Canadian diamond wedding band in NYC/NJ?

September 18, 2009 5:21 AM

Know of any jewelers that carry Canadian diamond wedding bands in North Jersey or Manhattan? I need a wedding band (getting married in 2 weeks!), and my fiancé doesn't want an African diamond after watching Blood Diamond. I'd like someone I can deal with in person rather than a website.

I called like 15 local jewelers in New Jersey and none carry Canadian diamonds. What's up with that? I tried two local Ultras and they don't have wedding bands. Any other recommendations?

posted by exhilaration to Shopping (11 answers total)

If the point is to avoid blood diamonds, it doesn't have to be from Canada. Plus, not all African diamonds are blood diamonds. You'll have a far easier time finding a conflict-free diamond than a Canadian diamond. Also consider cultured diamonds grown in a lab. By their very nature they are conflict-free.
posted by inturnaround at 5:41 AM on September 18, 2009

I'm not necessarily suggesting this, but all Tiffany diamonds are from the Jericho mines in Canada. So there's an option. You could also try walking up and down the street in the diamond district and just asking the jewelers you encounter if they have Canadian diamonds.

Would your future spouse consider an heirloom/estate diamond? There are plenty of those to be had, and for much less money than the ones at Tiffany.
posted by brina at 6:03 AM on September 18, 2009

Brina, any chance you've got a cite for Tiffany diamonds being from the Jericho mines. I'd love to be able to pass it onto a friend of mine who liked a ring at Tiffany's but was worried about the provenance. (She'd been given to understand that Tiffany's was only getting some of their diamonds from Jericho, and then Jericho shut down when the company operating it filed for bankruptcy.)
posted by joyceanmachine at 6:29 AM on September 18, 2009

It's probably not relevant, but I feel compelled to point out that it's not the source of the diamonds that makes them the cause of suffering. It's the wanting of the diamond in the first place, that creates the demand, that generates the atrocities.
posted by Area Control at 6:50 AM on September 18, 2009 [5 favorites]

It's like a broken record on AskMeFi ring questions at this point, but Blue Nile offers Canadian Diamonds which you can then use to create your own ring. Plus, they offer free overnight shipping. If you're worried about buying one sight unseen, I can tell you I went that route for my wife's engagement ring and we were both thrilled with the results. also, they're return policy quite reasonable/no hassle should you not like what you get.
posted by Rewind at 6:50 AM on September 18, 2009

Capital A 'Also', and 'their', not 'they're'
posted by Rewind at 6:51 AM on September 18, 2009

Area Control is right, but there's a way around this. Look into lab engineered diamonds. My brother and his fiancé are going this route. Not only are they cheaper, they also reduce the demand for natural diamonds, so you have the opportunity to not just boycott conflict diamonds, but to undercut their business as well.
posted by philotes at 6:57 AM on September 18, 2009 [1 favorite]

You can locate a retailer of "cultured" diamonds near you at the Gemesis website. Looks like there are currently two in Manhattan, and a few more in surrounding areas. And that's just for the Gemesis brand - there are probably more retailers offering engineered diamonds by other companies. Congratulations on your impending marriage and good luck on your ring search!
posted by philotes at 7:09 AM on September 18, 2009

Seconding Area Control that the whole diamond industry is kind of messed up. Yes, conflict free diamonds are better than blood diamonds, but even better would be another stone entirely. Unless diamonds happen to aesthetically be your fiancee's favorite gemstone, why not find a ring with your fiancee's favorite stone instead? I have a friend whose engagement ring has an opal for just that reason. She'll (we hope) be wearing this ring for a long time, so it should be something she'd like even it if weren't an engagement ring.
posted by Karmakaze at 8:55 AM on September 18, 2009

Best answer: Forest Jewelers
104 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 609-924-1363
Forest Jewelers is the area's exclusive dealer of Sirius Diamonds - Canada's first Canadian diamond producer with headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Apparently a jeweler in Central NJ.
posted by dpx.mfx at 11:39 AM on September 18, 2009

Response by poster: Just wanted to follow up, I got her a ring from Earth Treasures in Eatontown, NJ. Link is in the previous answer. She loves it!
posted by exhilaration at 2:06 PM on October 27, 2009