Doink_Boink: before I paid over $16,000 for my wife's engagement ring. Then, a few years later I became friends with a jeweler and learned I overpaid by thousands because I had paid mostly for a box and a brand, I

you are a dumbass.
seriously.

researching how to buy a diamond? it's easy around here:

1) Find Jew friend whose family has lived in area forever
2) Talk to Jew friend's mother (or Jew friend if they are old enough [not newlywed; the 'Jew Diamond' gene develops after childbirth])
3) Go to place Jew Friend/Jew Friend's mother went to
4) Buy Ring