Should I Disclose The Origin Of An Engagement Diamond?

[Mera]

I found and bought a very nice "used" diamond for my girlfriends wedding ring. Long story short it is a 2.01 carat, E color, excellent cut and SI2 for $13,500. GIA certified. Quite a bargain. The seller upgraded his wife's wedding ring to a larger diamond so he had this loose diamond. I was in the right place at the right time and bought it. Had it checked again by a GG and it is the diamond listed on the GIA report that came with the diamond. Local jewelers would want well over $20,000 for this same diamond. List price on the original package the seller included was $24,000+. When pushed on price and with references to Blue Nile some local jewelers get into the $18,500 range or so for a comparable diamond.

Should I tell my girlfriend the origin of this diamond. When you buy any diamond you never know if it is virgin or used. Would telling her the truth be a problem in anyone's opinion? All I have told her is the guy was selling it for financial reasons which is what he originally told me. He later told me he upgraded his wife's ring to larger diamond.

In talking to local jewelers I was surprised to find their cost on this type of diamond is in the $11,000 or so range. What a nice profit margin if they can sell it for $24,000+!!

Rodney

[RX in NC]

My wife lost her original 1979 engagement ring diamond back in the summer of 2006. She was sitting in a seminar at work, bored, happened to look at her ring, and noticed the diamond was gone from the setting. In a panic, she and several of her colleagues searched the room, retraced her steps that morning, and did everything else they could think of to find that stone. It never turned up. Hell, it could have been washed down our kitchen sink drain days before she discovered that the stone was gone....

As you might imagine she was sick about it and dreaded telling me. When she finally did, I viewed it as nothing more than an asset loss and assured her that, unfortunately, things like that happen when you wear expensive jewelry everywhere you go (I wear NO jewelry, not even my wedding ring, because I can't stand the feel of rings or bracelets or necklaces on my body). I told her that we would look into replacing the stone at some point after I worked out the insurance situation. That took about 30 days but I did not replace the stone at that point simply because I hate wasting money on things as superfluous and stupid (to me, anyway) as jewelry. So her now-empty engagement ring sat in her jewelry box for months after that....

About a month before Christmas I paid a visit to my wife's favorite jeweler and explained the situation to her. She knows that I won't buy unless I can get a deal so she showed me four or five good-sized, excellent-quality diamonds that had either been traded in for larger ones or were available on consignment sale from the original owner. I picked the one that I thought would best fit and stay in the mounting on my wife's engagement ring because I do not want to go through this again. That diamond is a slightly different cut than my wife's original, but it is also slightly larger and more prominent. I knew that would appeal to my wife....

On Christmas morning I gave the re-set diamond, now in my wife's original engagement ring, to her. She was thrilled. I told her that I had made a deal on a stone that was essentially "used". She didn't care one bit. She loved the stone and its setting in her ring. She's happy with it to this day. I saved approximately $5,000 by going this route instead of purchasing a similar brand-new stone at retail prices. My wife would rather have the "used" stone than hear me grumble for years about getting ripped off for a new one. All is well, and my wife has learned to have the integrity of her setting checked by her jeweler at least once a year. She knows that if she loses this stone, I will not be buying her another one....

I think that your girlfriend should be happy with her stone regardless of its origin. You're the one paying for it, right? New or "used", you've coughed up a significant chunk of change for it. I told my wife about her "used" stone because I wanted her to know that I cut a good deal on it. I also wanted to set the stage for this being the LAST diamond I would buy, and she certainly understands that....

Your circumstance is a bit different. Personally, I see no need for you to tell your girlfriend the origin of her stone. Just learn from what my wife went through and make certain that she gets her ring setting checked by a reputable jeweler on at least a yearly basis....

[SW03ES]

I agree, no need to tell her as it doesn't make any difference. A diamond doesn't diminish with age. It would kind of ruin the moment:

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes yes!"

"Oh by the way the diamond is used"

I'd just end it on a high note ;)

[jcrome04]

Haha good point SW0!

I agree with no need to tell her. It SHOULD not even come into question. And if she's the kind of girl that "NEEDS" a brand new diamond, and is going to ask you if it's brand new....then personally.... I'd be questioning other things.

Best of luck to you!

[SW03ES]

She's not going to even ask, for one it would never occur to me to even wonder if a diamond was new or used and I doubt it will to her either.

[Mera]

She knows how I got it and how much I paid for it. She knows what local jewelers want for a comparable diamond. The seller told me originally he is selling it because of financial reasons. He later told me he upgraded his wife's ring. All I have told her is the first one. He sold it for financial reasons. I told her I did not try to pry for more information from the seller. She knows me and is happy I try to make my money go as far as possible. I think she would not care too much knowing the truth. I'm just looking for some opinions from others. I may or may not ever tell her the rest of the story. Time will tell.

Rodney