The WANT Thread

[WRXtranceformed]

I'm genuinely debating that, when it comes time, i'll go visit some family in Colombia and reap the benefits of cheap high quality stones. Emeralds that I have purchased there are significantly cheaper and better quality than here.

If you do your research right, the Virgin Islands are another really good place to buy fine jewelry (or watches :lol: ) Duty free and tax free...you just have to make sure you are buying from the right shops but there are some very high quality stones down there. I have heard of people flying down there for the day just to buy diamond jewelry.

Wow this thread got off topic with the quickness!

[Mike]

my certified stone appraised at the BN price point (I just checked pricing again a few minutes ago) and I paid about 32% less than that.

My BN stone appraised at ~40% higher than I paid them for it. Sooooo....

Wow this thread got off topic with the quickness!

Thank God we're over stupid watches.

[WRXtranceformed]

my certified stone appraised at the BN price point (I just checked pricing again a few minutes ago) and I paid about 32% less than that.

My BN stone appraised at ~40% higher than I paid them for it. Sooooo....

Your retail replacement appraisal was for +40% of fair market / market value? Seems legit.
If it is a pure retail appraisal it is meaningless and just makes you feel better about having spent more for your nice stone than you should have.

When Appraised Value is Much Higher than Purchase Price
Possible Reason: The "regular retail price" (given as the appraised value) is a concoction of the jewelry seller, to make the buyer feel good about the price actually being charged.
Explanation & What To Do: We have covered the issue of the bogus "retail price" in other newsletters (May 2006 and September 2006, for example). We generally suggest that, when there's a huge discrepancy between appraised value and purchase price, the purchase price is closer to the true value.

Possible Reason: The seller deliberately inflates the appraisal for insurance as a "favor" to the buyer.
Explanation & What To Do: This is an unfortunate practice by some jewelers. Again, we suggest getting a second appraisal from a Graduate Gemologist (GG), preferably a Certified Insurance Appraiser™ (CIA).

Possible Reason: The appraiser is incompetent.
Explanation & What To Do: Alas, most jewelry retailers are not GGs, with the training and equipment necessary to appraise even the jewelry they sell. This was dramatically illustrated in a TV investigation where NY jewelers mistook moissanite for quality diamond. Get a reliable appraisal on the insurance industry's standard JISO forms.

Possible Reason: The seller has not kept up on metal and gem prices, and has sold a piece for less than he would need to profitably replace it.
Explanation & What To Do: The market can be tricky. A number of jewelers have gone out of business because they neglected to take into account swiftly increasing prices. This issue can also affect insurers, as we discuss in the next section.

I'm not necessarily saying you didn't get a good deal on your stone, but I would honestly question an appraisal that much higher over what a retail replacement would be for the same stone. Who gave you the appraisal? An insurance company is going to go to settlement on as little as possible to cover your loss with an exact replacement at the time of loss (ACV). That's why they usually ask you to get a new appraisal once every few years. I feel confident with the appraisal I had done because it was by an independent certified appraiser and reflects the cost to actually replace my stone with the exact same stone. I also bought well under "online retail" for a high quality stone so a higher appraisal value actually makes sense.

[WRXtranceformed]

Thank God we're over stupid watches.

Don't worry buddy I saved this one for you. Found a steal so picked up this daily driver to round out my divers. The trusty SKX007:



Lume comparison on the winder with the Oris on the left:


:mrgreen:

[.RJ]

Does the dial turn red when you hit VTEC?

[WRXtranceformed]

Does the dial turn red when you hit VTEC?

Needs more boost

[WRXtranceformed]

It's not hard for a lot of people to spot the difference between a cheap watch and an expensive one as much as you would like to sweep them into the same bucket. It's also not hard to spot the difference between cheap jewelry and expensive jewelry...ask any woman. Whether or not you think it's worth paying more for a nice piece of jewelry is similar to whether you think it is worth it spend $30k on the 1st edition of the Amazing Spiderman when you can go to the comic store and buy a new one for $1.50. Functionally they are exactly the same, but people do it because the first one is special and you're clearly passionate about what it is because it IS what it is.

Can I ask what you find special about watches?

Mostly that Mikey like to troll about them which makes this forum more interesting :lol:

[D_Eclipse9916]

Mostly that Mikey like to troll about them which makes this forum more interesting :lol:

Would be a whole lot more interesting without the watch-talk. :wink:

I enjoy watches so I do pay attention to your posts about them. That said my priority is burning $$$ out a tailpipe of a race car; so I don't have a good collection, or dare say any collection. Right now all my "daily" watches are Citizen Eco-Drives. They are the only wtaches that seem to take the abuse I put on them everyday. I don't take my watches off to work on cars/shower/yardwork etc so I have broken half-a-dozen decent watches.

I am keeping my eye out for a nice dressier watch other than my Seiko. The problem is, that money is more enjoyed if I bought a new set of clubs or a new part for the race car. Someday...

[WRXtranceformed]

Mostly that Mikey like to troll about them which makes this forum more interesting :lol:

Would be a whole lot more interesting without the watch-talk. :wink:

I enjoy watches so I do pay attention to your posts about them. That said my priority is burning $$$ out a tailpipe of a race car; so I don't have a good collection, or dare say any collection. Right now all my "daily" watches are Citizen Eco-Drives. They are the only wtaches that seem to take the abuse I put on them everyday. I don't take my watches off to work on cars/shower/yardwork etc so I have broken half-a-dozen decent watches.

I am keeping my eye out for a nice dressier watch other than my Seiko. The problem is, that money is more enjoyed if I bought a new set of clubs or a new part for the race car. Someday...

Tissot is a good step up without breaking the bank, similar price point to a lot of the Eco-Drives. Or maybe Longines / Oris / Tag if you want to step it up a bit more. There are a lot of dressy Eco-Drives too.

[Apoc]

BN is a great baseline for negotiation but my certified stone appraised at the BN price point (I just checked pricing again a few minutes ago) and I paid about 32% less than that.

Everything I've bought from Blue Nile (probably ~$25k) appraises (GIA, not the jeweler) for 30% more than what I paid. As much as it pains me to say it, Evan is right.

...and watches are jewelry, plain and simple. Just like all the stuff my wife wears doesn't make good fiscal sense, all the stuff Lee wears doesn't make good fiscal sense. Lee's in a business where looking the part matters and watches are a part of that. I think he's bat shit crazy, but I think it makes more sense when we realize it's jewelry and nothing else. Most men aren't a big fan of jewelry, so it's hard for us to comprehend.

bling BLING

[Goodspeed]

What does it say about me that I would simply refuse to pay that much for compressed carbon? Sorry, maybe I'd be terrible husband material, but it's always blown my mind how much money people spend on jewelry. Engagement rings worn for a ~year cost HOW MUCH? When you can basically use that money towards a down payment on a house or on debt or whatever else you have that matters more. Same thing with weddings. I guess I'll just have to find that special someone that thinks the whole wedding industry is a blatant scam :dunno:

[Apoc]

So, um, I'm not sure you understand how engagement rings work. Women wear them for the rest of their lives... or until divorce, whichever comes first.

[Goodspeed]

So, um, I'm not sure you understand how engagement rings work. Women wear them for the rest of their lives... or until divorce, whichever comes first.

Don't they wear them until marriage half the time? W/e, still dumb.

[JPolen01]

Engagement rings worn for a ~year cost HOW MUCH?

Uhh when did this become a thing? They wear the engagement ring plus a wedding band when married.

[Goodspeed]

I don't know rings as well as I thought I did then, there. I have known some people that only wear the wedding band and stash the engagement ring, I thought that was more usual. I've never had to figure out the deets, nor do I stare at women's hands :lol: . Back to my original query?

[*insertusernamehere*]

. I have known some people that only wear the wedding band and stash the engagement ring,

My boss did this. She actually traded in the original for another one and then stuck it in a box in a drawer......

Wow this is the most time I spent in this thread.

[Jewels]

I don't wear my engagment ring anymore. I did for the first like 5 years, but after I started losing weight I didn't want to keep having it re-sized and it went into my jewerly box. I have 2 wedding bands too. One for when I was skinnier, and One for my post partum fat fingers. Engagement rings are a racket but mine wasn't expensive because I was marrying someone who was still in college and worked at Sheetz. We are still happily married 9 years later.

[Maengelito]

...and watches are jewelry, plain and simple. Just like all the stuff my wife wears doesn't make good fiscal sense, all the stuff Lee wears doesn't make good fiscal sense. Lee's in a business where looking the part matters and watches are a part of that.

Thats all there is to say about watches in this thread. They are a fashion accessory and some people like to wear jewelry more than others. A buddy of mine works in advertising sales and he says that his nice Breitling has started more conversations with clients than anything else. As Chris says, you have to look the part to be successful.

[SlimKlim]

So, um, I'm not sure you understand how engagement rings work. Women wear them for the rest of their lives... or until divorce, whichever comes first.

Don't they wear them until marriage half the time? W/e, still dumb.

The setting I picked out also has a wedding band that clips onto it for another ~$500. She'll wear just the engagement ring until we're married, then snap the other piece on and boom, wedding ring. I'm fine saving up a few G's for a piece of jewelry that represents our commitment to each other and that we'll have for the rest of our lives. I do think people that still use the 3-mo salary rule are insane. 3 months of my gross income is more than I could hope to save in a year. Thank you NOVA living expenses.

I want a small, cheap wedding but I know I'm not going to get it. She wants both of our extended families and a large group of friends there and I don't think she realizes how many zeros that sticker is gonna have on it.

[JustinG]

She wants both of our extended families and a large group of friends there and I don't think she realizes how many zeros that sticker is gonna have on it.

If you guys are following the tradition (Wife's parent pay for wedding, Groom's parents cover rehearsal)......its a conversation you and her need to have with her parents, that will set some guidelines real fast.


On the engagement ring discussion....

Am I the only one who actually looked forward to buying an engagement ring so I could propose to my future wife and didn't think twice about spending that kind of money? I actually wish I could have afforded more.

Set a realistic cost goal, determine what payments you can make if financing, and buy the best thing you can afford.

I purchased my ring in college from Jared's, No interest for like 3 years, not the cheapest place, but 6 years ago it really sketched me out spending that much money on something I had never seen before, which is why went with a brick and mortar store not Blue Nile or some other online retailer.

Purchase the insurance/warranty through them, I think it was like 10% of the cost of the ring. Was a no brainer to me. No questions asked if the ring or any stone is lost they replace it with the exact same ring/grade stone no questions asked. Already had to use this once, one of the side stones in the engagement ring disappeared and they popped a new one in. this includes resizing, re plating, resetting, basically bumper to bumper the entire ownership of the ring.

Most of the bitching about buying engagement rings is coming from people who aren't married though so I will assume ignorance.

Same deal with wedding's being a waste of money.....you only do it once, so why not ball out within you means?