THE “FOREVER IDEAL” DIAMOND – DEAL OR SQUEAL?

Let’s look at a diamond called the “Forever Ideal“, from Fred Meyer Jewelers.

It’s a bridal line of certified diamond rings that say “I love you forever“.

But do they?

Let’s take a closer look at this “top-of-the-line” exclusive collection (their words), and see if it really is a deal, or surreal.

The specifications for every “Forever Ideal” diamond are this:

• Ideal Cut
• Hearts and Arrows Pattern*
• Triple Very High Light Performance*
• 58 Facets
• SI2 Clarity Minimum
• Near Colorless Minimum
• Laser (misspelled as “Laster” on their website) Inscribed with Certification

(Take directly from their page here)

Just like “Hearts and Arrows“, and “Hearts on Fire“, “Astor diamonds“, and “True Hearts“, this line of diamonds only pertain to the actual cut of the stone.

The cut of a diamond is what really makes a stone sparkle.

The Cut makes is Superb.

And a triple excellent cut diamond (the best cut there is), shows hearts and arrows patterns in the diamond (using a special heats and arrows scope).

I have zero problems with the cut. In fact, I love the cut, who wouldn’t? I think triple cut diamonds are amazing.

But what about the other 4c’s?

Like for example, this one carat “Forever Ideal” on the Fred Meyers website:

A simple, classic style engagement ring, featuring a 1 carat diamond, retailing for $13,995, on sale for 46% off: $7,499.

Seventy-five hundred dollars for a 1 ct diamond doesn’t seem out of the norm…

Until…

You look at the rest of the quality.

The cut is great, as we discussed, but no where on the page does it list the actual color, the clarity, or even the exact carat weight.

In fact, the image of the diamond itself is just a stock photo (an image used for all their diamonds). So it’s not even the real diamond you’re buying…

I saw no where on the page a place to even locate the true color or clarity.

I had to do a search for “Forever Ideal” to find the page that talked about the real specs of “Forever Ideal“:

Still, this doesn’t tell you exactly what you’re buying (and for $7,500, I think you’d want to know).

But, they do give you some loose guidelines, so let’s look at them…

Diamond Clarity

It says that the clarity of “Forever Ideal” diamonds is at least SI2 minimum. Which leads me to believe it’s probably an SI2, and maybe, just maybe it could be an SI1 (I doubt any higher).

Diamond Color

The color of these diamonds is “Near Colorless“. Which is a large range (G, H, I, and J). Meaning yes, it could be a G diamond, but it also could (and more than likely) be a J.

J colored diamonds could appear yellowish. While G will look pretty white.

So which is it?

You don’t know. So again, I’m led to believe it’s probably the lower (it is the cheaper of the bunch). And who could really argue with that?

Diamond Carat Weight

The carat weight of these diamonds (for a 1 carat stone), is actually a range going as low as .95, all the way up to 1.08 carats. So it could be less than 1 carat (called a “Light Carat“, or even a couple points bigger).

Diamond Certification

It’s also listed as “Independently Certified“, but it doesn’t state by whom (probably graded in-house, with no real plot of the stone)…

But what this really means is this: It’s NOT GIA!

Added up, there are a low of unknowns when it comes to buying an expensive diamond ring that’s listed as “top-of-the-line“.

Let’s Compare:

Taking the predictable stone you could get with Fred Meyers (SI2, J, .95ct), this is what I find similar at James Allen…

Wait? WHAT? $4,440???

Are you kidding me? That’s about HALF THE PRICE of Fred Meyers.

And not only do you get a price that blows Fred Meyers away, but James Allen diamonds (with the best triple excellent “True Hearts” cut) are GIA certified, graded as a true SI2, J color, and even has a bigger carat weight (1.09 carat) than what you’d get at Fred Meyers.

Eye Opener!

But let’s say that you really wanted to spend $7,500 for a diamond engagement ring.

What could you get for that Same Price?

A spectacular diamond: 1.06 ct, VS2, G, for $7,420.

That’s a tremendous different in quality for the same greenbacks. Plus, the James Allen diamond is certified by GIA (the best there is), has zero fluorescence (Fred Meyers doesn’t even mention fluorescence), is “True Hearts Cut“, and can be set in a simple 14k white gold solitaire mounting for just $180 more.

That’s a DEAL!

(See more high quality stones like this HERE at James Allen!)

And as for Fred Meyers “Forever Ideal” diamonds… Well…

I’d say those were a Squeal!

Cheers! :)