earrings I don't need when I have thoughts of moving out of state?! I could always make my diamond into a pendant necklace…

So much to think about!

I'll keep you posted on what I find out from The Jewelry Exchange, and what, if anything, I end up doing.

I'm certainly taking donations though… you can paypal me, all funds will be applied to my beautiful diamond studs, and I promise to send you pictures of them once I have them!!

Peace Out.

(I haven't re-read this, so I apologize if it's confusing or doesn't make sense.)