Hi Excited Chris,
This is the 3rd time I am tying a reply to you cos I accidentally deleted the first two longer ones just before I send.
I am no expert in setting but I do think a 3 claw may not be secure. Jewellers normally recommend at least a 4 claw or more commonly 6 claw. I have a colleague who had a very unpleasant surprise when she got home one day. She found only the skeleton (the ring) on her finger, with the 1.5 carat missing. Real heartaache. Her jeweller told her that the stone was probably not set properly or that, over time, the claws lost their grip. So her advice is for us to bring our stones to the jewellers every now and then for cleaning and check.
I can;t say as a fact that Josi is cheaper than the rest especially when it's GIA certified stones. The jewellers need to pay for the certification. I suppose John and co at Josi can offer a relatively competitive price probably cos they don;t advertise, do not have a fanciful shop space, no unnecessary sales person and no website. They depend solely on word of mouth from satisfied customers. They are like a small family business.
Jewellery Giants like Tiffany have their advantage in the sense that they are given the priority to choose the best stones. They also choose the most skilled jewellers to work for them and have high quality control. Hence the hefty price you pay for a tiffany. But having said that, we are also paying alot for the brand and its reputation.
Many of the old time jewellers and some new comers spend huge amount and effort in rebranding - getting celebrities to endorse their products, offer designer paper bags and packaging, TV ads, designer shop space etc. These cost will need to be pass to the customers.
While I still think it's worth the while to pay for a Tiffany, I can't say the same for some of the others, if you get what I mean. AFterall Tiffany has a history and it is world renowned.
As for Sale, I have my doubts. Some shops offer up to 70/80% but that's easy cos all they need to do is to mark up the original price. Notice how these discounts are rarely given to the certified stones? So don;t be duped by huge discounts.
My advice: If you already have an idea of what you want, shop around the different jewellers. Give them your specs and see what they can offer. IT;s not enough to just state the size cos actually that's the least important. The thing to note is that there will be a great jump in price once the stone reaches .5 and another jump when it reaches .8 and another when it's 1 carat. So the trick is to get a stone that is almost that size but not there to avoid paying sometimes almost double the price for a stone that is only .01/2 bigger. More importantly, check the colour. Go for at least an I colour. Anything less will have a yellow tinge and itis not nice. (I have a pair of earrings that's J colour and they really don't look good cos they look perpetually dull and dirty compared to my pandent which is a F) The inclusion may be invisible to the eye but it will be good to go for at least a VS2 cos the inclusion affects the amount of light passing through and hence affect the brillance. As for the cut, Many places boast about having the most number of facets. Actually, any brilliant cut beyond 58 facets may not necessarily be better. They may just be useless cut that makes no difference to the refraction of light. As for the setting styles, they tend to be quite similar since the solitaire is the one that should take centrestage. So the setting is to complement the stone and not take attention away. You can check out which setting you like and get Josi to give you a quote as well.
Josi is at parkmall, 08-15. No. to call 63387423.
Go to the archive of this thread for more comments on Josi if you want.
I hope you find what you want and enjoy the process.