Q&A: Expat in Japan Looking for Help with an $8000 Budget

This is probably a silly question, but do I need to buy the diamond and the ring from the same place? I mean, if I buy a diamond from your site and want it mounted on a ring from Tiffany’s will they do that? Or will some stores do it, but others won’t?

Thanks for your advice.

I plan on getting around the taxation problem by sending the ring via military mail to a Navy base south of Tokyo. That way, it doesn’t have to go through customs.

Btw, my gf and I were looking at diamonds here in Japan but it is very confusing because they have different companies who certify. And some are not as reputable as others. I see that all the diamonds on your website are GIA certified so at least I can compare apples to apples.

Thanks for your help. I would like a round shape. My gf wants a platinum ring with lots of diamonds on the side. Something like this one:

https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/channelset-rings/ring/item_58-2809.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

She said that size is the most important factor for her, but naturally we don’t want a cheap looking diamond. I was thinking clarity VS1-2 and color J or K. I can’t really tell the difference between the cuts but looking at your search results, it doesn’t seem like cut has as much of an impact on the cost, like clarity and color do.

My budget is around $8,000, excluding the ring, so if you could give me recommendations on how to maximize my budget, I would really appreciate it.

One more question, I have been using your sites search functionality to look at loose diamonds. I like James Allen’s functionality which lets me look at the exact diamond I am buying. Given my lower specifications for clarity and color, do how important do you think it is to see a picture of the actual diamond before buying it? I live in Japan so shopping in person at a brick and mortar shop in the States is not possible, and it is much cheaper for me to buy from the States than here.

Great. I like the idea of buying from JA, too.

This is the exact ring my gf wants:

https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-1921.asp?a_aid=dmnd1357

Do you think the diamond below would look good in this?

Or since the small diamond colors are G-H would that make the large J diamond look yellowish?

Great. How do I move forward?

First I need to increase the limit on my card so I can pay for the ring and the stone at the same time. My current limit is USD 8800 but they said I can call back after the 3 day weekend to increase it.

I called JA and they said I could pay partially with card and partially with bank transfer. So I’m all set!

I’ll just confirm that the diamond is fine with my gf (hiding the size and cost on the page, of course) and then order.

Thanks for your help.

Thanks! I just ordered and used your code

They said it won’t arrive until next month because they are so busy at the moment but I’ll let you know what I think of it.

The ring finally arrived and I love it! I’m sure she’ll love it to when I give it to her this weekend.

Thanks again for your help.