Reader’s Q&A – Shopping for Engagement Rings in Dallas, TX
Downtown Dallas skyline view, Texas.
Reader’s question: Thank you for creating this fantastic website. You are performing a great service for all the guys in the world with the knowledge shared on your blog. I’m shopping for an engagement ring in Dallas, TX where I am based and would like to seek your help with the purchase.
I have a budget of around $5,000 and want to buy a 1ct diamond ring for my fiancee. Last week, I visited the Robbins Brothers store in downtown Dallas and another nearby shop called Diamond Exchange Dallas to check out some rings.
Robbins Brothers is extremely expensive and most of their rings are way above my budget. The salesperson who served me was also extremely pushy and kept upselling me even after I told her about my strict budget.
As for Diamond Exchange Dallas, they seem to be running a special sale for some of their products. Can you tell me what you think of the following ring and whether it might be a good buy?
https://diamondexchangedallas.com/shop/specials/1-carat-round-engagement-ring-appraised-at-5k/
Paul’s reply: Thanks for your feedback and congrats on your upcoming proposal. First of all, Robbins Brothers is a large chain store and I find their prices to be high due to expensive overheads and brand premiums. More importantly, brick and mortar stores like these generally don’t have truly well cut diamonds in stock.
As for the listing at Diamond Exchange Dallas, my advice is to stay away. This is an uncertified diamond which has a dubious inhouse appraisal document. Instead of sending the diamond to GIA (where it will return with very poor grades and making it unsaleable), jewelers often utilize appraisal documents to misrepresent the diamond’s quality.
From the photograph of the ring, I can tell you that this is a badly cut diamond and you don’t need to be a genius to figure this out. The telltale signs are the off-round shape and overly contrasted dark patterning which impacts light performance.
If you are shopping for a diamond engagement ring in the Dallas, Texas area, my advice is to ditch the brick and mortar stores if you are looking for quality. Also, you have to be realistic; a $5,000 budget for a 1ct diamond ring is a stretch.
Tips and Advice to Buying a Diamond Ring
Whether you are based in Dallas (Texas), New York City, London or Hong Kong, the guidelines for buying a diamond ring (both offline and online) are the same. You need to base your decisions on tangible data instead of marketing fluff that salespeople spew just to close a sale.
If you spend the next 30 minutes reading up on the following sections, I guarantee that you will be more knowledgeable than 99% of jewelers and salespeople in the industry.
- Step by step guide to buying a diamond ring.
- Why buying blind is dumb and how to shop smart.
- Table of ideal proportions for round diamonds.
- ASET reference chart for light performance analysis.
- Super ideal cut diamonds – An assessment of hearts and arrows.
- Diamond certification mistakes you need to avoid.
- Why “wholesale” diamonds and cheap deals are scams.
Where Are the Best Places to Buy Engagement Rings in Dallas, Texas?
Dallas is quite a big city and diamond rings can be found everywhere in major department stores, large chain stores and private jewelers. However, as I mentioned earlier, most of these places overcharge and don’t offer well cut diamonds.
For people living in Dallas, I would recommend you check out White Flash and Brian Gavin Diamonds instead. Both of these online retailers are consumer oriented companies and specialize in super ideal cut diamonds that are crafted for light performance.
The best thing is, they operate physical showrooms in Houston which are a short drive away from Dallas. If you are someone who needs to shop in person, all you need to do is to make an appointment with them before heading there.
Why Shop Online at White Flash or Brian Gavin Diamonds?
Unlike physical jewelry stores, the most important factors of going online are: getting full transparency, better selection of high quality diamonds and competitive prices. Also, being able to browse in peace and away from annoying salespeople will help you make rational decisions.
Below, I want you to check out how a diamond listing on White Flash actually looks like. You’ll quickly understand why customers are raving about their diamonds as well as the ease of shopping. Click on the link below to interact with the listing…
To reiterate, the key to buying high quality diamonds confidently is to review tangible data and facts.
Unlike mediocre vendors, the better retailers will readily make data like ASET and H&A scope images available. These images reveal the light performance and cut precision of the diamond.
This enables you to make educated purchase decisions based on facts instead of the marketing bullshit that salespeople say in order to earn a commission. It should come as no surprise to you that most physical stores do not offer transparent data like these.
The fact is, most jewelers have no indepth understanding of cut quality and only carry mediocre products. Even if they had knowledge about cut quality or light performance, why would they want to shoot themselves in their foot by showing you data that shows their goods in bad light?
Where to Buy Beautiful Diamond Engagement Rings in Dallas, Texas
Besides ideal cut diamonds, both White Flash and Brian Gavin also offer beautiful designs and superior workmanship for their settings. On top of that, their prices are really competitive for the top notch quality you are getting.
Here are a couple of examples to give you an idea of what they offer…
A simple and elegant 4 prong setting that secures your center stone safely and allows light to interact with the diamond for sparkle. If you have a tight budget to work with, this solitaire ring offers fantastic value for money.
This designer pave setting features Brian Gavin’s signature melees and comes with graduating sizes to accentuate the center stone. If you are someone who loves bling, this is a design that will turn heads and attract attention.
Summary – Shop for Engagement Rings in Dallas the Smart Way
I hope you have a better idea of how to begin your shopping and the crucial things to look out for when buying a diamond ring. I’ve also given you some suggestions on the best places to buy an engagement ring near the Dallas area.
Remember, cheap deals never exist when it comes to buying diamonds but fair ones do. Always make sure you buy reliably graded diamonds (only GIA or AGS) and ask for tangible data before making your final decision.
If you have any questions or require specific advice on a pending purchase, feel free to drop a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer them as soon as possible. Good luck in your search!
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12 Comments
First of all, I am really benefitting from your website. I wish it had been around when I was shopping for my wife’s engagement ring eleven years ago. Thank you.
For our 10-year anniversary, my wife and I want to upgrade the center stone in her engagement ring. The current stone is a 1.00 ct round EGL International. Attached is the grading report of this stone. We want to upgrade to about a 2 ct. round GIA or AGS.
We recently visited two jewelers. One is an independent jeweler that we originally bought the wedding set from. He is based in Dallas. The other is an independent jeweler here in Houston (where we currently live).
The Dallas jeweler said he would give me $4k credit toward the original stone (I believe $4k is what we originally paid for it) and suggested a 1.74 ct. stone that looks like a 2.0 ct. stone due to its width. Immediately, this was a red flag to me, especially after having read your website. I also attached the EGL USA grading report for this proposed stone. As you can see, the dimensions are not within the ideal range and the fluorescence is strong blue. He priced this diamond at $13k which I thought seemed high after doing a comparison on blue nile. Although he is giving me full credit for what I paid for the original stone, I feel like he is trying to make up for it on the price of the new stone.
The Houston jeweler said he would trade our original stone in for $2500 and would have to burn the EGL International grading report because it is no good. I understand that there have been some inconsistent practices with EGL International and that its credibility is low, but this jeweler told me that there is a “no trade ban” on EGL International diamonds. This statement did not seem plausible.
After my experiences with each dealer, I decided that I definitely don’t want to work with the Houston dealer. I would like to try to work with the Dallas dealer, but it’s difficult because he is remote and I don’t think he will give me the level of service that I want in order to find the right diamond. It’s enticing though due to his offer of $4k for the original stone. Of course, I realize he can play with the numbers on the new stone to make the deal work in his favor. To be frank, I was just as naive when I recently visited these two dealers as I was 11 years ago when I made my first diamond purchase, so I was not able to explain what I wanted. Then I read your website. Now I have a much better idea of what I am after.
Based on the above, I’d like to ask your opinion on a few questions:
1) Should I ditch the Dallas jeweler and go to WhiteFlash which is very close to us?
2) WhiteFlash said they would not take a trade in on EGL International stones. Should I get it certified by the GIA and then trade it in to WhiteFlash (if we go that route)?
3) Aside from trading our stone in to a dealer that we would buy a new stone from, do you have any recommendations on how else we could sell the stone?
4) WhiteFlash Cut Above diamonds are only certified by AGS. Any thoughts on this? I know GIA is sort of the gold standard. Should I look at other WhiteFlash diamonds that are non-Cut Above?
5) If I were to deal with the Dallas jeweler, how should I go about re-calibrating him on what we want? I feel like we are really misaligned right now, and he knows that I am not that knowledgeable.
My gut tells me that I need to end the relationship with the Dallas jeweler and get on board with a new jeweler that understands and specializes in what we are looking for.
Very much appreciative to hear your thoughts. Thanks for your time.
Read this: http://www.diamonds.net/News/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=47960
EGL was Banned in the largest trading network in the industry as a top down approach to protect consumers. EGL lab has already been shut down. Whatever that’s left behind are some older stones that still need to be sold to someone who is unsuspecting. There is no ban from business to consumers.
I’m not going to argue against what the jeweler tells you because they have a conflict of interest. In my experience (as are people in the business who have integrity), NOBODY in the industry will be selling an EGL diamond except for those that are out to rip consumers off.
Any jeweler who sells EGL diamonds immediately gets onto my blacklist because it says a lot about how they conduct business.
2) Yeah. Get the stone certified by GIA before you try to trade it in or sell it off. This is the route to take if you intend to sell the diamond off in a store. Otherwise, try eBay or Craigslist and try to sell it as-is. That’s going to be extremely tough because of trust issues with the grading.
3) You are lucky to be in Houston and able to visit White Flash if need be. AGS is on par with GIA. In fact, AGS is stricter in terms of cut quality than GIA. These are the only 2 labs that I would trust (as do the professionals in the industry) http://beyond4cs.com/grading/difference-between-gia-ags-egl-igi/
With White Flash, I would recommend their ACA stones: http://beyond4cs.com/go/wf/ they are carefully curated and have tangible cut information to reveal the light performance and precision of craftsmanship/
Have you heard of a company on eBay called Engagement Ring Dallas? They seem to have good prices and have a good feedback score of more than 1000 reviews.
Nope. I have never heard of Engagement Ring Dallas. I tried doing a search on eBay but have trouble locating the business. Do you have a direct url link to their store? I can help you take a look and see if I can give you any feedback.
Offhand, I would tell readers to avoid eBay stores when it comes to diamond rings as most of these businesses are shaddy and poor sales policies. Make sure you read through the links I pasted in the guidelines above and you’ll find out why.
I’m looking for a custom engagement ring with an antique style. Do you know of anyone or jewelry stores in dallas tx that specializes in custom work?
I would only recommend going the custom route you are very sure that there is no existing design that suits your needs. With custom work, both Brian Gavin and White Flash are superb in their service and craftsmanship. They are the first people I would turn to if I need something customized. In my opinion, they are the best places to buy engagement rings in Dallas.
Here’s what you should do. Head over to their website and start browsing through their existing collection of vintage rings. If you don’t find any you like, then get in touch with them for the custom job.
Aura is a store that is marketing themselves as the best wholesale loose diamonds dallas store in the TX area. Do you know anything about them?
Unfortunately, I don’t. I’ve never heard about them nor have experience shopping in their store. Now, when stores sell to a consumer, they are a retailer and not a wholesaler. It’s a marketing gimmick and against FTC’s guidelines. There’s an indepth look at wholesalers in the comprehensive write up in one of the links above. Go read that.
Can you recommend me a reliable jeweler that does custom diamond rings in dallas? Besides the engagement ring, I am also looking for a custom wedding ring that matches.
Please refer to the response I made above.
I respectfully disagree with what you written in this article. Some of the best engagement ring stores in Dallas are the family run business Mariloff (5151 Belt Line Rd. #100 Dallas, TX 75254) and The Diamond Broker (5925 Forest Ln, Dallas, TX 75230) as they offer cheap and affordable prices. Being a local, I do agree that Robbin Brothers is not the best jeweler in town but if you look hard and get referrals, there are some lesser known jewelers who are honest and competent.
I appreciate the feedback and would reserve my comments on these businesses as I have no prior experience with them. As a professional and a consumer, the things that I look out for when sizing up a jeweler’s integrity, ethics and products go way beyond what a typical shopper would do.
I’m anal and extremely cautious when dealing with big ticket transactions. Not many jewelry businesses in the world can stand up to my scrutiny because most don’t carry the kind of high quality diamonds that are truly well cut to begin with. And if I did visit these places, the odds are, my views will be completely different from yours because of the insider knowledge that I have and my understanding of the trade.