Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MANDRL]

What is the cost of diamonds in Korea? ( For say an engagment ring?)

[SeoulShakin]

Can't just give you a cost.

It all depends on the cut, colour, clarity and carat size that you are purchasing. Though the "general" cost may be more or less in some areas of the world, diamonds are priced on a graded scale depending on the overall quality of the diamond.

What ideas did you have in mind?

[Zyzyfer]

I bought a diamond pendant for the lady and it came to around 1.4 million won. I think the diamond was 1.2 of the total cost. Pretty high grade one, though. I think it was .4 carats and the other stats were pretty solid.

[MANDRL]

[blindboy662]

Sounds to be a fair price. If it's one stone, say SI 1, G or so, (not much yellow), it is a really good price. If it's several small stones it's still a good price as long as the stones are nice. If she likes it, you've done well. In the end that's all that counts.

[Zyzyfer]

[wowser]

A friend was training to be a gemologist when we got ours. She recommended that we buy a diamond here- as Korea has a very good name for itself- high quality for good prices. We bought/ ordered a .97C diamond, F color, SI2, very good cut. When we went to pick up the stone in it's setting the salespeople were all smiles. They said we couldn't have the stone we ordered- we had a different one. 'Free' upgrade. E color, SI1, very good cut and .99C. Yeah right, I thought!!

Anyways, it had a GIA rating and it did appear to be better than what we had ordered. When I went home (home country), I had it valued (for insurance). It was worth almost double what we paid for it. Way to go Korea!!!

Hints for buying (as suggested by my gemologist friend...) You can keep the cost WAY down by buying 'on the cusp'. For example, a .99C stone is WAY better value than a 1C stone. Who can tell the difference between the two? Make sure the store you buy from is affliated with the GIA. (Make sure you see a sample certificate before you buy it).

Are you going to surprise your parner or let her choose? I asked to choose mine, and I'm so glad I did...It didn't take any of the romance out of it- because I didn't know when I would 'receive' it?! AND diamonds last forever- one stone seemed a better option for me because you can easily replace the stone's setting as fashions change...

PM me for prices!! And congrats!!

[ttompatz]

[Satori]

Just on a side note, diamonds are the biggest advertising have the world has ever seen. The phrase "diamonds are a girls best friend" is pure marketing genius. The fact that diamonds are expensive is an amazing peice of marketing that goes against all economic priniciples. They are not even rare at all. They are just hyped. They are basically expensive because some clever people said they should be expensive and all the sheeple said ok.

I`m boycotting diamonds...

[SeoulShakin]

Ok the fact that you want a 3 stone ring at 1ct total weight, rather that one stone at 1ct makes a big difference - the cost will be lower

3 stones in white gold (what karat gold? likely in korea you will only be able to get 18k and up which isn't a bad thing - however if she's particularly rough with her hands than a lower karat gold is better as it's stronger - if you're going for higher quality than definitely the higher karat gold is better) - so anyway 3 stones in white gold, one carat total weight with those specs would likely be around $1799 CDN or so. I used to work in jewellery in Canada and that's what you'd be paying (roughly).

However you want to make sure wherever you go that YES it is a GIA affiliated store, and if possible, see if the diamonds are gemscanned. Canadian Diamonds are currently on high demand world wide, and one of the benefits is that they are all gemscanned with their own identification number for insurance purposes. You should also be given an appraisal which includes a picture as well. At home all of the diamonds we sold were at a lower price than the actual appraisal value, so look at that as well. Diamonds are generally cheaper here, so that's a good thing, but it doesn't kill you to know your stuff when you go in. I have worked in the business and (sadly) know that some staff just want to sell a ring and get money in the door, rather than take the time to explain things to the customer (I however found my sales increased tremendously when I took the time to explain things to the customer).

Also, check the cut. An "ideal cut" with the right angle will allow maximum light refraction and increase the "sparkle". You'll also want to know if they offer a warranty of any kind should the stone come out, your claws come loose or wear away, the stone become chipped etc etc.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me

[Zyzyfer]

[Juregen]