Do you buy diamonds from customers?
No.
Can I trade in my diamond that isn't from you, towards one that is from you?
Unfortunately, no. We would suggest you showing it locally to find who will give you the best price or just resetting into another piece of jewelry.
Can I trade in my diamond that I bought from you?
Not with mined. Yes, with branded lab-grown bought from us. You must spend double of what you originally paid.
How come your lab diamonds are no lower than G color?
The lovely warm hue that we get in mined diamonds doesn't translate the same in lab grown. We tend to see more of a dark grey with a hue of brown rather than that golden color that mined diamonds produce. The times we have found a nice one is extremely rare. Trust me, if it worked out for lab grown, we would have a bunch of them stocked. If you would still like us to check regardless, we are happy to take a look at what is out there for you.
Which lab is the best for diamond certification?
While GIA & GCAL are known to be more conservative than others, we vet our IGI diamonds according to GIA/GCAL standards and even further. We analyze diamonds more intimately beyond what laboratories look at to ensure our clients are getting the best for their money. From our experience with purchasing diamonds, we would recommend not getting too hung up on the lab and more concerned with the gem quality and light performance itself which is something most labs aren't grading.
Why should I buy a diamond from you?
Simply put, you will get the best customer service with us whether you are spending $100 or $100K. While we are passionate about the bling, helping people is where the real joy comes from.
Other than that, no one is going to provide our level of expertise & services when it comes to finding the best diamonds. Read more about that here.
Can you comment on a diamond I am buying elsewhere?
While we used to offer this kind of service, we would really like to have you as our customer. If you want to show us what you are looking at, we are happy to take a look and recommend something competitive.
Where are your diamonds sourced from?
Our branded diamonds are from an overseas laboratory.
Why are your branded lab grown diamond prices higher?
Our branded diamonds (August Vintage & Distinctive) are indeed special. We have invented these diamonds around ASET results which is the technology GIA and AGS use to ascertain top of the line brilliance. We hold our cutters to the strictest QA on the planet. The diamonds must be cut to a level of precision that is rarely found on the market resulting in "cream of the crop" light performance. We demonstrate this via ASET technology and show our clients how that correlates to real life viewing via HD video. More time goes into everything and so the cost is higher. That is why you see the price differences. If we throw all of that out of the window, it's easy for us to match/beat anything you see online. In essence, you get what you pay for. If you have a budget, we can source just about anything and help you find the best looking in that budget.
Keep in mind, a diamond for an engagement ring is not just any piece of jewelry so it is valid to want the best-looking option within reason for a sentimental item that is going to be on her hand for the rest of her life. From a commonsense perspective, this is a purchase that you shouldn't treat as ordinary and cut corners with. That said, we are happy to work with any budget, and we also offer a 6-month interest free payment plan through PayPal.
Outsourcing diamonds
When we are hunting down the best possible options for you outside of our in-stock inventory, there are a few things to consider.
1) It is a quick turnaround so only ask us to get the ball rolling and find the perfect diamond if you are ready to buy within one week.
2) Once we find the best potential candidate, you will need to pay in full for it before it ships to us. I know that sounds wild to many people, but this is standard practice across all online diamond retail sites. The reason behind this is that the wholesalers we work with only ship out their product to us on a cash memo which means we are laying out our capital to ship the stone in for you. We are not doing that unless you pay for it first as you can imagine us paying to ship in a diamond only to never hear back from that client... this does NOT mean you are locked into a decision. If you decided to back out, you would be refunded minus the $100 roundtrip shipping.
3) We have instituted a policy in which we do not share the certificate of the diamond we have located for you. We invest a considerable amount of time nitpicking through specs and photos to find the best option for you. In the past we have been taken advantage of by people using our expertise to find the stone, grabbing the cert # from us and buying the diamond from someone else instead. To protect ourselves, we do not share it but if there is something specific that you are curious about from the certificate, just ask us. You will get the original certificate when the diamond ships to you.
3) There is an element of trust in this process. We are super picky when sorting through the database of options for you and looking for things that you may not even know to look for. People ask us how we can judge light performance based off of pictures/videos provided by the wholesaler and the simple answer is that we have been photographing diamonds for decades. Because of that, we are familiar with nuances in lighting set ups and how that impacts the diamond. After doing this with success time after time, we can now accurately assess from online pictures/video what is most likely going to be a winner. If in the rare case the diamond we found was not what we expected, we would gladly find you the next best option. We encourage you to read our reviews or google search our business name.
4) Once the diamond is here in our lab, we run full analysis on it to make sure it checks all the boxes. The tool that has been the most helpful in giving our clients strong confidence of their choice is the 4K video we provide in indoor/outdoor lighting. Most companies show you the diamonds in some type of light box that is totally unrealistic in terms of what you are going to see in everyday wear. Or perhaps you will see the diamond in showroom lighting which hides light leakage very well and is purposely used to make everything sparkle like crazy. The video we provide of the diamond we find for you will be invaluable in your decision making because it is realistic. We also offer the option to ship the diamond directly to you before finalizing your decision. Basically, we just want you to be happy!